by Bobbi Holmes
“Humm…”
“Honestly, Mr. Renton. I did not hit my cousin.”
“There you are!” Cheryl said to Danielle as she walked into the parlor. “The party is almost over, can I please try on our necklace now?”
Danielle looked from Mr. Renton to Cheryl. Glancing past Cheryl, she spied Joe, who was standing in the entry and talking to several of her guests. He had stayed faithfully by her side for most of the day, only leaving to use the bathroom or standing guard at doorways, as he was now, visiting with other guests.
“Where’s Adam?” Danielle asked. It was the first time she’d seen Cheryl that day without Adam close at hand.
“I think he’s talking with his grandmother in the library. So can I, please?”
“Sure,” Danielle said with a sigh. Reaching back she unlatched the necklace as Cheryl anxiously waited to try it on. The other guests in the room gathered around them, watching the valuable piece being passed from one cousin to the other.
“It looks beautiful on you,” Samuel Hayman said as he entered the parlor. “I knew it would.”
“Oh does it? Does it?” Cheryl glanced down at her chest, trying to get a better look.
“It is absolutely exquisite,” Mr. Renton said.
“I wish I’d find something like that behind my floorboards,” one of the guest said.
“You really should go look at yourself in the mirror,” Mr. Renton suggested. “It’s quite spectacular.”
“Oh yes! I will,” Cheryl turned from Danielle.
“Cheryl, where are you going?” Danielle asked.
“Just to the bathroom, I’ll be right back!”
Before Danielle could respond Cheryl rushed from the room.
“She’ll be fine,” Mr. Renton chuckled. “It’s just down the hall and Joe’s out there.”
Danielle smiled at her attorney in spite of the fact she wanted to smack him. Turning back to the doorway to let Joe know Cheryl had the necklace, the front door opened and a new group of guests walked into the entry.
Before she could get to Joe, Mr. Renton pushed passed her and walked toward the library. The guests from the parlor spilled into the entry to greet the new arrivals.
It took Danielle a few minutes to finally reach Joe, and when she did he grabbed her arm and informed her the necklace was missing.
“Yes I know.” Danielle touched her throat. “I let Cheryl try it on. She went to the bathroom to look in the mirror.”
“Let’s get over there and get it back,” Joe said. He and Danielle pushed through the small group.
When they reached the bathroom door, Danielle gave it a little knock. “Cheryl?”
“Just a minute, I will be right out,” a voice that was not Cheryl’s called back. A few moments later the door opened and a woman Danielle didn’t recognize stepped out.
“It’s all yours,” the woman said cheerfully as she walked away.
Danielle pushed in the powder room and quickly discovered it was empty.
“Darn her, where did she go?” Danielle grumbled.
“She probably went to one of the other bathrooms since this one was occupied.”
“Or another mirror,” Danielle suggested.
“Maybe.”
Danielle quickly raced through the first floor, then ran up to the second floor, Joe at her heels.
“She isn’t up here,” Danielle said after she looked through all the rooms.
Lily jogged up the stairs and when she reached the second floor landing asked, “What’s going on? I saw you two running up here.”
“We’re looking for Cheryl, she has the necklace,” Joe explained.
“She took it?” Lily asked.
“I let her try it on,” Danielle said.
“I hate to be the one to tell you guys this, but Cheryl just left with Adam. I saw them drive off just a minute ago.”
“What?” Danielle gasped.
“Stupid stunt,” Joe grumbled.
“I don’t think this is a stunt, I think they just stole the necklace!” Danielle said.
“I seriously doubt it. I’ve known Adam a long time, and I don’t think he is going to walk off with a million dollar necklace in front of all these witnesses. Not so sure about your cousin.”
“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think,” Danielle grumbled.
“Let’s keep this between us,” Joe suggested. “The fewer people that know those two knuckleheads are joy riding with the Missing Thorndike, the smaller the chance someone will try to take it from them.”
“You are wrong, Joe. This is not a simple joy ride.” Danielle said as she and Joe followed Lily down the stairs.
“What car did they take?” Joe asked.
“I don’t know. I just saw Adam come into the library and whisper something to his grandmother. When I looked outside a few minutes later I saw him and Cheryl holding hands in the back yard, running toward the street. They got into some car and drove off. I think it was white or tan. Didn’t get a good look at it.”
Chapter Twenty
Not everyone in Frederickport was sleeping on Saturday morning when the sun began to rise in the east. It cast a yellow orange glow over the quiet beach community, burning off the morning fog. Joe had just returned home to catch a few hours of sleep when he got the call that Adam Nichols’ car was spotted parked next to a beach bungalow on the south end of town. According to the deputy on the phone, it was one of Adam’s rentals.
Cheryl still hadn’t returned, but her car remained parked on the street in front of Marlow House, where it had been when she ran off. Adam hadn’t shown up at his place, and until Joe received the phone call from the deputy, he was beginning to suspect Adam and Cheryl had slipped out of town, though no one had seen Adam’s car along that stretch of highway.
Instead of going to bed to grab a little sleep, Joe got back into his car and headed to the south side of town. He was tempted to give Danielle a call and let her know what was going on, but he didn’t want to wake her up if she had managed to fall asleep. She was annoyed with her cousin, but was hesitant to treat the situation as a robbery. But, if the necklace didn’t resurface she would be forced to do that, in order to collect on the insurance.
When Joe pulled up to the rental bungalow Adam’s car was still in the driveway, partially hidden by the shrubs along the property line. Everything was quiet on the street and by all appearances most nearby residents were still sound asleep.
After parking his car, Joe got out of his vehicle and began walking up the driveway to the front door. The house’s front windows were wide open, and he didn’t hear any sounds coming from inside; no voices, television or radio playing.
Irritated that Adam and Cheryl’s prank had caused him a sleepless night, he pounded on the door. It took a few minutes of intermittent knocking before Joe heard sounds coming from inside the house.
“Hold on, I’m coming. Don’t break the damn door down,” came Adam’s voice from inside the house.
The door flew open. Wearing just boxers and socks, his uncombed hair damp from perspiration, Adam stood in the doorway staring at Joe. He frowned and glanced around the front porch, as if he expected someone else to be there.
“I thought you were Cheryl,” Adam blurted out.
“Where is she, Adam?” Joe asked, pushing his way into the bungalow and looking around. An opened bottle of wine sat on the coffee table with two glasses. One glass was empty, while the second one was full.
“Hell if I know. I thought you were her.” Joe scratched his head and stumbled into the tiny kitchen off the living room. He grabbed the coffeepot and then cursed when he realized there was no coffee in the house.
Joe followed Adam into the kitchen. “Would you stand still for a moment and talk to me!”
“Hey, do you have to shout?” Adam rubbed his right temple. “My head is killing me. What are you doing here anyway?”
“I’m looking for Cheryl.”
“Why?”
“For one r
eason, she didn’t come home last night.”
Adam laughed and asked, “Did Danielle Boatman send you looking for her cousin because she doesn’t approve of my company? I’m pretty sure she’s reached the legal age of consent. Don’t you think you’re overstepping your legal authority by tracking down grown women who simply want to stay out all night?”
“Not if she’s staying out all night with a million dollar necklace that doesn’t belong to her.”
“What are you talking about?” Adam frowned.
“That’s pretty obvious.”
“Are you trying to say she had the Missing Thorndike with her?”
“Don’t play dumb, Adam. She was wearing it when you two took off.”
“She was not. I think I would have noticed that!”
“Are you seriously standing there and telling me she didn’t have the necklace with her when you two left Marlow House?”
“If she did, I sure as hell didn’t see it. She wasn’t wearing it.”
“I need to talk to her. Where is she?”
“Isn’t it obvious I don’t know? I thought you were her.”
“Let’s sit down. I want you to start at the beginning and tell me everything you remember, beginning when you first met Cheryl, up until this morning when I started knocking on your door.”
Adam combed his fingers through his hair and gave a little nod before walking back into the living room and sitting on the couch. Joe sat on a chair facing him.
“Let’s see,” Adam began. “I was downtown at Lucy’s on Thursday for lunch. I had just sat down at a booth. The place was swamped. Cheryl comes walking in. There’s no place for her to sit so I ask her to join me; after all, she’s pretty hot. I buy her lunch. We talk. She invites me to be her date at the open house. She tells me she might be looking for someplace to rent because she doesn’t get along with her cousin. I bring her down here, show her this place. We spend the afternoon together. That was pretty much it.”
“Did you have sex with her?” Joe asked.
“You asking because you’re being nosy or is this a legitimate question?”
“I’d say it’s legitimate enough.”
“No, we just spent the afternoon together. Anyway, yesterday I take my grandmother to the open house. When I get there, Grandma pretty much does her own thing and I spend the day with Cheryl. We ate some food, drank some beer, talked to people. You saw us. About twenty minutes or so before we left, Cheryl told me she was getting bored, asked me if I was about ready to leave. I said sure. She went to go use the bathroom and I went to tell my grandmother we were taking off. I wanted to make sure she had a ride home. I met Cheryl outside a few minutes later; we got in my car and came down here.”
“And then what?”
“We came down here. Had a glass of wine. Went to bed. Next thing I remember is you knocking on the door. When I woke up and didn’t find Cheryl in bed with me, I assumed it was her knocking on the door. Figured she’d gone outside for some reason and locked herself out.”
“So you’re telling me, when you went to bed with Cheryl—when she undressed—you never saw the necklace?”
“Well actually,” Adam rubbed his head again. “All that is a little fuzzy.”
“What do you mean?”
“After I finished my wine things started to spin. I remember Cheryl laughing, calling me a light weight. She sorta helped me into the bedroom. Helped me tug my pants and shirt off. I remember her pulling down the sheets and asking me if they were fresh or from the people who had just checked out. I don’t think I answered her, just pretty much fell into bed. That’s the last thing I remember, until you started knocking.”
Joe looked at the opened bottle of wine sitting on the table. Calculating the amount of wine still in the bottle, he didn’t think more than two glasses had been poured. Of those two glasses, one was still full. It appeared that only one glass had been consumed.
“Do you always get so lightheaded after just one glass of wine?” Joe asked.
Adam shook his head. “No. But I didn’t have much to eat yesterday and I had taken an allergy pill right before we left Marlow House. Plus I had a few beers at the open house. Sort of figured that’s why it hit me so hard. I don’t know. It was weird.”
“Where did you get the wine?” Joe asked.
“Cheryl took it from the party.”
“We need to find Cheryl, Adam. Last night she put on the necklace in front of a room full of witnesses and then ran off to look at herself in the bathroom mirror. She didn’t return and the last time anyone saw her was a few minutes after she put on the necklace—with you leaving the party.”
“Hey wait a minute, if she took that damn necklace, I didn’t have anything to do with it. And the last time I heard, it wasn’t a crime to spend the night with a pretty woman.”
“So why bring her down here? Why not take her to your own house?”
“Seriously, Joe? It’s a no brainer. Take her to my house or to a little romantic bungalow right on the beach.”
“Maybe you wanted to bring her down here so no one would find you.”
“I’ll admit Cheryl liked the idea of coming down here where no one would look. She asked me not to tell my grandmother where we were going. But that was because she didn’t want her cousin interfering. It had nothing to do with the necklace. Like I said, she didn’t have the necklace.”
“Why didn’t you answer your cell phone? We called a number of times,” Joe asked.
“I turned if off when I left Marlow House.”
“Do you have any idea when Cheryl left?”
“No. I really don’t.”
Two officers from the local police department showed up at the door. Joe stood up and asked, “Can we look through the house?”
“No problem, look away.” Adam remained on the couch while Joe stood up and opened the door for the two officers. After a brief exchange, one accompanied Joe in searching the bungalow, while the other officer walked the perimeter of the property and walked down to the nearby beach to see if Cheryl was anywhere in sight.
An hour later, Joe had to call Danielle to tell her he hadn’t found Cheryl or the necklace. He hated to do it, but he didn’t have any other choice. He needed to let her know what was going on and wanted to see if perhaps Cheryl had showed up at Marlow House.
“Did you find her?” Danielle asked when he got her on the phone.
“I found Adam, but not Cheryl. I assume she didn’t return to Marlow House?”
“No she didn’t. But what do you mean you found Adam but not Cheryl? They left together, Lily saw them.”
“Adam admits he left with her. According to him she didn’t have the necklace. And if she did, he swears he didn’t see it.”
“Then why did he leave with her?”
“I guess the same reason any heterosexual man might leave with a pretty woman.”
“Why isn’t she with him now? Her car is still here. Did he drop her off somewhere?”
“Adam said he brought her down to one of the bungalows in his rental program. It’s vacant, right on the beach. According to him, he had a glass of wine and all he remembers after that is getting dizzy, Cheryl helping him into bed and then him blacking out. The next thing he remembers is me knocking on the door to the bungalow this morning. When he woke up, Cheryl wasn’t with him. He thought that’s who was knocking on the door. Seemed genuinely surprised that I wasn’t Cheryl and has no idea where she went. I believe him.”
“Well I don’t!” Danielle snapped. “We all saw her take off with that necklace. He did something to her, I know it! You need to search that house and see if he has the necklace stashed somewhere.”
“We already looked through it. If he has it, it isn’t in that house. I’ve known Adam a long time; I don’t think he’s capable of doing something sinister to your cousin.”
“Why not? He already broke into Marlow House!”
“What do you mean?”
“The break-in. When Craig called y
ou over. It was Adam and Bill. They knew the necklace might be hidden in the house and they broke in trying to find it. Bill is the one who broke the library window.”
“I don’t understand, how do you know that? Why didn’t you say something before?”
“I…I figured after I found the necklace they were no longer a threat. I didn’t want to upset Marie by having her grandson arrested.”
“But how do you know he and Bill broke into the house?”
“I can’t say.”
“Why can’t you say?”
“Please Joe, that doesn’t matter right now. Frankly, I don’t really care about the necklace. I never did. I know my cousin has driven me crazy most of my life but I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. I have this gut feeling something has.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Danielle sat at the kitchen table reading the Frederickport press’ Saturday morning headline: Missing Thorndike Goes Missing Again.
“I really wish they hadn’t run this story,” Danielle groaned.
Coffee pot in hand, Lily walked to the table and refilled Danielle’s mug. “You really can’t blame them, Dani. That reporter was here when Cheryl took off. And you said you wanted publicity.”
“I suppose you’re right. This will certainly bring the bed and breakfast more publicity than I imagined.” Danielle set the paper on the table. After adding cream to her coffee she took a sip.
“I wonder where she went.” Lily sat down at the table and picked up the paper.
“I could slap her. Such a stupid stunt. She’s just put herself in danger by running around with something that valuable. And now that the newspaper ran that article with her picture, what happens if the wrong person finds her?”
“I’m surprised you’re so worried about her safety. After all, it may not be a stunt. Have you considered she might have actually stolen the necklace and has no intention of returning? She might be out of the country by now.”
“Absolutely not, Lily. Why would Cheryl so publicly steal something like that?”
“Umm…for the money?”
“Maybe I’d agree with you if Cheryl didn’t already have money. Her parent’s estate was worth over five million dollars. No way would she so publicly become a fugitive over something of less value than what she already has. That doesn’t make sense. No, Cheryl is simply pulling one of her stunts.”
