The Color of Death
Elizabeth Lowell
Language: English
Pages: 432
ISBN: 0060504145
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Kate Chandler has accepted a commission that will solidify her reputation as a world-class gem cutter. But during what should have been a simple transfer, seven rare, priceless sapphires vanish without a trace, along with their courier, her brother Lee, who now, quite possibly, is dead. And suddenly Kate is on the run, pursued by federal agents who believe she's the criminal mastermind of a cunning bait-and-switch.
Only Kate suspects the terrifying truth: that she's stumbled into a conspiracy of deceit, betrayal, and cold-blooded murder that goes far beyond a simple jewel heist. Getting Sam Groves, the FBI special agent who's her constant shadow, to trust her is a step in the right direction -- but it may be too little and too late in a bloody game where terror dictates her every move. Because a ruthless assassin has already received the order that Kate Chandler must die ...
“Who is he?” “He’s the quarterback for the LA Waves,” Tessa said, naming one of Los Angeles’s two professional football teams. Veronica coughed as she inhaled her iced tea. “Holy shit! Sledge Aiken? He’s the man Kelly is accusing of raping her?” Tessa nodded, cynically watching the expression on her friend’s face change to one of utter disbelief. She’d seen the same thing happen with the first officers in charge of investigating Kelly’s allegations of rape. “Don’t look at me like that,”
stitch and a half. I take it Gavin Greenfield lay awake thinking about our chat and finally just had to call you.” “He’s a good, decent man.” “Damn few of us left,” Sam said, watching her over the rim of his mug. “What relation is he to Lee Mandel?” “Gavin is Lee’s godfather.” “Are they close?” “Not for the last five months.” Kate clenched her hands together, then forced herself to let go. “You recognized Lee’s name.” Sam didn’t hesitate. He’d already decided what he’d tell her and what he
night security?” Sizemore asked. “Never saw anything,” Doug Smith said. “My guess is he made predictable rounds and the murderer knew it.” “When I had my conference with all the employees, I emphasized that the security personnel shouldn’t be predictable. Did they listen? Shit.” Sizemore took a final drag and crushed his cigarette out on a plate that had once held fried eggs and sausage and still held the fresh fruit that he hadn’t touched. “The hotel security is a bunch of square badges, dumb
prove that Lee Mandel’s blood had been spilled in the trunk of a rental car five months ago. Sam didn’t have any real doubt, but that didn’t add up to a court case. He’d applied for a warrant for Lee’s medical records and a search warrant for his apartment, among other things. A few more in a long list of paper chases Sam had set off in the name of a case everyone had wanted to vanish five months ago. A case that, unlike Lee, wasn’t going to go away. Grimly, Sam wondered how long he had before
firsthand just how true the gossip was, and she’d chosen her outfit for today accordingly. She braced her smile to keep it from slipping, eased her right hand down her blouse to undo a few buttons, and told herself that it was all for a good cause. Apparently unaware of the gap in her clothing, she stepped closer to the case and bent over it. “Come back to look at the blue sapphire?” Purcell asked slyly, leaning forward over the display case, close enough to sense her body heat. “Or maybe you