Bats and Bling

by Laina Turner

  “I, uh…”

  “I’m Katy and this is Presley and Anna.”Katy said taking over. “We run a boutique called Silk and one of our customers, Veronica Knapp had a custom ordered brooch your store made for her. Well I’m afraid to say it came up missing and we were, well, hoping you might know if anyone knew about that brooch and might want it? Enough to want to steal it?”

  The woman sniffed. “You mean someone who’d want to steal it more than Veronica Knapp?”

  I was so amazed at how Katy had so smoothly engaged this woman that I was afraid I hadn’t heard what she’d just said correctly.

  “What do you mean,” I asked. “I thought Veronica had that piece on loan?”

  “While technically she did it’s not our normal practice to let customers take unpaid merchandise out of the store. When she came to pick it up she conveniently forgot her purse. She talked an associate into letting her take it on the promise she would call later with her credit card number. She never did of course so in my book that’s stealing. I guess she got lucky that it was miraculously stolen from you. Now I’m sure she feels she doesn’t have to pay for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to sue her to get our money.”

  I cringed at the mention of a lawsuit.

  “So you think she took it, never planning on paying for it, Ms….I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Raquel Rivers. And no, I don’t think she planned on paying for it. I think she lied about forgetting her credit card just to get her hands on that thing.She’s just that type you know.”

  “Not really. What type is that?” I asked.

  “The newly rich and entitled type. She thought she should get anything she wanted whether she deserved it or not. We called her husband about payment, he’s bought things for her from us before, and he had no idea she had commissioned a piece and didn’t seem none too happy about it. He was very clear that he wouldn’t be paying for it. In fact he told me he’d cut her off. Though I didn’t ask why and why he even offered that information to me in the first place I don’t know. I don’t care to know the particulars of my customers’ finances.”

  “Is that why your insurance company is investigating? Because you think Veronica planned this?”

  Raquel furrowed her eyebrows. Thought they didn’t move that much. Botox maybe?

  “I haven’t called the insurance company yet. Against my advice the owner wanted to wait and give Veronica a chance to pay up. That brooch was valued at over six figures and while we want to get our money we also don’t want the negative publicity. These matters need to be handled very carefully.”

  “So you didn’t send someone over to my store from Windy City Insurance?” I said confused.

  I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t know which was worse. Knowing how expensive that brooch really was or wondering why that guy was in the store asking questions if he hadn’t stopped by at the request of the jewelry store.

  “Is the associate who allowed Veronica to take the brooch working today?” Katy asked.

  “She may be working but it’s not here. She no longer has a job with us. Mistakes like that can’t be tolerated.”

  “Can we get her name?” I asked.

  “Angela. Angela Scott.”

  “Thank you, Raquel,” I said and she nodded in the way of her goodbye and the three of us walked out.

  ‘That’s not at all what I was expecting,” I said once we got back out to the sidewalk.

  “What that the jewelry store thinks Veronica is a thief?” Katy said.

  “Yeah that and the fact that brooch was valued at over six figures. It was a bat for goodness sake. It was sparkly but sure as hell wasn’t all that beautiful. Though Veronica sure thought so, so maybe you just have to be a fan of bats to appreciate it. I still can’t wrap my head around her not paying for that piece of jewelry and taking it anyway. Who does that.”

  “According to Raquel, Veronica does,” Anna said.

  “Maybe it’s a thrill for her. She’s bored and did it to see how long she could go without paying for it. Just playing a game. Then unfortunately it was stolen from us which of course probably wasn’t in her original plan,” said Katy.

  “That doesn’t actually sound all that crazy, Pres,” Anna said.

  “If that were the case wouldn’t her husband have paid for it when they called him?” I said.

  “Maybe she does this a lot and he’s tired of it. Who knows? You know you can never tell what’s going on inside someone else’s home.”

  “Good point, Katy. What bothers me more is who that Bert guy really is and why was he asking so many questions? I about died when Raquel said they hadn’t yet contacted the insurance company. I can’t believe I was so stupid to take his word for it. He showed me a business card but anyone can get any business cards made up. Hell you can print your own at home these days.”

  “That is a little creepy,” said Katy.

  “May you should call Willie and tell him,” Anna said.

  “I want to talk to this Angela person first. See if she can tell us anything more about how Veronica seemed when she came in to pick up the brooch. Maybe it can give us some insight as to if Veronica did it on purpose or really did forget her credit card.”

  “What good is that going to do?” Katy asked.

  I almost hated saying what I was thinking out loud. I didn’t have any reason to think this way other than my own active imagination. I hesitated.

  “Spill it. What are you thinking in that pretty little head of yours,” Katy demanded.

  “What if she had someone steal the brooch from Silk so she didn’t have to pay for it.”

  They both stayed silent for a few seconds.

  “if she did that she wouldn’t be able to wear it,” Anna said. “So what would be the point?”

  “None. It’s a stupid thought. I don’t even know why it popped in my head. My imagination is getting the best of me,” I said, somewhat embarrassed.

  Katy laughed. “If she was into playing games by not paying for things who knows what else she might do.|

  “Back to the store?” Anna asked.

  “Yep. I want to find Angela.”

  “How do you suppose we go about doing that?” asked Anna.

  “The Google of course,” I replied with a smile. You could find out anything on Google.

  When we got back to Silk we had an unusual afternoon rush and I didn’t have time to Google Angela Scott to see if I could find her until almost five. Not that I was complaining. Today had been great for sales. “I’m heading back to the office, Katy, yell if you need me.” She nodded and I walked to the back filling my coffee cup and adding a splash of pumpkin spice creamer. I loved the heat and the long days of summer but looked forward to fall when I could gorge on everything pumpkin. I loved fall food. I called it the season of weight gain.

  I tapped the keyboard to wake up the monitor and started my search. The first place I went was Facebook. Who wasn’t on Facebook these days? My Mom and her Junior League gardening pals even had a Facebook group these days. There were three Angela Scotts in the Chicagoland area and none of them had a private profile so it took about two minutes to see one hadn’t changed her Worked At status since getting fired and still said salesperson at Garrett Jewelers and my detective work was complete. I was able to get her email, phone number, and address, which I found a little naïve and nuts. There were too many crazies in the world who might just show up at your house thinking you were destined to be together forever before kidnapping you to keep so much personal information out there for the public to see.

  I stuffed the paper with the information in my purse and went back out on the sales floor to see what Katy needed help with before closing for the night. I realized how exhausted I was and immediately felt bad because Katy had been here longer than me today.

  I told her what I’d found out about Angela as we straightened the racks.

  “You really can find out just about anything on Facebook,” Katy said sh
aking her head. “There is no such thing as anonymity anymore. Did you try to Google that insurance guy? Bert what’s his name?”

  “No I was so focused on finding Angela I forgot to look. I’ll do it when I get home. I think I’m going to stop by her house on my way home.”

  Katy frowned. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to call or send an email or at least wait until tomorrow in the morning?”

  “It’s not like she’s some two hundred pound brute who is going to beat me up for stopping by. Plus I’m not the one who fired her so she’d have no reason to be mad at me. I feel that if I stop by her place she can’t hang up on me or ignore my email. I don’t want to wait for answers. I can’t wait for answers.”

  “Maybe I should come with you? I hate to think of you going there alone.”

  “I’ll be fine and you’ve had a longer day than I have so you need to go home and relax. I appreciate everything you’ve done to help and I want you to rest.”

  “If you’re sure. I don’t like the idea of you going alone. Why don’t you call Willie to go with you?”

  “I’m not going to bother him with this. I will be fine. I’ll text you before I go in and when I come put so you know she didn’t abduct me.”

  “That’s not funny, Pres,” Katy frowned.

  “Lighten up. You worry too much.”

  We made quick work of the remaining closing tasks and headed out. I locked the safe and the doors, double and triple checking them, I was paranoid now still having no idea as to how someone broke in. I figured anything was possible at this point. As we walked to our cars Katy asked again, “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I don’t mind, really. I’m not that tired.”

  “Yes. I’ll be fine. Go home and have a glass of wine. Plus Anna is probably bored and you guys can hang out. I won’t be long.”

  “Ok, well call me if you change your mind.”

  Chapter 5 go to Angelas

  I sat in my car, plugged Angela’s address into Google maps and waited a few seconds for the directions to populate. It showed her apartment was six minutes away and this time of evening the traffic should not be too bad. At least that’s what I hoped. Sometimes you never could tell. I pulled out of the parking garage and headed down the route. Turning the radio on, volume low, as to not drown out the directions. About thirty minutes later, traffic was much worse than I had anticipated, I pulled into an older apartment complex. It had seen better days and was sorely in need of a paint job and some weed pulling but in Chicago real estate was expensive, even to rent, and you couldn’t be too picky when it came to aesthetics. Clean and safe were the things that were important in this city. Then location and then aesthetics. Unless you were rich you didn’t have many options. It was worth it though. Chicago was an awesome place to live.

  I found her building number and parked. Grabbing my purse I walked up to the front door, which of course was locked. Not surprising that you had to be buzzed in. That was pretty normal. It could however be a potential obstacle for me because if she didn’t want to talk to me she didn’t have to let me in and there wasn’t much I could do about it. And then there was always the possibility she wasn’t even home. I pressed the button for her unit and a few seconds later a soft female voice answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Angela?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t know me and I’m sorry to intrude, but my name is Presley Thurman. I was hoping we could chat a few minutes about the brooch Veronica Knapp took. I don’t know if you’ve heard but it was stolen and I own the store it was stolen from.”

  There was a long pause and I knew there was a good chance, a very good chance that she wouldn’t answer or let me in. I’m not sure I would have in her shoes and I started to think maybe this had been a bad idea. I was just about to press the button again and ask her to please talk to me when I heard the door unlock. I grabbed the handle and swung it open, walking through it and heading up to apartment number #115, which is what it had said on the mailbox. I knocked softly on the door when I arrived and hoped she hadn’t changed her mind about talking but she opened it right away.

  “C’mon in,” she said with a half hearted smile.

  I looked around her apartment as I stepped in and thought she had really good taste. Nothing expensive, my guess is a lot of it was thrift shop, but it was very eclectic and well put together. It had a very homey, comfortable feel. I wish I had her talents in decorating.

  “Beautiful apartment, “I told her.

  “Thanks,” she said softly. I wasn’t sure what she normally looked like but my guess was this wasn’t it. Mainly because her apartment was so put together and spotless it seemed out of place that she looked a mess. Not that I was judging. She had just lost her job. I’d been there. I got it. She was a stunning girl. White blond hair, definitely natural, big green eyes, and even without make up her skin was flawless, just blotchy, I could tell she’d been crying. Even so she was gorgeous and I would kill for her eye lashes. They were long and dark and made her green eyes pop. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had them tinted. If they were natural I was even more jealous. She looked like a natural blond so to have such dark eyelashes seemed odd. She was in black yoga pants and a grey t-shirt with what looked like a coffee stain on the front. From the looks of her outfit I imagined she’d slept in her clothes. Saying they were wrinkled was a bit of an understatement.

  “I appreciate you talking to me. I’m sorry you lost your job.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again, feeling bad. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  “It’s ok. I’ve been crying all day, it’s not your fault.” She attempted to laugh.

  “You said the brooch was stolen? I guess I don’t understand.”

  “I was providing dresses for a fashion show Veronica was organizing and to make a long story short I kept the brooch for safekeeping and well turns out if wasn’t very safe and someone stole it.”

  Angela gasped. “Oh no. Raquel must be fit to be tied.”

  “She certainly didn’t have many good things to say about Veronica. Which is why I came to see you.”

  “Did Raquel give you my address?”

  “No. She told me your name and I Googled you. Actually, I Facebook stalked you. You should really change your privacy settings. There are too many weirdos in the world. I’m not one of them,” I quickly assured her with a smile.

  She smiled back. “Wow. I can’t believe someone stole that brooch. Is it bad that I’m almost happy for the first time since getting fired? I I know it’s stupid to be this upset but I really liked that job. I was good at it. I was always in the top three in sales and was building up a large repeat clientele. I was starting to make some real money.”

  “So Veronica Knapp was one of your customers?”

  “She was really Raquel’s but for some reason a couple weeks ago Raquel told me she was giving her to me.”

  “Did you find that odd?”

  “A little. Raquel wasn’t normally that giving. Especially to someone who spent a lot of money. Mrs. Knapp was not the easiest customer to deal with so I assumed Raquel was tired of her. It’s not like she didn’t already have plenty of other rich clients. I wasn’t going to argue. It added to my pay check. She bought a lot of jewelry. A good sized piece at least once a month. I thought I was doing the right thing by letting Mrs. Knapp take the brooch. She threw such a fit when she first asked and I told her no, I let her take it.”

  “You didn’t ask Raquel first?”

  “She was on her lunch break and I was the only one in the store besides the security guard. I thought if I didn’t let her take it I would get in trouble and I certainly didn’t want to lose her business. She’s been a customer for years. Way longer than I’ve worked there. I never thought for a million years she wouldn’t come back and pay for it. She’s spent a lot of money on jewelry and paying for it was never an issue before. How was I supposed to know this time was wh
en she decided paying was optional.”

  She was probably right about that. She could have just as easily lost her job by not letting Veronica take the brooch. Sometimes you couldn’t win for losing.

  “When was the brooch stolen?”

  “Last night.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  I nodded because she was right in that statement.

  “Do you know who took it?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. See if you had any idea who might have wanted to steal the brooch from Veronica.”

  “I don’t really know Veronica all that well except for as a customer. You don’t think it was just random? Someone breaking into your store for money and getting lucky?”

  “It could be that,” I said honestly. “I guess I’m being optimistic that someone had it out for Veronica. If I have to pay for that loss it’ll ruin me.”

  “So you’re hoping to find the person who stole it?”

  I nodded, figuring by this point she thought I was nuts but to her credit she didn’t comment on that fact.

  “Did anyone ever come in with Veronica or ask about the brooch at any time? Not many people knew the brooch was in my safe and so I’m trying to figure out if there was anyone else who might have known about it that I don’t know about.”

  Angela sat there for a second as if thinking.

  “When she came in to see what our designer had drawn up to give her approval she brought a friend with her.”

  “Do you know the friend’s name?”

  “She introduced her but I don’t remember. I’m sorry. Raquel hadn’t yet turned her over to me so I didn’t pay much attention to them.”

  “You mean Veronica had already commissioned that piece when Raquel gave her up?” If Raquel had done most of the work why would she turn the sale over to Angela. I’d been in sales long enough to know good sales people didn’t do that. They were too cut throat.

  Damn. “That’s OK. I …” A buzzing sound coming from my purse stopped me.

  “Excuse me a second Angela,” I said as I pulled my phone out of my purse. I saw it was a text from Katy that said call me 911. That worried me. My heart started to race with possibilities of what could have happened.