Stolen in Death

Part of J. D. Robb's futuristic "In Death" series, the novel is set in New York City in September 2061. Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the New York Police and Security Department (NYPSD) Homicide division investigates a murder entangled with a secret vault of stolen art, a fortune in emeralds, and a dangerous figure from the past of her husband, Roarke, a billionaire and former thief.

Eve and Roarke attend a charity gala at one of his hotels when Dispatch sends her to Barrister House, a historic mansion on the Upper East Side. She finds Nathan Barrister, CEO of Zip Global shipping, dead on his home office floor, struck from behind with a large amethyst rock. Nathan had been fighting a cold and went to bed early; his wife, Aileen Carville, slept in a guest room. When Aileen woke and found him missing, she discovered his body downstairs and screamed. Nathan's sister, Joy Barrister, the company's chief financial officer, called 911.

Near the body, a door stands slightly open, revealing a hidden vault filled with paintings, jewelry, sculptures, and artifacts. Roarke identifies a Renoir stolen from the Smithsonian and a ruby necklace taken from a countess. One display is empty. A tablet inside inventories every item, including the missing piece: the Royal Suite, a set of emeralds and diamonds worth roughly a quarter of a billion dollars.

Eve's partner, Detective Delia Peabody, arrives with Detective Ian McNab from the Electronic Data Division (EDD). They determine the house security was jammed electronically and the intruder entered through the office window. Eve theorizes the thief targeted only the emeralds, was interrupted by Nathan, struck him, and fled.

On the drive home, Roarke reveals he recognizes two items in the vault. When he was approximately 18, he stole the Royal Suite from the Tate Gallery in London through a broker, a now-deceased intermediary who connected thieves with clients. He also stole an ivory Venus statue from a museum in Florence through the same broker. Eve is alarmed but accepts that the broker is dead and no living person besides Summerset, Roarke's majordomo and father figure, can connect him to the theft.

Eve interviews Aileen, Joy, and the household staff, learning the family discovered the vault only after the death of Nathan's father, Henry Barrister, founder of Zip Global. All contents were stolen goods Henry accumulated over decades; the family had been working with their estate lawyer to return everything. Eve contacts Inspector Abernathy of Interpol to coordinate on returning the property and arranges for the vault contents to be transferred under armed escort to the Metropolitan Museum. She gives reporter Nadine Furst, her friend and an award-winning journalist, an exclusive confirming the vault and the family's intentions.

Eve's central question is how the thief knew about the vault. Henry, who had progressive dementia in his final years, becomes the most likely source. Interviews with his four ex-wives yield a critical lead from the fourth, Lacey O'Ryan, who describes a young blonde woman who pursued Henry years earlier and whom Lacey spotted in New York the previous December, months before Henry died. The household staff recall the blonde as a demanding guest who stayed in a room adjoining Henry's suite, spending lavishly on his accounts. Eve arranges for Detective Yancy, a police artist, to create a composite sketch.

Meanwhile, Abernathy reveals a task force investigating the original thefts that partly suspects Roarke's involvement. Eve pushes back, and Abernathy concedes, giving her a name: Jenna Lynn Delaney, a 30-year-old security consultant from Savannah, Georgia, whose profile suggests a professional thief.

After visiting the estate lawyer, Eve is attacked on the street. A man drives a switchblade into her back, but the Thin Shield, a protective lining in her jacket, absorbs the blow. She chases the assailant, Timothy Kruger, who trips and falls into the path of a cab and is killed. A search of his apartment confirms he was a professional killer hired to eliminate Eve.

When Yancy's sketch arrives, Eve recognizes the face: Magdelana Percell, a woman who once had a romantic relationship with Roarke. Magdelana previously came to New York to rekindle things; Eve punched her, and Roarke banned her from his properties. Roarke once told Magdelana enough about emeralds he handled in London for her to connect him to the Royal Suite. Eve concludes Magdelana targeted those jewels for both a massive payday and revenge, knowing Interpol already suspected Roarke. Eve insists the resolution must be a legal arrest, not personal vengeance.

Eve traces Magdelana's movements under aliases to New York in December and then to Sorrento, Italy, where she recruited Delaney through broker James Mulligan. Roarke uncovers three payments to Delaney totaling 50 million dollars. Summerset traces the payment for Kruger's attempted hit through an inactive Zip Global account back to Joy Barrister.

Eve's theory crystallizes. The thief completed the job and exited cleanly, but Joy re-jammed the security system, lured her sick brother downstairs, and struck him from behind. Joy's motive is a lifetime of being second to Nathan: He inherited the house, received the larger share of the business, and their father always favored him. Killing Nathan gives Joy control of Zip Global. Magdelana coordinated the operation and connected Joy with the hit man sent after Eve.

Delaney, who chose not to flee, contacts Eve through an attorney and offers testimony in exchange for immunity. Meeting with Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (APA) Cher Reo, Delaney confirms the break-in went cleanly and reveals that surveillance devices she planted in Mulligan's villa captured Magdelana speaking with another woman about ensuring a certain man would not be a problem and that Joy was easy to manipulate.

EDD pinpoints the auction at an estate on Long Island for that very evening: a black-tie event with 22 invitees and a 300-million-dollar opening bid for the Royal Suite. Eve assembles a joint operation with SWAT, Interpol, and her full squad. A search of Joy's condo yields a cloned communications device with conversations between Joy and Magdelana, along with a safe holding approximately 100 million dollars in cash and gold bars from decades of embezzlement.

Eve's commanding officer, NYPSD Commander Whitney, and Police Chief Tibble arrest Joy at Barrister House while Eve leads the raid at the Long Island estate. The operation results in 112 arrests with no fatalities. Magdelana attempts to flee, threatens to expose Roarke's past, and charges at Eve, who punches her. Interpol takes possession of the Royal Suite for return to the Tate Gallery.

At Central, Eve breaks each suspect. Joy fires her attorney and confesses to killing Nathan, confirming she hired Kruger through Magdelana. Mulligan, unaware of the murders, accepts a plea deal and provides full testimony. Magdelana cycles through denial and threats but confesses to arranging the theft and, in a burst of rage, threatens to kill Eve.

Abernathy tells Eve that Roarke saved his life during the raid and that Roarke's Interpol file is permanently closed. Eve takes Roarke to Magdelana's holding cell for a final word. He tells Magdelana he never loved her, that she lives only because Eve showed him a better way, and warns her never to come at them again. They walk away together.