Hidden Deception: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “What’s going on?” Dimples asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I think that ring might be stolen.”

  With the salesman gone, I glanced around the shop once more, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar. Then it hit me, and my breath caught. Crap! This was the exact same jewelry store that Hodges had owned. Before his untimely death, he’d been one of Uncle Joey’s minions, and Uncle Joey had a vested interest in this shop. He probably still did.

  So what was I supposed to do now? If they were stealing, they needed to be stopped, but would that put me in a tight spot with Uncle Joey?

  The salesman came back out with his brows drawn together in distress. “I’m so sorry, but I made a mistake. The ring was more valuable than I thought. My father… well, let’s just say that he wouldn’t allow me to make the trade after all. This whole thing is my fault. I can give you back your deposit, if you wish, or I can try to work out a deal with another ring we have in stock. I have another one that my father said I could offer you for the same price. Please take a look before you decide.”

  He placed a similar ring with a smaller diamond on the display case and let out his breath, thinking that had been close. Now it was just a matter of timing. He could tell that the cop wasn’t pleased with him, and he hoped his father could pull it off.

  “Wait!” The cry came from his father in the back room. He hurried toward us carrying a special bag with a lock and key. “I think I found it.”

  He inserted the key, and the lock popped open, allowing him to unzip the pouch. He pulled out an object wrapped in a black cloth. With shaking fingers, he uncovered the ring and set it on the display. “Is this it?”

  “Yes,” Dimples answered. “That’s the one.”

  The father heaved a sigh and wiped his brow with a handkerchief. “You don’t know how relieved that makes me. I’m so sorry for the delay, but this just came in today. Still, this is unacceptable. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take two hundred and fifty dollars off the remaining price if you’ll forgive us for this mix-up. I’ll also include a discount for any future purchases. It’s the least I can do.”

  Dimples glanced at me, so I nodded my approval. Whatever scam they were pulling, at least it hadn’t worked this time.

  “Okay, sure,” he agreed.

  “Great. Let me get the paperwork done, and my son will get your ring boxed and ready to go.”

  It didn’t take long before everything was settled, and Dimples had the ring in his pocket. On the way back to the precinct, he asked, “So what was that all about? Do you know?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t do business with them again.”

  “Was that ring they showed us stolen?”

  “Well… I’m pretty sure they paid for it, so they probably didn’t steal it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t stolen in the first place. But the way they were acting, it kind of looks suspicious.”

  “Yeah, I thought so too,” he agreed. “Maybe I’ll look into our files and see if there’s a stolen ring that matches the one they showed us.”

  “Good idea.” While he did that, maybe I’d warn Uncle Joey about his underling’s nefarious activities… or maybe that was part of what they did for him, and I should just stay out of it? I smiled at Dimples and changed the subject. “So… are you going to give it to Billie tonight… and, you know… do something special?”

  “You mean, besides give her the ring?” He was thinking of calling her to tell her he finally had it so she could stop worrying. Was there more?

  “You bet there is. You need to get down on one knee and ask her to marry you.”

  “But I already asked her to marry me. You mean I have to do it again?”

  “Uh… yes! Preferably someplace romantic, with some flowers or something.”

  His thoughts went to her apartment and all the sexy times they’d had there. Maybe after… his gaze snapped to mine, and his face turned red. “Gah… did you…”

  “Um… yeah, but don’t worry about it. I put up my shields as soon as you went in that direction so I only got the “sexy-times” part of it.” His face turned a bright shade of red, and I continued. “Anyway… I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” I checked my watch and sighed with relief. “Looks like I’ve got to go, or I’ll be late.” I gave him a big grin and wiggled my eyebrows, unable to resist teasing him. “Have a fun time tonight. Bye.”

  With his mouth hanging open, I left him on the steps to the precinct and hustled to my car.

  “Shelby, wait,” he said, stopping me in my tracks. “What about the homicide case? I need to tell the chief something.”

  “Oh, yeah. Can I come back tomorrow morning? I have to be somewhere at eleven, but I’m free before that.”

  “Okay. Come in around nine, and we’ll go over it then.”

  “Fine.” I sighed, and continued to my car, picking up his thoughts that since I’d embarrassed him, he wasn’t about to let me off the hook. I didn’t let that bother me much, since the look on his face was totally worth it.

  I pulled up in front of my dream house a few minutes late. As I got out of my car, a man across the street did the same and sent me a friendly wave. “Shelby Nichols?” he asked. I nodded, and he continued toward me with his hand extended. “I’m Dan Headman, your realtor. Nice to meet you.”

  “You too,” I said.

  “I understand from your husband that this is the only house you’re interested in?” He was thinking it had seen a major remodel about ten years ago, so it was probably in pretty good shape, although the price was a little on the high side. But if I had my heart set on this one, he certainly hoped he could make it work. He’d keep his eyes out for any major repairs and see if the seller would come down. He’d also make sure he got a building inspector he trusted to look at it.

  After hearing that, it was easier to trust him, and I was grateful for my power, since it could really come in handy for wading through the perils of buying a house. “Yes. I’ve had my eye on this one for quite a while. Now that it’s on the market, I thought, why not check it out? You know?”

  “Of course. I certainly understand that. It looks like the people who lived here moved out a couple of weeks ago, so I imagine they’re eager to sell. That might work in our favor. Shall we check the house before we look at the yard? Have you ever seen the inside?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Okay, well… let’s take a look.”

  I followed him up a set of stairs onto the porch that surrounded the entire front of the house. The entrance was set back a little on one side with a beautiful wood-stained and cut-glass double door. He pulled the key out of his pocket and fit it into the lockbox, thinking that the place had a certain amount of charm, and the neighborhood was great, so he hoped it would work for me. He’d never been inside, but he had all the specs so we could go over them.

  He pushed the door open and ushered me in ahead of him. I stepped inside a small foyer, noting the hardwood flooring throughout the house. With ten-foot-tall ceilings, our footsteps filled the empty space with answering echoes.

  “The layout goes in a circular pattern,” Dan said. “With the stairs going up to the second floor in the middle there.” He pointed down the hall to the staircase. “Why don’t we start in the living room and follow it around?”

  “Sure.” I turned to the right and entered the living room that jutted out into the porch area. The light coming in from the windows made it bright and cheerful, and I couldn’t help the excitement that crept up my spine. So far, this was looking pretty good.

  With no furniture, the room seemed larger than it probably was, but with a great view of the front yard and street, I liked it all the same. Turning to the back of the room, we passed through a door that opened into a perfect smaller space inside the rounded turret, framed by tall windows. Totally enchanted, I could just imagine using this for my office and how cool that would be.

  A door on the other side of the study led us into a large fam
ily room with a fireplace along the outer wall and a great space for a media center along the back wall. The large, open space captivated me, and I could just envision the fun times our family could have here in this room.

  One doorway from the family room led back into the foyer and the staircase. At the other end, another door led into a ten-by-ten rounded breakfast nook just off the kitchen, with a French door that opened onto a large outside deck surrounding the nook in a square shape. My swing would fit perfectly there, and I could hardly contain my excitement. Further back, another door opened into a utility and laundry room. Inside that room, a door opened into the two-car garage.

  I backtracked to the breakfast nook and surveyed the kitchen. Here, the sink looked out over the deck with plenty of counter space for food preparation. The cupboards had seen better days, and the sink was a little chipped, but with the granite counter-top, and under-the-counter lighting, it was pretty cool.

  “I think the kitchen was updated when the house was remodeled, so it’s not bad,” Dan said, echoing my thoughts.

  With that in mind, I was beginning to wonder if we really could afford this house. I mean, it didn’t look like it needed any work at all. In fact, it was pretty great just like it was. This whole side of the house was open with a clear shot from the breakfast nook all the way to the dining room windows at the front of the house.

  “This is a real nice lay-out,” Dan said, thinking that the structural integrity of the house seemed sound. The hardwood floors could use a good sanding and polishing job, but he didn’t see any cracks in the ceilings or walls, so that was good. “Shall we go upstairs? There’s four bedrooms up there, including the master bedroom, along with three complete bathrooms.”

  While that sounded great, it also sounded even more expensive. At the top of the stairs, we came to a hallway and turned left through a door that opened into the master bedroom. It was directly above the living room, so it had the same cheery light from the windows.

  At the back, a door opened into the bathroom, encased in the same rounded turret above the study. The floor-to-ceiling tilework took my breath away. Mirrors and a double-sink were along one wall, with a glass enclosed shower and private toilet at the sides. The crowning touch was the large jetted bathtub that filled the half-moon space on the curved side of the turret. I nearly swooned just looking at it.

  “This bathroom looks like it’s just been re-done,” Dan said.

  “Yeah, it’s really nice.” That was an understatement, and I wanted to take a bath in that jetted tub more than I could say. Swallowing my excitement, I turned my attention to the door on the other side of the turret which opened into a large, walk-in closet that had my mouth salivating. There was plenty of room for all my shoes in there! How awesome was that? I sighed. From the looks of it, I wasn’t sure we could afford this place.

  We backtracked into the hall and through the door into the bedroom on the other side of the house over the dining room. I could just see Savannah in this room, especially with the little rounded alcove over the porch, with windows that let in the light, making it a perfect space to study or read. The room even had a private bathroom and closet, making it nearly as big as the master bedroom. She’d love it.

  Back down the hallway, two doors opened into rooms opposite each other, with a shared bathroom between them. One bedroom would be perfect for Josh, and having his own bathroom would clinch the deal. We could use the other bedroom as a guest room, or an exercise room, or even a game room if we wanted.

  I noticed that the bathrooms in the other two bedrooms hadn’t been re-done, so maybe the price of the house wouldn’t be quite so much. Still, my stomach lurched to think it was probably not in our budget range, even though I already loved it. A lot.

  Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I should just be happy with what I had, and save up all the money this house would cost for more useful things, like a college education for both my kids. Along with a great trip or two.

  “Shall we take a look at the yard and the garage?” Dan asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “Yes. That’s a great idea.” I followed him down the stairs and out the front door, where we took a look at the porch before heading around to the back. The yard was a little overgrown, with several bushes next to the foundation. The garage took up a lot of the space, but left a nice, private yard on the other side to enjoy.

  Oh boy, the more I saw of this place, the more perfect it looked. I almost wished there was something wrong with it, so we could either afford it, or I wouldn’t want it so bad.

  Dan knelt beside the foundation that was covered with a decorative trellis. It was behind some overgrown bushes, so it wasn’t easily accessible, but he was thinking that it seemed strange to hide the foundation like that, especially when the bushes already covered it. He poked his fingers through the trellis to the cement and didn’t like how it crumbled.

  “Hmm… I wonder what this is covering up,” he said. With a small tug, the trellis fell away from the foundation, and he sucked in his breath. “Holy crap!”

  “What is it?” Alarmed, I rushed to his side.

  “The foundation is totally eroded all along here, and they were trying to cover it up with this trellis. Look. See that?” Chunks of concrete were missing all along the side of the house. “It almost looks like somebody dug it out.”

  “Huh.”

  He glanced at the roof and rain gutters. “Maybe water leaked from the roof and into the foundation. That might cause the cement to erode, or else a pipe burst and did the damage. But something drastic happened here, and we need to check into it before we go any further with an offer.”

  The whimpering of a young child flooded my mind, sounding a little muffled before getting louder. “Did you hear that? It sounds like a child crying.”

  Dan stilled his movements and listened, then shook his head. “I don’t hear a thing.”

  “Oh…” The realization that it was all in my head hit me like a ton of bricks, and my legs went a little wobbly. “Uh yeah… it must have been something else, like a cat. Sometimes cats can sound like that, but it’s gone now.” That lie came out pretty quick, even as the crying continued to fill my mind. Like a dam bursting open, it grew in intensity, not only filling my mind, but seeping into every inch of my being.

  Chapter 2

  In desperation, I covered my ears and threw up my shields, hoping to preserve my sanity. The crying faded to a whisper, and I lowered my hands with a deep sigh of relief.

  “Are you okay?” Dan asked. His brows drew together with concern, and he reached out a hand to steady me.

  On wobbly legs, I pulled myself together and managed a smile. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Sometimes these headaches come on, but it’s gone now. So what do you think we should do about this? Is this something they can fix?” I knew it was, but I had to buy some time to calm down.

  His eyes narrowed with concern, but he accepted my explanation and nodded. “Yes, but it needs to be dug out and replaced before any structural damage occurs to the house. I’m surprised nothing’s happened yet, but something like this shouldn’t wait too long. They need to get a crew in here to fix it right away.”

  “So… do you have a name for the previous owner?” That probably sounded like it came out of the wild blue yonder, but if I was going to find out what happened here and help that poor child, I needed someplace to start.

  I could hardly believe this was happening. I’d only heard actual words from a dead person in my mind once, and that was because of a case I was working on where I’d felt a definite connection to the deceased woman. I’d felt her presence on several occasions before that, but this child’s crying came from out of nowhere and scared me to death.

  “I’m sure we can handle it through the realtor, especially if the family moved.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “So, what are you thinking about the house? Are you still interested?” With his raised brows, it looked like he was questioning my sanity, so I lifted my
shields a pinch and heard that he’d never seen anyone react so violently to a problem with a house before, so maybe it was just as well if I didn’t want it.

  “No… I mean yes… I love the house. It’s great. My husband needs to see it, but so far, I really like it.”

  “Okay. I’ll call the realtor and see what they want to do about the foundation.”

  “Sounds good. Let me know what you find out. Um… I’ve got to go, but call me. Maybe I can bring my husband over later.”

  “I’ll call her right now and let you know.”

  “Okay, good. Uh… see ya.” I hurried around the house to my car. But before I got in, I let go of my shields and heard… nothing. The crying was gone. Relieved, I got behind the wheel and closed the door.

  Letting out a sigh, I laid my head back and closed my eyes. What the freak? At least I hadn’t heard anything in the house, so if there was a dead body, it was somewhere outside near the foundation where I’d heard it. That meant it was up to me to figure out what had happened and who it was.

  I straightened before slipping on my seatbelt and started the car. As much as I loved that house, I wasn’t sure I could live there now. But at the same time, maybe once I figured out what had happened, the crying would stop and the poor soul could rest.

  Either way, it was a mystery that I needed to solve.

  My kids were already home when I got there. Josh guzzled a big glass of milk and gave me a happy, milk-stash grin. “Hey Ma, how’s it going?”

  “Good,” I said, feeling better now that I was home. “How about you? How was school? Were your teachers okay about you missing so many classes? Or do you have a lot of make-up work to do?”

  He shrugged. “I have to write a report about Paris for both my English class and my History class.” He thought he could just do one paper for both, so that wasn’t too bad. “But I have a lot of math homework, so that sucks. But at least Chloe said she’d help me with it.” He was thinking that she’d been great about getting his homework for him.