by Laina Turner
--Bats & Bling
A Presley Thurman mystery
Chapter 1 – tues am
“You seem especially nervous today. What’s up with you,” Katy asked.
“How could I not be nervous? Veronica Knapp is coming in today to try on dresses for the fashion show. That woman is scary,” I said and laughed but I wasn’t joking. She was scary. In the way only uber wealthy women who can break your business with one well placed negative comment can be. I had a lot riding on her opinion of me and my business and I couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong.
I’m Presley Thurman, thirty something average red-headand I’m the owner of Silk, an upscale boutique located in Chicago, which was also where I lived. Katy is my best friend and for now employee. Though I considered her more a partner than employee. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She was in the process of selling her hair salon in Alkon, the town where we grew up, and moved here a few months ago to help me get Silk off the ground. It had been given to me by the former owner in an uncommon act of kindness on his part but had amassed a pile of debt that I was slowly working to pay off. It had been scary to go from working in human resources, to a few other occupations, to owning my own business. It was hard work but I was loving every minute of it. I felt I’d finally reached my true calling.
One of my best customers in the sense she spent a crapload of money at Silk, Veronica Knapp, had this odd love for Halloween and the last five years had organized a Halloween themed charity ball to raise money for the children’s wing of a local hospital, which just happened to be run by her husband, a world renowned pediatric surgeon. This year she’d asked me if I would organize the fashion show, supply the dresses, and she would supply the talent. It was a great opportunity for Silk to get exposure among an elite set of people who were great potential customers.
“I just want this fashion show to turn out perfect, Katy. Veronica has a lot of influence and being the sponsor of this fashion show could really boost business. Having a booming holiday season would be great to help pay off this debt and ensure we have a great merchandise line up for spring.”
“I know. I’m just teasing you but you really have nothing to worry about. You’ve got the dresses and coordinating jewelry pieces and you were able to get shoes from the store down the street. The looks are perfect. There’s no way she won’t love them. She’s going to be wowed and Silk’s going to explode with business.”
I sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am, now put a smile on that face. She’s here.”
I looked out the front window to see Katy was right. A black Lincoln Towncar had pulled up in front of our building and I saw Veronica getting out. A tall, thin brunette women in a black mink coat and sky high black patent leather heels, definitely designer, who wasn’t the most high maintenance customer we had here at Silk, but she wasn’t the easiest to please either. So I was a little worried about not only meeting but exceeding her expectations which is what I wanted to do. I wanted to impress not only Veronica but everyone else at the show. Success at the show could mean a lot of business for Silk and although business was picking up slowly we needed the sales more business could bring. Getting out of debt meant I could sleep easier at night. I currently felt like I was one step away from bankruptcy half the time and it wasn’t a good feeling. I’d been tight with money before, but this was on a whole different level.
Veronica swept in the store with such a flourish I almost expected an entourage of people to follow her in and looked around the store haughtily before settling her gaze on me and Katy. The way she was looking at us was making me incredibly nervous. I started to have a feeling that something was wrong and I didn’t know what.
“Good to see you Veronica. Can I take your coat?” I asked thinking she must be roasting in that thing. It was October in Chicago but it was in the fifties today. Not exactly mink coat weather. Though to be honest if I could afford a great coat like that I would probably wear it year round whether it made me sweat or not.
She carefully took the coat off and handed it to me gingerly like she wasn’t exactly sure if she wanted to turn it over to me.
“Katy can you take her to the dressing room where we have the dresses we pulled for the show while I put this up?” Turning to Veronica I said, “I think you will like what we have for you. Katy will get you started and I’ll be right back.”
Veronica didn’t bother to acknowledge what I said but did follow Katy while I went and carefully put the coat in the closet in our backroom. When I came back out and went to where they were to be in the dressing room I only saw Katy. I gave her a questioning look.
“She’s already trying some things on,” she whispered.
“Did she seem to like what we pulled?” I whispered back.
“Yeah. As much as I think she admits to liking anything. I don’t get the sense that she’s much for spreading praise.”
A few seconds later Veronica stepped out in the dressing room in one of our designer evening gowns. All beaded lace, the thing had to weigh twenty pounds, and it looked amazing on her. I would kill to be that tall and thin which was the only body type that could pull off this particular gown. I started to comment when I heard all sorts of commotion. I poked my head out of the dressing room to see four of my other good customers and three people I didn’t recognize walking across the floor.
“Is Ronnie here?” one of them called. I wouldn’t in a million years have thought of someone calling Veronica Knapp, Ronnie. It made me want to giggle. Just showed people weren’t always who they seemed on the surface.
“Tilly, is that you,” Veronica squealed. First the nickname Ronnie, now squealing like a school girl. This was not the Veronica I knew. Maybe she wasn’t as scary as I thought.
The ladies came over and started talking to Veronica completely ignoring us, whichwas normal behavior and I was quite used to it. It could be very interesting being around people who talked amongst themselves as if you weren’t even there.
“Ya’ll have any champs?” One of the ladies who I didn’t know asked me. By the sound of her voice she wasn’t a native Chicagoan but rather more South Carolina or Georgia I assumed listening to her drawl.
“Champagne? We don’t but we do have a nice chardonnay or a merlot if you prefer,” I said.
She frowned. “I supposed that will have to do.”
“I’ll go get it, Pres. You stay here with them,” Katy said smiling knowing I was as eager to escape as she wasand that she was beating me to it. I guess I needed to upgrade our wine service. You couldn’t make everyone happy.
“These are the ladies walking in the show,” Veronica finally said, acknowledging my presence and made introductions. The lady with the southern drawl was from Georgia so I was right and was aptly named Belle. I stifled my amusement at the thought of the obvious comments that could be made.
“I am so glad you are all here I have something I am dying to show you,” Veronica said still acting giddy, a side of her I hadn’t seen before. Her friends gathered around and she reached in her purse and pulled out a small box. I couldn’t see that well but it looked like a jewelry box. Maybe for a bracelet? She took the top off and pulled something out of the box and held it up for everyone to see. It was a brooch.A very expensive diamond encrusted brooch in the shape of a bat.
“Is that a bat?” Katy whispered as she came up behind me with a couple bottles of wine and some glasses on a tray.
“I believe so,” I whispered back. “Ladies here’s your wine,” I called out to get their attention. I started pouring and passing out the glasses. “Veronica that is a beautiful piece of jewelry,” I said and leaned in to get a closer look as I passed her a glass of chardonnay.
She held it out so I could see it
better. It was diamond encrusted bat. I knew Veronica liked Halloween but this was really over the top. “Did you have this made?”I asked, thinking there was no possible way this was a regular item in a jewelry store.
“Yes. It’s a one of a kind piece. Heisleman’s on 5th avenue made it for me. I designed it myself.”
That didn’t surprise me at all. An expensive piece of bat jewelry wouldn’t be my first choice but each to his own.
“I am going to wear it at the show so you need to find me something that will be a good backdrop for it. That midnight blue evening dress it pretty but it’s not what I think this brooch needs.”
“Ok, I’m sure we can find something.” I left the ladies to their wine and Katy keeping watch on the ladies while I went out to the sales floor to pull a few more dresses that might work to provide the appropriate back drop to the piece of jewelry. At the same time one of my best sales people, Yvette, surprised me by coming through the door.
“What are you doing back here?” It was after normal business hours, I had thought it would be easier with Veronica, and her friends coming in, to not also have regular customers so we could focus all our attention on them which is what they’d expect and Yvette had left an hour ago.
“I forgot to steam the dress for Mrs. Parks and she is coming in first thing tomorrow morning to pick it up. I didn’t want to leave it for someone else nor take the chance it wouldn’t be ready for her. You know how she gets.”
“That’s sweet, Yvette. But you didn’t have to come all the way back in. Katy or I could have done it.”
“I don’t mind,” she said and walked into the backroom, hung up her coat, and turned on the steamer.
“In that case so you give this a quick once over first. Then bring it to me in the dressing room? It’s for Veronica Knapp.”
“Oh, the charity ball.”
“That’s the one.”
“Thanks,” I said and went back to the fitting rooms to rescue Katy but I shouldn’t have been worried. Like always she had everything under control. A few minutes later and Yvette was handing me the dress, which I slid over the door to Veronica. When she came out I breathed a sigh of relief. This was the dress. There’s no way Veronica wouldn’t think so. Silver silk with a lace overlay and crystals all over. It sparkled and shimmered but not enough to detract from the brooch Veronica had pinned on. I cringed a little to think of the probable holes in the fabric from the pin but that was a little price to pay for the exposure this event could give us and maybe I’d get lucky and Veronica would like the dress so much she’d want to buy it. My plan was to offer the ladies a deep discount on the dresses they each wore for the show.
“This is perfect, Presley,” Veronica said with uncharacteristic niceness, putting my mind completely at ease about whether or not she liked the dress and I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear I would have liked to jump up and down I was so excited but I refrained. Didn’t want them to think I was crazy.
The other ladies had finished trying on their dresses and making their selection for the fashion show by this point and Katy was hanging them back on the rack. I’d picked right the first time for almost everyone and that gave me a great sense of satisfaction. I loved my job.
“Ronnie, we need to hurry. Our dinner reservations are in thirty minutes and you know how Connie is when she doesn’t get dinner on time,” Belle said in her slow drawl.
“Ok, I’ll hurry. Unzip me,” she said to be turning her back so I could get to the zipper. I unzipped and unbuttoned the top button and she went in and quickly changed back in her clothes coming out and handing me the dress and putting the brooch back in the box. She started to put it in her purse when she paused. “You have a safe here don’t you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Here, take this then. I don’t want to put it in my purse and take it to dinner. It’s way too valuable to be knocking around in there. Just lock it up and I will come back to get it tomorrow.”
“I don’t know…” I started to say not really keen on the idea of it knocking around in my safe either. I didn’t want to be responsible for it in case something happened.
“Oh just take it,” she interrupted shoving the box in my hand. “Lock it up and I will come back tomorrow to get it. We need to talk about music for the show anyways. I have some ideas.”
I’m sure she did.
On that note the ladies swept out of the store chattering and I just looked at the box and looked at Katy.
“How much do you think that thing is worth?” she asked.
“More than either one of us can afford I’m sure. Let’s get this thing locked up. It’s making me nervous.”
We walked back to the safe and I did the right-left-right thing and the door came open. I started to put it in the safe and couldn’t resist looking at it one more time so I lifted the lid. Nestled in a bed of silk in the box the bat just glistened. For a bat it was very pretty.
“There must be twenty diamonds in that thing,” Katy said.
“There’s a lot that’s for sure. This thing it amazing looking.” I snapped the lid shut and put it in the safe spinning the lock. “I don’t think I will sleep until she picks this up tomorrow.”
Chapter 2 – wed am brooch missing
And I didn’t. Sleep that is. It probably didn’t help that I had thought making a cup of coffee before bed was a good idea. I normally would have made decaf but I had run out and I had really been craving a cup. It was my nightly routine. A cup of hazelnut, or pumpkin spice decaf when it was in season, from my trusty Keurig was comforting and helped me to relax. I needed to remember though that if I didn’t have decaf I should forgo the ritual. It wasn’t worth being up all night and I was going to pay for it this morning. Yawning, I unlocked the front door, balancing my travel coffee mug, my lunch, my purse, and my tote bag. Stepping inside I locked the door back up and quickly walked back to my office where I put it all down on my desk just as I was about to drop it. Throwing my lunch in the small refrigerator I took a swig of coffee and then bent over the safe in the corner of my office to get the money out. I started to put my hand on the dial to turn it and noticed that the tumbler was lined up on the last number. We never left the safe on the last number because then it wouldn’t be locked which kind of defeated the purpose of a safe in the first place and I knew I’d given the tumbler an extra spin last night just to be sure. My heart started racing as I touched the handle to see if the door would swing open I had a really bad feeling about this. I pulled the handle toward me and the safe easily opened. I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid to look in and see what I would find but finally opened them slowly and peered in. The register trays were there and had money in them but the thing I was worried about most I didn’t see. Shit! I grabbed the trays out and plopped them on the floor hard enough that some change bounced out, in search of the black box containing the bat brooch that Veronica had trusted me to hold on to.
Oh my God it wasn’t in there. I ran my hand around the bottom of the safe thinking maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me and the black box was blending in to the black of the safe but it wasn’t. This safe was completely empty. I leaned over and grabbed my phone out of my purse and sank to the floor. I took a deep breath, fought back tears and then called Katy.
“Forget something? Good timing I was just walking out the door.”
“It’s gone,” I said softly. All the energy left me when I realized the brooch wasn’t in the safe.
“What’s gone?”
“Veronica’s brooch. It’s not in the safe.”
“What?”
“Yeah, it’s not here and Veronica will be here this morning to get it. What am I going to do?”
“Just hold tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Katy got to the store about twenty minutes later and I was still sitting on the floor in the office with my head in my hands. I hadn’t been able to motivate myself to move not even to reach my coffee.
“What are you doing
on the floor?” she asked, looking down at me.
“Sitting here trying not to think about what’s going to happen when Veronica gets here and finds out her bat brooch isn’t, sues me, and I lose everything. Oh my God, how could this happen?”
“Ok, Debbie Downer get up and let’s figure this out,” she said and held her hand out to me which I grabbed and she helped pull me up to my feet. She sat down on one of the office chairs and motioned for me to do that same. She then handed me my coffee.
“See, isn’t that more comfortable than the floor?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that someone broke into our store and stole a very expensive piece of jewelry. Who could have done this? I knew I should have paid to have that alarm fixed.” I thought I might be sick I was so upset. The alarm system had broken a few weeks ago and there just hadn’t been the money to fix it yet. I should have never kept that brooch. I could kick myself for being so stupid.
“Are you sure it’s not here?”
“I’m positive, Katy. See for yourself. There is nothing in the safe. Just the cash drawers which I pulled out onto the floor there. The safe was unlocked and I’d bet my life on the fact it was locked last night, so someone who knew the combination must have come in here and took it. That’s what makes it even worse. It has to be one of our employees and I just can’t deal with that. Not again.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet there might be other explanations.”
“Like what? Because I certainly can’t think of one.”
“Maybe you left the safe unlocked and someone broke in. Just a random robbery.”
“No. I’m positive that I spun the cylinder back around like I always do when I close it up for the night.”
Which is what I told the cops for the hundredth time an hour later when they showed up and were questioning us. I hadn’t wanted to call them but Katy insisted. She said that to file a claim with the insurance company there needed to be a police report besides the police were actually trained to investigate and solve crimes and they were our best chance at getting it back. I knew she was right I just think I just wanted to hold off because getting the police involved would just make it seem more real and I wouldn’t be able to keep it from Veronica. I wanted to live in denial a little longer.
