Alibis and Amethysts (15 page)

Chapter 20

Daniel was setting up bridge chairs in the alcove at the back of Crystal Clear. He’d
already moved the small bookshelf that usually occupied part of that space. Even so,
there was barely room to fit the dozen chairs. It was the first Friday of May, which
meant it was time for one of Jaye’s minilectures on crystals and gemstones. She’d
wanted to postpone the lecture until the investigation was over, but neither Daniel
nor Sierra would hear of it. “You made me go right on baking after we found Peggy’s
body,” Sierra had said, “and you were right. We need as much normalcy in our lives
as possible right now, and we need to show the world that we have nothing to be worried
about.” Since Jaye could hardly take issue with her own arguments, she’d shut her
mouth and concentrated on getting through the evening’s festivities.

While Daniel was moving furniture, she was going around the shop selecting specimens
of raw amethyst to use in her lecture along with jewelry showcasing the finished crystal.
Amethyst had been on her mind a lot lately, no doubt because of the ring she’d been
accused of stealing from her competitor. Although she’d had an iron-clad alibi, Brock
and Anastos seemed reluctant to accept her innocence. Maybe they figured if they threw
enough accusations at her, one of them would eventually stick.

“I still can’t believe how close you came to being caught in Peggy’s house,” Daniel
said, joining her at one of the display cases, where she was trying to decide which
of the necklaces to include in the program.

She shrugged. “All’s well that—”

“Don’t give me that phony bravado. You were courting trouble, and you were just lucky
to get away with it.”

She looked up at him, fluttered her eyelids and put her hand to her heart. “I do declare,
I love it when a man takes charge,” she said breathlessly. “My little heart goes all
pitty-pat.”

Daniel started laughing. “You are so bad.”

She held the necklaces out to him. “Which one?” she asked, dropping the Scarlett
O’Hara bit.

“This one,” he said pointing to the piece that was a deeper purple. “You do realize
that if anyone’s interested in buying amethyst, they can just walk around the shop
and look at your whole inventory.”

“Of course, but I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing since I opened the shop.
At a lecture like this, it helps to catch the buyers’ eyes with specific pieces, or
they don’t always get interested in buying, especially the men.”

“Men can sure be a handful,” Daniel said dryly, “so I’ll leave you to it. I’m sure
there’s something I’ve forgotten to move around.”

Jaye made her final selections and brought them up to the small table he’d placed
in front of the chairs for that purpose. While it was still quiet, she took a minute
to look around the shop—her shop. When she’d rented the space, she’d had no idea how
much pride she would take in owning a business and how much joy she’d have working
with the crystals and the tourists from all over the world who came in to learn about
them. Sometimes before opening for the day, she’d pause like this to appreciate the
way the stones sparkled in their glass display cases. When the sun shone in at the
right angle, the shop had an almost magical glow to it.

She was still standing there when the bells on the door jingled to announce Bryn’s
return. She hurried in, cheeks rosy from the evening chill. “Got the milk. Do you
want me to start the coffee before I leave?”

“That’s okay,” Jaye said. “I’ve got it. You’ll be late for your shift at Finnegan’s.”

“Uncle Quinn doesn’t mind. And if he did, he’d have to deal with my mom. She loves
coming to your lectures, and she knows you need the help.” Bryn put the milk on the
card table that Daniel had set up behind the chairs.

“Not a problem tonight. Jaye’s got me to boss around,” Daniel said with a wink, which
didn’t save him from a friendly jab in the ribs courtesy of Jaye’s elbow.

“I have no idea how I managed without her,” she said after Bryn left. “She picks things
up so fast, and she’s always a pleasure to have around.”

“I read somewhere that a luxury becomes a necessity after a month.”

Jaye laughed. “Then I’d better not treat myself to anymore luxuries or I’ll be—” She
was interrupted by the thump of someone kicking the door. Before either of them could
react, the owner of the foot shouted, “Open up! Open up!” Daniel reached the door
first, and the moment he opened it, Sierra thrust a large tray of cupcakes at him.
With one hand now free, she was able to rescue the second tray before it did a swan
dive onto the ground.

“They’re gorgeous,” Jaye said, taking the second tray from her.

Sierra beamed. “Aren’t they? I put a triple chocolate one away for you, before the
hordes grab them all. I really outdid myself this time.”

“Ever try baking some humble pie?” Daniel asked.

“Eat one of the cupcakes and then tell me who needs to be humble,” Sierra challenged
him.

“Deal. But any cupcake judging will have to wait,” he said, setting the tray on the
table. “I need to talk to you both before anyone else gets here.”

Jaye put the other tray down beside the first. “Sounds serious.”

“It might be. I finally got a straight answer out of my mother. At least, I think
it’s a straight answer.”

“About how they reacted to the photos of Raffles?” Jaye had almost given up on ever
finding out why Kyah and Doli Joe had seemed so taken aback.

“Yeah. Apparently my great-grandmother used to tell stories about a strange catlike
animal that roamed the area when she was a little girl.”

Goose bumps flashed across Jaye’s skin. “I’m not sure I like hearing that,” she said,
crossing her arms against her chest as if to warm herself.

“That’s how it hit me too. I mean, has Raffles been around that long? Or are there
others like her? And if she’s not the result of a onetime genetic mutation, where
did she and the other one come from and how have they gone undetected all this time?”

“Exactly!” Jaye said. “Instead of finally getting some answers, we now have more questions.”

“Did your mom say anything else?” Sierra asked.

“Yeah, there’s something she wants to show me the next time I’m up there.”

“And yet another mystery,” Jaye said. “There are only so many mysteries I can juggle
in my head and keep my sanity. We should get back up there, and soon.” The instant
the words left her mouth, she realized she was being too pushy. Kyah wanted her son
to come; she hadn’t said anything about bringing Jaye again. “I mean
you
should get up there soon,” she amended quickly, searching his face to see if she’d
crossed some invisible line. He could be downright inscrutable at times. But this
wasn’t one of them.

Daniel was grinning at her. “
We
should definitely make the trip soon.”

“But maybe your mom wants to spend some time alone with you.”

“She would have made it clear if that’s what she wanted. My mother’s never been afraid
to say what’s on her mind. Besides, I think this has to do with Raffles, and she knows
Raffles adopted
you
.”

“Doesn’t anyone want to know what happened with the photo of Adam Grayson?” Sierra
asked. She’d started brewing the coffee while they were talking and was clearly ready
for her turn to speak.

“Of course,” Jaye said. The prospect of finding out more about Raffles was tantalizing,
but it didn’t come close to priority one—solving Peggy’s murder.

“Well, since we don’t want anyone around here seeing it just yet, I took it up to
a camera store in Flagstaff. The manager there promised to work on it himself. Unfortunately,
he couldn’t promise to restore all the details that were lost where the paper cracked,
but he did say there are computer programs that should be able to help in the process.”

“Whatever he can do with it will be better than what we have now,” Jaye said. “How
long?”

He’s going to get to it as soon as he finishes up the work that he’s already scheduled.
First come, first served and all that. I was tempted to tell him it was an emergency
and that our freedom was hanging in the balance, but I didn’t want to tweak his curiosity
too much.”

Daniel helped himself to a cherry that had fallen onto the tray from one of the cupcakes.
“Gourmet baker and private investigator all in one day—you’re quite the Renaissance
woman.”

Sierra tossed her head and stuck her chin up in the air like a queen among the peasants.
“I’m all that and so much more,” she said regally. But she could only act the part
for a second before dissolving into laughter along with her friends.

“Sounds like the party started without us,” said Esther Hinklemeyer as she and her
sister stepped inside the shop.

“Nonsense,” said Edith. “It’s never a party without us!”

***

Cal Anastos walked into the shop near the end of Jaye’s lecture. A ripple of whispers
spread through the little audience when they saw who the latecomer was. The rosiness
disappeared from Sierra’s cheeks, and she flashed Jaye a troubled look. Standing up
there in view of everyone, Jaye didn’t have the luxury of coming apart at the seams.
She clamped down on her emotions the way she’d learned to by her third foster home
and held on to her composure, but it wasn’t easy. She acknowledged the detective’s
presence with a nod of her head and tried not to think about why he was there. Or
why he was alone. Where was Brock? Was he waiting outside the back door in case she
and Sierra made a run for it? So much for not thinking about it. In spite of the turmoil
going on in her head, her voice remained calm as she thanked everyone for attending
and invited them to enjoy the coffee and cupcakes. Then she made her way over to Anastos,
who was waiting to one side of the door. Standing there alone without his partner,
he looked odd to Jaye, as if a part of him had been amputated.

Daniel, who’d been leaning against the main display case near the front of the store,
didn’t budge. Jaye knew he was staying there for moral support, and she was grateful
for it.

“Can I help you, detective?” she asked as cordially as she could manage.

Sierra joined them. “Cal,” she said stiffly.

“Sierra,” he replied in kind. A stranger would never have believed the two had been
casual friends. But that was before Peggy was bumped off and the world turned upside
down.

“Nice little event,” he said to Jaye. “I’ve heard folks talking about it.”

“Thanks, but I suspect that’s not why you’re here,” she said, in no mood for the small
talk. The way her heart was pounding, observing the niceties of social etiquette could
qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.

“You’re right; it’s not,” he said lowering his voice. “I wanted to let you know that
the missing amethyst ring was found in the owner’s shop today.”

“Really? Well . . . great.” Jaye was both dazed and relieved as her emotions spun
a fast one eighty. “Where did they find it?”

“It apparently fell behind a display case.”

Or a certain animal brought it back and tossed it there. If that was the case, Raffles
understood a lot more English then she let on. Jaye realized she might never know
for sure. If it had been the not-a-cat, she would have taken something else in trade.
Of course, something as ordinary as a pen or a paper clip would probably go unnoticed.

“I’m surprised Theo didn’t come with you,” Sierra said, her cheeks pinking up again
now that handcuffs were no longer on the evening’s agenda.

“It doesn’t generally take two of us to deliver good news,” he said, his face relaxing
into a smile. He turned back to Jaye. “Sorry to have interrupted things; have yourselves
a good evening.”

“Thanks,” Jaye said. Now if he could just make the pesky little murder case disappear,
they’d be really grateful.

Chapter 21

“I’ve got it!” Sierra announced when she came into the shop three days later. Jaye
was busy putting out the shipment of crystals and gemstones that had arrived in the
morning, but she immediately set the loose crystals she was holding on top of the
display case.

“No Bryn today?” Sierra asked, looking around.

“She had a toothache; so it’s just me. And sadly enough I’ve discovered that I enjoy
her company more than my own. How did the picture turn out?”

“I haven’t looked yet. I wanted to see it at the same time you did.”

“Weren’t you going crazy wondering about it on the drive back from Flagstaff?”

“I’ve built my hopes up so much that I didn’t want to be disappointed all alone. And
if it came out great, I’d rather share that with you too.”

“I don’t think I would have had the willpower to wait,” Jaye admitted.

“Kind of like when I tried to be a vegetarian and went seriously crazy before the
end of the first week?”

“No, more like I’m going to grab that envelope out of your hand in a second and tear
it open with my teeth.”

“Okay, okay,” Sierra said with an anxious laugh. She opened the envelope slowly, careful
not to tear the photo inside. When she finally withdrew it, she and Jaye banged heads
as they leaned over it. “It’s a good thing we both have thick skulls.” She laughed
again, rubbing the sore spot.

“I thought he was going to enlarge it more than this,” Jaye said, as though she hadn’t
even felt the blow.

“I know, but he told me when he went bigger it became too blurry.”

Jaye picked up the photo and stared at it from different angles. It was definitely
Adam Grayson, and he was sitting at a desk that was different from the one in the
gallery, so it was probably in his home. He was bent over the desk working on something,
but it was impossible to see what that was. The jagged white cracks were still there
in the enlargement, looking like lightning in a bad electrical storm. And they still
obliterated most of the desk. The only thing Jaye could make out were some random
shapes and colors. She almost felt sorry for Peggy, who had no doubt racked her brain
to think of the safest hiding place for the photo only to have it permanently damaged
there.

“I can’t believe it,” Sierra said glumly, tears welling in her eyes. “What do we do
now?”

Jaye couldn’t remember ever hearing her friend sound quite so hopeless and disheartened.
If her own disappointment was more modest, it was probably because her life was littered
with all the times she’d been brought to her knees. Sierra was the eternal optimist,
the one whose glass was not just half full but overflowing, and Jaye needed her to
remain that way for both their sakes. She tried to think of comforting words, but
all that came to her were hackneyed phrases and greeting card tripe. So she wrapped
Sierra in a powerful hug instead. “I’ll think of something,” she said with all the
certainty she could muster. And by the time they drew apart an idea had started forming
in her brain.

***

Jaye waited until Tuesday, when Sierra would be too busy baking to sniff out what
she was up to. The last thing she needed was someone trying to talk her out of her
mission when her own good sense was already trying to shut her down. She awoke that
morning to a loud crash from the direction of the kitchen. Since Raffles was no longer
in bed, there was a good chance she was responsible for whatever had caused that worrisome
noise. Jaye jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen, hoping to contain any further
damage. She found the not-a-cat on top of the stove, looking down at the shattered
glass bowl and smashed eggs that covered half the floor. She turned at Jaye’s gasp,
her shiny black eyes all innocence and bewilderment as if to say, “Don’t look at me—I’ve
got no idea how that happened.”

“I take it you were hungry?” Jaye said as she pulled the roll of paper towels off
its dispenser and started cleaning up the carnage. Raffles watched from her perch,
and the moment the floor was once again clean, she climbed down, as lithe as any domestic
cat, and planted herself beside her dish with a plaintive trill.

“I’ll have your breakfast ready in a minute, Your Highness. Let’s see if any eggs
survived the massacre.” Jaye found a solitary egg along with a doorknob, a tennis
ball and a Lego building block. She was no longer surprised by the results of the
not-a-cat’s barter system, but she’d been trying to teach the animal to ask before
appropriating any of her personal items. She really missed her elastic ponytail band
with the mother-of-pearl flower, especially when she saw a local teenager sporting
it. She could imagine all sorts of repercussions from Raffles’s trading habits. It
was only a matter of time before there was an uptick in the number of reported burglaries.

After making Raffles’s breakfast, one egg sunny-side up, Jaye set the coffee to brew
and went back to the bedroom to get dressed, hoping the little kitchen disaster didn’t
bode ill for the rest of the day. But she hit a brick wall trying to put an outfit
together for her little clandestine operation. Her wardrobe tended to be conservative,
in spite of Sierra’s repeated efforts to drag her out of her comfort zone. A month
ago, out of sheer weariness, Jaye had finally surrendered to the pressure and purchased
a few pieces under her friend’s tutelage. Then she’d hung them in the back of her
closet with all the tags still on and a vague plan to return them one day. When she
came upon them that morning she immediately knew there would never be a more perfect
time to wear some of the things. The black skinny jeans felt like they’d shrunk and
might take an entire village to zip up. After she’d wrestled her way into them, she
added the jade green blouse that offered a hint of cleavage and the ridiculous black
stilettos that made the balls of her feet burn after ten minutes. The irony wasn’t
lost on her that she was finally wearing the outfit Sierra had campaigned so hard
for her to buy, but for a purpose Sierra would never have sanctioned.

Without the weekend traffic snarls, she arrived in Uptown Sedona a few minutes after
ten and parked in front of Adam Grayson’s gallery. She turned off the engine and in
that moment almost lost her nerve. All she had to do was start the car again, make
a U-turn and head back to her shop. No one would be the wiser. She sat there for several
minutes, the debate raging in her head. Play it safe or go for it? Wait for fate to
call the shots or try to direct her own destiny? If Sierra and she wound up in prison
cells, would she spend the rest of her life racked by a coward’s guilt? Since she
had no patience for people who wasted time dithering over a decision, she ordered
herself to stop overthinking the matter and just get on with it.

When she walked into the gallery, Adam was at his desk going through a stack of papers.
He glanced up at the sound of the bell announcing her arrival. “Hey, Jaye. Great to
see you again.” She wondered if he greeted every customer with the same degree of
enthusiasm. “Does this mean you’ve received an unexpected windfall?”

Jaye stopped near a bronze sculpture of a girl on a galloping horse, her hair, like
the animal’s mane and tail, blowing behind them in the wind. “I wish,” Jaye said,
flashing him the brightest smile in her bag of tricks. “I just came to visit the artwork
I covet but may never own.”

Adam pushed back from the desk and stood up. In beige chinos and a lavender polo,
he was as striking as the first time she’d visited the gallery. He joined her beside
the sculpture. “I’ve heard a lot of people mention Crystal Clear and your lectures.
You’re developing a name for yourself. I wouldn’t be surprised if you waltz in here
in one day soon and buy me out.”

“In that case, would you put a hold on this bronze for me?”

He laughed. “Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s one of my favorite pieces too.”

“They’re both so free and joyful,” she said wistfully.” I don’t think I could ever
be sad looking at them.”

“I find it hard to believe that you’re sad all that often,” Adam said. “I’m sure there
are dozens of men who’d like nothing better than to try to make you happy.”

“And you’d be wrong,” Jaye replied, lowering the wattage of her smile to demure and
a bit rueful.

“Between relationships, I take it.”

“You might say.” The last one of any meaningful duration had been back in college,
but Adam didn’t need to know that.

“Then would you be open to a dinner invitation?”

He was really making this easy for her. “I guess so,” she said, trying not to sound
too eager. “As long as it’s not a pity date.”

Adam laughed again. “You can’t possibly be serious.”

***

On the way back to her shop, Jaye’s emotions kept swinging back and forth like a pendulum.
One moment she felt triumphant, the next anxious over the events she’d just set in
motion. Making it worse was the fact that she couldn’t talk to Sierra about it until
after the fact. Or Daniel for that matter. He would never approve. He’d probably be
even more alarmed than Sierra. She’d have to make do with Raffles as her confidante.
The worst the not-a-cat could do was fall asleep from boredom. She’d never demand
that Jaye abandon her project.

The day and time she and Adam had agreed upon was Thursday evening at eight. When
he’d asked if Dahl & Di Luca would be okay, she assured him it would. Their food was
wonderful, but more importantly, it wasn’t a place where she was likely to bump into
Sierra or Daniel. She had two days to buy another sexy outfit with which to distract
Adam; two days to plan how she’d elicit some useful information about the photo while
he was distracted. If he was the killer, chances were he knew about the photo, and
it had probably been the final straw that drove him to murder. It was going to be
one tricky dinner conversation. She wouldn’t have minded hearing Sierra cheer her
on with a rousing “How hard could it be?”

It occurred to Jaye that she should let someone know where she was going and with
whom. In case she vanished during the night. Don’t be ridiculous, she chided herself.
Even if he killed Peggy, he wasn’t foolish enough to try to get away with a second
murder, right? Maybe she should have worked through the details of her scheme before
actually embarking on it. But since time only marches forward, despite what time travel
literature claims, she had to get her butt in gear and figure out her strategy.

Given fate’s casual disregard for mortals’ plans, Wednesday and Thursday turned out
to be crazy in the shop. Busloads of tourists descended on them without so much as
a call ahead to alert them. Some of the groups were so large they had to enter the
store in shifts. Jaye and Bryn didn’t have time for lunch either day, and by closing
time on Thursday they were hoarse from fielding too many questions. With no time to
hit the clothing boutiques, Jaye traded the green blouse she had on for the low-cut
red sweater Bryn wore to work Thursday morning. While they were exchanging clothes,
Jaye casually mentioned that she and Adam would be eating dinner at Dahl & Di Luca.

“Seriously?” Bryn said, her eyebrows flying upward. “Sorry, I mean . . . well, isn’t
he much older than you?”

Jaye shrugged off the remark, saying it was a business dinner. Judging by Bryn’s reaction,
she was confident the younger woman wasn’t likely to forget the conversation anytime
soon.

By the time Jaye turned the “Open” sign to “Closed,” she was a dozen degrees past
tired. It didn’t help that when she walked into the bedroom to get ready for her date,
Raffles was curled up in the quilt, snoring away. Given the chance, Jaye would have
gladly traded lives with the not-a-cat right then and there. Since that wasn’t an
option, she exchanged her comfortable chinos and loafers for the skinny jeans and
bruising heels she’d worn earlier in the week. Adam wasn’t likely to focus on anything
but the red sweater anyway. Unfortunately, the only plan she’d come up with for garnering
information was to ad-lib, if that could be called a plan. With just a few minutes
before she had to leave, she poured the last of the morning’s coffee and gulped it
down before the bitterness could make her gag. Caffeine was essential if she was going
to make it through the date awake and alert.

Adam had reserved a table in the corner of the dimly lit restaurant, and once they
were seated, Jaye was pleased to see that the tables weren’t on top of one another.
Given that fact and the hum of other conversations, it was unlikely anyone would be
able to eavesdrop on what they were saying.

Adam inquired if she’d like wine. She was about to decline it in the interest of staying
sharp, then changed her mind and said wine would be delightful. She’d take two sips,
suddenly remember she was on strong antihistamines for some nonexistent allergies
and coax him into drinking hers as well. A less than sharp Adam would be a definite
plus. Since he wasn’t privy to her just-hatched plan, he ordered a bottle of Chianti.
Jaye felt bad about the lie, but not bad enough to change her mind.

“Here’s to the success of Crystal Clear,” Adam said, raising his glass. “I can always
use another well-heeled patron of the arts.”

Jaye clinked her glass against his. “And to the continued success of the Grayson Gallery,
so I can patronize it someday.” A few sips later she played the allergy card, apologizing
for not having remembered sooner.

Adam assured her it wasn’t a problem. “More for me,” he said with a smile.

Jaye smiled back. Exactly.

By the time their salads arrived, Adam had finished his first glass of wine and the
conversation had fallen into the rhythm of a typical first date. They traded stories
of their families, childhoods and college years. Jaye skirted the truth about most
of her childhood, since this was hardly the time to be laying her soul bare. Luckily,
Adam didn’t seem to notice how little real content filled her remarks. The Chianti
and the red sweater were working their magic.