by CeeCee James
I took a couple more quick bites. “Looks like I’m going to have to go, again.”
“It's not the angry uncle, is it? You don’t meet him alone.” She held up a thin, wrinkled finger in warning. “He comes around again, you call the cops!”
“No. Not the angry brother, and not the attractive brother of the boss,” I sent that last comment with a smile. “This is the brother that I'm not supposed to talk with.”
“And you're gonna go meet with him anyway?”
“Of course, I am. That bully isn’t going to stop me from finding out what's going on. If anything, I am beginning to wonder if he isn't involved somehow.”
“Be careful, please.” She looked at me. “I think I’m going to get you one of those whatchamacallits.”
“That sounds dangerous. What’s that?”
“It shoots out lighting. Zap!” she demonstrated. “They use them all the time on those cop shows.”
“A taser. I’d probably end up zapping myself. Anyway, I’m always careful.” I took another big bite, ignoring Momma’s loud “Pish.”
After a couple more texts, Scott and I decided to meet at the hotel’s dog park. It was a peaceful place this time of day, and Bingo was due for a walk anyway.
I made it there before him and let the basset hound off the leash. The sun was hot with just the slightest breeze pulling at my skirt. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh scent of freshly-mowed grass.
Suddenly, I had a prickly feeling, the kind I got when someone was watching me. I looked around as the creepy feeling grew. There was no one, just a few birds chirping in the trees. Don’t be ridiculous. You’re starting to sound like Ruby.
Shaking my head at my own paranoia, I scrolled to Kristi’s text. She still hadn’t responded with any more news. Frustration prickled my blood but who was I kidding? She didn’t owe me an explanation or need to keep me up to date. Still, I could always try the go-around. I sent the picture to her sister, Ruby. Underneath it, I typed —Found the same gold-circled cigarette at the church as in William’s room. And get this, they aren’t William’s!
It seemed simple to me. Find who smoked those, you’ll find the person who did this to the kids.
“That your dog?” Scott loped up to the fence with the energy of youth.
“My Momma’s, actually.” I tucked the phone away and opened the gate.
He came inside, and Bingo trotted over, excited for a new friend.
“Natalie wanted a dog … wants a dog, I mean.” Scott crouched down and held out a hand to Bingo. The dog quickly gave Scott his paw to shake. I swear that dog knew no stranger and would betray us for a French fry.
“Hi, buddy,” Scott said, gently shaking the paw. He set it down with a grin on his face. Bingo trotted off to sniff every tree and post, as he did each time we came to the park. He saw it as his duty to replace all guest markings with his own pee-mail.
The happy light in Scott’s eyes faded as he stood back up. “We were going to get one when we got married. But her family would never allow it.”
“But, Natalie’s an adult. What does it matter what they say?”
“Oh,” his lips twisted into a sarcastic going. “Her family has their ways of controlling her. Her inheritance, for one. Her family has also tried to … persuade me, to stay away.”
“What do you mean, persuade?” The very word sent chills down my spine.
“I told you how Natalie finally confessed that we were together last month. Well, let’s just say it wasn’t by choice. We may have never told Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild, but her uncle snooped out that we wanted to get married. The two of them corralled her at the house and forced it out of her. My car’s windshield got bashed in the next day.”
My mouth dropped open. “The Uncle did that?”
He shrugged. “Her uncle or one of his friends.”
“You think they're involved in this?” I shook my head. “There’s no way. He wouldn’t hurt his niece.”
“As much as I hate to say it, if he was mad enough, he might. But honestly, I’m the one he hates. The truth is, William shouldn't be the one in the hospital. It should have been me.”
“Why you?” I could feel my heart pounding, unsure if I wanted to hear the reason why.
“Because William didn't steal the necklace. I did.”
Chapter 16
“What?” My voice wavered with shock.
Scott rocked back on his heels. “Aw, geez.” He flushed, and his eyes shifted with guilt.
“Geez, nothing! You better finish what you’re saying!”
He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away. He looked so agitated, I thought he might even leave.
“Hey,” I continued, softening my voice. “Don’t shut down. What are you talking about?”
“Yeah. This is all my fault. It wasn’t William who stole the necklace. It was me.”
“What happened?” I touched his elbow. “Come here.” He followed me to the bench and, together, we sat down. “Take a breath, and take your time.”
“The necklace belongs to Natalie. Her grandma left it to her, having gotten it from her grandma and so forth. It was Luciana’s.”
“How did they get it from Clementine?”
“Clementine had to sell it when the town shunned her. Somehow, it ended up with the Fairchild family. But Mrs. Fairchild wouldn’t let Natalie have it. She kept it in a safe. They always used it as leverage—you know. Do what we want, or we’ll sell it. Her uncle used to scare her with stories about how it would be melted down, and the rubies pried out of it and sold. Natalie lived in terror that it would be destroyed.”
Scott held his hands palm out to me, and said beseechingly, “I didn’t like seeing her be hurt like that.”
“Okay,” I withheld judgment, trying to create a safe place for him to share.
“They’d been doing it her whole life. Stay away from this kid. Get an A in that class. Date this boy. She rebelled in her late teens. Dated this guy that was not good for her. Just a scumbag. The Fairchilds were actually able to run him right out of town. But, as she got older, the necklace meant more to her, and I could really see her starting to sway. It was getting in the way of our relationship, her school, even her job. Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild were trying to get her to drop out of school. “
“What did they want her to do?”
“Settle down and marry.”
“But not with you?”
“Oh, no. Like I said, she was too afraid to even tell them we were seeing each other. They had some guy picked out from the upper crust. His family was pushing it, too.”
“Eww. Like an arranged marriage?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s so much arranged as it is expected. Though those customs have faded away, there are still some pockets steeped in old-fashioned tradition. In those circles, you’re supposed to marry someone else with that same financial standing.”
“Even if you’re not in love?”
He laughed again, the sound thick with bitterness. “Please. None of them are in love. They all cheat on each other. It’s perfectly acceptable among that class to cheat, as long as appearances are kept up.”
“Oh, how awful.”
He nodded. His fingers found a hole in the knee of his jeans, and he started picking at it.
“So, how’d you steal it? Did she know?”
He flushed again. “About a year ago we came up with a plan. Natalie snuck me in one night. It was no big thing. In a mansion that size, no one noticed anyway. She took me down to the study. The safe was hidden behind a painting.” His eyes flashed with anger. “Guess what the painting is?”
“What?”
“A portrait of Benjamin Hutchinson, that guy that was going to marry Luciana.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “No way! The murderer?”
“Most of Starke Springs still believes that Tom Bones is the one who killed Luciana. They twisted the story that she was there to break up with Tom and marry Benjamin. Anyway, Natalie wa
tched from the hallway while I went in and took it.”
“How did you know what the code for the safe was?”
“It was easy. Probably, anyone in town could have broken into that safe.”
I waited for his punch line. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. 06-19-1811.”
“The date of the fire.” I took a deep breath and settled back on the bench.
Bingo was pouncing on something in the grass, before leaping back as though scared. He did it again and again. Soon, a grasshopper shot out from between his paws. Bingo hightailed it back to me, wide-eyed with his ears folded back in surrender.
“Was that a scary bug? Did it steal your fun?” I scratched the dog on the back. “You’re okay, sweetheart.” He crawled under the bench, and lay in the shade, sulking.
“Okay. So, I have one question,” I said, turning my attention back to Scott.
“Just one?” he smirked.
“For now. If you stole the necklace, then how on earth did William end up with it?”
Scott shook his head. “I don’t know. He must have taken it from me. We kept it in my gun safe.”
“I see. So that’s why you didn’t want me to tell Kristi. You didn’t want William to be blamed for taking it.” It was making sense now.
Scott nodded.
“So, when did you discover the necklace was missing from your safe?”
He raised his eyebrows. “When I found it in my brother’s pocket.”
Wow. Okay, then. “Is it possible your brother knew the combination to your safe?”
“I’m sure he did. It’s our birthday.”
I groaned. “You know, they say never to use a birthday.”
“Yeah, well, I’d never remember it, otherwise.” He spit through his teeth into the grass.
“Next question.”
He grinned again. “I knew there’d have to be more.”
“How did your brother know you had it?”
He rubbed his face then, still young enough to have the barest of dark stubble after skipping a day. “Again, I don’t know.”
“You said he called to say he was in trouble.”
“Yeah. He told me a little. And he was supposed to come crash at my place.”
“But, he didn’t show up.”
“No. I knew he had gambling debts. He was active in the gambling ring down in Miami, and he owed some bigwig a favor. One last job, he said.”
“How on earth did someone in Miami know about the necklace?”
“When something’s worth more than two million dollars, I guess word gets around.”
Hmm. Someone needs to update that Wikipedia. “But, you don’t know what that last job was.”
Scott nodded. “Right. He was supposed to come to my house, but he never showed up. And then while I was hiding out in the hall at the hospital, I heard they were bringing in some guy that had been found in a coma at his hotel. I just knew it was my brother.” His forehead creased at the memory.
I sighed. “I’m sorry, Scott. What I don’t understand is, if he had the necklace, why did someone try to kill him anyway? And include Natalie, too?”
The breeze picked up then, rifling through the leaves in the bush behind us. I could hear the laughter of children in the pool on the side of the park. It was only mid-morning, but the day was already quite warm, as evidenced by a sheen of sweat on Scott’s face.
He wiped his mouth and forehead, and then rubbed his hand on his jeans. “I don’t know.” His eyes caught mine then and I saw a flurry of emotions; sadness, anger, fear. “And I don’t know if they’re done with him, or if they’re after me now, too.”
“Are you going to the hospital today?” I asked.
He nodded, still with the same expression.
Who knows what would happen if the uncle saw Scott. “I’m coming with you.”
To see the grateful expression in his eyes melted my heart.
“Thanks a lot,” he smiled. “Do you mind if we stop at my house on the way? I need to pick something up.”
I whistled for Bingo, who poked his head out from under the bench we were sitting on. “Whoops, forgot you were down there, ol’ boy,” I said, as I fastened the lead to his collar. “Let me take him back home, and I’ll meet you in the parking lot.” I didn’t feel comfortable bringing anyone into the suite, with the exception of Ruby.
He nodded, and we parted ways at the gate. Bingo pulled me along, ready to get back into the air-conditioning. “You thirsty, sweetheart?” I asked, opening my sliding door. I unfastened him and refilled his water dish with fresh water.
“Where you going now?” Momma said as I grabbed my purse.
“Out to the hospital.” I checked my watch for the time. “I’ll be back soon.”
Scott and I met up, and I followed his classic Jeep Cherokee down to his place. He didn’t live that far away, the trip not taking more than twenty minutes.
We parked along the curb in the front of a duplex. Scott climbed out, deep in a conversation on his phone. As he hung up, one of the doors of the duplex opened and a dark-haired woman appearing in her late forties stepped out.
“Did you get that package the other day?” she asked in what sounded like a snippy tone.
“No,” He addressed her wearily as we climbed the steps, like he didn’t want to deal with this now. “Where is it?”
“Stupid postman tossed it in front of my front door. I almost tripped over it, letting Peanut out. I could have sued, you know.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“Sorry, Mrs. Carmichael.” He glanced around the small entry area. I did too, but there was no package in sight. Just a plastic chair and worn welcome mat. On the other side of the porch railing sat a trash can with a lid.
“Hmm?” Scott muttered. “I wasn’t expecting anything.” He picked out his keys and unlocked the door.
“You’ve been acting strange lately. The last time you were here, you must have been higher than a kite. Just looked at me like you didn’t know me. Peanut ran right out and growled at you, must not have liked the scent of your happy dust.”
Scott looked at her like she was crazy. “I don’t remember that.”
“It was the same day as the package came. You probably picked it up and don’t even remember. You quit hitting that hard stuff, young man.”
“Mrs. Carmichael, I assure you, I’m not doing anything—”
“You just be sure to pick up your stuff,” Mrs. Carmichael interrupted. “Straighten up. We’re respectable folks and care about our neighborhood around here.” She pursed her lips before returning to her own apartment, muttering about floozies and no-good men. Her door slammed shut.
“Lovely neighbor,” I observed rather loudly. “What’s got her panties in a bunch?”
Scott laughed. “Yeah, she's an absolute peach. I wonder if William saw the package when he came to steal the necklace from me.”
“That you stole first?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” He walked inside, and I followed him.
I was expecting a typical bachelor’s pad, but his place was surprisingly nice. There was a painting hanging over the couch that immediately drew my eye. I walked over to study it.
“Monet?” I asked, impressed.
“A reproduction, of course.” He came to stand next to me. “Reminds me of where I met Natalie.”
“At the library?” I was confused. There wasn’t a building in the painting, just a grassy lawn filled with flowers.
He smiled. “She’d just come into the library to get some water. We bumped into each other by the doorway. Across the street was a park where she was doing community service.”
My mouth dropped for what felt like the hundredth time. “You keep hitting me with these unexpected tidbits, Scott. What do you mean, community service?” I had a hard time envisioning Mrs. Hoity-toity’s daughter doing community service.
“I told you, she’d gotten into trouble.”
“No, you didn’t.” I countered bac
k.
“Yeah, at the end of high school. She rebelled against her parents and got together with a guy that was bad news.”
“I didn’t interpret that to mean she got into trouble. So, what happened?”
“He took her someplace she shouldn’t have been. Typical scenario of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was a drug bust, and one person ended up dead. She got brought in along with everyone else.” Scott walked into the kitchen.
“Whoa! What did she get charged with?”
Scott rifled through a drawer looking for something. “I don’t know what her original charges were, but Mrs. Fairchild’s lawyer got it reduced to something like trespassing. Still, the judge ordered her to do forty hours of community service.” He found what he was looking for, an envelope. Tapping it against his hand, he glanced at me and smiled. “And that’s how we officially started talking to one another.”
“What happened to the boyfriend?”
“Rob? After he got out of jail, the Fairchild’s ran him out of town. Last I heard, he was down south past Fort Lauderdale getting into more trouble.”
“That family has that much power?”
“That and more,” he said. “That’s why this is important.” He glanced at the envelope.
“What is it?” I asked, curious.
“A letter.” He turned it over in his hands. “Something Natalie saved from her mom threatening to sell the necklace if Natalie didn’t break up with the kid. It’s all I have that proves the necklace really is Natalie’s.” He opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. “You want one?”
I nodded, and he tossed one to me.
“All right, let’s go,” he said, heading to the door.
As I waited for him to lock his door, I saw Mrs. Carmichael peek at us through a crack in the curtains at her window. She saw that I’d caught her and wrinkled her nose.
“You ready?” I said, walking down the stairs.
“I wonder …” Scott looked at the trash can curiously. “Just one second.” After placing the letter in his front pocket, he walked to the metal can and drew off the lid. I winced at the loud clang.
He leaned over the edge, his hands gripping the dirty side. Then he reached in there and pulled something out.
