Life and Its Lemons
Dan and Amber entered the trauma center in a whirlwind. There were law enforcement officers, reporters, paparazzi, and medical professionals—all seeming to speak at once to them both.
"Mrs. Lance-Trace! Is it true that Blue Serene Lake Resort is not safe and this is not the first incidence of violence on the vast property?"
"Mrs. Lance-Trace, is it not true that the Lance family has been engaged in international espionage and diplomatic work for generations?"
"Mr. Trace, it is rumored that you had an illicit affair with Jessica Lance. Do you feel that affair led to the current tragedy?"
They rushed inside and were then questioned by local police. A tall, expressionless detective stood before them. "I understand that you have your own security team, but this is a serious crime. If Mr. Calvin Tucker does not pull through the surgery, this is a murder case."
Amber frowned. Was it that serious or was the detective just covering all possibilities?
"We need complete access to the entire resort and all security feeds."
Amber stood up straighter. She was worried about her friend but she would not allow her dreams to be snuffed out. She was no longer the passive, turn-the-other-cheek Amber. "We are not stopping you from accessing the crime scene, and all footage has already been handed over to you. Calvin Tucker is my friend as well as my business partner, and I want him to be alive and well at the end of this. I also want this person caught. I will not allow you to sacrifice my business for those goals, detective. We will be the first to do all we can to assist. We will not allow you to disturb areas that are seen as irrelevant to the case."
The detective looked at her for a long moment, then he looked to the reporters behind them. Amber tensed, readying for anything.
"I think your business is already hurt, Mrs. Trace, and if he was truly your friend you wouldn't stonewall me."
"He is my friend, sir, and there is no stonewalling. Your men were given access to the B&B. I understand two guests refused to speak with you—one at the B&B and one at the Trace-Progressive Villas. We cannot force our guests to comply and we will protect our guests from police harassment. As far as the villas go, they are in a completely different area of the resort." She exhaled deeply. "Look, detective. I want my friend to be okay and I want this person found. Get warrants, subpoenas, whatever you need, but treat my guests and my business with respect."
Again they stared at each other, until the detective's phone rang and he moved off to take the call.
Amber huffed and looked to Dan. "I was horrible. I sound like I care more about Blue Serene than human life." She looked to the reporters with a forced smile as she pretended to continue speaking to him casually. "We need to figure this out quickly. I saw you speaking to Albert. What is going on there?"
"It seems they traced the audiovisual bug to Iceland. Albert's man thinks we were allowed to complete this trace and Miller looked into old cases there on some sort of hunch and found an unsolved murder that may have started out as a stalking. The woman was a scientist and she had a toe removed."
Amber listened attentively as they walked to the surgical wing of the trauma center. "A toe? I will get Miller to send me the files. This is more than someone watching Blue Serene guests."
She pulled out her phone and pulled Dan into an empty private waiting room. "I better call Miller now. Hello, Mr. Miller, this is Amber Ann Lance-Trace. Good afternoon to you too. I want all the files you have on this Iceland case you uncovered and I want all Blue Serene properties swept for these bugs or infiltrations." She paused and looked at Dan. "Just to be sure, do Trace-Progressive properties as well. How long do you think it will take? Okay. Give me a full report as soon as possible and be considerate of our guests and clientele, Mr. Miller."
She turned to Dan and he frowned. "All of our properties? Why?"
"Because a mouse has snuck into our home, Dan. We cannot just search where it entered; we have to look for its nest, and where it is going and what it is doing inside our home. If we do not launch a multi-level hunt, we may never catch this person."
As Amber and Dan went back into the hall and headed toward the surgical wing, Sebastian sat in a dark lab he had rented in his dead mother's name. She had designed and created jewelry for royal families all over the world, and—although she allowed Sebastian his love of all things electronic—she insisted he understood jewelry, fashion, and art.
He had rented the labs just because he knew his Amber would eventually need them, but when the police came to question him and search Villa 4, he felt it would be best to work from here for now.
"When the world hands you lemons, make lemonade." He spoke to the large emerald as he placed it into its new bezel setting. He styled the brooch to cup the emerald like it was a hidden secret. The rose and yellow gold leaves would be placed over it like they were holding it secure, but also keeping it from prying eyes. He had polished the exquisite gem and now it shone from within the delicate leaves like a cut emerald diamond.
He added an inscription to the back: "Microscopium vitae est animae imago." He smiled as he built the closure with a secure clasp. He looked at his work and felt rigid pride form like a hard rock in his chest.
She would love it; she had to love it.
He placed the brooch down as he prepared a satin-lined box and package labels. The satin was emerald green and the box ebony wood.
The recipient label read:
To: Mrs. Amber Ann Lance c/o Trace-Progressive.
PO Box 98023-5578
Carson City
He smiled at the perfection of his calligraphy. He would mail it off as soon as he put some final touches to the piece.
"I know you will know it's from me, my love, but I have to still prove to you how much I love you. You have to see love in my every action."