the details over and over again to make sure I did everything I was supposed to. Trust me, I’ve thought of little else since Tuesday morning. But I don’t know of anything I did that left the safe vulnerable.”
Michael nodded.
“Where were you on Monday night, Ms. James?” he asked smoothly.
Nia knew it was a reasonable question for them to ask, but it still made her heart pound.
“I was at home.”
“All night?” Michael probed.
“Pretty much. I worked until after seven o’clock, then got home before eight o’clock.”
“You didn’t stop anywhere after work? Meet anyone?”
Nia blinked.
“I stopped at the drugstore near the house,” she added.
“Did you meet anyone? Or is there anyone who can confirm you were at home all night?”
She let out a deep breath. There was no way around it.
“No, no one.”
Both men looked at her hard for several seconds. She tried not to fidget under their inspection.
“Let’s talk a little bit about the other employees here. We know that Edward had changed the safe combination on Friday evening before the jewels arrived, and only shared it with you. Did anyone else know the jewels were arriving?”
“Sure,” she quickly replied. “The account managers for the other jewels had brought in their clients’ pieces in the week prior. Edward only changed the combination because of the Crimson Amazon. Taking possession of a twenty-five-million-dollar necklace makes you a little extra cautious, right? But no one else knew it was arriving on Monday afternoon. It came by private delivery directly to me.”
Michael nodded, sitting back down beside her.
“Okay. Now tell me about the other Worthington employees, starting with your people.”
She took a deep breath and provided as much information as she could about the rest of the team. It wasn’t much, beyond the specific roles and responsibilities.
“Tara Silver is the most senior account manager. She was hired directly by Edward before the Boston location opened, so she was already here when I started. She’s a solid performer with an extensive client list. The earrings she brought in for the auction put her over target for her sales quota this year.”
“And where was Ms. Silver when the Crimson Amazon necklace was delivered?” Michael asked.
“We had a standard team meeting Monday morning from eight-thirty to ten o’clock, then she left the office soon after to visit clients, and was gone for the rest of the day,” Nia recalled. “So had Cain Abbott and John English. Mimi Rodrigues was on vacation. She’s not back until Monday.”
“That’s all of your sales team?” clarified Michael. “Tell me about each of them.”
“Well, Cain and Mimi joined about the same time. I hired them about nine months ago. They both have good sales experience. Cain is doing a little better, but Mimi has enough on her plate to have a good year, I think,” she summarized. “John only started three months ago, so he’s still getting his feet wet. He had four lower-value pieces of the jewelry from the auction collection.”
“And your other two employees, Nancy Copeland and Adam Peterson?”
“They’re our sales coordinators. They help with client contracts, event planning, and other admin things.”
“Were they also aware of items purchased for the auction?” Michael asked while his partner kept writing.
“Of course, they drew up the contracts,” she explained.
“Did they know when the red diamond was arriving?”
Nia was about to say no right away, but stopped. Michael noted her hesitation with raised eyebrows, and sat back in his chair. Nancy had been assigned to the Niknam account. Nia stared at the conference-room wall, thinking through all the conversations and e-mails that had been exchanged about the Crimson Amazon. Had she let something slip?
“No,” she finally stated. “I’m sure of it.”
Michael gave one nod, then stood up.
“You’ve told us about everyone’s job. What can you
Michael nodded.
“Where were you on Monday night, Ms. James?” he asked smoothly.
Nia knew it was a reasonable question for them to ask, but it still made her heart pound.
“I was at home.”
“All night?” Michael probed.
“Pretty much. I worked until after seven o’clock, then got home before eight o’clock.”
“You didn’t stop anywhere after work? Meet anyone?”
Nia blinked.
“I stopped at the drugstore near the house,” she added.
“Did you meet anyone? Or is there anyone who can confirm you were at home all night?”
She let out a deep breath. There was no way around it.
“No, no one.”
Both men looked at her hard for several seconds. She tried not to fidget under their inspection.
“Let’s talk a little bit about the other employees here. We know that Edward had changed the safe combination on Friday evening before the jewels arrived, and only shared it with you. Did anyone else know the jewels were arriving?”
“Sure,” she quickly replied. “The account managers for the other jewels had brought in their clients’ pieces in the week prior. Edward only changed the combination because of the Crimson Amazon. Taking possession of a twenty-five-million-dollar necklace makes you a little extra cautious, right? But no one else knew it was arriving on Monday afternoon. It came by private delivery directly to me.”
Michael nodded, sitting back down beside her.
“Okay. Now tell me about the other Worthington employees, starting with your people.”
She took a deep breath and provided as much information as she could about the rest of the team. It wasn’t much, beyond the specific roles and responsibilities.
“Tara Silver is the most senior account manager. She was hired directly by Edward before the Boston location opened, so she was already here when I started. She’s a solid performer with an extensive client list. The earrings she brought in for the auction put her over target for her sales quota this year.”
“And where was Ms. Silver when the Crimson Amazon necklace was delivered?” Michael asked.
“We had a standard team meeting Monday morning from eight-thirty to ten o’clock, then she left the office soon after to visit clients, and was gone for the rest of the day,” Nia recalled. “So had Cain Abbott and John English. Mimi Rodrigues was on vacation. She’s not back until Monday.”
“That’s all of your sales team?” clarified Michael. “Tell me about each of them.”
“Well, Cain and Mimi joined about the same time. I hired them about nine months ago. They both have good sales experience. Cain is doing a little better, but Mimi has enough on her plate to have a good year, I think,” she summarized. “John only started three months ago, so he’s still getting his feet wet. He had four lower-value pieces of the jewelry from the auction collection.”
“And your other two employees, Nancy Copeland and Adam Peterson?”
“They’re our sales coordinators. They help with client contracts, event planning, and other admin things.”
“Were they also aware of items purchased for the auction?” Michael asked while his partner kept writing.
“Of course, they drew up the contracts,” she explained.
“Did they know when the red diamond was arriving?”
Nia was about to say no right away, but stopped. Michael noted her hesitation with raised eyebrows, and sat back in his chair. Nancy had been assigned to the Niknam account. Nia stared at the conference-room wall, thinking through all the conversations and e-mails that had been exchanged about the Crimson Amazon. Had she let something slip?
“No,” she finally stated. “I’m sure of it.”
Michael gave one nod, then stood up.
“You’ve told us about everyone’s job. What can you
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