This Old Homicide (13 page)

“We won’t let that happen.” Jane opened the tin box and removed the tissue paper to wrap the necklace. “What’s this?” She pulled out a folded piece of lined paper.

I frowned. “I didn’t see that in there.”

“It was under all the tissue paper.” She opened the sheet, flattened it on the table, and gazed at me. “It’s a letter to me.”

I felt my mouth drop open. “From?”

“Uncle Jesse.”

*   *   *

In the letter, Jesse retold how he’d found the piece of jewelry while diving with his friends a few years before. He found it in one of the passenger staterooms where a wall had begun to disintegrate. The necklace must have slipped behind the wall, probably while the boat sank in the storm. Jesse grabbed it and hid it in his fanny pack so his friends never saw it.

He wrote “I hope it’ll ease your mind to know that I hired a lawyer to research the salvage laws. He believes the necklace belongs to me, fair and square. Finders keepers, you might say, but you never know when the laws will change. If you’re reading this letter, Janey girl, it means I’m gone and the necklace belongs to you now. Rule Number One, don’t show it to anyone. There are too many conniving people out there in the world. Rule Number Two, call Demetrius for more instructions. He’s a good guy—for a lawyer.”

In the letter, Jesse explained away the three missing gems. He needed cash a few months ago, so he pried them loose and took them to a jeweler in San Francisco.

“Does he say why he needed the cash?”

Jane frowned. “No.”

Jesse also explained that he had originally shown the necklace to several antique shops in the area, but grew suspicious and obsessive when they showed too much interest.

“How did he know we would ever find the box?” I wondered.

“He says he left instructions with this lawyer.” Jane checked it again. “Demetrius.”

“I don’t know a Demetrius, do you?”

“No, but I guess I can Google lawyers with that name.”

“What if I’d never found the box in his basement?”

“Demetrius, whoever he is, would’ve contacted me eventually.”

I slumped back in my chair. “I feel guilty. I’m beginning to think we should’ve believed everything he ever said.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Don’t feel guilty. He told plenty of wild tales that you know aren’t true.”

“We just couldn’t tell the difference between the true stories and the whoppers.”

I reread the letter as she carefully wrapped the necklace in the tissue paper and put it back in the box. I handed her the folded letter and she placed it on top and shut the box.

“We have to hide this.”

“I don’t want to return it to the wall,” I said. “It was in a good hiding place, but if I could find it, someone else could, too.”

She thought for a moment. “I’ll open a safe-deposit box at my bank.”

I smiled brightly. “I already have one.”

“You do? Why did I never know that?”

“Because I have hidden depths?”

Shaking her head, she said, “I have nothing to say to that.”

I grinned. It was always good to surprise people who thought they knew you so well. “Did I blow your mind just now?”

She snorted a laugh. “No, but you scared me.”

“I scare myself sometimes.”

Jane stood and grabbed her purse. “Do you have time to go to the bank right now?”

“I do.” I placed the tin box at the bottom of my bag and found my keys, then stopped as something occurred to me. “I wonder if the cops found sleeping pills in Jesse’s medicine cabinet.”

“Sleeping pills,” she said in disgust. “I don’t believe it. But we can go next door and look.”

I hoisted my purse. “I’d rather go to the bank first. It’s Friday and I hate the idea of either of us walking around with this priceless hunk of jewelry all weekend.”

“Okay, bank first, then Jesse’s house.”

*   *   *

“It’s a lot of hassle just to visit your safe-deposit box,” Jane said forty minutes later as she parked her car back in front of my house. “I thought you only needed to show them the key to get access to the vault.”

“It used to be that way,” I said as I pushed the door open and climbed out. “But now they’ve got signature verification and a PIN and the thumbprint analyzer. It’s all very high tech.”

“It’s a little disconcerting.”

“You get used to it,” I said. “I’m surprised you don’t have one. You must have plenty of important documents for your business.”

“I have a lockbox in my closet.”

“Oh, that’s high tech,” I said.

“I know it’s dumb,” she said. “Don’t worry. Before I open my doors to the public, I’ll get a safe-deposit box.”

“They’re only a few dollars a year. Totally worth it.”

We walked up to Jesse’s front porch and Jane unlocked the door. I took a step inside, but she hesitated on the threshold.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“It’s the first time I’ve been back since he’s been… gone. It’s a little sad.”

I took her hand. “Come on. I’m right here with you.”

“Okay.”

We walked arm in arm to the end of the hall and into Jesse’s bathroom. I recalled what it looked like before the cleaning crew arrived. The medicine cabinet had been plundered. Pills, bandages, and all sorts of medical stuff were scattered all over the floor. Some had been flung across the room and into the shower. The drawers had been emptied as well. Now it was tidy, and we found nothing stronger than ibuprofen.

We did the same thing in the smaller guest bathroom, rummaging around in the cabinets under the sink and above the commode, but found nothing more exciting than a can of instant tanning spray. Who knew Jesse had ever used that stuff?

“I’ll check his bedroom,” I said.

“Better check the floors and carpets in case the cleaning crew missed something.”

Talk about creepy. But I didn’t want Jane to have to do it. The bathrooms were bad enough, but Jesse’s bedroom would be a lot more difficult for her.

“I don’t see anything in here,” I called out after a few minutes of searching his nightstand and around and under his bed.

Jane came back down the hall. “I checked the kitchen. I didn’t see anything there, either.”

I gritted my teeth. “Now we’ve got to figure out a nice way to ask Eric if his crime scene guys already found the sleeping pills and took them back to the lab.”

“Why does it matter?” she asked as she locked the front door behind us.

“If Jesse had his own prescription, they would’ve found the pill bottle and we’ll know for sure that he had sleeping pills. But if they didn’t find sleeping pills anywhere in the house, then it’s likely that someone brought them in from the outside and drugged him.”

Jane looked at me with something resembling awe. “That’s so smart. How did you think of that?”

I assumed an unfocused gaze into the middle distance. “I’ve had some experience on the dark side.”

I was happy to hear her laugh. “Spare me. Let’s get out of here and go see Eric about those pills.”

I was pleasantly surprised when Eric smiled and welcomed us warmly to his office. I could only conclude that it was Jane he was happy to see, because even though he and I were friends—or we had been before he was forced to lecture me—he still had his doubts about me. It hurt a little, but I’d have to get over it.

Standing, he gestured toward the two visitors’ chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat, please.”

“Thanks,” I murmured as we both sat.

He moved around the desk and sat down in his chair. “How are you doing, Jane? I know this is a rough time for you. Is there anything you want from me?”

And with that, he won my complete approval.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Thank you. That’s not why we’re here.”

“Then to what do I owe the pleasure? Are you having problems with the Valentine’s Parade?”

I laughed. “None that you can fix, but thank you for asking.” Oh, if only he could arrest Whitney and Jennifer on general principle, but Tommy would probably protest his wife being locked up in jail. He was such a killjoy.

“We had a question about the coroner’s results,” Jane said, then hurried on before he could comment. “Can you tell me if your investigators found any sleeping pills in Jesse’s house with his name on them?”

Eric’s smile faded and he glared right at me. It was unfair, but not unexpected. And probably well deserved since the sleeping-pill theory was mine.

I held up both hands in a show of peace. “We’re not trying to interfere. Jane’s simply concerned that you have the wrong idea about her uncle. Jesse was a real straight shooter when it came to things like sleeping pills and painkillers. He never took them. We’re hoping you’ll keep looking for evidence of foul play, because there’s no way he popped a bunch of sleeping pills.”

He took a deep breath that expanded his muscular chest even farther. “Don’t even think about investigating this on your own, Shannon.”

I blinked. “I’m not.” Okay, maybe I was, a little. My girlfriends and I had asked a few questions around town, but he didn’t need to know that. Especially since we hadn’t turned up much.

Jane rushed to my defense. “It was my idea to come see you.”

Eric’s disbelief showed plainly on his face.

I jumped in. “The thing is, we figured that if your guys didn’t find a bottle of sleeping pills with Jesse’s name on it, then somebody must’ve brought them into his house and tricked him into taking them. And that means he was murdered.”

Jane clutched her hands together in her lap. “If Uncle Jesse had resorted to taking sleeping pills, I want to know why. Because he was never into anything like that. He used to pride himself on being able to tough it out, probably because of his Navy SEAL training.”

Eric sat back and crossed his arms over his formidable chest. “So you would feel better if you knew someone else was responsible for overdosing him?”

I frowned, not liking the way he put it.

Jane pressed her lips together to keep her composure. “Nothing is going to make me feel good about any of this, but at least I would know that Uncle Jesse hadn’t been suffering from insomnia or something even worse.”

If Jesse had been suffering insomnia, I knew the reason, for it was sitting in my safe-deposit box right now. Having that priceless necklace in the house would keep anyone awake at night.

Eric glanced from me to Jane and slowly back to me again, then shook his head in resignation. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“You won’t,” Jane said instantly.

“I’ll tell you what you want to know, but it doesn’t leave this office—do you understand?”

Both Jane and I nodded rapidly.

“If I find out either one of you talked to anyone else in this town, I’ll toss you both in a cell and throw away the key.”

He meant it, I could tell.

“We won’t say a word,” I said.

“Never,” Jane insisted. “I promise.”

“I’m only telling you two because you knew Jesse so well and because… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but oddly enough, I trust you both.” He shook his head, probably because he was breaking one of his own cardinal rules. “The crime scene techs didn’t find a prescription bottle, but—”

“I knew it!” I said.

“But,” Eric repeated loudly, “that doesn’t mean he didn’t have one. We’re following up with his doctors and pharmacy.”

“Won’t it be a problem getting that information?” I asked. “Sometimes doctors aren’t willing to—”

Jane cut me off. “If you have any problems at all, let me know and I’ll talk to Jesse’s doctor and pharmacist. I used to take him to the doctor and I picked up his prescriptions, so I know everyone involved. I’ll get the information for you.”

Go, Jane,
I thought, silently cheering her on.

“I might take you up on that,” Eric said, sitting back in his chair. “But so far, we haven’t run into any resistance.”

I took a breath and plunged ahead. “So it was murder.”

He went back to scowling again. “Let’s end this conversation right now while we’re all still friends.”

Jane jumped up. “Great idea. Thanks, Eric. Come on, Shannon.” She gave me a look and tipped her head toward the door.

I took the hint and stood. “Thank you, Eric. Not knowing would have driven Jane nuts.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, his tone caustic. “Just remember to keep your mouths shut. Because, trust me, you won’t like sleeping in a jail cell.”

*   *   *

“I need to cook.”

I wasn’t about to argue, because Jane was a fabulous cook, so we stopped at the market to buy the ingredients for beef stroganoff and took everything to my house. She confessed that she didn’t want to go home alone after talking to the police chief. And since we couldn’t tell anyone else about Jesse being murdered or about the priceless necklace I’d found, we decided we’d better stick together.

I opened a bottle of wine and poured us each a glass. “We need to tell Eric about the necklace. It’s got to be the main reason why Jesse was murdered.”

“I know, I know.” Jane began heating up beef stock, adding a carrot, some thyme sprigs, and a bay leaf. While that bubbled, she chopped up a chuck roast into bite-sized chunks. She didn’t believe in dredging the meat in flour, instead dropping the chunks into olive oil and frying them until they were lightly browned. She added onions to the meat and cooked them down, then poured cognac over everything and cooked it until the alcohol burned off. Finally she added the flavored beef stock, stirred it up, and covered it to keep it simmering.

She sat down at the kitchen table and took a sip of wine. “That has to cook for about an hour and a half.”

“Okay, I’ll make a salad while we wait.” I walked outside to my garden to pick some fresh veggies. The fog had rolled in and the air was cold and damp. I found three different types of tomatoes, a small head of romaine, some purple leaf lettuce, green onions, and a cucumber. After washing everything, I went to work at the chopping block on the counter.

“I just wish we could tell Lizzie and Emily and Marigold about the necklace,” Jane said. “It feels odd to be keeping secrets from them.”

“It won’t be a secret for long.” I tossed some cut-up cucumber into the salad bowl and reached for my wineglass. “But yeah, the true meaning of misery is trying to keep a secret this big all to ourselves.”

“Two big secrets,” she said.

“Right.” We had to keep quiet not only about the necklace, but also about the possibility that Jesse was murdered. I lifted my glass. “Wine helps.”

She laughed softly. “Always.”

“This is the problem with living in a small town,” I griped. “There are no secrets. I guess we’ve gotten used to that, because now I’m about to burst with all this news.”

“Well, try to control yourself,” she said, pointing at me as she clutched the stem of her wineglass. “I don’t plan to spend even one night in jail. And you know that wasn’t an idle threat.”

“Believe me, I know.” I popped a cherry tomato into my mouth and handed one to Jane. “Eric wasn’t happy telling us about the pills, but I’m glad he did.”

The cooking time passed quickly, and before long, Jane was heating up butter and sautéing mushrooms and garlic and more thyme. She added the cooked meat along with some sour cream and more seasonings.

I was in charge of the noodles, which meant I had to open a package and pour them into boiling water. I fancied myself a pretty good cook, but I couldn’t begin to compete with Jane.

Once we sat down with our plates, there was silence as we tasted the first few bites of the amazing food. After a minute, Jane shook her head. “I don’t know how Jesse ever managed to keep that necklace a secret.”

“He didn’t in the beginning.”

“True,” she said, frowning. “But at some point, he hid it away and never mentioned it again.”

“I have a whole new level of admiration for him. How he managed to keep quiet all that time is as big a mystery as what happened to him the other night.” I dragged a small chunk of beef through the buttery, creamy mushroom sauce, took a bite, and almost moaned.

“He kept the necklace a secret for a couple of years. We only have to keep our secrets for a few days.”

“I know, and yet I worry that I won’t be able to do it.”

“Just picture yourself inside a prison cell.”

“That’s good advice,” I said.

Jane sighed and swirled her wine. “I won’t have a problem keeping what Eric told us a secret, but the necklace is another story.”

I gave her a look. “It might help to remember that the reason we can’t talk about the necklace is because we don’t want Jesse’s killer to know we have it.”

She grimaced. “Oh yeah.”

“If we told one person, you know word would get out somehow.”

“Including Eric?”

“No, we have to tell him, but this time we’ll be the ones swearing him to secrecy.”

“Still, you know somebody in the department will find out at some point. And that’s all it’ll take for everyone in town to know about it.”

“Within about five minutes,” I added dryly.

I didn’t add that if the wrong person heard that the necklace had been found, Jane’s life would be in danger. I was convinced of it, and the realization put me in a somber mood during the rest of our dinner. Maybe Jane had figured that out, too, because she was awfully quiet in the end.

It was barely nine o’clock when we finished washing the dishes.

“Do you want to watch television?” I asked, although I could hardly keep my eyes open.

“I’m exhausted,” Jane said, tossing the dish towel into the laundry basket. “I’m going to bed. Thanks for letting me spend the night. I just didn’t want to be alone after going through Jesse’s house and worrying about the necklace and talking to Eric.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” We climbed the stairs and said good night. I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow.

Sometime in the middle of the night, a flashing light woke me up.

“Jesse’s house.” I jumped out of bed and grabbed my clothes, then stopped. What was wrong with me? Did I want to rot away in a prison cell?

Robbie and Tiger awoke in an instant and watched in rapt silence as I reached for my cell phone and called Eric. Robbie’s tale twitched excitedly, and rather than wait for him to beg, I picked him up and held him in my lap. Tiger kneaded the covers a few times before cozying up next to my leg.

Eric answered on the first ring. “Jensen.”

“It’s Shannon.”

“What a pleasant surprise.”

“Someone’s inside Jesse’s house.”

“I’ll be right there. If I see you outside your house, I’ll—”

“I know, I know. You’ll toss me into a cell and throw away the key.”

“Very good.”

I could tell he was grinning from ear to ear.

It wasn’t like me to kowtow to anyone, but the chief of police had spoken and I didn’t dare push back.

I sat on the edge of the bed, wondering what to do. I wanted to see what was going on next door, but I didn’t want to incur Eric’s wrath again. I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall back to sleep anytime soon, but I lay down on the bed to ponder the universe and my place within it. Robbie and Tiger kept me company and I dozed off within minutes.

*   *   *

Saturday morning I should have known Jane was already up when I stumbled out of bed and Robbie and Tiger were nowhere to be seen. I took a quick shower to wake myself up, and when I got downstairs, the two beasts were sitting at Jane’s feet, begging for scraps. When Robbie saw me, he raced over, circled me once with his back end wiggling like mad, and then returned to his proper begging position. Tiger was too cool to bother acknowledging me.

“Good morning,” Jane said. “I made coffee.”

“I love you,” I muttered, and poured myself a cup. After several healthy sips, I sat at the table. “We missed all the excitement last night.”

“What happened?”

I told her how I woke up from the flashes of light next door and how Eric had strongly suggested that I stay inside. “And then I fell asleep.”

“Someone broke into Jesse’s house again? I hate this.” She slapped the paper onto the table. “I’m going to hire a security company.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I’ll look up some companies and call them this morning. There’ll be someone patrolling the place tonight.”

“Okay.” I gazed out the window and saw Mac jogging down the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

I went running outside before Jane could say another word. “Hey, Mac.”

He smiled. “Good morning, Irish. You sat it out last night.”

I hoped he couldn’t tell I was pouting on the inside. “I didn’t want another lecture.”

“Can’t blame you for that.”

“So, what happened?”

“Nothing,” he said, disgusted. “Once again, they ran out the back and got away.”

I shook my head in dismay. “It’s like Jesse has a secret tunnel leading from his house to somewhere down the street or something.”

“I had that same thought.”

I realized he was wearing a jacket and a tie with his jeans. “You’re all dressed up.”

He checked himself out. “Hardly, but I do have a lunch meeting in San Francisco.”

“Oh, then I won’t keep you. Good luck and safe travels.”

“Thanks, Irish. See you later.”