When I bit into the flaky treat, just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar with a hint of almond in the creamy frosting filled me with pleasure. I savored the sweet with every bite. “This is absolutely delicious.”
“Thank you.” Rosa furrowed her brow. “Abby, do you think you can really help my Maria?”
“Most definitely.” I glanced at Grace who sat at the table engrossed with her tablet, crayons and pencils. “What kind of surgery is Grace scheduled to have?”
“She had a number of ear infections as a baby, and they affected her hearing. The doctor says he can go in and repair the damage and restore it. She also needs a little work on the mastoid area too.” She tapped the side of her head just above her ear.
“That’s quite a lot for a little girl.”
“I couldn’t believe how wonderful her friends were at Spring Hills. That friend of Pete’s, Steve, came by a few weeks ago. He gave Maria a check and said it was what Pete wanted her to have. At first she said no, but then she realized what it would mean for Grace, and she took it.”
“Steve gave her a check in addition to the money from her friends?” Oh, boy, Ben would have a field day with this news. It shot the theory of stealing for the value of the items through with enough holes to get Maria out of jail, or at least I hoped so.
“Yes, when the hospital and doctor bills got so big, Maria started working overtime to help pay for them, but it still wasn’t enough. Steve saw that and became the answer to our prayers. Maria’s insurance is good, but won’t begin to cover the extra expense.”
My admiration for Steve went up a notch. With his financial problems, he still wanted to see Pete’s wishes for Maria carried out.
Grace jumped from her chair. “Would you like to see my room, Mrs. Billings?”
“I most certainly would.” I followed Rosa and Grace to the child’s room.
We entered a girl’s haven. A ring of gossamer lavender silk hung from a ring over the bed and spread to form a canopy. A white eyelet bedspread with lavender and purple pillows covered the white-painted bed frame. A shelf on one wall held stuffed animals and books. A desk, strewn with crayons, colored pencils and other art supplies, sat under the window. An easel stood nearby.
“I love your room, Grace. It’s a pretty place to sleep and draw.”
“Thank you.” She held up the pad for me to see. “I made a present for you.”
My mouth dropped open. A very good pencil sketch of me stared back from the page. “When did you do this? It’s wonderful, and I’ll treasure this always.”
“I did it while you and Nana talked.”
Before I could answer, someone pounded on the door. Rosa hurried to answer it with me following behind. Two uniformed men stood there along with a plainclothes detective holding a piece of paper.
“We have a warrant to search the premises.”
I glanced at Rosa and noted the uncertainty in her eyes. I turned and glared at the policemen. “I know how these things go. You come in and tear things apart looking for whatever is usually not there.”
The man shook his head. “Look, lady, we have a job to do.” Then he smiled. “But we’ll try to be careful.”
“Fine. I’ll be watching.” I followed the three around a few minutes. Satisfied they would be careful. I rejoined Rose and Grace.
Maria was innocent, so they wouldn’t find anything. This should all be over in a few minutes. I slipped my arm around Rosa’s shoulder. Grace clung to her grandmother’s side.
The policemen returned. Two of them gave a cursory search to the living and dining area and opened a few cabinets in the kitchen. The detective approached me and Rosa. He held a large brown bag in his hands.
“We found some items we’re taking back to the station. You’ll be hearing from us again.”
He strode through the door and out to his car. The two uniformed men quickly followed.
Rosa ran into the bedroom and screamed. I raced to find her.
She stood in Maria’s bedroom before an open dresser drawer. “They took the jewelry box.”
“What was in it?”
“Mostly costume stuff, but Maria’s wedding rings and some jewelry from her grandmother were there too.”
With the loss of her husband, those wedding rings would be important to Maria. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and hugged her. “Ben will get this all straightened out for you.”
Rosa blinked back tears. “Thank you, Abby.”
We returned to the kitchen where I had left my keys and purse. “They’ll realize the jewelry they took in doesn’t have anything to do with the missing jewelry, and you’ll get it back. I’ll check with Ben when I get back to Spring Hills.”
At that moment, my cell phone rang its merry tune. Ben’s number appeared on the screen, and I showed it to Rosa. “This is from Ben. He may have more information.”
“Hi, Ben, please tell me you have good news.”
“Not until they check out the stuff they just brought in. I’m staying here to make sure Maria’s okay.”
“Ask her about the money. Her mother says that Steve gave a large amount to her, and said it was what Pete had offered Maria earlier.”
“That’s what I need. I’ll check with Maria right away. Oh, and by the way, I’m going to call Bessie and cancel our plans for bridge this evening. I want to concentrate on getting Maria out of here.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Then I remembered Maria’s car. “Ben, Maria’s car is still at Spring Hills. We need to get it back home for her.”
“Okay, Harry and I will take care of it soon as we’re finished here. I hope to get done by dinnertime.”
We ended the call, and I let Rosa know Ben would bring Maria’s car later that evening. I hugged Grace again before leaving. I’d already fallen in love with her and would help Ben any way I could to free Maria, so she could come home.
Chapter 9
When I returned to Spring Hills, a buzz of conversation and many worried expressions greeted me. I spotted Bessie and caught up with her.
“Bessie, what in the world is going on?”
Her cheeks bloomed pink, and she patted her chest as though out of breath. “Oh, Abigail, we had two more thefts earlier today.”
“We had what?” I couldn’t believe what she said. “Was this out in the cottages?”
“No, two of the ladies who live in this building went back to their rooms after lunch to their rooms after lunch and found someone had been in each one. Both are missing things. I just don’t know what to think of all this. I’m worried whoever it is will be coming out to our houses next.”
Maybe this would clear Maria. If so, we still had a thief on the loose. “I hope not.”
I glanced down the hallway just as Noreen stepped from her office. “I’m going to talk with Noreen. I’ll see you later.”
Two more thefts and these happened in the middle of the day with Maria in custody. I had to let Ben know, but then he would know soon enough if the police had been called.
I found Noreen speaking with another staff member. When she saw me, she waved her hand.
“Abigail, I need to speak with you.” She inclined her toward her office.
I went in and waited for her.
She strode into the office and closed the door. “This has been some afternoon. The police have already come and gone, and I’m hoping it will free Maria.”
“Just what is missing?”
“Same as before. Just trinkets and costume stuff. The only thing the pieces have in common is that they’re old, shiny, or colorful. Dorothy Benson’s bright red beads and a turquoise bracelet are missing and a brooch with brilliant green stones disappeared from Winnie Parson’s room.”
I digested the new information. Why would anyone steal costume jewelry? If Steve was behind everything after all, he’d be looking for more expensive stuff like Ellie’s pearls and not petty stuff. “This is all so strange. Was Steve on duty today?”
“No, he’s off for
the weekend.” Noreen rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. She peered across at Abby. “I guess this really clears Maria doesn’t it. Did you see her family?”
“Yes, and Ben is with her now trying to get her released. This should help quite a bit.”
“My worry now is Mr. Wentworth who should be informed, but I dread doing it. I don’t understand how this could have happened again.”
“It is strange, and maybe Ben and I can come up with a plan to catch the thief.”
“I appreciate that, Abigail, although I imagine the police would prefer for you to stay out of it. I remember how angry that detective got when you all interfered with Pete’s murder.”
“We’ll be careful and as discreet as possible.” I stood to leave. “I’m going back to my cottage for now, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any new information.”
Things were beginning to look like we’d bitten off quite a chunk in taking on this mystery. Finding Ellie’s pearls had been one thing, but now it seemed something more far-reaching was going on.
About fifteen minutes before dinner, Ben knocked on my door. His grin told me he came bearing good news.
“I suppose you heard what was going on here this afternoon.”
“Yes, Detective Barnes came in to where I sat in the interrogation room with Maria. The stuff they took from Maria’s apartment had nothing to do with the things from here, and he found the bank statement with the deposits from Steve as well as the ones from her friends here. With no real evidence and more thefts, the charges against her fell apart and they let her go. I brought her back here for her car. She’s on her way home now.”
“That’s wonderful news, and since Steve was not on duty today, we’re back to square one.” That meant we had to go back over that list of employees again, but what if a resident was the one stealing from others?
Although the temperatures had grown warmer with spring, the early evening air still held a chill, so I grabbed a jacket before we walked over to the dining room.
Our table buzzed with the news of Maria’s release. Bessie tilted her head to the side. “Now what are you and Ben going to do? We still don’t know who’s taking all the stuff around here.”
Her question echoed the one floating around in my brain. “I’m not sure, but we’ll think of something. That Detective Barnes is sure to be looking at the other employees.”
Clara pursed her lips like she’d just tasted a lemon. Her words sounded the same, tart as well as unhappy. “I should hope so. It may be only the main building now, but who knows how long it might be before he or she comes out to the cottages? I don’t like this one bit.”
“I don’t think that will happen. The thief will be caught before that.” Ben leaned toward me. “Now, Abby, tell us how the plans for Ellie’s party are coming along.”
Bless Ben for changing the subject. “Quite well, and Taryn will be back to work next week and make all the final arrangements. I do hope you ladies are planning to help me decorate the tables.”
They all nodded in agreement, talk then centered on the party. I winked at Ben and mouthed a thank you to him.
After dinner, we walked back outside to a perfect cloudless sky at the end of a gorgeous sunset painting the sky with hues of orange, gold and purple. “Doesn’t this cool air just give you so much energy? I feel like I could walk several miles.”
Ben groaned. “I have energy, but not that much. A stroll is all I need.”
I laughed at him, but made sure I didn’t walk faster than he could keep up. I decided we may as well get down to business. “Did you notice something unusual about our two lists of possibilities?”
“Yes, none of the employees today were on duty when the night thefts took place. That means we may have two people involved which could put Steve back in the mix, or it could point to a resident.”
I hated for it to be either one, but the things didn’t walk off by themselves. “I guess it’s possible for one of the residents, but which one?”
Ben shook his head. “That’s the sixty-four-dollar question, my friend.” He pointed to the path around the golf course. “What say we take a walk and discuss what we’ve learned?”
“Sounds fine to me because I missed playing golf this afternoon and need to stretch my legs.” A few stars began to twinkle and offered a great backdrop for nice stroll down to the golf course.
We both lapsed into silence and strolled down to the golf course and turned to head back across the lawn to my cottage, each with our own thoughts.
I exhaled after a deep breath. “It looks like I’ll have to find that list I had of the residents on Ellie’s wing and maybe ask for one from the second floor as well. Someone could have slipped down from the second floor just as easily as not. Or whoever it was could have used the elevator.”
“True, but you know that will double the number of suspects.”
“I was thinking that. I know of two elevators they could have used to come down, and then used the stairs to go back up, or even the elevator again. I wonder how much freedom they all have. I know the ones on the first floor on that side all use walkers or canes with a few in wheelchairs like Ellie.”
We continued to amble along across the grassy space when I heard a faint click, click in the background. Something wet hit me in the face.
“Ben, the sprinklers are on.” I had forgotten the sprinklers always came on this time of evening.
We scurried out of the way, but not before my hair and clothes were soaked. When we finally reached my porch, water dripped from my hair. Ben’s own shirt stuck to his chest and his hair matted against his head.
I held out a strand of limp, wet hair. “Look at us, two old birds with soaked feathers.” Then I started laughing. “We’re a pretty pair, aren’t we?” A chill skittered down my spine. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going inside to get out of these wet clothes. I suggest you do the same.” Heat filled my cheeks. “Go to your place I mean.”
He glanced down at his wet slacks and grinned. “Oh, and I thought you were inviting me . . . never mind. But we still need to talk more about our new list of suspects.”
“That will have to wait, but we’ll get to it tomorrow. I unlocked my door. “See you at breakfast.”
I changed clothes then let Mitzi out back and away from the sprinklers for a few minutes. Things had certainly taken a twist in our sleuthing, but we’d get to the truth. As I waited for Mitzi, I stared over at the main building. A thought kept floating through my brain, but I couldn’t quite get it to come together and make sense. Maybe I was simply too tired to think straight. A good night’s sleep would help organize my ideas.
Chapter 10
Two weeks passed with no more thefts, and the police seemed to have backed off as well. Ben and I had not come up with any ideas either. Everything fell into place for Ellie’s party today, and I initiated my plan to see if the thief might come out of hiding during the event when the residents would be well occupied.
Only Ben, Ellie, Taryn, and Noreen knew of our plan. I bought some bright, gaudy, costume jewelry, and Taryn spread a rumor about the pretty new jewelry Ellie got to replace her lost necklace and earrings. The plan was for Elli to leave it where it could be easily seen in her room.
Ben planned to station himself in the linen closet and keep an eye on Ellie’s room. If the thief then came by, we’d catch him in the act.
I prayed it would work as we helped with the decorations after lunch. I hung the last of the posters of appreciation for the staff. My friends did an excellent job with the tables and baskets of spring flowers.
With Maria off for a few days after her daughter’s successful surgery, Agnes took on the task of escorting Ellie to the party scheduled to begin in five minutes. Even now a few gathered in the activity room and admired the decorations. After the hubbub of past few weeks, the residents had something to take their minds off the thefts.
Ben, Harry, and I had read over the lists of staff members numerous times and still
had come up empty. We questioned all the staff on duty the afternoon of the latest losses, but no one could offer any new information. Even a check of their backgrounds had revealed nothing. That left only the residents to consider, and questioning them would take time, and I didn’t like to think it could be any of them.
Noreen stopped by my side. “I talked with Mr. Wentworth today. He said he was going to ask the police to step up their investigation, but I asked him to let us handle it on our own. He agreed, but he gave us only one week. We’re still at capacity, but the waiting list dropped off considerably after Pete’s murder and now this makes it even worse.”
“You know Ben, Harry, and I will do all we can to help.”
“Yes, I do, and I hope this little scheme of yours works today.” She glanced around the room. “It all looks great, Abigail. I’m sure everyone will have a grand time. It’s been a wonderful distraction this week. Thank you for helping Ellie with her party.”
“I’m glad Taryn was back to help get it all together this week. It’s been fun. I’m also so glad everything worked out well with Maria. Sorry she can’t be here today, but Grace is more important than a party.”
“You’re right, and I’m so thankful the surgery went well.” Noreen left to return to her office, and I waited for the guest of honor to arrive. I greeted several guests as they came into the activities room.”
When Agnes wheeled Ellie into the room, several residents, as well as staff members hurried over to speak to her. The elderly lady played hostess with a flair I hadn’t seen in many years. her face glowed from the attention.
Harry waved as he came into the room. He headed straight for me. “Ben’s all settled in the linen closet.” He turned to stare at Ellie. “She’s quite the grand dame isn’t she?”
“I would say so. I can imagine how she must have been in her prime years. She’s still an attractive woman at eighty-five. I’m just sorry we haven’t found her pearls.”
The Case of the Missing Pearls Page 5
