The Curse Keepers Collection (22 page)

It was after two o’clock when we reached Rodanthe. Collin parked in front of Mrs. Abernathy’s house. A car was parked in the carport.

Collin turned off the engine and pointed to the car. “Okay, Ellie. Lesson one in the art of casing a place. Figure out as much as you can about your mark.”

“You mean victim.”

He shrugged. “Semantics.” He turned to me. “Tell me what you know about Mrs. Evelyn Abernathy.”

“She lives in a beach house.”

He pursed his lips and gave a slight nod. “I was hoping for more than that. What does the fact that she lives in a beach house tell you?”

“That she has money.”

“Good, but not necessarily. It might have been a family property that she’s hanging onto by her fingernails. I suspect that’s not the case here. Why?”

I remembered looking inside the house the night before. “The inside. The kitchen looked new and the furniture was nice.”

“Good. What else?”

I studied the house again. “Her car. It looks expensive.”

“It is. It’s a Lexus. And not just a Lexus, an ES.”

“Is that supposed to mean something?”

He shook his head in mock disgust. “Any self-respecting gold digger would know her Lexus models.”

“I’ll add that to my to-do list.”

“Good girl. Nothing but the best luxury car for you.” He tapped my nose.

I batted his hand away. “So why do we care about this?”

“She has money, and she bought the cup in a pawnshop. She’s a collector, and she knows her stuff. She knows the real steals aren’t in the antique malls but the grungy places. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty to find just the right piece. But I don’t think she has an emotional attachment to it.”

“How would you know that?”

“The way she displayed her books and knickknacks. It was all very put together and organized. The displays of a collector with an emotional attachment have a more ‘lived with’ look. The collectors read the books. They use the bowls. They handle the pewter cups.” He looked at me. “But the serious collector displays for maximum exposure. They want people to see the fruit of their search. It’s a game, and part of the game is displaying the trophy. We’re lucky. She’ll be more likely to sell it since she doesn’t have an emotional attachment, but that means money matters to her. It will cost more.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “Where did you learn that?”

“Casing the Joint 101 at the school for Mischief and Shenaniganry, of course. I think I passed you in the hall on the way to Entrapping the Eligible Billionaire Bachelor.”

I couldn’t help grinning. “Very funny. So what do we do with all of this?”

“We use it to get what we want. We use everything at our disposal to get what we want. Always.”

That came as no surprise. I’d learned that the day before, but I was surprised he admitted it.

“Let me do all the talking.”

“It’s my cup, Collin.”

He turned to me in exasperation. “I have more experience with this, Ellie.”

There was no arguing with that, but my gut reaction was that it would be best to go with the emotional ploy. Nevertheless I was glad we had money. “Are you going to pay for it? You still have the eighteen hundred dollars.”

“More like sixteen hundred dollars.”

“
What
?”

“I had to get gas. And then food.”

“Gas and food don’t cost two hundred dollars, Collin. Where did the rest go?”

“I had to pay for the supplies for your henna tattoo.”

I remembered him handing a bill to Rosalina, and my anger exploded. “You paid one hundred dollars for henna supplies? There’s no way on God’s green earth they cost that much.”

He shrugged. “I gave Rosalina a tip.”

“You paid her one hundred dollars. With
my
money?”

“Consider it a finder’s fee.”

“It’s
my
money, Collin.” Knowing he paid one of his many women with
my
money pissed me off more than I cared to admit. “Give it to me.”

“Give you what?”

“
My
money. Hand it over
now
. I only gave it to you before because I didn’t feel like holding that much cash when Marino felt me up.”

Collin’s gaze turned murderous. “Marino felt you up?”

I gave him a dirty look. “I’ll never kiss and tell. Now give me my money.”

“
You kissed him
?”

“Will you just give me my damned money already!”

He reached into the glove compartment, pulled out a wad of bills, and handed it to me. I counted the stack. “Nice try. There’s only twelve hundred here. I want the rest.”

“I took you to Marino. That has to count for something.”

“Yeah, it means I owe you a swift kick in the nuts. I wanted to go to Oscar. I can guarantee you that I wouldn’t be in this trouble if I’d gone to him.”

Collin didn’t protest, instead pulling out his wallet, then taking out three hundred dollars and handing it to me.

I continued to hold out my hand. “The rest?”

“What the hell, Ellie? Are you going to nickel and dime me over this?”

“Yes.”

He handed me another bill. “There.”

I suspected there was more but decided to let it go for now. I stuffed the money into my purse and hopped out of the truck, walking toward Mrs. Abernathy’s house.

Collin ran after me, moving in front of me and blocking my path. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting my cup, now get out of my way.”

His eyes widened in fear. “What’s your plan?”

“Do you really think coming up with a plan to con this woman out of her cup should be discussed out here in the open?

“No, it shouldn’t. Let’s go back to the truck.” He grabbed my bicep and started to drag me to the curb.

He was never going to cave, and I wasn’t willing to make a scene.

“Let go. I have to tie my shoe or I’m going to trip.”

Grumbling, he released his hold. I bent down and pretended to mess with my shoestring, then bolted for the door. The look of surprise on Collin’s face when I looked over my shoulder was priceless. But it only took him a half second to catch up to me on the back deck. Just as I knocked on the door.

“Ellie, let me handle this,” he growled through gritted teeth.

“Kiss my ass, Collin,” I muttered back.

“You fuck this up, and I’ll do more than that to your ass.”

Why did that send a shiver up my back?
Focus, Ellie.

An older woman made her way to the door and my stomach began to flip-flop. Damn. In my determination to beat Collin to the door, I hadn’t come up with a plan yet.

She wore capri pants and a blouse that looked freshly pressed. Her white-gray hair was cut short and she wore makeup, but in a fresh sort of way. She opened the door and gave me an inquisitive perusal. I knew I looked like a hot mess. My shirt was still stained despite my effort to clean it in the restroom in Buxton and my legs were covered in scratches. Collin had said she was a serious collector, and I had no doubt about that, but the softness in her eyes when she took in the sight of me made me rethink our tactic.

Her eyes shifted from me to Collin and back again as she held onto the door. “Can I help you?”

“I hope so.” I paused. “Mrs. Abernathy?”

She nodded, but looked nervous.

“I’m so sorry to bother you and I know I really shouldn’t be here but . . . ” My voice broke.

Wariness filled her eyes and she took a step back.

“You bought a pewter cup at the pawnshop in Kill Devil Hills. My boyfriend left me and he stole a bunch of my things and pawned them. I didn’t know until it was too late. I went to get my cup and I found out it had been sold.” This time I forced my voice to break. “I’m so sorry to show up at your door, and I’m not supposed to know who bought it, but I accidently found out who you were and I just had to see if there was any chance of getting it back.”

She looked up at Collin. At least she hadn’t sent me packing. She looked him over and narrowed her eyes. “Your boyfriend pawned it?”

I glanced over at Collin and looped my arm around his, leaning into him. “Oh, no! Enrique’s not my boyfriend,” I laughed. “Enrique’s gay.” I hugged his arm. “I don’t know what I’d do without him after Tony left and destroyed everything.”

The woman frowned.

She wasn’t going to talk to me. Maybe I should have done this Collin’s way. What would we do if we couldn’t get it back? I was tired and scared and started to cry, real tears. “Please, I know I have no right to be here. The cup doesn’t look like much, but it was my mother’s.” My voice broke again, and I wiped a tear from my face. “It’s one of the few things I have left of hers.”

The tension eased from her body and she took a step back. “Come in, both of you come in.”

We followed her into the living room. I still clung to Collin’s arm, and I looked up, giving him an evil grin. The glare he gave me said I’d pay for this later. Mrs. Abernathy motioned to the sofa, and I pulled Collin down next to me.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” she said as she sat in an overstuffed chair next to us.

I leaned my head into Collin’s shoulder and gave her a sad smile. “My ex-boyfriend Tony just swept me off my feet and before I knew it, he moved in with me. But it didn’t take long before he started staying out late, and things started going missing. Just little things at first, things I thought I’d misplaced, but Enrique here told me ‘Girl, he’s stealing your stuff.’ Didn’t you, Enrique?”

Collin’s arm tensed, but he gave me a goofy grin, tilting his head. “I warned you.” He looked up at Mrs. Abernathy and raised his eyebrows in an exaggerated lift. “She’s stubborn. This girl won’t listen to a
word
I say.” His hand squeezed my arm in a painful grip.

I had to stop myself from giggling. Collin was playing his role, digs at me and all.

I took a deep breath to focus. “Tony was just so . . . ”

“Nerdy?” Collin supplied.

“No.”

“Lacking in the bedroom?”

“
No
.”

Collin’s eyes widened and he leaned toward the woman across from us. “Marianne was always complaining about how disappointing he was, and I was like, ‘You need to find you a real man.’” He tilted his head to the side, his eyes widening. “Like that Collin fellow that comes into the Short Stop I work at. That boy is
fine
.”

I gritted my teeth. “Enrique, you and I both know that Collin fellow is worse than Tony. Out of the fryin’ pan into the roaring bonfire with that boy.”

Collin tilted his head toward me and nodded with a smug smile. “But I’m sure he’s much better than Tony in the bedroom.”

I pinched my lips together, my eyebrows rising. “That’s not what I heard, but then, poor Mrs. Abernathy doesn’t want to hear about
your
fantasy man.” I patted his leg and turned to her. “I’m sorry about that. Enrique is just a little protective of me.”

He patted my knee. “Especially since the accident.” He nodded with a knowing look.

Her eyes widened. “What accident?”

Collin tilted his head toward me. “Sweetie, go on ahead and tell her about the accident.”

I was going to murder him the minute we got out of this house. “Enrique, love. That’s not why we’re here. We’re here to see about my cup.”

He waved a hand in the air. “Don’t you let her fool you. The accident is part of it.”

“
Enrique
.”

“What accident?” Mrs. Abernathy asked.

“Well . . . ” I stammered. “Enrique is making too much of it really. I was in a car accident. But it was just a fender bender.” I waved my hand. “No big deal.”

“Um, um, um. That’s not it, precious. You don’t have to hide it anymore.” Collin leaned forward. “Don’t you let her fool you.” He turned to me and patted my cheek. “You are
so
brave. It’s okay, you can trust this kind woman.” Collin turned back to her again. “I keep telling her that she has to let people in. She has to learn to
trust
again. You know?”

“Enrique, you’re getting much too personal with poor Mrs. Abernathy. Perhaps you should wait in the car.”

She shook her head. “Oh no. He’s such a good friend. You’re so lucky to have him.”

Collin gave me a smug smile. “Hear that? I keep telling you that all the time.”

My fingernails dug into his arm. “And you know how much I appreciate it.”

Collin shook his head. “That boy stole her things and sold ’em for drug money. Can you imagine? Family heirlooms.”

I reached out and put my hand on Mrs. Abernathy’s knee. “I can live without most of it. They’re just things, you know? But one in particular is precious to me. It belonged to my mother. It was the one thing I have left since she died when I was a little girl.” Real tears came to my eyes. “It’s an antique pewter cup and I know that you bought it. I have money to pay you for it. I’ll even pay you more than you bought it for. I’m begging you to please understand and help me get the last piece of my mother back.”

“Is that the accident Enrique mentioned?”

“Yes,” I said, cutting off Collin. “My mother was killed when I was little, in a horrible accident, and my life hasn’t been the same since then.” To my horror, my voice broke as I held back a sob. Her death had affected everything in my life. The curse included. I’d vowed that I was done with the curse after she died.
Because
she died. My mother’s death left a gaping hole in my heart that was never filled, no matter what I did to fix it.

“I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.

“The cup has been in our family for years, and honestly, Tony pawned and sold some much more valuable things. I don’t care about any of them. I realize the cup doesn’t look like much, but it was the most priceless thing I owned. If you could consider—” My chin trembled and I wiped a tear from my face. “If you would just think about selling it back to me, I’d be forever grateful.”

She stood and leaned over to give me a hug. “You poor thing. Of course I’ll sell it back to you.”

“Thank you.”

The cup was still on the shelf we saw it on the night before. She pulled it down and handed it to me. “Here you go, dear.”