Kyle and I looked at each other as if we’d been offered the first spoonful of a hot fudge sundae but were uncertain if it would make us sick. We had no idea what we’d find, but it had to be something important for Vladimir’s family to have gone through so much trouble. Kyle handed me the key. “I think you should do the honors.”
I took the key and, in Russian, said a blessing to our saint of missing things, Saint Feofil of Kiev. He was known for having worn a boot on one foot and a slipper on the other and a towel wrapped around his head. The image made me smile. I thanked him for bringing us to this box, and then suddenly I remembered Bella’s dream, though I kept it to myself.
I closed my eyes, and as I unlocked the box, I thought about Bella’s dream. Was this what the girls were supposed to find?
When I lifted the lid, Kyle cried out, “Oh my God!” I opened my eyes but had to squint, the contents of the box were so dazzling. Necklaces, brooches, and rings—set with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires—lay in a pile, reflecting the overhead bulb in brilliant shards of light. “So this is where the Vronsky family jewels have been! And it must be how the rumor got started that Vladimir sold the family jewels. The man his parents hired must not have been able to keep the secret, and the person he told must have told someone else, while all along we had not a clue. The jewels given to Lillya, Vladimir’s mother, had rarely been seen, and were part of the myth that made her notorious.” I stopped for a second and smiled at the irony, then said to Kyle, “I think the girls and Bella just became very rich!”
We walked out into the hall so that Ann Marie and Lucky could enter. Though we said nothing, we couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces. When Lucky and Ann Marie returned, they teased Marvin. “You’re going to be greatly disappointed,” said Ann Marie.
“Just a bunch of old money, like I thought,” said Lucky. By now Marvin was beside himself.
“Well, Donatella, is it my turn yet? Or did I just come to take care of you all?” Marvin took my hand, and we entered together.
After everyone had had a look, Kyle and I closed the box and told Mr. Milton we’d be back soon.
Still holding our breath, we walked out of the bank, keeping our poker faces in place. We went one block north, turned a corner, and started jumping and screaming. When we quieted down, Ann Marie and Lucky asked, “Did Papa know, and if so, why did he let us all suffer so?”
“At the time,” I mused, “I believe this envelope represented all of your father’s fears, and he couldn’t bear to confront them. I feel quite certain that he put the box someplace he thought would be safe and eventually forgot about it. Or perhaps he decided it was best to leave the past in the past and pretended it wasn’t there.”
“We need to find an honest appraiser,” Marvin said. “One who knows how to keep a secret. These jewels are priceless. You girls are going to have to decide what you want to keep, what you want to sell, and what you want to do with the money. I would say, by the looks of it, your mother’s future is now secure.”
“She could use her portion as principal and live off the interest,” I added.
That afternoon, we visited as many jewelers as we could and asked a lot of questions. Lucky asked to see sapphires. “Can you tell me the difference between these two? What cut best shows off a sapphire, and which do you prefer?”
The first jeweler answered, “I prefer the cut that makes the gem most valuable.” The second jeweler answered, “I prefer the one that best displays the color while enhancing the gem’s luster.”
Ann Marie asked about rubies. “I hear they are made of the same mineral as a sapphire; can you tell me what makes them different?”
“Their scarlet color, of course,” the second jeweler answered. And on the basis of these two answers, and because the jeweler described the red as scarlet, we decided to go with him. As Ann Marie said later, “I believe his answer set this gentleman apart.”
Marvin asked about security and insurance. He wanted to be sure that our box of jewels would be safe and that the jeweler understood the meaning of discretion.
Early the next morning, we headed back to the bank, where we told Charles Milton again that we’d be in touch soon. This time he was the one left wondering what would happen next. Then we returned to Savannah with the key to our treasure chest.
When we got home, Polly said Diamond had called three or four times, and before we could unpack our suitcases, the telephone rang again.
Ann Marie picked it up.
“So?” Diamond asked.
Ann Marie coughed several times, code for “We should talk about this in private”; our phone was a party line. When her coughing fit ended, she simply said, “It went well. Now that I know New York City is not so far away,” she added, “perhaps Lucky and I will pay you a visit.”
“Come soon,” Diamond Claire responded. “You know I’m not very patient.”
¯¯¯
Despite all our efforts to keep it quiet, between the bank, jewelry stores, insurance men, and long-distance calls, an ambitious reporter uncovered the reason for the queens’ mysterious trips. Like everything else that involved the family, the story of the Vronskys’ jewels became news. When Larry read about it in the papers, he erupted like a volcano. “How can that man continue to haunt me in death?” he was reported to say, while Marvin pictured Big Jim snorting like a bull, wondering how he would take his revenge.
Bella, still in Italy, sent a letter to Ann Marie and Lucky. “Go see Diamond. Have your meeting and do as you choose. Your grandparents always meant them to be for you. They’re your legacy.”
Diamond, Lucky, and Ann Marie each kept several pieces and put aside several they thought Bella would appreciate. Diamond’s favorite piece was a butterfly brooch tastefully filled with gems of all colors. Ann Marie kept a beautiful platinum necklace in the shape of a heart filled with teardrop diamonds and a larger teardrop at its center. It matched how she felt, Ann Marie said.
One-fifth of the spoils they left in the safety deposit box for safekeeping. All the rest they sold, except for one piece, a delicate filigree band of ten inverted hearts in which ten small but perfect rubies were set in the middle of each heart, which Lillya had wrapped separately with an attached slip of paper on which was written, “my mother’s wedding band.” Diamond and Ann Marie gave that piece to Lucky, simply saying they thought she should have it.
When they finished with their calculations, one portion was left: the one that would have gone to Spade. That, they deposited with Marvin’s help into my bank account, with a note to me saying, “This is for you and Spade, to help you facilitate your dream.” I didn’t know how to thank them, but I promised it would be put to good use.
¯¯¯
Things began to settle down. We were falling into a rhythm. However, a big wave could arrive at any minute, and I wanted to be certain we were ready.
Kyle and Ann Marie always had either a child or a hammer in their hands as they built their new home. “I want to be able to say to my son, ‘Look what we did. We built the place where you, I, Scarlett, and Mommy live,’” Kyle said.
Lucky and Thomas traveled back and forth between Savannah and New Orleans so frequently I thought they’d probably beaten down their own trail. “Aunt Donatella,” she confided, “I found an engagement ring in Thomas’s suit pocket right before the family jewels were discovered, but since then he hasn’t said anything. I think he’s afraid to propose to me in case I think he wants to marry me for my money. Do you think he’s waiting for me to ask him?” I started laughing, but upon reflection I thought that she was right and told her so.
On Lucky’s next visit to New Orleans, that’s exactly what she did. She told me all about it on her triumphant return.
“Thomas said yes, Donatella. ‘I’ll marry you, Lucia Akinsya Club—’ And then he stopped. I was afraid he’d changed his mind, but then he smiled and added ‘tonig
ht.’ And we married that same night!” Lucky was about to shriek, but instead she proudly displayed her hand. On it she wore a beautiful engagement ring Thomas had bought for her, next to Lillya’s mother’s wedding band. It was a perfect match; each shone brighter because of the other. “I hope you’re not mad, but we couldn’t wait another hour.”
Then Lucky hugged me and let out a shriek, and we both laughed.
“Vladimir would have been proud,” I said, “and I know your mother will be so happy for you. She’s quite fond of Thomas, as we all are.”
Lucky spent two days packing up her belongings and moved to New Orleans. Everything seemed so much quieter without her.
Until it didn’t.
Chapter 51
Big Jim thought he would win. But every man—even ones like Big Jim—has a weak spot. I believed our turn would come, though we might need a little help. So, I hired a private detective to learn about Big Jim’s comings and goings and from that I mapped out a plan. I tried to find out a little about Larry, but his trail seemed to go nowhere. All I learned was that he had a fondness for horses but no longer rode.
Big Jim had already committed so many wrongdoings, he should have been in jail long ago, but somehow he always found a way to make his charges disappear.
“Big Jim is a cheat and a gangster,” the detective said. “His only interest is in putting money into his own pocket. He’s doing business with several shady construction companies, and he hires incompetent workers instead of skilled, seasoned men.
“It’s whispered he started a moonshine business on the side this season. It’s got to bring in some pretty good extra cash because he recently moved into a big log home in the Smokey Mountains not far from Spruce Pine, North Carolina, where he used to live. His stills, I’m told, are up by Loafers Glory to keep out the competition from Johnson City. And that Larry fellow, I think he just ignores Big Jim’s side business.”
Unfortunately, Marvin’s informant got sloppy and it became too dangerous for him to keep working. I couldn’t let retrieving Bess come at the cost of someone’s life.
I hated to think of Bess being stuck with a man like Big Jim. The authorities looked the other way; they were making too much money skimming his profits to do anything unless they were pushed.
I needed to see that Bess was okay. With Marvin’s man no longer in place, it took some coercing on my part, but finally Marvin gave in to my scheme.
¯¯¯
Standing behind a cotton candy truck, we were able to sneak a peek at Bess. She wore a crown on top of her head and a mask around her eyes with diamond-shaped cutouts running down her trunk. A large, ornate red, yellow, and green blanket inlaid with little mirrors covered her back. A long line had formed of children waiting to ride her. With Harsita’s help, I’d dressed Marvin as a Sikh, complete with a turban. I myself wore an Indian sari and an ankle bracelet, with a scarf wrapped around my head.
“We can’t enter the tent,” Marvin had warned me. “Too many workers know who we are, and we can’t afford to be recognized. We’ve got to move fast and learn as much as we can.”
Holding a big pink cloud of cotton candy in front of me to obscure my face, I peeked out at Bess again. I thought I detected some sores behind her ears. “If they’ve hit her with a hook,” I told Marvin, “I’m going to want to kill Big Jim myself.”
I wondered if Bess could sense that I was close by. Did she know I was staring at her? When it comes to elephants, I believe they have feelings much like humans. If she knew that I was near but didn’t stop to say hello, it would break her heart and mine.
Suddenly, I heard someone call out for Larry. Both Marvin and I looked in the direction of the man who turned around and answered. I only got a quick glance. But there was something familiar to me. Knowing my instinct to stay, Marvin grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind the concession truck before I could get a second look.
Bess was the star of Big Jim’s show. She was billed as Queen Bess, an elephant who came from a long line of Russian aristocrats. “Her lineage speaks for itself,” the barker called out.
In the background, I could see a snake enchantress doing a tribal dance as she weaved her magic to an exotic theme of organ music. I became distracted. “Donatella, remember why we are here,” Marvin whispered.
“This is not just any elephant,” the barker went on. “This elephant has lived among queens and other royalty. Her mother performed for the czar of Russia. She is known throughout the world.” Bess played the part, helping to raise Big Jim’s status, but I couldn’t help but notice how sad she looked.
“Patience, Donatella, you don’t want to spoil our chance of bringing her back home.”
Marvin was right. I had to control my emotions and bide my time.
¯¯¯
Our chance to win Bess back would come sooner than we expected. Big Jim and his moonshine boys had become too greedy and began to cut more and more corners. By August, their rash pursuit of riches had caused a highly publicized accident, leaving three men dead, including one drunk but beloved clown, as well as his circus dog, for whom everyone mourned.
Big Jim’s moonshine men had started to travel behind his circus, carrying a still made of big plastic buckets. Everyone in the South knew how dangerous that was; it put hundreds of innocent people in danger. But with the circus close by, they had a built-in customer base. They hired a wrangler to bring in townspeople who were looking for some shine. They could make a lot of money—especially in dry counties, of which, at the time, there were many—and that was all that mattered.
Then some wet-behind-the-ears kid that they’d hired on the cheap snuck off for a smoke, leaving the still unattended. He’d been gone five minutes when the still exploded.
“I’m told it sounded like the world was coming to an end,” Marvin said, telling me the story as we sat in the kitchen. He was peeling shrimp while I chopped up peppers, onion, and celery to make a roux. Thomas had introduced Lucky to the pleasures of New Orleans cooking, and she’d passed those techniques on to me.
“For a few, sadly, it was the end.”
“But the point is, Donatalia, Big Jim is in jail now, and his legal bills are going to hit the roof. I also hear that he and Larry have been fighting. Rumor has it he warned Big Jim that the still would cause more problems than it was worth and if anything happened he would leave and so would Bess. Maybe it’s time to do some dealing.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about that poor clown and circus dog, but I had to admit that Marvin was right. A chance had opened, and we needed to act. And to act, we needed to know our adversary and use that knowledge.
It was clear Big Jim hated Vladimir, alive or dead, and he loathed the Circus of the Queens, open or closed, more than he detested being in jail. He’d always been jealous of Vladimir and resented Vladimir even more for getting the upper hand all those years ago in Atlanta, disgracing him. He couldn’t stand the thought that Vladimir, even on his worst day, had what Big Jim didn’t—respect and class—and he let everyone know how he felt.
What Marvin and I couldn’t understand was why this Larry fellow, who no one seemed to know, felt much the same. I tried to relive our day at the circus and focus on the face that I saw and figure out why it was familiar, or was it nothing at all?
Initially, Big Jim, and maybe now this Larry too, had bought Bess as an act of revenge, but now they viewed her as a touchstone, the benchmark of their success. It was as if they would lose every other animal—the entire circus—before either would let Bess go. But Big Jim remained the greediest man most had ever known. Even when he put up a good front, everyone knew, especially Larry, that it was money that kept his heart beating. And though Big Jim swore he would never, ever knowingly return Bess to the Circus of the Queens, every once in a while, when he thought Larry wasn’t looking, he’d let someone make an offer just to see what she was worth.
Given
this information, I asked myself, how could we make this happen? Our enemy was weak, but he was mean, and he surrounded himself with criminals and thieves, and the partnership that in our eyes had once made him strong now made him vulnerable.
“What about Emily?” Marvin asked as he dumped the shrimp shells into a pot with some onion and the ends I’d cut off the peppers, to make stock for the étouffée. He’d been taking cooking classes from Thomas himself, it seemed, though we differed in how thick we wanted the stock to be.
“I haven’t abandoned her, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just think that Big Jim is the thornier problem and we don’t know as much about this Larry as I would like to. I’ve had my eye on Emily’s zoo. It won’t be long before they’re ready to sell—she’s an expense they can’t afford. Besides, an unhappy elephant isn’t much of a crowd-pleaser.”
Just then the phone rang in the hall, and Marvin went to answer it. When he came back, he was grinning wickedly. “I just got news,” he said. “Big Jim made bail. It must have cost him a bundle.”
“Do we know what he used for collateral?”
“The rumor is he had to put up his house and a portion of his circus. Now that there’s only one month left on the tour, I’ve heard his animals are being neglected except for Bess and the horses. He seems to blame the rest instead of himself for his predicament.”
“He’s tried to wiggle his way out of every mess he’s created by flashing his money around, and so far it’s worked.” Finding myself stirring the roux a little too vigorously, I lowered the flame and turned to face Marvin. “But with Spade’s inheritance, we have resources, too. More importantly, we’re smarter than he is, and we want to do something good.”
“If we’re going to make a move, now’s the time to do it. Big Jim is being buried in lawyers’ fees and circus debt, his stills are closed so there’s no side cash coming in, he’s facing twenty years in prison, and Larry is keeping his distance and doesn’t seem too pleased. He’s probably calculating what he should do. I feel horrible”—Marvin smiled—“but I have an idea that’s going to make Big Jim even more miserable!”
The Fortune Teller's Fate Page 32
