Thread Reckoning (13 page)

“Why do you think Ms. Ortega’s murder and the gems are related? Couldn’t it simply be a coincidence that she was killed while she had the stones with her?”

“I guess it’s possible that it could’ve been a random mugging.” I caught myself just before I said that whoever had killed Ms. Ortega had been a professional. I wasn’t supposed to know that, and I didn’t want to get Ted in trouble. I would have glanced in his direction, but I was facing away from the bar. “But that still doesn’t answer the question of where Ms. Ortega got the stones in the first place.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Mr. Santiago took a sip of his wine. “And you think she might have stolen them?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you,” I said. “If you did catch her snooping through your desk, then that proves she wasn’t trustworthy, right?”

“I suppose that’s true enough.”

“It made you angry enough to fire her,” I said. “Was that an isolated incident, or was it normal behavior that you simply refused to put up with anymore?”

He frowned. “I always got a bad vibe about Ms. Ortega. It wasn’t something I could put my finger on, but it was definitely there. You know what I mean?”

“Of course. Were any of your clients jewelers?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m sure we have clients who own jewelry stores,” he said. “We have so many it’s hard to keep track, but there are bound to be a few. Wouldn’t you think?”

“I’d think so, yes. And couldn’t Ms. Ortega—for the sake of argument—have used information provided to your Web site to figure out how to rob the store?”

“She wasn’t very adept at the computer. That’s another reason for her dismissal. She failed to keep up with the times. But—as you said, for the sake of argument—I suppose she could have found what she needed to rob a store.” He tilted his head. “Sure, it sounds pretty far-fetched, but I suppose it could’ve been done.”

The server arrived with our food, asked if we needed drink refills, and then hurried off when we declined. Mr. Santiago had already intimidated her so badly she didn’t want to linger.

“Maybe her son helped her,” he said.

“Excuse me?” I asked. Sorry, but I was already interested in my steak at that point.

“Her son,” he repeated. “Maybe he helped her steal the jewels.”

“I suppose that’s possible,” I said. “If that’s so, then the mugger—if the jewels were what he was looking for—might seek out Frederic instead of me.” I smiled slightly. “Or maybe I should hang a sign in my shop window: ‘No jewels here! Confiscated by police.′”

He chuckled. “That might work.” He looked thoughtful as he cut into his steak. “Talk with Frederic. He could possibly have the answers you need.”

We made small talk as we finished our dinner. When the server brought our tab, Mr. Santiago insisted on paying.

“But I’m the one who asked you to talk with me,” I said.

“Ah, but I can write this off as a business expense. And I can use all the tax write-offs I can get.” He smiled cordially. “I enjoyed dinner, Marcy. I hope we meet again sometime, and I wish you luck in finding out where Francesca Ortega came up with those jewels.”

“Thank you.”

“May I walk you out?” he asked.

“That isn’t necessary. Thanks again for your time.”

I left the bar and went into the ladies’ room off the lobby. I hoped Ted was nearby. He was. I didn’t know how nearby until he stuck his head into the bathroom.

“Ted! What’re you doing?”

“Making sure this area is secure.” He bent down and looked to make sure there were no feet in any of the stalls. “It appears to be all right. I’ll be outside the door if you need me.”

When I stepped back out into the lobby, Ted was there to take me by the arm. His gaze encompassed the entire room as he guided me toward the door.

“Give me your claim ticket, and I’ll have the valets bring our cars around,” he said softly. “I’ll check the backseats to make sure they’re clear, and then I’ll follow you home.”

“Okay.” I shivered slightly in the night air. I watched Ted hand our claim tickets to the valets. He was so commanding, it was hard for me to take my eyes off him. And he’d come here and wasted his night off for me. How sweet was that?

There was a sudden movement to my left. I whipped my head around to see David storming up the steps toward me. Before I could react further, Ted sprang into action. He leapt between David and me, rammed David in the solar plexus with his forearm, and knocked him down.

As David was getting up, Ted pulled his gun. “Stay down, and show me your hands.”

The valets, doorman, and several onlookers were standing there slack-jawed.

“It’s all right,” Ted said. “I’m a detective with the Tallulah Falls Police Department.” With his left hand, he reached into his jacket pocket and produced his badge.

“
Um
, Ted,” I said. “That’s David Frist.”

“I don’t care who he is,” Ted said. “He’s under arrest for stalking.”

“Wait,” David began, sitting on the walk with his hands in the air. “I’m not stalking. I know this woman.”

“That’s true,” I began. “He—”

“Did you or did you not follow Ms. Singer here this evening?” Ted asked.

“Isn’t this out of your jurisdiction?” David asked.

“Yes, it is. But I’m still a duly licensed officer with the authority to enforce the law, and I’m willing to detain you until an officer of the Toledo police force arrives.” He nodded at the doorman. “Will you please make the call, sir?”

“I already have. They’re on their way,” said the doorman.

“Good job.” Ted nodded again in approval.

“Ted, it’s okay,” I said softly.

“What type of car were you driving this evening?” Ted asked David. “Was it a black sedan? And you might as well tell me the truth because I will find out.”

“Yeah,” David said. “I exchanged my rental car so Marcy wouldn’t know it was me.”

“Then you admit to following her,” Ted said.

David heaved a breath. “Yeah. So what? I wasn’t going to hurt her. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that in the state of Oregon what you did—following Ms. Singer and causing her alarm—is stalking, a Class-A misdemeanor that holds a maximum of one year potential jail time.”

“I didn’t mean to cause her alarm. I meant to see who she was with and . . . and why.” David glared at me. “I thought you were supposed to be here with beer boy, but I guess it was the sheriff’s turn this evening. How’d beer boy take the news?”

“Shall I add harassment to your charges? Because I will if you don’t shut up.” Ted stepped in front of me, effectively blocking me from David’s sight. “You will not speak to the victim.”

“Victim?” David shouted.

“In fact, you have the right to remain silent,” Ted said.

Before Ted could finish reciting David’s rights, a Toledo police car arrived. Two uniformed officers got out of the patrol car. Ted holstered his gun and explained the situation. David quickly got to his feet. One officer spoke with David while the other took my statement. After talking with me, the officer conferred with his partner and then wrote David a citation. To say David was livid was an understatement. He started yelling obscenities at Ted and me, and the Toledo officers had to threaten to arrest him in order to make him calm down and leave the lodge.

“What happens now?” I asked Ted.

“He’ll have to appear in court and explain to a judge just what he was doing.”

“You don’t think he’ll get jail time, do you?”

“Nah,” Ted said. “If he’s a first-time offender, he’ll get a slap on the wrist. He might get out of it altogether if he hires an attorney.”

I nodded.

“Don’t feel sorry for him. When you called me, you were terrified.”

“That’s true,” I admitted.

Ted asked the valets to get our cars. Even though David had left the lodge, Ted still checked the backseats of both cars.

“Are you okay to drive?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“All right. See you at your place.”

Chapter Eleven

When we arrived back at my house, Ted pulled into the parking lot right behind me. Before I could get out of the Jeep, though, he hurried to my side.

“Stay put and let me check things out,” he said. “I’ll help you out of there in just a sec.”

“I don’t think David would be stupid enough to come here tonight. Not after what happened at the lodge.”

“I’m not taking any chances where you’re concerned.”

Ted peered over the fence and spoke to Angus, who was barking furiously in the backyard. He shone a flashlight all around the back and the front of the house. Then he returned to the driver′s side of the Jeep and held out his arms.

I gratefully slid into his arms, and he set me on the ground.

“Unlock the door, and then I’ll go in ahead of you and check everything out inside,” he said. “Stay close to me, okay?”

“I will.” Even though I thought Ted was going a little overboard, I did as he asked me to. I stayed on his heels as he did a quick search of the house. When we popped into the bedroom, I took off my shoes.

“Hope you don’t mind,” I said.

“Not at all. Would you like to change clothes before we go back downstairs?”

I contemplated his face for a moment, trying to decide whether he was being flirtatious or serious. I couldn’t read him.

“Do you mind?” I asked. “I can change while you’re looking over the rest of the upstairs.”

“Go ahead. If I finish before you do, would you like for me to go down and let Angus inside?”

“Sure.” I smiled. “Thank you.”

Ted stepped out of the bedroom and pulled the door closed behind him. I traded my suit for jeans and a fuzzy pink cowl-necked sweater.

When I joined Ted downstairs, he and Angus were playing tug-of-war with a rope toy.

“Would you like something to drink?” I asked.

“A bottle of water would be great.”

“Are you hungry? Did you eat at the restaurant?”

“Oh yeah. I had a burger while you and Mr. Santiago were scarfing those filets.” He allowed Angus to win the tug match.

I grinned. “Don’t make me feel bad about having steak while you were having a burger. I didn’t even really get a choice.” I went into the kitchen and got us each a bottle of water. “Not that I minded. The steak was great.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t get a choice? He just ordered for the both of you?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I got the impression he’s the kind of guy who’s used to making decisions and having everyone else go along with them.” I handed him his water.

“Like you with dinner tonight.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I wanted the information he had to offer, he made a good choice, and he made the decision so seamless that I never even thought to question it.”

“He’s good.” He took the cap off the bottle and had a sip of the water.

“Yeah.” I frowned as I sat down on the sofa beside him. “It kind of makes me wonder just how smooth he is. Is he smooth enough to get away with anything he wants?”

“Like ordering the killing of Francesca Ortega?” Ted asked.

“Maybe. It seems highly unlikely, though. I mean, what reason would he possibly have for doing that? He’d already gotten rid of the woman. He fired her.”

“True. But fired employees are often vocal employees.” He took another drink of his water before replacing the cap. “What did he say about Ms. Ortega?”

“Not much,” I said. “He told me she wasn’t very computer literate and that’s one of the reasons he fired her. But he didn’t put it past her to steal the jewels.”

“Were the jewels stolen from the Santiagos?” Ted asked.

“No. Or, at least, he didn’t say they were. I asked him if she might have access to jewelry stores his company serviced, and he said she probably did.” I curled my legs up under me. “He seemed to think that if she did steal the gemstones, she couldn’t have done it without help—probably from Frederic.” I stifled a yawn.

“You look exhausted. I should go so you can rest.”

“I’m all right. I just didn’t get much sleep last night,” I said.

“Why is that?”

“I had a lot on my mind.” I told Ted about going out with David just to make sure I was doing the right thing in turning him away.

“He obviously doesn’t take rejection well,” Ted said.

“Well, that could partially be my fault. David came to the store earlier today to ask me for another date. Actually, he asked me where we were going as if we already had a date.”

“Sounds like Mr. Santiago minus the charm.”

“When I said I was going to Toledo to the Grand Mountain Lodge this evening,” I continued, “David asked if I was going with Todd. Todd came in just as the question was asked.”

“And Todd went with it. Obnoxiously, if I know Calloway.”

I nodded. “I could’ve cleared up the misconception, but I didn’t. I was hoping David would get in a huff and leave—which he did—and that would be the end of it . . . which it obviously wasn’t.”

“Do you think David is a threat to you?”

“No. I think he’s angry, his ego is bruised, and he’s not ready to take no for an answer yet. But I don’t think he’s dangerous.” I cocked my head. “Do you?”

“I don’t know. That’s one of the reasons I took the precautions I did when I followed you home.”

“And the other reason?” I asked.

“Ms. Ortega’s killer is still out there. We have no leads, but I don’t like the fact that she was murdered outside your shop.”

“That makes two of us. Are you saying I’m no longer a suspect?”

“You know I can’t say that,” he said.

“What’s with your new partner?” I asked. “She doesn’t seem to like me much.”

“She’s a rookie I’m training, and she doesn’t like anyone very much.”

“She appears to like you fairly well.”

“You think so?” he asked with a mischievous grin. “What gave you that impression?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it was the way you and she were yukking it up with the his-and-her travel mugs when you were walking from MacKenzies’ Mochas the other morning.”

He scooted closer to me. “You’re jealous.”

“Not jealous. Only curious.” I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. “She is pretty.”

“I guess,” he said, still grinning. “If you go in for that type.”

“Is she married?”