by Bobbi Holmes
“That’s Samuel Hayman’s grandfather,” Walt said. “He’s the one who started the store—he’s the one who appraised the necklace for Eva.”
“Hayman. I was wondering, could that possibly be any relation to Samuel Hayman, our missing jeweler?” Ian asked.
“That’s Sam’s grandfather,” Danielle explained. “He’s the one who opened the jewelry store in Frederickport—the one that just closed down.”
“I have no idea what any of this means—if it means anything at all—but I had to show you,” Ian said.
“Lily mentioned you thought it was odd that Sam left and the police don’t find that suspicious.”
“Yes. Especially since it looks like someone switched out those stones while Cheryl had the necklace. That’s not something just anyone can do. You’d have to know what you were doing. I’m surprised Sam isn’t on the top of the police’s suspect list.”
“No, that would be me,” Danielle said.
• • • •
When Danielle went to the police station to talk to Joe later that day, she was annoyed to find herself led to the interview room with both Joe and his partner Brian Henderson.
“I was wondering,” Danielle asked Joe. “Have you found Sam Hayman yet?”
“I didn’t know he was lost,” Brian chuckled.
Danielle glared at Brian then looked back to Joe. “You aren’t looking for him?”
“I’m not really sure why we would be,” Joe said apologetically.
“Are you seriously saying you haven’t for a moment considered Sam Hayman as a suspect?”
“What motive would Sam have to kill your cousin?” Brian asked. “He didn’t stand to inherit ten million bucks.”
“Brian, please,” Joe lightly reprimanded.
“Well, let’s see,” Danielle said impatiently, looking back at Brian. “I would say getting away with diamonds and emeralds worth over a million dollars is a good motive. We have a jeweler who was at the open house, and he spent a great deal of time there chatting with Cheryl. He certainly knows how to set stones; after all, that’s what he does for a living. Oh, and when it comes to reselling those diamonds and emeralds, I think he’ll know how to do that too. After all, that is his profession. Have I left anything out? Oh, I know, he just happens to have up and move from a town he has lived in all his life—closed his store overnight—and leaves. Leaving the necklace in Adam’s office was a nice touch, to throw off the cops.” Danielle stood up abruptly.
“Are you saying Samuel Hayman stole those gems and killed your cousin?” Brian asked.
“I am seriously beginning to doubt the overall intelligence of the Frederickport Police Department.” Danielle turned and abruptly left the room.
“Not sure about the overall intelligence of our department,” Joe said to Brian. “But I sure feel stupid.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Brian and Joe found Joanne Johnson at her home on Wednesday afternoon. When she opened her front door she seemed surprised to find the two officers standing on her front porch.
“Joe, Brian, what’s going on?” Joanne asked.
“We wondered if we could have a few moments of your time, to ask you some questions about Marlow House and the Fourth of July party,” Brian said.
“Certainly, come on in,” Joanne opened the door wider and showed the two officers to her living room. They declined her offer for something to drink, wanting to get right to the business at hand.
“We were wondering if you remember seeing Sam Hayman at the open house,” Brian asked.
“Why, certainly. You remember, Joe. You were there.” Joanne glanced from Brian to Joe. “I don’t understand, I thought Adam had been arrested for the murder of Danielle’s cousin.”
“He has, but we’re trying to tie up some loose ends and we wanted to see if you remember anything…anything in particular about Sam and the party,” Joe explained.
“Well, let me see…” Bringing the tip of her index finger to her chin, Joanne squinted her eyes and stared off across the room. “I do remember that when he was talking to Mr. Renton, I thought it was rather funny.”
“What was funny?” Joe asked.
“It was one of those moments where someone is staring at someone—in this case Mr. Renton and Sam were staring at Cheryl and Adam, who didn’t know they were being watched. And here I was, watching them all,” Joanne chuckled. “Of course, maybe someone was watching me, watch them.” Joanne laughed again.
“What were they watching that was so interesting?” Brian asked.
“Cheryl and Adam were by the wine table talking. Mr. Renton and Sam were standing under the trees watching the pair. I noticed Cheryl swiping a bottle of wine from the table. It looked like she was trying to conceal it in her arms. She runs out toward the gate and sticks it in the bushes. I look over at Renton and Sam, they’re watching the whole thing, laughing. Of course, Cheryl thinks she’s being very sneaky and doesn’t think anyone sees her.”
“Did you ever see Sam talking with Cheryl?” Brian asked.
“Yes. Not long after Cheryl put the bottle in the bushes and returned to Adam, Sam walked up to them. They all went inside together. I really didn’t notice Sam until later, after he left and then came back.”
“What do you mean he left?” Joe asked.
“Well, I assumed he was leaving the party. A lot of people came for just a short while, looked around, had something to eat then left. But he came back about thirty minutes later. Not really sure where he went.” Joanne shrugged.
“So you never saw him again with Cheryl?” Brian asked.
“No…but I just thought of something.”
“What’s that?” Joe asked.
“When he returned, he entered through the side gate. I thought it was odd, because I noticed him crouching by the bushes where Cheryl had put the bottle of wine. At first I thought he was going to take the bottle for himself, but when he stood up, he didn’t have it. I guess he was just looking at the bottle for some reason.”
Joe and Brian exchanged glances.
“What did he do then?” Joe asked.
“He walked back to the house. I believe he stopped to talk to someone. I went back into the kitchen and I don’t remember seeing him again that day.”
• • • •
“Did Sam leave the party to get some Rohypnol to put in the wine?” Joe asked Brian after they got back into their car and headed to the station.
“It does make me wonder. But where in the hell did he get Rohypnol?”
“We know someone drugged the wine. If Sam was with Adam and Cheryl at the party, perhaps they told him where they were going. Maybe he figured they would both drink the wine and pass out; then he could steal the necklace. But something went wrong, so he ended up killing Cheryl.”
“But that would mean he knew Cheryl intended to take off with the necklace,” Brian said.
“Maybe Cheryl and Sam were in on it together all along and Adam was just a patsy?”
“There is one way to find out,” Brian began.
“Find Sam?” Joe suggested.
“Exactly.”
• • • •
Sam Hayman wasn’t difficult to find. If he was trying to hide, he hadn’t done a very good job at it; his credit card activity led the police to the motel where he was staying on the outskirts of Portland. The local authorities cooperated, understanding that time was of the essence. If Sam did have the stolen gems on him, he probably wouldn’t have them for long.
The jeweler seemed genuinely surprised to find the police at his motel door with a search warrant on Wednesday evening. Sam was even more surprised when they found where he’d hidden the diamonds and emeralds from the Missing Thorndike—tucked in a plastic pouch and hidden at the bottom of his can of Metamucil.
As they transported Sam back to Frederickport he kept insisting, “I didn’t kill her, honest! She was alive when I left her!”
• • • •
Sam Hayman sat alone at
the table in the interview room when Joe walked in and shut the door behind him.
“He sure looks nervous,” the chief observed as he stood with Brian in the small office, watching the scene unfold through the two way mirror. “I can’t believe he’s waived his rights to see an attorney. Thought Sam was smarter than that.”
“All the way back here he kept insisting he was innocent,” Brian said.
“Innocent? How does he explain having the missing gemstones on him?”
“I guess we’re about to hear…”
• • • •
“You keep saying you didn’t kill Cheryl Hartford. Can you explain how you happen to have the diamonds and emeralds from the Missing Thorndike?”
“Okay, I admit I took them. But I didn’t kill her. You know me, Joe. I’m not a murderer.”
Joe sat down, across the table from Sam. “I never thought you were a thief either, Sam. So tell me what happened.”
“I grew up hearing about the Missing Thorndike. My grandfather was especially fascinated with the necklace and the mystery of is disappearance.” Sam paused a moment and stared at his hands, they fidgeted nervously on the table.
“Go on,” Joe urged.
“When they found the necklace and brought it to me, Danielle Boatman thought the stones were fake. She was surprised they were real. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but it got me to thinking of my grandfather and his fascination with the necklace.”
“Is this the grandfather who originally started your store here?”
“Yes. There was an old trunk in the store’s storage room that belonged to my grandfather. I never really looked in it before, it was just filled with old papers—or so I thought. But finding the necklace sort of renewed my interest in him, so I decided to go through it. I wasn’t really looking for anything particular. To be honest, it was no more than idle curiosity.”
“What did you find?” Joe asked.
“A large envelope. It was kind of bulky. When I opened it I found what looked like diamonds and emeralds. Oh, I got excited at first, but I soon realized they were fake—though impressive fakes. My grandfather used to leave notes about some of his more memorable clients. I guess the Missing Thorndike was the most memorable for him.”
“Are you saying he originally sold the Thorndikes the necklace?”
“No. According to my grandfather’s notes, Eva Thorndike brought the necklace to his store in Portland. She’d been recently abandoned by her husband, and she feared he’d removed the real gems and replaced them with fakes. It turned out she was right. They were fake.”
“I thought you said the necklace had real diamonds and emeralds when you first looked at it?”
“It did. Apparently her parents found out; they’d discovered my grandfather’s appraisal in her belongings. She was sick by that time. They wanted to replace the imitation diamonds and emeralds with real ones, but they didn’t want a scandal. I guess they figured if they hired grandfather to replace the stones, he’d keep the story of their son-in-law’s betrayal to himself. I mean, they were going to pay someone to replace the diamonds and emeralds anyway. They just figured they would use my grandfather to ensure it was all confidential.”
“What does any of this have to do you with stealing the stones?”
“I started thinking—how I wish I had looked in that trunk before Danielle Boatman brought me the necklace. She thought they were fake. How easy it would have been for me back then to simply put the fakes back in—the ones my grandfather kept—and she would have never known. No one would have.”
“I thought Ian and Lily initially brought the necklace in.”
“Well, they did. But still. Danielle was the owner. She thought it was fake.”
“When did you decide to switch the stones?” Joe asked.
“Not until that night. When I was with Cheryl and Adam I overheard them talking about taking off later and spending the night in one of his bungalows.”
“How did you know she’d have the necklace with her?”
“She sort of told me—when we were alone. I knew she was planning to take it for the night. She made me promise not to tell anyone. Said she was going to bring it back in the morning, and since she owned half of it, it was no big deal.”
“Why would she tell you?”
“I think she was bragging.”
“So you drugged the wine?” Joe asked.
Samuel’s eyes widened. He looked at Joe. “How did you know?”
“I’d like to know where you got the Rohypnol.”
“Sometimes I can’t sleep…” Sam stammered.
“You can’t legally buy it in this country. Where did you get it?” Brian asked.
“When I was in South America last year. It’s legal down there.”
“When did you decide to drug the wine?” Joe asked.
“After Cheryl told me she was going to take the necklace, and Adam made it clear where they were going to be, I started having fantasies about taking it from them. But I didn’t want to hurt anyone. Then I remembered the wine—and the Rohypnol. I thought it would be easy.”
“What happened?” Joe asked.
“I went home and got the drugs. When I came back I put it in the wine. I figured when they got to the bungalow, they’d drink it and pass out. I could just take the necklace. I never really planned to switch out the stones.”
“What went wrong?” Brian asked.
“I brought the fake stones with me, the ones my grandfather had taken from the necklace. I brought them along for good luck—but a heck of a lot of good they did me…”
“From what Adam tells us he drank the wine, but Cheryl didn’t.”
“I parked my car down the beach, not far from where you found Cheryl’s body. I didn’t want anyone to see my car parked near the bungalow. So I walked down from the beach. When I got to the bungalow Cheryl was cold sober. I didn’t mean for her to see me. I was going to come in by the back door. But she was there on the porch, carrying her purse and shoes. I asked where Joe was. She said he had passed out and she was walking home.”
“Cheryl had Rohypnol in her system.”
“Yes. I offered to walk her home and suggested she get something for us to drink. I thought she’s take the wine, but she grabbed a couple of beers.”
“So you managed to drug the beer?”
“Yes.”
“And then you realized she would probably remember seeing you when she woke up without the necklace and she’d start pointing the finger at you.”
“No! That’s when I changed my plan. I figured I would have to switch the stones when she passed out. That way when she woke up, she’d assume she still had the necklace. I had the tools I needed in the car to switch the stones, and I figured I just had to get her to that hut.”
“How did you know the hut was unlocked?”
“I didn’t. I figured one of them would be open. If not, it wouldn’t be too difficult to break in.”
“But after you made the switch you realized they would eventually discover the stones were fake and she’d start pointing the finger at you.”
“Who would believe I was walking around with the exact amount of fake stones—of the necessary size and color—to make such a switch? I couldn’t see any way they could trace the fake stones to me. Anyway, I knew there was always a chance she wouldn’t even remember seeing me when she woke up the next morning.”
“But she didn’t wake up, did she?”
“I swear, she was alive when I left her. She wanted to sit down; the drug was really starting to take hold. I managed to get her in the shed right before she passed out. I left her there, went to my car to get my light and the necessary tools, and returned to the shed and switched out the stones. I left her there wearing the necklace.”
“Why didn’t you just take the necklace, if you thought she might not remember seeing you anyway?”
“I couldn’t be sure. And anyway, I didn’t want people to start looking for the necklace.�
��
“Didn’t Danielle have a buyer arriving a couple days after the party? He’d know they were fake.”
“Yes, but Cheryl said Danielle was going to have to call the buyer and cancel, because as long as the estate was being contested she had no right to sell the necklace.”
“But, someone smashed in her head and took the necklace with the fake stones.”
“I know. But it wasn’t me.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Danielle stepped out on her front porch to get her newspaper on Thursday morning and was greeted by Joe Morelli.
“Joe,” Danielle said in surprise. She glanced around to see if he was alone. “Where’s your partner?”
“Brian? Probably on his way to work. I was wondering if we could talk a moment.”
Glancing at Joe’s uniform Danielle asked, “Is this official business?”
“Unofficial official business.”
Danielle looked at him a moment before answering. Finally she said, “Sure, first, let me get…”
“This,” Joe asked, handing her the newspaper in his hand. She had been so startled to find him standing on her front porch that she hadn’t noticed he was holding her newspaper.
“Thanks.” Danielle took the paper and then led the way into the house. She took Joe to the parlor. After tossing the newspaper on the desk she sat on a chair and motioned for him to sit on the couch.
“I wanted to let you know we arrested Sam Hayman last night. He was staying in a motel outside of Portland. He had your diamonds and emeralds with him—the ones from the Missing Thorndike.”
“He killed Cheryl?” Danielle asked.
“He says he didn’t.”
“Of course he does.”
“He admitted to stealing the gemstones, but insists Cheryl was alive when he left her in the hut.” Joe went on to tell her Sam’s account from that evening.
“What now?” Danielle asked. “Are you charging him with murder or theft? Do you believe him?”
“I have to admit, he sounded sincere, but the chief is hoping the DA agrees to press charges. He believes we have our man.”
“What about Adam?” Danielle asked.
