by Bobbi Holmes
“We’ll get to your client’s wife in a minute. But we are prepared to offer your client a deal.” Wilson took a seat across from Sterling and Burls. He dropped the folder he had been carrying on the tabletop.
“A deal? What kind of deal?” Burls asked.
“I have no doubt we will win a conviction against your client. He and his wife checked into Marlow House under aliases. Because of his close relationship to the bank manager and the fact they have been in constant communication this past week—which we can show by his cellphone records—it will be easy to prove he was fully aware of the fact the Missing Thorndike had been moved from the bank to a safe at Marlow House.
“Your client’s fingerprints were all over the necklace. The tools used to open the safe were found in Ms. Boatman’s bedroom, and they also had your client’s fingerprints all over them. I have no doubt we’ll find Mr. Sterling’s DNA on the gloves our jewel thief wore to open the safe, especially considering the teeth marks we found. With Mr. Sterling’s line of work, I don’t believe a jury will have a difficult time convicting him on all charges.”
“You mentioned a deal?” Burls asked.
Dave sat quietly at the table, not saying a word.
“We believe your client was responsible for breaking into a safe deposit box at the bank his cousin manages. They moved some valuable coins from one box to another. I believe your client’s cousin knew the owners of the coins intended to remove them from his bank, and he wanted to move them somewhere until he could take them out of the bank—before she did. Our only problem, we don’t know how they did it.”
Dave began to laugh. “You think I broke in to that safe deposit box?”
“David, please, let’s hear what Agent Wilson wants to say,” Burls urged.
Dave let out a snort, but settled back in his chair, refraining from comment.
“What do you want from my client?”
“If he tells us how he did it, how they managed to get into that vault without the cameras detecting him, we will see that all the charges be dropped in exchange for state’s evidence.”
Unable to contain himself, Dave said, “That would be great if I did it.”
“May I speak to my client alone, please?” Burls asked.
Late Friday afternoon, Wilson sat with MacDonald in the break room, drinking a cup of stale coffee.
“He’s not going to flip?” MacDonald asked. He already knew what the answer was. The chief was fairly certain Sterling and Kissinger had nothing to do with the coins being moved from one box to another. Why exactly Sean Sullivan did it, he didn’t know. When he was finally able to speak to Danielle alone, he was hoping to get the answer.
Wilson shook his head. “No. He’s sticking to the story that someone broke in to Marlow House while he and his wife were there. He insists he walked in on the burglar and was attacked from behind and tied up. Claims the reason they didn’t take the necklace was that it was all a publicity stunt for Marlow House’s upcoming anniversary.”
“So why leave the necklace?” the chief asked.
“According to Sterling, he thinks that was all part of the publicity stunt, to make it look more mysterious—all at his expense,” Wilson said. “To be honest, that does not sound so farfetched to me.”
“Did he explain using a false name or using a credit card with a false name?”
“Sterling claimed it was no more than role-playing he and his wife enjoy when they go on vacation—pretending they are someone else. As for the credit card, while it was in an alias, he kept it paid up, so he hasn’t really defrauded anyone.”
“And his fingerprints?”
“Whoever tied him up forced him to touch the necklace, of course,” Wilson grumbled.
“What now?” the chief asked.
“I think it’s in your court. If we can’t prove that he was involved with breaking in to the safe deposit box, I see this as clearly your case, not ours. I think you can handle it from here. I don’t see Sterling changing his mind on this. Sterling knows we have nothing to tie Kissinger to what happened at the bank—only him. But he also knows whatever Kissinger might have on him. Which means, if Kissinger does the final flip, Sterling might find himself spending even more time behind bars than what he might get for taking the entire hit for the botched jewel heist.”
Night had fallen and with it the outside temperature. To protect herself from the chilly June evening, Danielle wrapped herself in a vintage parka made from wool yarns of varying shades of lavender, orange, and beige. Danielle had purchased the parka from the same shop where she had found the vintage dress she’d worn with the Missing Thorndike for last year’s open house July fourth party.
“Why didn’t you tell me Joyce moved the coins from the bank?” Danielle asked Sean. Together they sat outside of Marlow House in the front swing.
“You didn’t ask me.”
“You know…you’re right. I didn’t. I just assumed you had removed them from the bank. Although, I couldn’t figure out how you did it. I thought the only way was at night, when there was no one around to see gold coins floating down to the beach. So tell me, if your intention was to reclaim the gold—believing it was yours, why did you put it in Joyce’s safe deposit box?”
“I didn’t put it in her safe deposit box.”
Pushing the toes of her shoes on the ground, Danielle brought the swing to a complete stop. Turning, she looked at Sean. “If you didn’t take the gold out of my safe deposit box, who did?”
“I never said I didn’t take the gold out of your safe deposit box.”
Danielle lifted her feet from the ground, allowing the swing to gently move to and fro. “I don’t understand. Who moved the gold out of my safe deposit box? And who moved it to Joyce’s?”
“I suppose I technically moved them to Joyce’s safe deposit box.”
Clutching the parka closer around her, she frowned over at Sean. “You aren’t making any sense.”
“When I think of it all now—with a clear head—it seems silly. Strangely, I remember what I was thinking back then, but back then, I didn’t realize how my thoughts were so…so…fractured.”
“Please explain what happened at the bank.”
“After the gold went missing from the Hemming house, I started looking for it—and at the same time, I started looking for better hiding places. I ended up in the bank and eventually the vault room and all those safe deposit boxes.”
“So you basically stumbled on the gold again?”
“Yes. I followed one of the safe deposit holders into the vault and listened to the questions she asked the bank employee about the security. They discussed the cameras monitoring the room. At the time, I didn’t even consider the possibility of the cameras capturing my image. Now I know it’s impossible since I’m a spirit, but then, I didn’t even know what I was.”
“But you later decided to move the camera?”
“Just the one aimed at your safe deposit box. I didn’t care if they saw me, I just didn’t want them to see where I had moved the gold. In my mind, I wasn’t moving them from your safe deposit box to Joyce’s. To me, her safe deposit box was simply my new hiding place.”
“Why did you leave the shamrock?”
Sean smiled. “When going through the bank, I stumbled across that in a storage room. When taking the gold coins, I decided to leave the shamrock as a warning—not to mess with what belongs to a leprechaun.” He laughed at his own foolishness.
“You know what I do wonder, when you moved that shamrock from the storage room to the vault room, one of those cameras must have picked it up.”
Sean shrugged.
Danielle silently considered the possibility of Special Agent Wilson poring over the security videos and finally noticing the small green shamrock floating from one end of the bank to the other. She smiled at the thought.
“I think I’m ready to move on now,” Sean announced.
Danielle looked over at Sean and smiled. “I thought you might be ready.”
“I’m anxious to see Katherine again. Is there anything you want me to tell her?”
“Perhaps…thank her for leading me here. For bringing me to Walt and Marlow House.”
“I thought Brianna was the one who left you the estate.”
“Oh, she was.” Danielle leaned back and gave the ground a little push with her toe to set the swing back in motion. “But only because her mother wanted me to help Walt.”
“I imagine he would still be stumbling around in the dark, confused, like I was. Thank you for helping me, Danielle. While reality seems ridiculously clear to me now, just days ago I was shrouded in a suffocating haze. Thank you.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“Before I go, I’m curious. Why did you want to know who Brianna’s father is? It’s not like she was a blood relative, and all the parties have long since died.”
Danielle shrugged. “I just was. I tend to enjoy a good mystery—and I also enjoy unraveling the secrets hidden in family trees. This one was a particular surprise—and frankly, difficult to believe.”
“It’s true. I wish there was some way I could prove it, but I suppose you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
“Actually,” Danielle smiled. “I think I know a way to scientifically prove—or disprove—your claim.”
Sean frowned. “You do?”
“Sure. You’d be surprised at the advances of DNA since you died.”
“DNA? What’s that?”
Thirty-Nine
The vacuum’s shrieking hum made it impossible for Danielle to hear Lily, who had just asked her a question from the open doorway. Too preoccupied with pushing the vacuum around the hardwood floor of her bedroom, she failed to see Lily standing there.
“Are you sure you’re supposed to be doing that?” Lily shouted for the second time, louder than before.
Stopping what she was doing, Danielle looked to the open doorway and turned off the vacuum. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you were supposed to do that. Isn’t this room still a crime scene?”
“I talked to the chief on the phone, and he said I could clean the room. They’re done processing it.” Danielle unplugged the vacuum and then stepped on a lever at its base, recoiling its cord.
“Why didn’t you just let Joanne do that when she comes tomorrow morning?”
“Because it grossed me out thinking of Blake—or Dave—whatever he calls himself—crawling around in my room.”
Lily stepped inside the doorway. “Well, I don’t think he was crawling in here, exactly.”
“Maybe not. But he was rolling around on my floor…ugg…I know this probably sounds silly, but I feel violated.”
“Hey, I get it.” Lily walked over to the desk and sat down. “Is the FBI done questioning you?”
Danielle pushed the vacuum out the doorway, into the hall and left it there. She walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the foot of her bed. “At least in regards to the gold coins. Now that Joyce admitted to taking the coins out of the bank, they know I put them in my safe deposit box. Of course, figuring out how they got from my box to hers is going to drive Wilson and Thomas insane.”
“Are they looking into Kissinger?”
Danielle shrugged. “I have no idea. But I would expect them to, especially considering Kissinger’s connection to the Spicers—or whoever they are. Of course, you and I both know neither Kissinger or his cousin had anything to do with what happened in that bank vault.”
“What about Joyce, is she going to be charged with anything?”
“When I talked to the chief on the phone, I told him I didn’t want to press charges against Joyce. What she did was wrong, but in some way very human. Heck, I’ve forgiven Adam after he broke in to Marlow House to treasure hunt. And she did the right thing in the end. Lots of people would have kept quiet.”
“I wonder what she would have done had you not found the coins, yet had been arrested. Would she have sacrificed a fortune to keep you out of jail?”
“Good question. I would like to think she would have. But we will never know the answer to that. And I suspect, if asked the question, Joyce may not know what she would have done.”
Lily stood up. “Okay, now that we have that behind us, I think we should work on the open house.”
“Okay. I promise, this weekend I’ll sit down and help you plan it. But tonight, I have one more thing I need to do.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to find out if Sean Sullivan was right about something.”
“Right about what?”
“He told me who Brianna’s father was.”
Lily’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“Things have been a little bit crazy around here.”
Lily smiled. “No kidding. So who was he? Not that I will actually recognize his name.”
“Oh, I think you’ll recognize his name.”
“I will?”
Danielle nodded.
“Okay, who is it then?”
Danielle told Lily the name of Brianna’s father.
Lily frowned. “Who?”
Danielle repeated the name.
Lily shook her head. “No. I don’t believe that. I mean…no…that’s impossible.”
“Why? What’s so impossible about it?”
“For one thing, they were from two different worlds. How did they even get together?”
“According to Sean, she was working for him. He seduced her, they had an affair, and she got pregnant.”
“Was she in love with him? How could she have been in love with a man like that?”
“Think about it, Lily. Katherine O’Malley was not known for having good judgment when it came to men. Marrying Roger Calvert cost her her life and left her daughter orphaned.”
“You have a point. So how do you intend to find out if Sean was right about the identity of Brianna’s father?”
“I asked Melony if she and Adam could stop over here before we all meet them at Pearl Cove for dinner.” Danielle glanced at the clock on her nightstand. “I need to get in the shower and get ready for dinner before she gets here.”
“Melony? How is she going to help you prove it?”
Danielle didn’t believe she needed an audience when discussing Brianna’s parentage with Melony. She feared it might make Melony uncomfortable, and that was the last thing she wanted to do, considering the circumstances.
Before Adam arrived with Melony, Lily walked over to Ian’s house. Ian had already agreed to pick up the chief on the way to Pearl Cove. When it was time for Adam and Melony to take off for the restaurant, Danielle would go with them, and they would pick Chris up at his house, along the way.
“I’m happy it all worked out for you!” Melony told Danielle when she arrived at Marlow House with Adam.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Walt cautioned from the sidelines, a thin cigar in one hand.
Danielle glanced quickly to Walt and then back to Melony. “I really appreciated you coming down to the police station.” Danielle looked at Adam and gave him a sisterly sock on his arm. “And I appreciate you thinking of sending her.”
“Hey, I told Mel how much money she could make off you, considering how often you get arrested.” Adam grinned as he followed Danielle and Melony to the parlor.
Walt moved effortlessly from the entry hall to the parlor, arriving before the three stepped into the room.
Danielle laughed. “Yeah, Melony told me that.”
“As it turned out, you didn’t need me after all.”
“Trust me, those guys from the FBI can be intimidating,” Danielle told her. “It helped having you there with me so I didn’t have to talk to them alone.”
“Anytime,” Melony promised.
“I think Adam is rather smitten with Melony. He can’t seem to take his eyes off her,” Walt observed. “Not sure I’m getting the same from her. That expression she’s giving him looks more sisterly.”
Melony playfully elbowed Adam to be quiet.
“See, did you see that?” Walt asked Danielle. “Reminds me of what a sister might do to her kid brother.”
If I could elbow you to be quiet right now, I would too, Danielle thought. And my feelings toward you aren’t exactly sisterly. If they were, my life would be a heck of a lot less complicated.
Directing her attention back on Melony and Adam, Danielle attempted to block out Walt, who was too distracting.
Melony turned her attention to Danielle. “So what is it you want to talk to me about? You said to bring the user name and password to my mother’s Ancestry.com account with me.”
“Did you bring it?” Danielle asked.
“Sure. But why did you want it?”
“Remember that DNA test your mother took?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“When you log into your mother’s account and look at the test results, do you know if she checked the box to give permission to allow her results to link to other family tree results? It’s under settings.”
Melony shrugged. “I really don’t know. Like I told you before, I haven’t had time to really go over the tests.”
“Would you mind looking? And if she didn’t, maybe check that option?”
Narrowing her eyes, Melony studied Danielle. “Now you have me curious. What’s this about?”
“I think maybe your mother was related to my aunt Brianna.”
“How?”
“Since you gave me that box with my aunt’s belongings, I’ve learned Renton was the one responsible for having her DNA tested. I have to assume he got someone at the facility she was staying at to collect her saliva. Her results are linked to a family tree he created for her, under the Ancestry account he opened. I know it’s his account because it’s under his name. When I logged into it, the annual membership hadn’t been paid, which was no surprise since he was arrested almost a year ago. I went ahead and paid it, because I figured I wouldn’t be able to use all the search features without it. If my hunch is correct, and my aunt was related to your mother, your mom didn’t click the option to share information, because she didn’t show up on Brianna’s tree.”
