by Joanne Fluke
“See what she sent for you?” Nick unzipped his backpack and handed her a package wrapped in a clean, white piece of cloth. “She baked kermakakku today, especially for you.”
She smiled as she unwrapped the package and took out a piece of cake. It was still slightly warm, and it was golden brown on top.
“It smells heavenly!” Her mouth began to water as she smelled the scents of cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla. She took a bite, and smiled at the rich sour cream and spice taste. “It’s just as good as it smells!”
“I don’t suppose you’d share a slice with me?” Nick grinned at her.
“Oh! Sorry!” She laughed and handed the rest of the package to Nick. “She’s a dear. She’s always making something for me.”
“She gave me something else for you.” Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet packet. “Go ahead. Open it.”
She opened the packet and gasped as she saw the ring. It had a filigreed silver mounting and a stone with a star glittering brightly in its dark, blue depths. “It’s beautiful! But . . . why would she give this to me?”
“It was my grandmother’s. She saved it for the woman who would be my bride.”
“Oh, Nick!” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She knew she’d never been this happy before.
Nick smiled at her. “You’ll marry me then?”
“Yes!” She nodded quickly. “I love you, Nick.”
“And I love you, too, my lovely Emmy.”
* * *
Emmy?! Maura’s eyes snapped open, and she began to tremble. Nick had called her Emmy. She’d heard him very plainly. But she wasn’t Emmy.
Before she could think about this puzzling development any further, the intercom on her desk buzzed. Maura took a deep breath and reached out to answer. “Yes, Sylvia?”
“Your husband’s on line two. He says it’s urgent.”
Maura took another deep breath and pressed the button for line two. She’d been very uncomfortable around Keith ever since the night that they’d made love, and she was actually relieved when he’d left the next evening on another business trip. “Hello, Keith.”
“Hi, honey. Listen . . . I really need to talk to Liz. I called the factory, and they said she was on her way there.”
Maura frowned and bit her tongue. She really wanted to ask why Keith needed to talk to Liz, but it was best not to make that sort of inquiry. “Sorry, Keith. She’s not here yet. Shall I have her call you when she gets in?”
“Uh . . . no. That won’t work. I’ll be in and out for the rest of the day. But you can have her call me tonight at the hotel.”
“Does she have the number?”
“Uh . . . no. She doesn’t. Hold on a second and I’ll get it.”
There was a frown on Maura’s face as she reached for a pad and a pen. Keith hadn’t bothered to give her the number of his hotel, but he wanted to give it to Liz.
Keith was back on the line a moment later, and Maura dutifully wrote down the number. “Is there any message you want me to give her?”
“Yeah . . . uh . . . tell her I managed to match the stones her friend needed for the necklace. I just need to know how many she wants.”
“Okay. I’ll tell her.” Maura wrote down the message. “You matched the stones for the necklace, but you need to know how many to buy. Is that right?”
“Perfect. I’ll try to give you a ring later tonight. Good-bye, honey.”
After she’d hung up the phone, Maura stared down at the notepad thoughtfully. She was almost sure the message Keith had given her was a lie. But how could she prove that?
The moment she thought of it, Maura began to smile. She wasn’t nervous about her meeting with Liz anymore. Now she was eager to see her, to find out if Liz would fall into her trap.
Less than five minutes later, Maura’s intercom buzzed again. It was Sylvia to tell her that Liz had arrived.
“Send her in, Sylvia. And you can bring us coffee in five minutes or so.”
“Maura. Hello!” There was a welcoming smile on Liz’s face as she walked in and extended her hand. “You really gave us all a scare. I’m so glad you’re all right!”
“Thank you, Liz.” Maura gave a brief nod. Liz should have been an actress. If she hadn’t known differently, she would have been sure that Liz was one of her good friends. Rather than comment on her phony sincerity, Maura gestured toward the mannequin. “I designed the highlight of the show while you were gone. What do you think of it?”
Liz moved closer to look at the Joseph’s coat. She cocked her head and walked slowly around it, frowning slightly. And then she turned to Maura and smiled. “It’s very good. I like it a lot.”
“Then I have some drawings I want you to see.” Maura led her over to the table.
As Liz studied the drawings of the Joseph’s coat, Maura studied Liz. She was a strikingly beautiful woman with the figure of a supermodel. That was clear, even under the severe gray business suit she was wearing. Her dark black hair gleamed under the lights, her deep blue eyes sparkled, and her complexion was a flawless peaches and cream. No wonder Keith was having an affair with her. Liz was gorgeous!
Why was she so dispassionate about her husband’s affair? Maura knew that most wives who’d had occasion to face their husband’s mistresses would be torn by feelings of rage and jealousy. But she was strangely calm and almost clinical as she assessed Liz. Of course, she wasn’t in love with Keith, and that might be the reason why she could be so objective.
Liz seemed to feel Maura’s eyes on her, and she turned around with a smile. “Your drawings are perfect, Maura. And I love the look of the coat. I don’t see any reason why we can’t put it into production. Just give me a minute to do a few calculations, and I’ll figure our cost.”
Maura nodded and got up. “Use my desk. It’ll be easier.”
“Thank you.” Liz placed her briefcase on Maura’s desk, and opened it. She took out a pad of paper and a calculator, and began to jot down notes.
There was a tap at the door, and Sylvia came in, carrying a tray of coffee. She set one mug down in front of Liz and brought the other to Maura. “Do you need me for anything else?”
“Not right now. Thank you, Sylvia.” Maura smiled at her. “I’ll buzz if we need you.”
“Thanks for the coffee, Sylvia.” Liz took a sip, and started to add up numbers. As she grew more involved with her calculations, she slipped off her jacket and rolled up the sleeves on her white silk blouse.
As Liz turned toward her again, Maura drew in her breath sharply. Liz was wearing a gorgeous necklace. It was antique, with heavy gold overlapping circles, each one containing an opal in its center. Something about the necklace was very familiar and Maura began to frown. She seemed to remember it, but it had looked very different in the past. The stones were new. She was sure of that. Something else had been in their place.
Maura shut her eyes and tried to concentrate. And as she searched her mind, she saw the necklace again, in startling detail. The opals were gone, and in their place were lovely pearls.
“Maura? Are you all right?”
Maura opened her eyes. Liz looked worried, so she shook her head. “I’m fine. I was just resting my eyes. That’s a lovely necklace, Liz. I think I saw one that was very similar, except it was done with pearls. Is it an antique?”
Liz’s face turned white. And then little blotches of red appeared on her cheeks, spreading into a full blush. “You’re right, Maura. It’s an antique. It was a gift from my . . . my boyfriend. I usually don’t wear anything this ornate to the office, but I forgot I had it on.”
“If I had a necklace like that, I‘d wear it every chance I had. It’s really lovely.”
Liz nodded, and she seemed to relax a little. “I was thrilled when he gave it to me. It’s one of a kind and it belonged to his grandmother.”
“He must be very serious about you, to give you a family heirloom.”
“Yes . . . I think he is.”
&n
bsp; Maura smiled, and tried to look perfectly innocent. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she was almost certain that Keith had given Liz the necklace. “Are there wedding bells in your future, Liz?”
“Perhaps. But not for a while. We have a few problems to work out first.”
Maura nodded. She knew perfectly well what those problems were. Keith was married to her! But she didn’t want to tip her hand and let Liz know that she’d guessed. “Oh, Liz? I almost forgot to tell you. Keith called for you.”
“Keith called here?” Liz blushed again. “What did he want?”
“He left his phone number and asked you to call him at his hotel tonight. And he said to tell you he managed to match the stones for your friend’s ring. He just needs to know how many to buy.”
“Oh . . . good!” Liz nodded quickly. “One of my friends has a dinner ring with some missing stones. It’s a . . . ruby ring. With uh . . . I think they’re little chips of topaz around it. Some are missing, and Keith was going to try to match them for her. She’ll be absolutely delighted!”
“I’m glad he was successful. Would you like to call your friend now, and tell her the good news?”
“No. She . . . uh . . . I don’t have her work number. I’ll phone her at home, tonight.”
Maura nodded. “Don’t forget to ask her how many stones she needs.”
“I won’t. And then I’ll call Keith right back to tell him.”
Maura watched Liz carefully, as she went back to work with her pad and calculator. She hadn’t asked for Keith’s phone number. That meant he had already given it to her. And Liz had been lying about her friend’s ring, since the piece of jewelry that Keith had mentioned was a necklace.
“Just a second and I’ll have the figures for you.” Liz scribbled something on her pad. “It looks really good. I think we can turn a nice profit on your Joseph’s coat.”
“Wonderful.” Maura nodded, but her mind wasn’t on her new design. It was on the proof she’d just gathered. She’d hoped that Keith had broken off with Liz, after the night she’d spent with him. But it was clear that Liz and Keith were still involved. Unfortunately, Maura wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do about it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“That was gruesome, wasn’t it, Mom?” Jan sat on the corner of the bed and giggled. “I should have known better than to get Hank and David together.”
Maura nodded, and stroked Cappy’s head. After David and Hank had left, they’d taken Cappy upstairs with them, and he’d fallen asleep on Maura’s bed. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have told David about the project. Now that he’s volunteered to help, they’ll be together at every meeting.”
“Oh, God!” Jan sighed deeply. “I should have my head examined. And to make matters worse, I invited them both to the fashion show tomorrow night. I just hope they won’t be at each other’s throats.”
“They seemed fine tonight.”
“That’s true.” Jan nodded. “But this temporary peace might not last for long. Jealousy is very destructive, and it’s an extremely volatile emotion.”
Her daughter’s words reminded Maura of the meeting she’d had today, and she nodded. “Speaking of jealousy, I met with Liz Webber today.”
“You didn’t!” Jan threw herself back on the pillows. “I’ll say one thing for you, Mom. You’ve got a lot of nerve!”
Maura shrugged. “It didn’t take nerve. She’s still my production manager and I had to consult with her on my new design.”
“Were you jealous, Mom?”
“No. Not really.” Maura shook her head. “At first I was angry at being deceived, but I took your advice and I decided not to take any action until I had all the facts. After that, it was interesting to see how far they’d go to keep things from me.”
“But you weren’t jealous?”
Maura shook her head. “No. I guess you have to be in love to feel jealous.”
“Tell me about it.” Jan rolled over on her stomach and propped her head on her elbow.
“Well . . . Keith called to speak to Liz. But she wasn’t there yet. He said he’d matched the stones for her friend’s necklace, and asked her to call him at his hotel tonight. I figured the stones for the necklace were just an excuse to get in touch with her, so I asked him for his number.”
“Let me guess.” Jan raised her eyebrows. “Liz already knew his number.”
“She must have. She didn’t ask me for it. But that’s just part of it. I gave Liz the wrong message, and she didn’t know the difference.”
Jan looked puzzled. “How did you do that?”
“I told her the whole story about the matching stones, but I said it was for her friend’s ring. And she couldn’t wait to give me a detailed description of this lovely ring her friend had inherited.”
“Very smart, Mom.” Jan looked impressed. “Did you discover anything else?”
“I’m not sure. Liz was wearing a beautiful necklace she said she got from her boyfriend. And I had a very strange feeling I’d seen it before.”
“On Liz?”
Maura shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“What did the necklace look like?”
“It was antique.” Maura began to smile. “And it was made of heavy gold overlapping circles, almost like coins except they were a dull, hammered finish, not shiny. Each circle had an opal in its center.”
“Are you sure they were opals?” Jan seemed surprised when Maura nodded. “I remember seeing a necklace like that when I was a little girl, but the stones were white and glossy.”
“Were they pearls?”
“Maybe. I wish I could remember, but . . . oh, wait a minute, Mom. I know exactly where I saw it. I’ll be right back, okay?”
Maura watched as Jan raced from the room. Cappy whimpered and Maura reached out to pet him. “Don’t worry, little guy. She’s coming back.”
It only took Jan a moment to return with a picture frame clutched in her hand. “I had this hanging in my room. It’s a picture of your grandmother.”
“Granny Kate.” Maura smiled and reached for the gold oval frame, but when she looked at her grandmother’s likeness, she gasped in shock. It was an old studio portrait of her grandmother and grandfather on their wedding day, and Granny Kate was wearing the necklace!
“You were right about the pearls. But how did Liz get the necklace? It was up in the attic in a box with all the other antique family jewelry.”
“Keith.” Maura’s lips tightened in anger. “He must have taken it and reworked it for Liz. No wonder I remembered that necklace! I wore it on my wedding day. And I told you that you could have it to wear when you got married!”
Jan nodded. “That’s right. You called it the family wedding necklace, and you told me that it practically guaranteed a happy . . . Mom!”
“What is it?” Maura frowned. Jan had stopped in mid-entence and she was staring at her in shock.
“You remembered!”
Maura wasn’t sure exactly why Jan was so excited. “Of course I did. That necklace has been in the family for four generations.”
“But you remembered that you’d promised it to me. And that was before your accident. You remembered something from your missing years!”
Maura looked thoughtful, and then she nodded. “You’re right, Jan. I couldn’t have promised you that necklace before you were born. I did remember!”
“I’m calling Uncle Steve!” Jan reached out for the phone.
Maura felt a rush of excitement at the mention of Steve’s name. “But it’s late, honey. He might be in bed.”
“He made me promise to call if you had a breakthrough, any time of the day or night. And it’s only ten o’clock. Uncle Steve never goes to bed before midnight.”
“Well . . . all right.” The corners of Maura’s lips turned up in a delighted smile. She felt happy, and very excited. It wasn’t just that her memory was coming back, although that was wonderful news. Most of her excitement was caused by the prospect of seeing Steve a
gain.
* * *
“I knew you were going to be upset with me.” Liz sighed deeply as she paced the floor in front of the kitchen wall phone. “But it wasn’t my fault, Donny . . . honest! I was rattled when she called me in, and I forgot I was wearing the necklace.”
“And you think she remembered it?”
The voice that came over the receiver was icy, and Liz shivered. She’d known Keith for over five years, and she’d never heard him this angry before.
“No . . . she didn’t actually remember it.” Liz took a deep breath, and tried to explain. “She just kept staring at it with this funny expression on her face. She said it was gorgeous, and then she asked me a lot of questions about where I got it.”
There was a long silence, and the line hummed with long-distance noises. Then Keith spoke again, and his voice was much warmer. “Okay. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. You made up a pretty good story, and she probably bought it. But don’t ever wear it in front of her again. We don’t want to do anything to jog her memory.”
“I won’t. I really did forget I had it on. It’s just that I love it so much, I hate to take it off.”
Keith chuckled. “You like it that much?”
“I adore it. It’s the best present you’ve ever given me! I’m wearing it right now.”
“What else are you wearing?”
Liz looked down at her jeans and sweatshirt. They weren’t very romantic, and he deserved a little touch of fantasy for not yelling at her about the necklace. “I’m not wearing anything except my robe. And that’s only because it’s cold in the apartment. I’m getting ready to go to bed.”
“And you’re going to keep the necklace on?”
“Yes, I am.” Liz smiled. The necklace was in her jewelry box, but he didn’t have to know that. “Remember our last night in the hotel? That’s what I’ll look like when I go to bed.”
“Cut it out, babe. We’re over four hundred miles apart.”
His voice was strained, and Liz grinned. She knew exactly what she was doing. “You have to fly back here tomorrow anyway. I’m supposed to pick you up at the airport at three. Why don’t you come back early?”
