by Patricia Fry
“Look at her necklace,” Savannah said quietly.
“Uh-huh. It’s pretty. It’s a sort of star-burst with lots of rhinestones and a few garnets, maybe, right?”
“Or diamonds and rubies,” Savannah said, grinning.
“Diamonds and rubies?” Holly repeated. “You think they’re real?”
“Oh, they’re real, all right,” Savannah said.
“How can you tell from a photograph?”
“Holly, you’ve seen that piece of jewelry before.”
“I have?” She stared at it more closely, then said hesitantly, “It’s like that earring we found in the Verano house with the…um…body.” She faced Savannah. “Wow, do you think Sharon’s cousin knows the detective…what was his name, Milner? Hey, maybe she cozied up to him because he convinced her he was going to be rich once he got his hands on the jewelry from the ancient Red-Handed Robbery. And he took this from the evidence box or maybe he never turned it in. He gave it to Harriet instead. Oh my gosh, Savannah.”
“Or,” Savannah said using a mysterious tone, “that’s the mate to the earring we found.”
Startled, Holly stared at Savannah. “Wow! This is really getting bizarre.”
“I know, right?” Savannah said with inflection. She faced Holly briefly. “I think it’s time I call our detective friend and tell him about this.”
****
“I’m so glad you could come over tonight,” Savannah said as she led Craig and Iris into the living room later that evening.
“The apple cobbler invitation was hard to resist,” Craig said. “And I’d like to know more about the clue you found.”
When Holly joined them with Teddy in her arms, Savannah said, “Craig and Iris Sledge, this is my sister-in-law, Holly.”
“Nice to meet you,” Iris said, embracing Holly and the baby.
“You too,” Holly said. “Savannah speaks highly of you both.”
Iris smiled. “Isn’t she nice?”
Craig caressed Teddy’s head, then smiled at Holly. “We had the pleasure of meeting your husband here in town a year or so ago, but missed out on meeting you and your kids.”
Holly nodded. “That’s right. And you two went on to New York when Savannah and
Michael met up with us in Connecticut, didn’t you? Was it your first time in the Big Apple?”
Craig and Iris nodded.
“How did you like it?” Holly asked.
“Well…” Craig started, a frown forming on his face.
At the same time, Iris said excitedly, “I loved it.”
Holly and Savannah laughed.
“There he is,” Craig said, greeting Michael when he entered the room.”
“What are the little girls doing?” Savannah asked.
“I made them a tepee in Lily’s bedroom,” Michael said. “They’re having a powwow.”
“Coffee’s brewed,” Gladys said from the dining room. “Anyone ready for a cup?”
“Sounds good,” Iris said.
“Sure,” Craig agreed.
“I’ll get the cobbler,” Savannah said.
“Need help?” Holly called.
“No, thanks. Just entertain Teddy for a few more minutes, will you?”
“I’ll help,” Iris said, following after Savannah.
Once they were all seated around the living room with their dessert and beverage, Craig asked, “So what did you bring me here to show me?”
Michael laughed. “He still doesn’t believe that we just enjoy his company.”
Craig grinned and winked at him.
Savannah placed her plate on the coffee table and took a sip of tea. “Well, we think my new friend Sharon may be an imposter.”
Craig leaned back in his chair and balanced his plate on his lap. “An imposter? You mean she’s only pretending to be your friend? What’s so odd about that? People do that all the time for a variety of reasons.”
“But Craig, we think she followed us here from Colorado.” Savannah looked at Holly. “She used to clean houses in Holly’s and Keith’s neighborhood.” She said more pointedly, “She was Vickie Verano’s housekeeper.”
Craig picked up his plate and leaned forward with it in his hands. “Wait.” He looked at Holly. “She came here from Colorado—from your neighborhood?”
“Yes,” Holly said. “And she left Colorado rather abruptly right after Savannah and Michael came home.”
“Then she shows up on our doorstep and begins soliciting my friendship in a rather orchestrated way,” Savannah explained. “And she’s wearing the scent we smelled in places where she maybe shouldn’t have been.”
Craig looked thoughtfully at Savannah and Holly. “Like where?” he asked.
“In the Verano house, right before it exploded,” Savannah said.
“What sort of scent?” Iris asked.
Savannah looked at her. “A very nice cologne or perfume.”
“Like the one I smelled in Michael’s tool shed that night?” Gladys asked.
Savannah stiffened and stared at her mother. “Gosh, maybe so.” She shivered and gritted her teeth. “I hate thinking she was here spying on us. But why?” she insisted.
Craig laughed. “I don’t know of anyone who was ever convicted of a crime because of her scent.”
“But wait, Craig,” Savannah said. She picked up the two pieces of the photo Sharon had given her and handed them to Craig. “This is evidently Sharon’s cousin, and I want you to look at the necklace she’s wearing.” She handed him a magnifier.
He stared briefly at the photograph. “Yeah?” he said, looking up at her.
“I believe that’s actually an earring that she had made into a pendant,” Savannah explained.
“Or,” Holly said, “it could be a matching necklace.”
“Matching what?” Craig asked impatiently.
“Craig, as you may recall my telling you,” Savannah said, “just before the house went ka-boom, Holly and I discovered the place where we think the jewelry from that robbery had been hidden. We found that body in there and,” she paused for effect, “an earring just like that pendant she’s wearing in the photo. Hey, I’ll bet your policeman friends in Colorado can send you a picture of the earring we found.”
“Wait,” Holly said. She picked up her phone. “I took a picture of it before we turned it in. Here it is,” she said, showing it to Craig.
Iris moved closer. “Let me see.” She studied the picture in Craig’s hands, then Holly’s phone screen. “Yup, it’s the same. That’s quite ornate, isn’t it?” She frowned. “Not something I’d wear. Too flashy for my taste.” When Iris saw Gladys and Savannah exchange looks, she insisted, “What?”
“Too flashy for you?” Savannah repeated. She pointed at Iris. “You’ll wear leggings with big red roses and paint flowers on your nail polish, but that necklace is too flashy?”
“Savannah,” Iris snarked, “you know I prefer simplicity when it comes to jewelry.”
Craig grinned at his wife, then looked down at the photograph again and muttered, “This is mighty suspicious.”
“Yeah, it is,” Savannah agreed. “Whether that’s the mate to the earring we found or the necklace that was made to go with the earrings, it’s still suspicious.”
Craig stared at her for a moment, then held the two pieces of the photograph together and studied the image again. “So who is this gal?”
“Sharon’s cousin,” Savannah said.
“And who is Sharon, really?” Craig asked. “Other than the woman who cleaned the Veranos’ house. Does anyone know? What’s her last name?”
“Summers,” Savannah said.
At the same time, Holly said, “Sloan.”
“Uh-huh,” Craig said, reflecting on what they’d told him.
Michael chuckled. “Guess you gals had better compare notes. Are you sure you’re talking about the same person?”
Holly and Savannah nodded and Holly confirmed, “It’s the same person.”
&
nbsp; “So what do you suppose her real name is?” Craig asked.
The two women looked at each other and Savannah said, “I think we need to find that out.”
****
“Good, you’re up,” Savannah said when she saw Holly walk into the kitchen with Bethany the following morning.
Holly yawned. “Yes. Bethany wanted to see Rags and Buffy. She’s infatuated with your cats.”
“Rags slept on my bed,” the child chirped.
Savannah picked her up and cuddled with her. “He did? That must mean he likes you a lot. He only sleeps with people he likes.”
Bethany smiled widely. She pointed. “There he is. Can I play with him?”
“Sure, honey,” Savannah said, easing the child to the floor.
“Got coffee?” Holly asked, walking to the counter.
“Uh…yeah, looks like it has finished brewing. Help yourself.”
“Good morning ladies,” Michael said, walking into the room with Teddy. “We’re all showered and ready for the day.”
“You took him in the shower with you?” Savannah asked.
“Yeah, well, after you left, he did a big poop. So I figured that would be the easiest way to handle it.” Michael smiled. “He loved it, didn’t you, buddy?” The baby laughed when Michael held him up over his head.
“Oh, everyone’s up,” Gladys said when she walked into the room. “I was going to make apple pancakes this morning.”
“Sounds good,” Holly said. “I’ll help.”
“Can we have them with apple butter?” Michael asked.
“Apple butter,” Lily repeated cheering.
Savannah laughed. “She does love apple butter.”
“Mommy’s apple butter?” Lily said.
Savannah lifted the child. “Mommy didn’t make the apple butter this year. Auntie made it and Helena. It’s Auntie’s and Helena’s apple butter,” she said bouncing with her.
****
“Deee-licious,” Michael said pushing away from the table forty-five minutes later. “Thank you, Gladys and Holly.” He nodded toward his wife, “And Savannah.”
“You’re welcome,” Gladys said. “Glad you liked them.”
Holly smiled. “It’s so cool that you have fruit and veggies right outside your door that you can pick and serve. Makes me want to move to a farm. But in Colorado, you can’t grow fresh produce all year round like you can here.”
“Well, most of the year. Some things are sparse in winter. But, as you saw in the pantry, we do quite a bit of canning and preserving. It’s a lot of work,” Savannah said.
Michael left the room. When he returned, he kissed Savannah, snuggled with Lily and Teddy, and told the others good bye. “Gotta go to work,” he said. “What do you gals have planned today?”
Savannah grinned impishly, “Well, I haven’t told Holly yet, but…”
“Uh-oh,” Holly said. “What am I in for?”
Michael shook his head. “I’d run the other way if I were you, Holly.” He walked toward the door. “Hey, see you all later.”
“Potty,” Lily said rather frantically.
“Here, Lilianna,” Gladys said, “I’ll take you. Come with Grammy.”
“So what are we doing?” Holly asked suspiciously.
“Well, we want to know who Sharon is, don’t we? I thought we should take her out to lunch or for coffee, maybe. When it comes time to pay, we can sneak a look at the ID in her wallet. Or we could look in her purse when she goes to the restroom.”
Holly stared across the table at her sister-in-law. “And you’re sure she’ll let us see it?”
“We’ll have to play that by ear. I mean, if she pulls her wallet out to pay, one of us can try to get a look at her driver’s license. Don’t you think that would work?” She winced. “I’ve already tried to check her byline.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, she’s a writer—or professes to be. So far, I haven’t found anything she’s written, at least under either Sharon Summers or Sharon Sloan.”
“Does it matter?”
“Well, sure it does. We want to find out who she really is and who her cousin is, where she got that earring, and how they fit into the Verano jewelry deal. Maybe she worked for the police department with that crooked detective. Craig can find out more about her in that case, if only we knew her real name. Maybe she’s a criminal who sniffed out this old case…”
“It’ll sure be interesting to find out. So we’re meeting her today?”
“I hope so. I’ll call her right now. What time is it? Oh, after eight. Yeah, it’s a reasonable time to call, isn’t it?”
“Should be, I guess.”
“Hello, Sharon? Hi, this is Savannah.”
“Hi, Savannah.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, no. It was time for me to get up, anyway.”
“Well, Holly and I are going out for coffee this morning and we wondered if you’d like to join us.” When Sharon hesitated, she added, “I thought we could finish our interview and Holly has an interesting cat story that you might want to write about, as well.” When Savannah noticed Holly looking totally confused, she stifled a chuckle.
“Sure, I guess. That sounds good. Want to meet at the Coffee Connection on Main?”
“Yes,” Savannah said. “That’s my favorite place too, and it’s nice enough today to sit outside.”
“It is?” Sharon asked. “That sounds nice. What time?”
“Shall we meet at ten?”
“Yes. Okay, see you then.”
****
A few minutes before ten, Savannah and Holly stepped into the coffee shop. Savannah looked around and said, “Oh, she got us a table on the patio.” She waved, then said quietly to Holly, “Darn it, she already has her beverage.” She grimaced. “Well, we’ll have to get creative.”
Holly glanced at Sharon, then back at Savannah. They stepped up to the counter. Once they’d placed their order, Holly nudged Savannah with her elbow. “Go on out there, I’ll wait for our drinks.”
“Good morning,” Savannah said as she approached Sharon. She sat down. “What are you having?”
“Chai,” she said. “I’ve never had it, but I like tea, so I thought I’d try it.”
“So what do you think?” Savannah asked.
“It’s good. Very different than a cup of black or herbal tea, but good.”
“Hi,” Holly said, joining the others.
“Good morning,” Sharon greeted. She pulled a sheet of paper out of her large purse and laid it in front of her.
That gave Savannah an idea. “Hey, Sharon, I’d love to see some of your articles. Do you have any copies with you or can I see some of your work online?”
Caught off guard, Sharon said, “Yeah…probably. Let’s see,” she said, opening a vinyl case and turning on her tablet. She clicked a couple of times and brought up something to show Savannah. “Here’s one I just sold to a website, but it hasn’t appeared yet. This is the manuscript.” She turned the tablet toward Savannah.
“Oh, a piece on traveling with pets. Nice topic,” Savannah said, scrolling down. When she got to the bottom of the piece, she stopped. Sharon Summers, huh?
Sharon said, “Oh, here’s one published last year. This one’s on a totally different topic—global warming. I plan to do a follow-up focusing on what it’s doing to our wild animal population—you know, their habitat and ability to survive and all here in the US.”
Savannah took the tablet and read to herself, Global Warming: Is it Fact or Fiction? By Sharon L. Slattery. Interesting, she thought.
After Savannah answered the few questions Sharon posed in an effort to finish the interview they’d started several days earlier, she chuckled and prompted her sister-in-law, “Holly, tell the story about your neighborhood cat hoarder who took a little girl’s cat and how Keith made sure she got it back.”
“Oh yes,” Holly said, lau
ghing. She told the story and Sharon made some notes. When there was a lull in the conversation, Savannah asked, “So, Sharon, do you have family?”
Again, Sharon seemed to be caught off guard, so Savannah explained herself, “I mean, you came from Utah, via Colorado. Where did you grow up, Utah? Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“Yeah, I grew up in Utah. Just lived in Colorado for a short time. I don’t have any siblings. I started writing right out of college. In fact, my thesis is what piqued my interest in writing. I loved the research and writing and decided that’s what I wanted to do. But I couldn’t find a way to make it pay, so I entered the corporate world, hoping to make my fortune.”
There it is again, Savannah thought. She seems obsessed with making a fortune. She asked, “What was your thesis on?”
“Cold cases,” Sharon said, her eyes flashing with excitement. “I partnered with police officers and retired detectives and wrote about the inner workings of cases, why some go cold, how the authorities feel about that—you know, the psychology of those working on cold cases, the obsession, and so forth.”
Savannah raised her eyebrows. “Sounds fascinating. I’d love to read that.”
“Oh…” Sharon said, “there was a fire. And there were no computers when I wrote it, so no copies of it anywhere.” She looked at her watch. “Hey, I have an interview appointment with…” She stared into her phone. “Oh yes, Dora Lipton.” She looked across the table at Savannah. “She does cat rescue and boarding. She wanted to make sure I told her story along with stories of some of the others in the group.” Sharon smiled. “She’s a sweet lady.”
Savannah agreed.
Sharon picked up her purse and slipped her tablet inside. “I’d better skedaddle.”
Before she could stand, Savannah said, “I’m curious—I mean, about your cousin. She looks familiar to me. I wonder if I’ve met her before,” she lied. “Has she ever been in this area?”
Sharon shook her head. “I don’t think so. She lives mostly abroad, as I understand it.”
“She looks like a nice person,” Holly said. “Why is it you two don’t get along?”
“It’s a long story, but the short version is because she’s a conniving witch. I found that out when our grandfather died. She’s a few months older than me, so she was in charge of the estate. But she never gave me anything except a few trinkets I didn’t even care about.”
