LITMIR.BIZ

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entertainment, however. He’d prepared himself for getting to know Esther Carlisle, but now he reminded himself he didn’t like emotional entanglements. So…on to the job.

      He needed to find that diamond.

      “If you could tell me why you’re here, Mr. Murphy…” she said from behind him, that exotic scent making him think of faraway places.

      He turned, brusque and to the point. “Cullen, please. I’m an archaeologist and I also enjoy collecting rare jewelry, specifically diamonds.” Thankfully, these days he collected exotic gems the old-fashioned way—legally.

      “You did mention diamonds,” she said, hurrying to the long jewelry counter, her every move as tightly coiled as the annoying, whining clocks lining the walls and shelves. “I’ll show you what I have and then, I’m closing. Deal?”

      “Deal,” he said, holding out his hand.

      She took it, stared at it as if it were a snake and then shook it, her tiny grip surprisingly strong. “You said you’d come a long way?”

      “Aye. All the way from Dublin, luv.”

      Her catlike eyes widened at that. “Dublin, Ireland. Well, we have a couple of exquisite pieces reputed to be from Persia, very old and amazingly huge, but I don’t think we have anything dating back thirty-five hundred years. Most pieces such as that belong in a museum. Exactly what kind of diamond are you looking for?”

      Cullen whirled and took off his hat, then dropped his satchel on the counter. “A chocolate one.”

      * * *

      Chocolate?

      He did mean business. But surely he couldn’t be searching for the one diamond Esther had put out of her mind long ago. Chocolate diamonds, a rich sparkling golden-brown in color, were very rare indeed. Rare and beautiful. Her father had been fascinated with a certain rare chocolate diamond.

      Esther pointed to her diamond collection on display in a glass-sealed, secure case. “I don’t know if I have any chocolates. They’re extremely hard to come by.”

      While her handsome guest studied the sparkling jewels inside the locked cabinet, she studied him. He was all alpha male, stalking the jewels like a big cat. He seemed to fill the huge vastness of her shop, making everything shrink.

      Especially her.

      Esther felt tiny and invisible with such raw power crashing into her staid, boring world. The sound of the ticking clocks seemed to vanish into the dusty recesses of the building, only to be replaced with the drum, drum, drumming of his fingers against the double-paned glass. Was she having an incredible dream or was this man really flesh and blood? And could his purpose for being here center on a crazy folktale?

      The very folktale that ultimately destroyed her father?

      Confused but calm, she blinked and tried to assert her authority. “Can you describe this particular diamond?”

      He stared into the lit showcase, the glow from the spotlights causing his dark face to look almost sardonic. Almost.

      “It’s close to fifty carats, loose, not set. Rectangular in shape. Possibly a ragged-type rectangle.” He stood to turn toward her. “Have you ever heard of the chocolate diamond that was supposedly a part of the treasure the pirate Lafitte hid somewhere on Barataria Bay?”

      Esther’s hand went to her mouth. “Oh, that diamond.” Her worst assumptions had been confirmed. She grew warm. Her pulse beat a rapid path against her temples.

      Her father had been obsessed with the stories of the ancient fifty-carat diamond. But he’d never been able to find it. Mainly because he’d never actually searched for it. He’d mostly enjoyed speculating about the myth and the legend of such a jewel, to the point of becoming completely obsessed. And quite ill before he’d died. How could she have forgotten all of his late-night stories and conspiracy theories?

      Maybe because she’d blocked a lot of unpleasant memories? She’d certainly tried to put that particular bedtime story away for good. And that was the main reason she’d stayed away from his office upstairs.

      “That’d be the one,” Cullen replied, intensity oozing out every pore. He studied her as if expecting her to jump up and down in delight. “I’ve done a lot of research and traced it back to Louisiana. Do you know of it?”

      Esther almost giggled, but it was nervous laughter not happiness. “Everyone around here knows of it. But that’s a legend, part of the folklore that swirls around Lafitte.”

      “I believe it exists,” Cullen said, his tone serious.

      “I can see that,” Esther retorted, tired of this foolishness and determined not to get sucked into the absurd story again. “It might exist, but I can assure you I don’t have it here.” If her father had ever gotten up the gumption to search for the elusive diamond and if he’d found it, she would have known.

      “I was told—”

      Her heart did a little spin of a warning. “Whoever sent you here was mistaken.”

      “Are you sure about that? I mean, this is a very important diamond, a true piece of history.”

      “I understand that, but I don’t have it. I’ve read about it, mostly from books and research my father gathered. He enjoyed musing about the diamond. It’s reputed to have possibly been one of the jewels on the garment of one of the high priest from the Twelve Tribes of Israel—the Levi tribe, I believe. In fact, my father called it the Levi-Lafitte Diamond.”

      His eyes widened in appreciation. “You do know your stuff. While that has never been substantiated, there was a diamond on the second row of each of the breastplates. This particular chocolate could have been light in color, but still it’s what we now call a chocolate diamond.”

      “Thanks,” she said with a tad more sarcasm than she’d intended. Of course, she knew her stuff. Her father had breathed these types of ridiculous tales and he’d often told them to her, always stressing that she shouldn’t repeat his theories. Her father, rest his sweet soul, had always been a speculative dreamer.

      And so was the treasure seeker standing beside her. He leaned close, his eyes going velvety dark. “It’s rumored that Lafitte discovered that very diamond in his travels. Maybe stole it from a king or some exotic Persian prince. That’s the last place it was supposedly seen, hence the circa 1500 B.C.”

      “And you think I have it because…?”

      Cullen turned to stare at her, his fingers still tapping on the glass counter. “Because I knew your father. He was a brilliant historian and also a collector. I corresponded with him a lot before he died. He enjoyed discussing the possibilities of the diamond’s existence.” He paused. “I was sorry to hear of his heart attack.”

      Touched, but shocked that this man had known her father and hadn’t told her that right away, Esther looked toward the back of the cavernous building. “Thank you. He got so sick, but he wouldn’t go to the doctor. He died here in the office, late one night.” Esther ignored the shiver moving down her spine.

      Cullen glanced toward the door down the aisle. “A few months ago, right?”

      “Yes. Back before Christmas of last year. A heart attack.” Why was he staring at her like that? And how did he know so much about her father?

      “And you’re sure it was a heart attack?”

      Growing more perturbed, she said, “Yes.”

      “Did the authorities verify that?”

      “Yes. He had a history of heart problems. What are you suggesting?” Esther didn’t want to discuss the details of her father’s sudden death with a stranger. Uneasy, she moved away. “I really need to close up now.”

      Cullen glanced toward the front. “Please listen to me. Your father and I corresponded in detail about this diamond. Right before he died, he hinted that

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