“I found it.”
Officer Torres stopped searching.
Kane looked at Emily.
“You have the missing diamond?”
Emily nodded nervously.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In the grading room.”
Kane’s expression changed slightly.
Adrian felt the shift.
Not release.
Recalculation.
That distinction mattered.
“So why did someone call this in as a theft in progress?” Torres asked.
Emily looked toward Gregory.
Gregory answered quickly.
“Because when I was notified that a high-value stone was unaccounted for, Mr. Cole was the only non-staff person with access to the private counter.”
Adrian turned.
“That is false too.”
Gregory’s eyes narrowed.
Adrian continued. “A couple left the consultation room five minutes before the police came. A courier entered the grading corridor. Two staff members handled my tray. And Emily just told you the stone was never on my tray.”
Kane said, “That doesn't mean you didn't take something else.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What else is reported missing?”
Kane did not answer.
Gregory stepped in. “We need to complete an inventory.”
Adrian gave a small, humorless laugh.
“So now the missing diamond exists again only if you find another item missing?”
Kane pushed him toward the display counter.
“Enough.”
The cuffs bit deeper.
Adrian looked at Torres.
“Officer, the claimed stolen item has been located.”
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“The employee who handled it says I never possessed it.”
“Yes.”
“Does your suspicion increase or decrease?”
Kane turned.
“Don't interrogate my partner.”
Adrian looked at him.
“That question was for both of you.”
The café-like quiet of the luxury showroom had become something heavier. Several customers were recording now. A young man near the entrance held his phone openly. An elderly woman whispered to her husband that the police should take the cuffs off. Gregory saw the growing audience and adjusted his jacket.
“We should move this into the security office.”
Adrian looked at him.
“No.”
Gregory frowned.
“No?”
“I’m not going into a private room with the man who falsely accused me of felony theft.”
CHAPTER 2
“You don't control the scene.”
“No.”
Adrian looked toward Kane’s body camera.
“But I can ask that the scene remain where witnesses and cameras exist.”
Kane’s face hardened again.
“Maybe we should take him outside.”
Torres said quietly, “Brad.”
He ignored her.
Adrian noticed that too.
Officer Kane had entered expecting a thief.
The object supposedly stolen had been found.
The employee had stated Adrian never handled it.
Instead of the detention shrinking, Kane was searching for a new reason to keep control.
Adrian had spent three decades building businesses. He had watched negotiations collapse because executives became more interested in defending their opening position than discovering whether it remained correct. He had seen bad acquisitions survive due diligence because nobody wanted to admit they had spent six months chasing the wrong target.
Same psychological mechanism.
Different stakes.
Here, the person refusing to reassess had a badge and a gun.
Adrian kept his voice calm.
“Officer Kane, what offense am I currently detained for?”
“Suspected theft.”
“Of what?”
“We're establishing that.”
“You came here because a diamond was missing.”
“Yes.”
“The diamond has been located.”
“That doesn't clear you.”
“What new evidence suggests another theft?”
Kane stepped closer.
“Your behavior.”
Adrian almost smiled.
“My behavior after being handcuffed for a theft that did not happen?”
“You've been argumentative since we arrived.”
“Questions are not evidence.”
Kane’s jaw tightened.
There it was again.
Torres looked uncomfortable now.
She asked Gregory, “Can we see the security footage?”
Gregory hesitated.
“Of course.”
“Now.”
Gregory glanced toward Adrian.
Something in that hesitation was small.
But Adrian saw it.
So did Emily.
Gregory led Torres toward the security console beside the private salon. Kane remained with Adrian.
“What are you really doing here?” Kane asked.
Adrian looked toward him.
“Buying a gift for my wife.”
“What kind of gift?”
“The sapphire necklace Emily was showing me.”
Kane glanced at the display.
“The blue one?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Adrian did not answer immediately.
Kane smirked.
“Exactly.”
Emily said from behind the counter, “Four hundred and eighty thousand.”
Kane looked toward her.
Then at Adrian.
“You’re buying a half-million-dollar necklace?”
“I was considering it.”
Kane’s expression changed into something Adrian had seen before.
Not disbelief based on evidence.
Disbelief looking for evidence.
“With what?”
Adrian stared.
“Money.”
A customer laughed involuntarily.
Kane shot him a look.
The man raised both hands.
Adrian continued, “The store required proof of funds before arranging the private appointment.”
Gregory turned from the security station.