“No. I have to pick up Megan at her friend’s and Timmy at school.” She checked her watch. “I’d better get going. Go ahead and buy what we decided on and anything else we need. I have some money saved from costumes I sewed for Megan’s classmates at Halloween. I stowed the money in a shoe in the closet.”
“So Joe doesn’t know?” Caprice asked. If Bella was keeping more secrets from her husband, that wasn’t good.
Bella’s brow furrowed as she frowned. “Don’t go all judgmental on me. I just didn’t want to face what he’d have to say or what he’d want to do with the money. Sure, if we need it for food, we’ll spend it. But we don’t. Everything is not as black as he thinks. So anyway, buy what you need for Mom’s party. I’m in.”
Nikki’s narrow-eyed look as she studied Bella mirrored what Caprice was thinking. Bella’s marriage was in big trouble.
An hour later, Nikki couldn’t help but stop at almost every display at Older and Better. If she wasn’t picking up a lead-crystal vase, she was studying a piece of Depression glass or peeking into an interesting cupboard that was fashioned with two doors and a side piece.
“I think that was used as a refrigerator in the late 1800s,” Caprice told her. “They put a block of ice in the bottom cavity.”
“Much too pretty for ice. It looks like something you might like.”
“I have enough furniture for now. Maybe if I restage my living room—”
They both laughed.
“Not likely anytime soon,” Caprice added. “I’ve got to admit, once Roz and Dylan leave, the house is going to seem empty.”
“Maybe you need another roommate?”
“Or maybe I just need to find another stray pup.”
“I wasn’t talking about another roommate per se, you know.” Nikki’s golden-brown eyes danced with mischief.
“Oh, I know. But it will be a long time till I’m ready for anything like that.”
“Even if the handsome doctor sweeps you off your feet?”
“I don’t get swept off my feet easily.” At least that had been true before she’d met Seth.
“Red roses help, don’t they?”
“Did Nana tell you?”
“We’re looking out for your best interest, that’s all. You have to be prodded every once in a while to help you realize you can still have dreams. How was your coffee date this morning?”
Caprice wasn’t sure what she thought about having dreams, at least not the happily-ever-after kind. If anything, she was more interested in the here and now with Seth and what could possibly happen with that.
But when she remembered sitting across the table from him at the Koffee Klatch, their knees bumping—
The aroma of brewing coffee had wafted all around their small wrought-iron table. Seth had looked so handsome in khakis and a polo shirt.
Smiling at her, he’d noticed how she’d had her coffee prepared. “So you’re definitely a whipped cream kind of woman.”
“And you’re straight black coffee all the way.”
“I’ve grown up on caffeine. Necessary in my line of work.”
“How do you sleep at night?”
From the look he gave her, maybe he was thinking about how she slept at night. Then he shrugged. “I’ve trained myself to fall asleep and wake up on demand.”
“Sort of like a soldier.”
“I guess you could say that.”
“I admire what you do. It’s selfless.”
Holding her gaze, he took her hand and folded his fingers around hers. “You could give a guy a swelled head.”
“Only if he deserves it.”
Seth had chuckled and she’d grinned back, and the warm feeling surging through her had had nothing to do with hot coffee. Knowing their coffee date would soon be over, she’d explained, “My family is having a surprise birthday party for my mom Monday at my place. Would you like to come?”
“I would. But I’m working at the clinic until three.”
“If you can be at my place by four, you’ll be able to shout surprise.”
“I’ll try to make it by four. If I can’t, I’ll phone you and come over after you surprise her.”
Suddenly she thought of Seth meeting the clan. “My family can be overwhelming. I have two sisters, a brother, Nana—”
He squeezed her hand. “I’ve worked in a big-city ER. I think I can handle a few relatives.”
What she liked about Seth as much as everything else was his ability to put life in perspective.
She’d lost her perspective completely when he’d walked her to her car, pulled her close . . . and kissed her.
Oh, yes, Seth could sweep her away. But was she going to let him?
Julie Ann, Isaac’s main clerk, came from the back of the store to greet them, interrupting Caprice’s reflection on her date, the heat that still lingered when she relived Seth’s kiss.
She whispered to Nikki, “The date was everything a coffee date should be.” That was all she was going to say.
“You’re Nikki and Caprice, right?” Julie Ann inquired.
“We are. Did Isaac tell you we need to look through some boxes?”
“He phoned me this morning. Right this way. Take the back door outside the shop and go to the storage shed. He doesn’t usually have files in there, but he carried the boxes there for you.” She looked at Caprice. “He said if you feel like baking him some biscotti, that would be a great repayment.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll make him a rum cake.”
Julie Ann laughed. “I think he’d carry more boxes down for you for that. Come on. I’ll unlock the back door.”
Five minutes later, Caprice and Nikki were checking out the old storage shed and Julie Ann had returned to the shop. Shelves with old lanterns and tools, antique tin cans and figurines lined two sides of the shed. In the back, chairs, mostly ladder-back with cane seats, were stacked on top of each other. In the sparse space that was left in the middle of the concrete floor sat four cartons, none of which were labeled. Isaac had laid a tattered rug on the floor and tossed pillows on top of that so they could sit there if they wanted to sort through the contents of the cartons.
As Nikki began to untape one box, she asked, “So do you think Dad’s going to be able to get Mom to your place without her asking too many questions?”
“I think Dad can persuade Mom to do anything. He’ll just tell her I’m having an impromptu picnic. The only thing she won’t like about that idea is she doesn’t have time to cook anything for it. Dad and I will stay in contact by cell phone. So this really should be a surprise. Unless one of us lets something slip.”
“You mean Bella?”
“I mean Bella. On the other hand, she’s not saying much about anything because of her secret. So she’ll probably stay away from Mom and Dad until the party.”
Nikki began to get bored after sorting through the first two boxes. She’d looked through one and Caprice the other.
“This is dull,” she complained.
“Detective work is mostly dull, from what I hear. It’s the details that matter. Like Nana says, I have to find the missing link.”
Nikki climbed to her feet, put her hands on her back and stretched. Crossing to an ornate table lodged between two chairs, she said, “This is kind of cute.”
“It would be more attractive if it were painted and distressed,” Caprice responded, after giving it a quick once-over.
Nikki took a step back and studied it again. “I think you’re right.”
“I have to be right or my clients would fire me.”
“I guess they would. You’re always dealing with expectations. If they don’t sell their house, I suppose you don’t get referrals.”
After a thoughtful pause, Nikki asked, “It’s been a lot harder for you to get into the home-staging business than you let on, hasn’t it?”
A fistful of receipts in her hand, Caprice set them in her lap. “Beginning to stage homes took a ton of research, a lot of footwork, an
d honing PR skills I didn’t know I had. People are people across the board, it’s true. But when I went after high-end staging accounts, I had to learn what rich people want.”
“What do they want?”
“They want me to be right. They want to be able to trust me, not just my skill, but my connections. If I recommend a real estate agent, they want it to be the best real estate agent for them. They want an offer they can live with and be proud of. Early on I learned these clients, especially the entrepreneurs, network like no others. That’s how I’ve been able to get this business up and running so quickly, fitting into their networks.”
“You’re good at whatever you do, Caprice. We’re all in awe. Vince won’t admit how much he respects you, but I will. Sometimes, I do think Bella feels intimidated by you.”
“Bella isn’t intimidated by anything or anyone.”
“I think she’s intimidated by Joe.”
Caprice considered that. “I always thought she just wanted to please him . . . wanted to be the best wife, the best mom. She wants him to be proud of her.”
“You’re worried about her, aren’t you?”
“I am. But after the party, maybe everything will settle down.” Caprice rifled through the papers on her lap. “Or maybe it will get all fired up. You know how Joe can be.”
“He loves Bella.”
“I hope so.”
Still exploring Isaac’s inventory in the shed, Nikki picked up a figurine of a courtly gentleman seated beside a beautifully dressed lady. “Nana might like this. I think it’s a music box.” She turned the key and a tinkling melody began issuing from the statue.
“It’s ‘The Way We Were,’” Caprice said, immediately recognizing the melody. “I’ve watched that movie with Nana more than once.” She hummed along for a few bars with the music box until it stopped.
“Come on,” she said to Nikki. “Let’s get through the papers. I have research to do tonight on a home builder who is planning a new development. I’d like to stage his model homes.”
“Luxury homes?”
“Not exactly. Homes around three thousand square feet. My brand could help his and vice versa.”
“Do you have a meeting with him?”
“I haven’t set one up yet. I want to know everything about him before I do.”
Returning to Caprice and the boxes, Nikki lifted out a handful of papers. For the next fifteen minutes, they sorted, scanned, and particularly studied the sales dates. They were about to give up when Caprice noticed, “These receipts are from three years ago. That’s the right time period. And there are notes on many of the invoices . . . descriptions and histories too.”
Nikki suddenly stopped flipping through them. Carefully, she examined a paper on her knee. “Describe the dagger to me again.”
“It has a gold and jeweled hilt. Did you find it?”
“I think I did! There’s a picture too. Hold on. There’s another page stapled to it.”
Scrambling over to Nikki, Caprice peered over her shoulder. The copy was faint, but still readable. “There’s the provenance.”
Caprice pointed to the dagger’s history and then she pointed to something underneath it that was in quotes, a little bolder than the rest. “And there’s the legend that goes with it. You were right about it having one.”
They read it silently together.
“What do you think it means?” Nikki asked.
“I’m not sure, but this could be the missing link. I think maybe we’ve been looking too hard at one place. Maybe we need to look at suspects we haven’t considered before.”
“Like?”
“I’m not sure. Let me think about it.”
“The problem is, Caprice, you don’t just think, you do. Promise me if you figure this out, you’ll call in help.”
“When I figure it out, then I’ll know what to do.” She knew she sounded confident enough, but then she remembered the other night at the storage compartment. When panic took over, a person didn’t know exactly what to do.
She would not panic . . . because panic could get her killed.
Chapter Eighteen
Vince had brought Lonnie!
Standing at the buffet table in her backyard on Monday afternoon, Caprice helped Nikki arrange the trays with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe, sausage with pepperoni balls, and a lentil and tomato salad served in puff pastry cups. Those were merely the hors d’oeuvres. When she’d noticed her brother descending the porch steps with Lonnie, she’d realized they were among the first to arrive for her mom’s surprise party.
“Where is everybody?” Vince asked Caprice.
“They’ll be here,” she assured him. “Bella asked everyone to arrive no later than four. Everyone will probably pile in at once. The hors d’oeuvres are ready when they do.”
“I hope you don’t mind that Vince brought me.” Lonnie seemed nervous as she glanced from Caprice to Nikki.
“Of course, we don’t mind,” Caprice assured her. “Vince told me about your appointment at CDER with the FDA official.” Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area was known for its agencies with acronyms. “Vince said your meeting went well. How do you feel about it?” Caprice asked, eager to have Lonnie’s opinion.
“The man was thorough. He wanted to know every little detail. But I only knew so much. I only heard so much.”
“But they will investigate?”
“As I told you after the meeting,” Vince said patiently, “like any government agency, they’re close-mouthed. They’re not going to tell us what they’re going to do next. They probably don’t want anyone to know. The element of surprise and all that.”
Leaning a little closer to Lonnie, he motioned to the transformed backyard. “So what do you think? Did my brother-in-law and I do a great job or what?”
Lonnie’s gaze drifted to the four white canopies, the white folding chairs trimmed with silver and pink bows, the tables covered with pale pink cloths with their pink roses and silver streamer centerpieces. “I think it looks fabulous. I can’t believe you did all this yourselves.”
“We set up the canopies and had the tables and chairs delivered yesterday,” Nikki explained. “While Caprice and I prepared the food trays this morning, Roz covered the tables, worked on the flower arrangements, and attached the bows.”
“Bella should be here any minute,” Caprice told Vince. “She’s taking care of wrapping the presents. Isaac came through for us. I think Mom will be pleased with the Fostoria pieces he found.”
Just then the back door opened and Dylan barked as Roz emerged with him. Joe, Bella, and the kids were right behind.
Roz went straight to Vince. “Caprice and Nikki asked me to act as hostess and doorkeeper. What do you think about that? What if your mom’s friends—” She stopped, then after a moment went on with, “What if they shy away from me? What if I’m a distraction?”
To Caprice’s relief, Vince shook his head. “We’ve only asked Mom’s closest friends. And she would want you here. I’ll say the real question is—are you up for it? There could be a whisper or two. Will that bother you?”
“I’d better get used to it,” Roz responded practically.
“Then I think it’s a good idea. We’ll be busy talking to the guests. Your help with the flow of traffic will be a benefit.”
“All right. I’ll keep Dylan inside with me and Sophia. I don’t want anyone to step on him.”
After Roz patted her side, Dylan ran up the steps with her and returned inside.
Caprice asked her brother, “So is Grant still coming to the party?”
“He said he was.”
Caprice thought about Seth’s enthusiastic acceptance of her invitation and her heart fluttered faster. From anxiety because both men would be here? Of course not. She was simply looking forward to seeing Seth.
As more guests filed into the backyard through her house, Caprice tried to greet each one. There was a neighbor of her mother’s they had all known since they were kids. Ken
dra had babysat them when her parents had “date night.” A few of the teachers they’d invited piled their presents on the gift table, looking happy to be there. Her dad’s foreman and his wife joined the others, as well as Giselle. A special guest, her mom’s college roommate, who’d driven two hours to help celebrate, was going to be an unexpected surprise.
When Grant entered the backyard, Caprice gave him a friendly hello, and he migrated to the table where Vince and Joe were standing, probably talking sports stats. They could bore her to death with those conversations.
Coming up beside Caprice, Bella asked, “How do you think the presents look?”
“They’re beautiful. You know how to make them look professionally wrapped. Did the kids bring anything to entertain themselves?”
“Timmy has his Nintendo DSi, and Megan brought her drawing supplies. They’ll be fine. Joe gave them his ‘You’d better behave’ speech, threatening them with taking away privileges if they don’t.”
Caprice’s phone vibrated in the pocket of her coral slacks. She pulled it out to see a text message from her father. “Dad wants to know if we’re ready. I’ll give him the go-ahead.” Even though Seth wasn’t here. Maybe he wouldn’t come after all. Maybe he would be late. That was the life of a doctor—putting one’s personal life on the back burner.
Vince had suggested they leave the house empty now. If one of them escorted their mom outside, even their expression could give something away.
So while guests, family, and friends waited for Fran De Luca’s arrival, they kept their voices lowered and milled around in one large group near the buffet table. Vince acted as bartender, pouring wine and soda.
Grant stopped by the punch bowl and ladled in half a cup. After a few swallows, his gaze found Caprice’s. “It’s good.”
He stepped a little closer, so they could keep their voices down, she guessed. “Pineapple, grapefruit, and ginger ale. Mom uses the recipe every New Year’s Eve.”
He was wearing casual clothes today—jeans and a snap-button shirt. He looked like a guy ready to enjoy a picnic rather than a lawyer.
Staged to Death (A Caprice De Luca Mystery) Page 23
