Thieves Like Us Read Online Free PDF

in 1465. It was passed down in the Konig family as the Pellinni Jewels, until they were donated to a museum in the eighteenth century.”
    “Probably when some smart Konig woman refused to wear them.”
    She wasn’t kidding, but he smiled anyway. “Maybe. They were stolen soon after that, in 1788, and never seen again. That is, until Banner gave you the Pellinni necklace and you sold it.”
    “Very impressive. So how do you know all that? Did you expect to come across famous missing German jewelry while looting someone’s safe in Bloomfield Hills?”
    His smile grew wider and more lopsided. Cuter, too, damn it. “No. You could call it professional interest. I like to know my trade.”
    “So you know what to steal.”
    “So I’d know what
not
to steal. I was extremely selective. And that”—he indicated the picture on the screen—“is something I would have avoided. But I’ll admit it would be nice to admire the workmanship up close.”
    The history of the necklace she’d temporarily owned was fascinating, but she was suddenly more interested in Rocky’s career as a jewel thief. She only knew what Ellie had told her, and she hadn’t been interested in hearing it back then.
    “Ellie told me you only stole from other thieves.”
    He wiggled an eyebrow. “You were talking about me?”
    Don’t blush!
“I wasn’t, Ellie was.”
    “Ah.” She was relieved he let it go. “Stealing from other thieves is simplifying it. But yes, every person I stole from had purchased the gems illegally. They bought stolen goods, and they knew it. You could say I reclaimed them.”
    “Nice euphemism. It’s still stealing.”
    “Yes, it is.”
    She thought about it for another moment. “But they can’t report it.”
    “That’s right. They can’t run to the police and say, this guy stole a hundred thousand dollars worth of diamonds from me, when coincidentally that was the value of the stones taken in a recent robbery. Even if they can’t pin the robbery on the guy, he can’t prove the stones are his, and he’s drawn unwanted attention to himself. So he has to write it off as a loss.”
    “Or try to get even.”
    He winked at her. “You know, I always liked that about you, Janet. You think like a criminal.”
    She gave him a sour look. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
    “Absolutely. That’s how you stayed alive when Banner sent you off with Colombian drug dealers who were supposed to kill you—you knew what they intended to do, and you found a way out of it. Successful criminals have to be resourceful and think a step ahead or they get caught.”
    “You got caught.”
    He actually looked embarrassed. “A technicality. I was set up by someone who held a grudge and I was stupid enough to fall for it. But smart enough not to get caught with the gems he was hoping I’d take.”
    He seemed to be waiting for more questions, but she didn’t want to ask them. If she knew his whole story she had a feeling he wouldn’t look like an ordinary thief at all. She might even admire him.
    “Thanks for telling me,” she mumbled. She folded the laptop closed, hoping he got the message—lesson over, time to go.
    He got up, receiving a surprised blink from Jingles, but made no move to leave. “You really have no idea where or how Banner got the necklace?”
    “No. But I’m pretty sure he didn’t steal it himself, if that’s what you mean. His style is to let other people do the actual dirty work while he pockets the money.”
    He nodded in a distracted way, as if it wasn’t pertinent. “Do you have any idea how long he had it?”
    “No. I had the impression he’d just bought it, but I don’t remember if he actually said that.” She didn’t like the concerned look on his face. “Why does it matter?”
    “Because whoever owned the necklace most likely owned the rest of the collection. And whoever stole it most likely stole those other pieces, too.”
    “But I don’t have them.”
    “No one knows that,