He looked again at the file James had given him and noted that Jacqueline’s social media handles were listed. Khizar found her accounts and read through the posts. Her pictures were a combination of her business, a few that looked like a small group of friends, and several from charity events.
Khizar traced the events and organizations mentioned in the photos’ captions and confirmed that Jacqueline was active in a few local charities. She supported a local organization that placed foster kids in homes, as well as some other charities that worked to end homelessness in the city.
There were pictures from a banquet held the year before at which Jacqueline had been honored with a Volunteer of the Year award. She smiled brightly at the camera, one arm looped around the waist of an older woman, each of them with a hand holding the plaque engraved with Jacqueline’s name.
He also found a few pictures of her with the family that had adopted her, all of them at a picnic for the city’s adoption agency. Jacqueline was surrounded by kids in several of the pictures, and it was clear that she was happy and having fun.
The Sheikh studied one of the photos more closely. Eyes the color of a rich sapphire stared back at him, framed by impossibly long, dark lashes. Long, auburn hair with just a bit of wave to it fell over one shoulder, and full lips curved up in a smile as she laughed at whoever was taking the picture.
There was nothing of Bill Bauer in her face, but Khizar was certain that her laugh was all her great-uncle.
Khizar decided he liked her. Yes, she was beautiful, but she also appeared kind and happy, even though life had dealt her a bad hand. Jacqueline looked like the type of person that would go out of her way to help anyone in need, and he could admire that about her.
It didn’t hurt that a willingness to be helpful would aid him on his quest to find and acquire the Bauer Diamond. Especially if he shared her interests.
Khizar looked back through the list of organizations and picked three. From her pictures and social media posts, they seemed to be Jacqueline’s favorites. Through ‘common interests’, he could win his way into her good graces and get to know her better. Once he had her trust, he could ask her more about her family, and then find out if she knew anything about the diamond.
Khizar put the papers carefully back in the file and pushed it across the table, strategizing. It would take some time and careful maneuvering. He would have to convince Jacqueline that he was interested in her life, but given that she was an attractive woman, he wouldn’t find that task burdensome.
He appreciated that she was a businesswoman, even if she obviously needed some help there, and that she engaged in charitable giving. Khizar could work with those qualities, and show her that he was the kind of man she could open up to.
The Sheikh nodded to himself. He would get the diamond, whatever it took, but he could be generous and help Bill Bauer’s great-niece in the process. If the old man was looking down on him from somewhere, surely he would be pleased enough to send a little luck Khizar’s way.
His plan was a little unorthodox, but in the end, it would be worth it.
Chapter 2
Jacqui
The muffin-shaped clock that hung on the wall to the left of the register ticked a little too loudly. Or, maybe, Jacqui thought, it was just that there was no other noise to cover the sound.
The long case that ran the length of the front counter was full of pastries and other baked goods. The smaller case on the side wall held several cakes of various sizes, and the tall racks behind the front counter still had bags of cookies and brownies sitting on the shelves.
Jacqui had been on her feet since four that morning, baking fresh pastries for the morning rush, such as it was. She’d opened her doors at six and had been greeted by a few loyal customers who worked in the office buildings surrounding the bakery.
Other customers had stopped in throughout the morning, and Jacqui knew all of them. There was Linda, a single mom with darling five-year-old twin girls, and Ari, a college student who liked the sweet rolls that reminded him of the ones his mother made. Tim, a cop who lived in the new condo building next door, always stopped in on his way home when he worked the graveyard shift.
Lyssa, a college student who helped Jacqui out around the bakery and was pretty much the only extra help Jacqui could afford, leaned beside her on the counter.
“Can I do anything else, boss?”
Jacqui sighed. “No, but thanks, Lyssa.”
“I bet next week will be better,” Lyssa said encouragingly.
Jacqui sighed again, this time silently to herself. Lyssa had been saying the same thing almost every week since she’d started working there. At first, it had been endearing. Now, Jacqui thought, it was borderline sad. Because it wasn’t getting any better and there was a good chance she wasn’t going to be able to pay Lyssa any longer, which meant she would be out of a job and Jacqui wouldn’t have any help around the shop.