by Nicole Ellis
“There could be a million reasons why he had that bag. He hadn’t even been living there long—it could have belonged to someone else.”
“True, but Tomàs told us Jed had been involved with some sketchy people in the past. Who’s to say that he didn’t continue a life of crime while he was in Pemberton.”
“I guess so.” Desi twisted her napkin around her fingers. “Did they say what the suspects looked like?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t read the local newspaper or anything. The people I overheard talking didn’t mention it.”
“Wouldn’t the news coverage of it be online?” Desi asked.
“In a small town like this?” I scoffed. “This would have made the front cover of the local paper.”
“So, let’s see if we can find that out. It just happened, so it should be in the current week’s paper.” Desi crumpled up her wrappers. “Let’s go find out.”
I smiled. When Desi got an idea in her head, there was no talking her out of it.
I picked up my garbage and threw it in a nearby trashcan. Holding out my keys, I jingled them in question.
“Where do you think we should try first?”
“Maybe the library?” She pushed Lina’s stroller back to the car and we got the girls situated in their car seats.
I drove us back into town, stopping in front of the library. We entered the building and approached the librarian sitting behind the information desk.
She leaned forward, her hands folded in front of her on the desk. “What can I do for you girls?” She eyed us over glasses perched on the tip of her nose.
“We’re visiting town and thought it would be nice to get a copy of the local newspaper.” Desi smiled sweetly at her. “Do you know where we could get one?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, but we don’t have a local newspaper. The Gazette shut down a few years ago. Not enough people in this town wanted to read a local paper.”
My hopes deflated like a balloon losing helium. I’d thought finding out what the suspects looked like might help us figure out whether or not it could have been Jed that robbed the jewelry store.
“Thank you for your time,” I said.
“Yes, thank you,” Desi echoed.
We left the air-conditioned coolness of the library and stood outside next to an oak tree.
“Now what?” Desi asked, while pushing the stroller back and forth to soothe Lina. “We could see if the robbery was big enough to make any online news outlets.”
I held Ella in my arms, and she blew bubbles at people passing by us. What were we going to do? Now that I’d brought up the velvet bag, I wanted to track down that lead. Maybe the jewelry store had reopened.
I looked Desi in the eye. “Let’s skip the online research and go directly to the source—the jewelry store.”
“And what—ask them flat out what the suspects looked like?” She scrunched up her face. “That won’t seem odd or anything for tourists to be asking about that.”
“I was thinking we could bring it up gradually. Maybe do some jewelry shopping first and then work the conversation around to the robbery?”
“I guess. We don’t have many other options.”
We walked along Main Street to Junell Jewelers, stopping outside to peruse the window display.
“That heart-shaped diamond necklace is beautiful,” Desi said, eying it. “I wish Tomàs would get me something like that for our anniversary. But he’s always so practical. I’ll probably get a laundry basket instead.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Really, Desi? A laundry basket? He’s not that bad.”
“No? You do remember the vacuum he got me last year for Christmas, right?”
“You asked for that!”
“So?” She pouted a little. “I didn’t mean for my only present.”
“Well, here’s your chance to dream a little.” I tugged on her arm and pulled her into the store.
A woman behind the counter looked up when the bells on the door tinkled. “Hello, ladies. It’s a nice day out, isn’t it?” she said pleasantly.
“It is,” I agreed. Desi and I peered into the glass cases.
“Oh my, what beautiful little girls,” she said, admiring Ella and Lina, who were both now sleeping in the stroller. “They look like little angels, sleeping so peacefully in there.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“We’re in the area on vacation and we thought we’d browse in here while we’re in town,” I said.
“My anniversary is coming up and I’m thinking my husband could use some suggestions for a present. He gave me a vacuum for Christmas last year. Can you believe that?” Desi said with indignation.
The saleswoman’s mouth formed an “o” and her eyes widened. “Wow. Yes. I think he could use some suggestions. What were you thinking about?”
“There’s a beautiful heart-shaped necklace in the window. Could I see it a little closer up?”
“Of course.” The woman crossed the room to the window and used a key hanging from a chain around her neck to open the case. She brought it over to the counter and laid it down on a piece of velvet cloth the same shade of midnight blue as the bag I’d seen in Jed’s closet.
Desi touched it reverently. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Do you want to try it on?”
Desi nodded and the woman came around to our side of the counter and clasped it around Desi’s neck.
“Ooh,” Desi said, viewing herself in the mirror on the counter. “I’ve got to tell Tomàs about this.”
“How long are you in town for?” the saleswoman asked.
“For a few more days. We’re staying at the Thunder Lake Resort.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of it.” She unclasped the necklace and laid it back down on the cloth. “Have you been staying there long?”
“Since Sunday night,” I said. My pulse quickened. This seemed like the perfect opening. “Actually, we were in town when all the police were here. I heard someone say that the store had been robbed.”
She gave a slight nod and I shot her a sympathetic look. “That must have been awful.”
“It was.” She leaned over the counter. “We’re not really supposed to talk about it, but I was there that day. The robber drove right into the back of the store and grabbed the diamonds from Mr. Junell’s workshop before any of us had a chance to react.” She shook her head. “He’s well-known for his designs, both locally and throughout the state, and someone had just sent him those diamonds to use in a necklace and bracelet set.” She sighed. “I saw his design. They would have been stunning.”
“Oh wow.” Desi’s eyes widened. “So whoever it was crashed into the store.”
“Uh huh.” She looked around, then locked the necklace in the case below the counter and beckoned for us to follow her to the back of the store. She opened the door to the back, revealing a room that was under construction. “He drove a truck into the door, right there.” She pointed. “Mr. Junell was so upset and not just because of the diamonds. He’d recently completed a remodel of the whole back of the store and everything was destroyed when the truck ran into it.”
The wall had been blasted out, although a makeshift wall and door had taken its place.
“So the robber was a man?” Desi asked.
“Well, I don’t know for sure. The person had one of those knit face masks on, but the way he walked was more like how a man walks, you know?” She closed the door and led us back over to the counter. “For all we know, there could have been a whole group of them, but I only saw one.”
Desi and I exchanged glances. If the robber had been Jed, was he in cahoots with someone else?
“Well, I’m glad that this necklace wasn’t stolen,” Desi said, pointing to the display case in front of us. “It’s gorgeous, and my husband will be receiving plenty of hints that it would make a great anniversary gift.”
“I’m glad you like it.” The saleswoman reached
below the case and retrieved a business card, which she handed to Desi. “Please give him my card. I’ll be happy to help him when he comes in here.” She winked at Desi. “And maybe I can even get him to buy you a replacement Christmas present.”
Desi beamed at her and placed the card in her wallet. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to do that.”
I murmured my thanks to the woman as well and we pushed the stroller out of the store.
When were out of earshot, we moved to a bench under a shade tree and sat down.
“We didn’t learn much about the robbery,” I said.
“But we did learn that it was most likely a man,” Desi said. “And that necklace was beautiful. If I get it for our anniversary, that will have been time well spent.”
We both laughed.
16
After we returned from town, the guys were still gone, so I left Ella with Desi and took Goldie on a walk. He nosed around down near the lake and I had to hold tight to his leash to keep him from chasing ducks. We ended up on the path along the lakeside.
Goldie saw a squirrel and almost tugged the leash out of my hands.
“Whoa.” I stumbled over a tree root as I chased after him. He was getting too close to Tyler’s house and I didn’t want him near the neighbor’s dog, even if it was chained up.
He barked a few times and tugged again. Before I realized it, we were in the clearing in front of Tyler’s cabin. I thought about hightailing it out of there, but something made me pause. The saleswoman at the jewelry store had told Desi and me that the robber had been male, but their face had been covered by a black knit face mask, hiding any identifiable facial characteristics.
If Jed had been the robber, would Tyler have known about it? Leah said they were drinking buddies, so there was always the possibility that Jed could have had loose lips and confided in his friend. But did I really expect Tyler to admit to that? Somehow, I had to work my way up to asking him and find out.
I scanned the clearing. I didn’t see or hear the dog anywhere—whether that was good or bad, I didn’t know. Just in case, I pulled Goldie in close to me, making good use of his canine school training.
From around the corner of the cabin came the sound of chopping wood. I walked toward the sound, and when I could confirm it was Tyler, I shouted, “Hi.”
He turned, resting the head of the ax on the ground and wiping sweat off his brow. “Is there something I can do for you? This is private property.”
“I wanted to invite you to the Labor Day celebration at the resort this weekend.”
“Uh huh. I’m sure Del would love that.” He spat into the dirt, leaving a wet spot in the dust.
I averted my eyes and tried to focus on Tyler. “I’m sure he would. I know they’re eager to share the resort with the community this weekend.”
Also, it wouldn’t hurt for Tyler and the resort to make up. I knew firsthand how dreadful it could be to feud with a neighbor.
“Of course he is. There’s nothing Del wants more than to be seen as a benefactor in the community.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I’m sorry?”
He scoffed. “According to Jed, Del isn’t as squeaky clean as he wants people to believe.”
I stepped backwards. “What do you mean?”
“Del makes himself out to be better than everyone else, but he’s nothing but a criminal himself.”
I took that to mean Tyler thought Del considered himself to be better than him, but I wasn’t sure what he meant by calling Del a criminal.
“What are you saying?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” He pulled off his ball cap and wiped the sweat off his forehead again. “Jed knew some things about his cousin that Del didn’t want made known to everyone else.”
My head was reeling. I’d always thought of Del as a nice guy, admittedly, just as Tyler had implied the community thought of him. But talking about Del wasn’t why I’d ventured onto Tyler’s property.
“Did Jed tell you he wanted to go into business with Del back home?”
Tyler laughed. “He had some far-fetched idea about opening a bar. Wasn’t ever going to happen. Jed was grasping at straws if he ever thought he’d see a dime of that money.”
“Do you know where the money came from?”
“Nah, it was from somebody he’d done business with in the past. But he’d been bragging about it for a while and it never materialized.”
“So it wasn’t a more recent idea of his?”
He shook his head. “No. Why are you so interested in Jed’s money anyway?”
“Not really any reason. Del had mentioned it and I was just curious.”
From the other side of the shiny silver pickup truck, a dog started barking.
“Duke, shut it!” Tyler yelled. The dog ran toward us, and I prepared to flee with Goldie. Duke stopped next to his owner, barking furiously at us. Tyler grabbed his collar as I backed away slowly.
“Uh, well, remember, you’re welcome at the celebration this weekend.”
Tyler didn’t say a word.
Goldie stayed close to my side as we made it to the trail and then ran back to the resort as fast as we could. When we reached the resort property line, I looked behind us, terrified that Tyler would have let Duke loose to chase us. Luckily, the trail was empty.
I sat down to catch my breath, Goldie milling around next to me, not worrying about a thing. I wished I could forget traumatic events that quickly. A lawnmower roared, and I spotted Del on the riding lawnmower, mowing the grass near the lake.
I shivered, despite the warm weather. I’d always thought of Del as a nice guy, but Tyler had made me wonder what was hidden in Del’s past. Was it something so bad that Del could have killed to keep it a secret? And if there really was money from a past business venture, did that mean he hadn’t robbed the jewelry store? Although I didn’t want to think ill of Del’s cousin, the thought was deflating. I’d talked myself into thinking Jed was a jewelry store robber and now I worried I might have missed another piece of the puzzle while focusing on that thread.
“What does everyone want to do today?” Tomàs asked, sipping his coffee on their deck.
I leaned back in my chair. All I really wanted to do was to laze around near our cabin, but I didn’t think that was the answer he was looking for.
“We could hang out around here; maybe take the kids to the playground for an hour or so?” Desi rocked Lina in her arms. “Tomorrow will be pretty exciting with the celebration. I know I could use a relaxing day doing nothing.”
I hid a grin. I wasn’t surprised that Desi didn’t want to do anything exerting. Being a mom on a “vacation” with kids was exhausting enough.
“I was thinking we could go out on the lake? Either in rowboats or a canoe?” Adam suggested.
Tomàs nodded. “Sounds fun. I wanted to get some canoeing in.”
Desi and I looked at each other and I shrugged.
“Do they have life jackets that will fit Lina?” Desi asked.
“I don’t know.” Tomàs jangled their cabin keys. “Let’s find out.”
The boys bounded out the door, followed by our husbands, and Desi and I brought up the rear with the babies.
Tomàs led us to the boathouse where the life jackets were kept. I held my breath as we neared the door. Since half of the life jackets had been burned, I didn’t know if we’d find the sizes we needed. With any luck there wouldn’t be enough for Desi, me, and the babies.
He flung open the door and disappeared inside. “Woohoo! We’re in luck.”
Behind me, Desi sighed. Tomàs came out carrying an armful of life jackets which he distributed to us.
“I hope we can get a boat. There are fewer life jackets here than I’d expect.”
I focused on fastening the straps on my flotation device, then put Ella’s on her while Adam did the same with his and Mikey’s.
Our last chance of getting out of canoeing was for there not to be enough boats. Unfortunately, there wer
e two double canoes left and a paddleboat.
“How about we take the canoes and you and Jill take the paddleboat. That way you can hold the babies while still paddling,” Tomàs said to Desi.
“Sounds good.”
He helped us into the paddleboat and pushed us away from the dock. When we were safely out on the lake, he said, “Last ones out on the lake are rotten eggs!”
The boys giggled and clambered into the boats as their dads held the watercraft steady.
“Ha! We win!” Adam shouted, triumphantly pumping his paddle in the air.
Tomàs pointed to a spot further down the lake. “Race you to that stand of trees.”
“You’re on.” Adam dipped his paddle into the lake and urged Mikey to do the same.
“We’d better get out of the way of these macho men.” Desi peddled to turn us and we moved about twenty feet out of the path of the canoes.
They slid past us in haphazard patterns as the dads tried to compensate for the little boys’ weaker paddling.
“I feel like the whole racing thing was a bad idea.” Desi stared at them as we floated lazily on the lake.
“Probably. Luckily, it’s not our problem. The guys can figure it out.”
“Want to go back in?” Desi asked, her eyes dancing. “I don’t think they’ll miss us.”
I smiled. “We can claim Lina needed to be fed.”
“Good plan.” She started peddling and I joined in.
Soon, we were back at the docks. By this time, the two canoes were tiny specks on the other side of the lake.
Ten minutes later, we were relaxing on the deck of Adam’s and my cabin.
“Ah,” Desi said. “Now this is nice.”
The babies had fallen asleep immediately when we got back to the cabins and we’d made a fresh pot of coffee to take out to the deck.
“Yeah. It’s amazing how quiet it is without all the guys.” I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth out on the screened-in deck.
I was almost asleep when a knock sounded on the door.
I walked back inside the cabin and opened it.
