divorced divas 02 - crimped to death

by Kappes, Tonya

  “For goodness sakes, Holly. The woman is under a lot of stress. Stress can kill a woman’s figure.”

  She wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know.

  “I know, but I found out that the treats from Food Watchers is really Charlie’s doing.” My brows lifted.

  “What?” The skin between Ginger’s eyes wrinkled in confusion.

  “Charlie is Barbie’s sister. And when I went to weigh in this morning, Barbie told me that Charlie used to be fat and is jealous of all skinny people. When I told her that her pastries were flying off the shelf, she didn’t know what I was talking about.” I drew back and slowly nodded. Shock and awe covered Ginger’s face. “Yep. She said that Charlie was an excellent baker.”

  “Didn’t you say that Charlie wouldn’t give you a sample?” Ginger asked, her eyes narrowed.

  “Oh my God,” I gasped. “I forgot about that. She wanted Bernadine to stay heavy while she made her move on Henry.” I snapped my fingers. “And when Henry talked about Bernadine’s weight loss, I bet she got jealous and started pumping Bernadine full of sugar.”

  “It’s all making sense.” Ginger looked over at the meeting as Bobbi called it to order. “I think you are going to get an ear full out of Patsy today. You need to ask her about Dr. Russell’s infidelity.”

  “Why? Charlie probably did it alone.” There really wasn’t any good evidence pointing fingers at him, only the public fight.

  “I had overheard his interior decorator was spying on Henry to get all the latest equipment and Henry’s secret for success and telling Dr. Russell. Which means that she and Dr. Russell were working together.” She took another sip of her coffee.

  Slowly we walked up to the group. My mind couldn’t wrap around the fact that Dr. Russell had anything to do with it.

  “Did you find out from Joni if the cameras were installed?” I reminded her of her one detective job in clearing Bernadine’s name.

  “Yes. I mean no. Henry was still on the waiting list.” She leaned over and in a low voice said, “Joni did say that he said that it was fine because he had his own way of security until we got them installed.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  She shrugged.

  His own security? My mind reeled. Now would be a good time to have been speaking to Donovan. He was so good at this security computer stuff that he probably knew.

  I took my phone out of my bag and looked to see if he had texted me. But he hadn’t.

  Can we talk? I texted him quickly and slipped the phone back in my pocket.

  “Holly Harper has so graciously found time in her schedule to help out.” Bobbi Hart put the spotlight on me. “Since she’s great with her hands from her beading jewelry,” she held her wrist in the air, “I know she’s going to do a great job with the decorating committee, which meets tonight for the finishing touches. Holly, we are happy to have you. Even if it is late.”

  And there she went. Bobbi’s specialty was digging in the gut when she didn’t need to. But of course I smiled and let her have the last word.

  “Bye, Holly!” Patsy called out and gave a twinkle wave. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  I tilted my head back and smiled.

  “I think I have been replaced.” Ginger folded her arms and her jaw clenched.

  I put my arm around her as we walked to our cars. “I don’t know. Maybe,” I joked. “Are you kidding me? No one, not even Marlene would be able to replace you.” I gave her a gentle squeeze before we went our separate ways.

  Do you want to meet for a coffee tonight? Donovan texted back, sending a little jolt to my heart.

  The only thing I had tonight was the decorating committee meeting.

  I have a committee meeting at 6 p.m. to finish the decorations for the Barn Dance but I’m sure it will be over by 7. Can you meet at 8? I texted back.

  Surely it wouldn’t take that long to put the finishing touches on a few decorations. Plus I wanted to make sure Donovan was going to go with me to the dance.

  Dessert at 8 at Second Cup? My text dinged.

  I will be there. I promise. My heart fluttered. I knew it wasn’t a sure second chance but it did feel like it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I flipped the sign over when I walked into The Beaded Dragonfly and pulled in the cardboard boxes full of new stock that were left by the UPS guy.

  At some point I was going to have to grab Willow from home. She would be fine alone all day, but I wasn’t complete without her. Plus she loved running around the shop being my little vacuum.

  I cut a few of the boxes open to see what had come in.

  “Yipppee!” I could hardly contain my excitement when I pulled out the plastic bag full of Celestial Crystal Beads. It was the latest trend in the fashion beaded jewelry world and they were hard to get. Every time I tried to order them, they had been on backorder.

  The opaque orange with the half-coat smoky design glistened in the natural sunlight that glowed through the windows. I was definitely going to set those aside for Patsy Russell. Those gems would make her salivate and hopefully she’d open up about her husband’s extra-curricular activities, by that I meant Charlie.

  The bell over the door dinged, causing me to turn around.

  “Noah Druck.” I wasn’t sure why I had said his name, but it took me aback seeing him without his Swanee police uniform on. “I was going to call you today. Or Officer Kiss.”

  “Because you have decided to give us the information we are seeking about Bernadine?” he asked.

  “Are you on or off duty?” I wanted to know if I was on record or not. There wasn’t anything I wanted to say and have it used it against me.

  “I’m off duty, but I thought we could talk a bit about your Diva divorced group.” He walked around the shop. He put his hand in one of the clear Swarovski crystal bins and picked up a few. He bounced his hand up and down, situating them in his palm.

  Silently I squealed in fear they would bounce out of his hand and roll into the Under.

  “Can you bring those to me?” I asked.

  Problem solved. The clear beauties would go great with the new Celestial beads, which would be sure to please Patsy.

  Noah walked over and put them on the counter. I scrambled to collect them as they rolled on top of the glass.

  “Sorry about that.” Noah’s mouth spread in a frown.

  “That’s okay.” I smiled and grabbed an empty bin from the shelf behind me, dropping them in there. I set the bin next to the Celestials. I could already see a beautiful pattern forming.

  “What did you want to talk about?” he asked, referring to me telling him that I was going to call him.

  “You know the unaccounted for crimp tool?” I planted my hands on the counter.

  “The one that Bernadine used on her ex?”

  “Funny. But no.” I smiled. I knew I was about to throw him for a loop. “I found it under there.” I pointed to the shelf near the bead table where Bernadine had sat the night of the murder. “I don’t have a missing set of crimp tools so you can cross off the list that those came from here.”

  “How do I know you didn’t get them in a new shipment?” He pointed to the boxes piled high near the counter.

  “You can go back through all of my packaging slips.” I opened the drawer where Marlene files all the packaging slips, pulled out the files, and tossed it on the counter. “I have to keep them for my accountant.”

  “I just might do that.” The file was like candy to a kid. He couldn’t resist. He opened the file and thumbed through them. “Mind if I take these with me?”

  “Nope. And the credit card receipts I use for all of my purchases are in there too. You can subpoena the records, I assume.”

  He glanced up. He knew I was right. I could see it in his eyes. Noah Druck was never good at hiding his emotions. That was probably why it was rumored that Officer Kiss was considered the bad cop in the good cop bad cop routine they do.

  “This me
ans that whoever killed Henry Frisk, had their own crimp tool and I know Bernadine doesn’t have any beading tools at her house.” My brows lifted.

  “I’ll give you that, but,” he paused. “We have the murder weapon which came from her knife set that she so happened to hide in her row boat.”

  He eyed me suspiciously. I stared back, knowing he was using his five senses to see if I knew something about the knife. Would he be able to use that against me and say I was a co-conspirator?

  “She didn’t do it.” I did the cross my heart universal sign with my finger.

  The evidence was against her, but someone was setting her up.

  “Were her prints on the knife?” I asked. He shook his head. “You were all willy-nilly with that fingerprint powder. Were her prints anywhere in his office?”

  His brows furrowed. “How do you know how much fingerprint powder we used at the scene?”

  “I . . . “ I swallowed hard.

  “Holly Harper?” Noah leaned in a little, not once taking his eyes off of me.

  “I remember how much you used in here. I can only imagine what you did there.” I was quick to think on my feet.

  “Well,” he continued with trepidation in his voice, “who else would have access to a crimp tool, like yours, and could have used Bernadine’s knife to kill Henry Frisk?”

  “Charlie St. Clair.” I blurted out.

  “Charlie the Food Watchers specialist?” he asked with curiosity.

  “Yes. She came in here with a beaded bracelet that she made at home.” I shook my finger. “It wasn’t just any beaded bracelet. It was flawless. Not a newbie job.”

  “Why on earth would a hottie, who is dating Sean,” his voice escalated, “ want anything to do with old Henry Frisk?”

  “You tell me,” I suggested. “You are the cop. All I know is Henry Frisk was seen with a blonde at The Livin’ End and she was also his interior decorator for the new office.”

  Ding. The door opened. Patsy Russell walked in, sporting a cute denim baseball hat, denim shirt, and white denim jeans. The finishing piece was her hot pink sneakers and jewels to match.

  “Hi, Officer Druck.” Patsy oozed southern charm, putting Noah in her spell.

  “Mrs. Russell.” His face reddened. Quickly he turned back to me. “I’ll look into it, Holly.”

  “Yeah,” I warned, “you do that.”

  “Have a good day ladies.” Noah tipped his head in the good gentlemanly fashion before he headed out the door.

  I wasn’t sure telling Noah what I had found out was good or bad, but the way I figured, it took some heat off of Bernadine. It would buy me time to find the real killer; while it took him time to work on the information I gave him.

  Granted, I didn’t know if Charlie was with Henry that night. I was relying on Agnes Pearl to get that information out of her nephew, Bradford.

  “I know I’m a bit early, but I’m a little excited about using my creative side.” She sat her fancy handbag on the table. “And a little girl time couldn’t hurt either.”

  “I heard they found the knife set at—” Marlene bolted through the door with her mouth running a mile a minute. “—Bernadine’s,” she whispered when she saw there was a customer in the shop. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know we had customers. I should really keep my mouth shut.”

  “I’m just one of the girls.” Patsy smiled and waved off Marlene’s ill manners. “Besides, I have heard all the rumors about your friend, Bernadine. But like they say, you are innocent until proven guilty.”

  “Finding out the murder weapon belongs to her is kind of proven if you ask me.” Marlene rolled her eyes, then zeroed in on Patsy’s jewels.

  Patsy Russell was probably right up Marlene’s alley. They both are beautiful women, who love beautiful things. Like Patsy, Marlene has only dated and married the older, wealthy men. Up until recently Dr. Russell was the only dentist around Swanee and everyone had to go to him.

  “I love your lashes.” Patsy got a little closer look at Marlene’s face.

  “They are implants.” Marlene batted them.

  That was all it took for the two of them to bond. I continued to do Marlene’s job and empty out the boxes while she and Patsy discussed the latest trends. Marlene was drooling. The difference between her and Patsy—Patsy could afford it and Marlene could admire them from the magazines.

  “That is what is so amazing about working here.” Marlene walked over to the counter and picked up the Celestial beads. “These are amazing, Holly. I can’t wait to design something fabulous with these.”

  Marlene was good because she knew if we could get Patsy Russell as a client, we would be able to make more money. Plus Marlene would have an instant friend, which Patsy was totally in the market for new friends.

  Patsy’s eyes grew larger under that baseball cap when Marlene dangled the strand from her fingers.

  “Those are gorgeous,” Patsy gasped.

  She walked over and held her hand out, lightly touching the amazing orange beads.

  “These would compliment the outfit I’m wearing to the Barn Dance.”

  Marlene placed them in Patsy’s palm. Patsy was busy inspecting each one with a twinkle in her eye when Marlene turned to me and winked.

  Hook, line, and sinker.

  “Those are amazing. I’ve been waiting a few months for them.” I reached over and plucked them from Patsy’s hand. “I know they will sell so fast after I make a few pieces from them. Plus no one around here has any since they are so in demand in New York.”

  “Can I see those again?” Patsy gestured toward the Celestials.

  If I sweetened the pot by adding the Swarovski crystals, I knew she wasn’t going to let the Celestials go and didn’t care what it was going to cost her.

  “Sure.” I took one of the black cloths from behind the counter to lay the beads on. The black made them pop even more. I took a handful of the clear crystals and quickly laid them up against the orange ones. “I was thinking these clear crystals would be a wonderful accent piece to the necklace and matching bracelet.”

  “Oh, what about the smoky grey Swarovski?” Marlene made a great suggestion that made me a little envious that I didn’t think of it.

  She walked over to the Swarovski bins and pulled some of the grey ones out, bringing them over to use and laying them on the black cloth.

  Patsy’s mouth was watering.

  “No one has these around here?” She couldn’t keep her fingers off of them.

  “Not yet. But,” I took a calculated pause for effect, “I have a new bridal appointment today and I’m sure she’ll grab them up. These won’t last long, even at the more expensive price.”

  “How much?” Patsy probed.

  “The set will sell for around three hundred dollars.” I sighed before I scooped them up.

  She’d had ample time to look at them.

  “Even for a friend?” Worry set in her eyes.

  “Hi!” The bell dinged when my new bridal appointment stepped through the door. “I’m here for my first bridal appointment.” She beamed. Her eyes darted around the room.

  “Hi, I’m Holly Harper.” I walked around the corner of the counter with one hand out to greet the bride and the Celestials gripped in the other. “I can’t wait to show. . .”

  Patsy snatched the strand from my grip. “I’ll take them.”

  “I can’t wait to work with you.” I smiled at the bride who was bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation. “Marlene, can you please go retrieve Reba’s bridal box?”

  “Bridal box? Is that the same thing you did for Margaret?” Reba had kept the bridal book at Margaret’s wedding.

  She had told me at the wedding how much she loved Margaret’s jewelry and how she was going to be getting married soon. I had given her the low-down on how I worked with my brides and gave her a card. Reba called The Beaded Dragonfly the next day to set up the appointment for today. . .months later.

  Patsy was busy admiring the Celestials as I g
ot Reba situated at the bride’s table.

  “Thank you, Marlene.” I took the box and set it in front of Reba.

  She beamed when she saw her name printed on the tag. I flipped it over so she could see the appointment tag.

  “Here are the appointment times I have set up for you.” I went through them one-by-one. “You need to check your calendar today and see if you need to change any of these consultations. It’s important that we set all of these dates in stone in order for your custom designs to be complete by the day you walk down that aisle.”

  “I will make them work.” Reba ran her hands along her box. “I’ve been waiting months for this day. I can’t wait to see what you can design for my vintage lace gown I’m using. It was my grandmother’s.” There was pride in her voice.

  “Wonderful.” I clasped my hands together and pinched my lips tight.

  Poor girl. There was a time I was her. Now I was far from how she felt and wanted to tell her to run. Run far, far away.

  “I want you to take a look at these design magazines. List at least six things you like. Not the actual full design, but if you like the way one clasp is or how the necklace lays on the neck.” I pushed a couple of the jewelry magazines closer to her. “I’m going to get my other client started and be back in a few minutes.”

  Eagerly, Reba didn’t waste time. She opened the first magazine with a smile curling up one corner of her mouth.

  Marlene had brought out the bridal champagne and gave Patsy a glass too. The two of them were getting along swimmingly. Marlene had already sat Patsy at a table and gotten a bead board from the back of the shop and was showing Patsy all the tools she was going to need to create her masterpiece.

  Patsy looked lost and for a second I thought she was going to talk Marlene into making the piece, but I had to keep her here. I needed information about Dr. Russell and his relationship between Charlie and Henry Frisk.

  “I can help if you need me.” I walked up behind them and looked at the bead board. I arranged a few beads sitting there to give Patsy a pattern to work with. “I think you need some Bali beads to give it the dark look you are aiming for.”