Bats and Bling

by Laina Turner

  “I don’t mean to be rude but do you mind if I make a quick call?”

  “Of course not, go ahead.”

  I hit the speed dial button and Katy answered on the first ring. She’d obviously been waiting for me to call.

  “You need to come home now,” she said frantically, not even bothering to say hello.

  “What’s wrong? Are you OK? Oh my God, did something happen to Cooper?”

  “No, no, nothing like that. I’m fine. Cooper’s fine. We’re all fine. Willie’s here and he needs to talk to you. Just come home.”

  “What is wrong?” I demanded. “You’re freaking me out.”

  “I can’t explain over the phone. Just hurry back.”

  “OK, leaving now.”

  I threw my phone back in my purse, heart racing. I couldn’t even imagine what had happened and was almost afraid to find out.

  “I have to go Angela.”

  “Is everything OK?” she said, sounding concerned.

  “I don’t know. If you think of Veronica’s friend’s name can you call me?” I asked, writing down my cell number on the back of a Starbucks receipt I pulled from my purse.

  “Sure,” she said taking the paper from me.

  I ran out of her apartment to my car and it was all I could do to not speed back to my condo but getting a ticket would just slow me down even more.

  It seemed to take forever but in reality I made good time going home. The traffic had really lessened in the last thirty minutes. Thank goodness. I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d been stuck in traffic.

  I soon pulled into the parking garage and rushed up the stairs to my condo, super nervous as I didn’t know what to expect.

  I flung open the door and Willie, Anna, and Katy were all sitting in the living room with somber looks on their faces. I went and sat in the empty chair, not even bothering to take my coat off and stared at Willie.

  “What is going on,” I demanded. “You have me freaked out.”

  “We found the brooch,” Willie said.

  “That’s great news!” I said excitedly before I realized that no one else seemed to think so. “Isn’t it? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “The police found the brooch pinned to Veronica’s dress when her dead body was discovered,” Willie said in his calm voice that I supposed was comforting to those getting bad news about their loved ones.

  “What do you mean found dead?” I said slowly.

  “It looks as if Veronica was murdered,” he said.

  My hands flew up to my mouth as I let out a gasp. “Oh my God. You’re kidding me.”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “What happened?”

  “We’re still trying to put the pieces together but what we know so far is her housekeeper came in this evening from running errands and went to start making dinner when she found Veronica lying in the kitchen. She’d been stabbed.”

  “But she had the brooch?” I asked confused. Had she been the one to break in and steal it in the first place? That didn’t even make sense.

  “Yep. Like I said it was pinned to her shirt. So either she had it or whoever killed her left it.”

  “So someone stole the brooch, then killed Veronica and left it on her? But why steal it in the first place then?”

  “Right now I can’t answer that, Pres. Listen, I have to head back to the station and it goes without saying that you three need to keep this information to yourselves. I just felt you should know.”

  “Promise. Thanks, Willie for stopping by.”

  I walked him to the door and hugged him goodbye, then went back to sit down with Anna and Katy.

  “I can’t believe it,” I said. “Who could have killed her?”

  Chapter 6fri am

  Willie talks to her about prints

  I pushed the button on my Keurig to fill my travel mug with coffee before heading to working when I heard my cell phone ring in my purse. I’d had another sleepless night filled with nightmares about Veronica. It was going to be another long day at work. I reached over and grabbed the strap of my purse to pull it close enough so I could dig out my phone. It was Willie.

  “Do you have news for me? Do you know who killed Veronica?” I said in a rush.

  “Good morning to you too,” he chuckled. “What makes you think I didn’t just call to say hi?”

  “Because its seven am in the morning and you don’t usually call me this early just to say hi. Not to mention there’s a lot going on right now. I’m expecting more than just a hi from you,” I said, only half joking.

  “Ok, you got me. I was calling to remind you about coming down to the station to be fingerprinted, not just you everyone who works at Silk, so we can eliminate your prints and see what’s left over that might give us a clue.”

  “I was going to try and make it down today and I’ll remind everyone else too.”

  “Don’t just try. Do it,” he said sternly.

  “Have you got any more leads on who could have killed Veronica?” I asked again.

  “Not yet. We still haven’t been able to locate her husband either. He’s out of town on business, according to his office, but he’s not at the hotel they thought he was at and they don’t know where he is.”

  “Do you think he killed her? I heard that he wasn’t happy she bought the brooch, people have killed for less.”

  “Who’d you hear that from?”

  “We visited the jewelry store the brooch came from and one of the sales people told us,” I said and brace myself for his response. I knew he wasn’t going to be too happy with me for interfering. It’s one thing him and Cooper had in common. They both thought I was too nosy and should leave well enough alone when it came to matters like this.

  “Presley!”

  And I was right. At least he didn’t disappoint.

  “Why are you getting involved?”

  “Because I’m freaked out about losing my business if I get sued for the stolen brooch. I thought if I could figure out who stole it, then problem solved.”

  “Well now that that’s not a concern leave it alone and let the police investigate.”

  “OK, OK,” I said crossing my fingers. I knew better than to make promises I might not be able to keep. The brooch might have reappeared but I couldn’t help but still wonder what happened to Veronica and who had stolen it in the first place. My curiosity was even greater now.

  “Someone needs me. Pres, I have to let you go but I’ll call you later. Just make sure you all to get down to the station. Today.”

  “Will do. Bye.”

  I grabbed my purse and coffee and decided against a jacket. It was cool out but I had on a sweater and wasn’t going that far outside and didn’t want the bulk. Trying to cram a bulky fisherman’s sweater like the one I had on, under a coat, was so uncomfortable. Even if it’d been colder out I probably would have chosen not to wear it with a coat. I’d rather freeze than not be able to move.

  It was still early enough I had some time before I had to open Silk and I wanted to talk to Angela again. It was a little early to visit someone I didn’t know that well but I wouldn’t have time until this evening so was going to take the chance she would either be up or would hear the buzzer and wake up. Now knowing that Veronica had been murdered I didn’t want to wait.

  I made decent time and even remembered how to get there without using my GPS. That was a big win for me. Sometimes you had to be proud of the small things and right now I’d take what I could get.

  I walked up to the door and rang the buzzer. I really hoped she was up. I would feel bad if I woke her.

  “Hello?” she answered right away and sounded awake and almost cheerful. A huge change from last night. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d heard about Veronica’s death, but then quickly pushed that out of my mind. Angela didn’t seem like the kind of girl who’d be cheered up from someone’s death. Even if that person had got her fired. Though if she was in a good mood, I felt a little bit better about dropp
ing in on her.

  “Angela, it’s Presley. I’m so sorry to bother you this early but can I come up?”

  “Sure,” she said like it didn’t faze her at all I was here. The buzzer sounded and when I reached her apartment she was standing in her doorway waiting for me.

  “Can I get you some coffee?” she asked, smiling.

  “No thanks. I can’t stay too long and I apologize for drooping by unannounced so early, but I wanted to talk to you.”

  “That’s OK. I’m not sleeping much these days. What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Did you watch the news at all last night?”

  “No. I went to bed right after you left. Why?”

  “Veronica Knapp was murdered.”

  “You’re not serious?”

  “I’m afraid I am. She was found stabbed to death in her home.”

  “Am I a suspect?”

  I don’t know what I expected as a reaction but that was not it. “Um, not that I know of. I mean I wouldn’t be surprised if the police might want to talk to you but I’m sure that’s just a formality.”

  “They already called. Last night after I went to bed. They left a message. I’d just finished listening to it when you buzzed me. I thought maybe the jewelry store was pressing charges against me. Oh my God. This is so much worse.”

  She sat there looking horrified.

  “How would you like a job?” I said out of the blue. As a surprise to even me.

  Angela’s eyes popped wide. “What?”

  “It’s getting close to the holiday season and I need more people and you seem like you’d be just as good selling high end clothes as jewelry.”

  “Really? Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. I realize you might not want to working in a clothing store and depending on how business goes it might just be seasonal but it’s something for now. You know, to get you back on your feet.”

  “I would love to. Jewelry, clothes, I love anything fashion related. The thought of job hunting was depressing me. I appreciate the offer. When do you want me to start?”

  “How about tomorrow?” I hadn’t planned on asking to her to come work at Silk and honestly even if it was getting into holiday season everything was so crazy right now I’m not sure if the store could afford it but she did seem like a great sales person. Sometimes you just had to take risks.

  “I would love to. Tell me what time and I’ll be there and ready,” she said with such enthusiasm I was glad I made the offer.

  “Let me call you when I get to the store and have a chance to look at the schedule.”

  “Of course.”

  “I also wondered if you’d remembered who it was that came in the store with Veronica that one time you told me about last night.”

  She shook her head. “I really racked my brain and I couldn’t remember. I wish I could. Do you really think it would be helpful to finding out who took the jewelry?”

  It might be more helpful than she realized now. I left her once again telling her that I’d call her later with her work schedule and headed back to the store. On the drive I couldn’t help but think about what had happened. I couldn’t figure out why someone would kill Veronica and yet leave the brooch with her. Didn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of stealing it? Maybe it was her husband and that’s why he wasn’t anywhere to be found. Unless something happened to him too.

  Chapter 7 Friday

  “You what?” Katy said when I finally arrived at the store. It had taken me much longer to get there than I’d planned. Stupid traffic. “Why did you offer Angela a job? Do we even need a new sales person. Better yet can you afford someone else on payroll right now?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It just happened and you should have seen the look on her face. She was so happy. Which makes me happy I brought someone a little joy today.”

  “Well let’s hope she’s a good sales person. Good deeds don’t pay the bills,” she said, which made me smile. Katy was the sweetest person I knew but when it came to business she was no nonsense. She didn’t mess around.

  “She seemed to do well at the jewelry store so I bet she’ll be fine.”

  “Did you stop by the police station to get fingerprinted?”

  “Not yet but I promised Willie I would today and to make sure you and everyone else went.”

  “Anna and I went down this morning. She went to keep me company, at least that’s what she said. I think she wanted to get a glimpse of the handsome detective.”

  “Oh really?”

  “He texted her this morning to remind us.”

  My eyebrows shot up. Now that was very interesting news. “I didn’t even know he had her number. How does he have her number?”

  “That’s exactly what my reaction was. I don’t know how he got it but trust me. She was happy he did. She was trying hard to play cool and not seem excited but she was.”

  “Maybe there’s a mutual attraction there?” I said. “That would be kind of cool. He’s such a great guy.”

  “I sent Yvette down to get her fingerprints and when she gets back I’ll send Melissa, which will leave only you.”

  “I think I should be able to make it later this afternoon. Oh crap.”

  “What?”

  “You know what I did forget? To tell Willie this morning about the insurance guy from Windy City Insurance isn’t really an insurance guy.”

  “You don’t know that for sure. Maybe you should see if there is a Windy City Insurance and call. Maybe Raquel was wrong. The owner of Garretts could have called them and not told Raquel.”

  Katy had a point. I needed to make sure the information I had was correct. It was slow so I didn’t bother heading to the back and I looked up Windy City Insurance, half expecting there not to be one, and kicking myself for not researching this right after he’d left. I wasn’t usually so gullible. I felt a little better when the company did pop up in my Google search and I tapped in the phone number to call.

  “Hello, Windy City Insurance. How can I help you,” a woman answered after a few rings.

  “May I please speak to Bert Tremain?”

  “I’m sorry. There is no Bert Tremain who works here.”

  “Are you sure,” I said, realizing as I said it how stupid it sounded. Of course she was sure. She worked there. I was the idiot who thought people told the truth.

  The woman didn’t seem put out because she chuckled. “I’m sure but I do know where you can reach him. Windy City Investigations. Do you have a pen handy. I can give you his number.”

  “That would be great,” I said, not knowing what to think. Since she didn’t seem to find it odd that I had called the wrong place looking for him. And she had his number. What was going on here?

  “It’s 312-555-5555.”

  “Thank you and sorry for the bother.”

  “No worries. It happens all the time.”

  I started to ask why but she’d already said bye and hung up.

  “Well …” Katy asked looking at me expectantly.

  “Bert Tremain doesn’t work for Windy City Insurance. He apparently works for Windy City Detective Agency.”

  “Does that mean he was investigating for some other reason than insurance purposes?”

  “I would guess. I need to tell Willie. Maybe he already knows? I’ll be right back.”

  I headed to the office for privacy in case we had customers come in.

  “I was just getting ready to call you,” he said when he answered on the first ring.

  “Were you calling to tell me you found Veronica’s murderer and whoever broke into Silk?”

  “Not exactly. One of your employees was just in here to give her fingerprints. Yvette.”

  “Yeah, Katy sent her down. Oh God, don’t tell me she’s got a record. That’s the last thing I need to deal with.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Please don’t tell me she’s a criminal.”

  “Just relax. She’s been fingerprinted before for a drug rela
ted arrest when she was sixteen and all charges were dropped. I looked through her file. The DA deemed it poor youthful judgment and let her off with a warning because she’d never been in trouble before and she’s never been in trouble since.”

  “Still, she should of told me.”

  “If if helps, she told me before we ran her prints. She was just afraid to tell you. It was years ago. I think you should cut her some slack. It’s not something you’d tell an employer. When I saw how upset she was over you knowing, I said I’d call and tell you. She seems like a nice girl.”

  I sighed. I’d made my share of mistakes along the way and Yvette was a great employee. I shouldn’t hold something she did years ago against her.

  “You’re right and normally I wouldn’t think it that big of a deal. We all make mistakes I guess. I’m just on edge.”

  “That’s understandable. Just don’t be too hard on her when she gets back to the store. I’ll call you if I hear anything else.”

  “Ok. Oh wait.”

  “What.”

  “That insurance guy who stopped by who I told you about. He’s not an insurance guy. He’s a detective.”

  “What’s his name. I don’t think you told me?”

  “I didn’t think it was important when I thought he was an insurance agent. His name is Bert Tremain. Windy City Detective Agency. Does that ring a bell?”

  “Hmmm. I don’t recognize it but I’ll do some checking. I’m very interested in finding out why a detective is nosing around. Let me know if he comes back or contacts you.”

  “Will do. Talk to you later, Willie.”

  Things were just getting more and more interesting around here. Never a dull moment. How I sometimes wished for a dull moment.

  MOVE WHERE?

  “Sort of. I was calling to tell you that unfortunately nothing we got from your safe matched anyone outside you all. So whoever broke in probably wore gloves.”

  “So we’re dealing with a half way smart crook.”

  “At least one who knows enough to wear gloves.”