“You’re free to leave, Ivy. Miss Preston,” Ripple said. He was trying so hard not to smile, poor man.
I still frowned at him, my former partner in message relay deciphering. I opened my mouth. Adam squeezed me. I changed from a grouchy, tired, harangue to “Will you please tell me what happened?” Emphasis on the please.
Elvis came forward. “The photos from the crime scene, Ivy. Remember?”
Aunt Chris gasped, her eyes wide and bright. She played with the buttons at the collar of her checked shirt.
“Y-yes?” I had one eye on Aunt Chris, unsure what she’d do or say. “What about them?”
Elvis watched Aunt Chris too, puzzled, by his expression. “Uh, well, you pointed out that the ring was missing.”
“How does that help my case?” I blurted before I could stop it.
Aunt Chris’s eyes gleamed.
Dow folded her arms.
“Those were taken after you left.” Elvis nodded at Ripple who set something on the table.
“Officer Dow took this photo when we arrived.”
I remembered that. In the picture, the ring was clearly on Ivanna’s dead hand.
Ripple tossed another photo on top of the first. “And she took that before the med techs took Ms. Pressman away.”
I looked at it, then up at Elvis. He nodded. “This is the one you showed me. Without the ring.” I huddled into Adam. “I was right,” I whispered. Adam shuddered beneath my embrace. I glanced at Ripple, then Dow. “How did we miss that?”
He had his lips pursed and looked forbidding. “I abandoned the victim when I heard Mr. Clark’s voice in another room.”
Made sense to me.
“I did, too,” Dow added.
“A living being always takes precedence over a nonliving one,” Aunt Chris said.
Curious. I cocked my head at her. She winked.
“The point is, we left the body which allowed the theft,” Ripple said.
I thought Ripple was being tough on himself.
There were two questions left unaddressed. “I didn’t take it. But why am I off the hook if you found it at my house?”
Aunt Chris clapped. “Yes, do tell.”
Whose side was she on?
Ripple caught himself in a mirthless grin and thinned his lips. “Because you refused to follow my directions. Again.”
“And I had you in my sight the whole time,” Dow said. “You were never alone with the victim or in a position to have removed the ring until you joined me, and Ripple and I ascertained the voice in the living room came from the computer. After that, we were otherwise engaged at the scene. I was surprised to find the evidence at your house, ma’am,” Dow said.
Adam hugged me closer. I searched his eyes, glad to see peace there instead of relief which would have meant he had suspected me, or condemnation which meant he was upset that I hadn’t done as Ripple asked.
“So…” I said. OK, two more questions. “Who put the ring in my sock drawer and why did you search for it in my house?” My voice rose. “Why would you think I had it? Why did you have so little faith in me that you couldn’t just ask me? What proof did you have that you got a judge to issue a warrant? I thought we were a team.” Tears dripped down my cheeks again.
Ripple hung his head. “Believe it or not, we were doing you and the mayor a favor. By acting officially and not showing any kind of favoritism, the public retains its faith in both the department and the office of mayor. Doralynn Pressman reported the ring missing after Jason asked for it back, and she didn’t have it.”
“That’s true, Ivy,” Virgil said quietly. “It looked as if the police might have mishandled Ms. Pressman’s effects. They needed to go public before Doralynn or Jason filed a complaint.”
Finally. My attorney to the rescue. His face was pale compared to my mother’s flushed color. What upset him? I hoped he wasn’t thinking about ditching my mother over her jailbird daughter. “So Doralynn and Jason knew the ring was missing all this time.”
“Yes. But besides that.” Elvis drew my attention. “We know who’s behind it. You already told us.”
I froze and boiled in the space of three seconds. “Now wait just a second! I didn’t tell you anything!”
“The clues, Ivy. Add them up,” Elvis said, trying to be patient through his exasperated snorting.
I’d add later. “But who asked for the search warrant?”
Elvis flushed under his orange freckles. “I did.”
“I supposed you planted the evidence too,” I huffed.
“Nope.” He looked down his nose at me. “You accidentally told me it might be there.”
“Oh, very good,” Aunt Chris said.
“Chris, really.” Mom gave an exasperated sound.
Elvis twitched his nose and patted my shoulder. “It’s all there. You’ll get it. I don’t think you’ll respect me in the morning if I spilled everything.”
I wasn’t so sure, but I felt better. “You owe me.” I quirked my brows at Adam and Ripple. “You, too.” Then I yawned. Adam kissed my temple and hugged me closer to his side. “Now what?” I asked Elvis.
“Here’s the plan.”
Chief Hackman joined us and added his suggestions for the logistics.
Elvis checked the clock again and grinned, excitement still oozing from his freckles. He bumped knuckles with Ripple. “Now to get Brewer up to speed.”
~*~
Mom had not liked Virgil’s wan face and insisted on driving him home. She made Aunt Chris go too, though I could tell she would have preferred to stay with us in the conference room at the station.
“I like your young man, Ivy girl. Stable, but not too dull for an adventure. You did well,” Aunt Chris whispered on the way out.
Too exhausted to wonder at her bizarre excitement, concerned about Virgil, and sick with nervous apprehension over what was coming the next day, I asked Adam to take me home.
Although early morning by the time I pulled the covers to my chin, my brain worked through Elvis’s challenge. Plan A had a lot of “ifs.” I hoped it worked. I hated that he put the pieces together before I did, but then again, he couldn’t have done it without my clues. I wished I could pinpoint the clue that nailed the suspect. But he was trained, and I was…well, an amateur.
I might assume the thief who’d left the ring in my house was the same one who’d taken it, and perhaps the same one who’d been at Ivanna’s house when she’d died. Probably the killer, but I couldn’t prove that. That was all I had to go on for now. Someone had visited Ivanna’s and my house, with or without permission from either of us. I didn’t steal her ring and plant it at my house. Although Ivanna may have killed herself, our working theory was that she didn’t. She obviously didn’t lose her ring at my house, either. Mom would have asked me about it if she had found it.
Who would anti-burgle while Mom and I slept or were away and not leave a shred of evidence? Elvis gave me a lot more credit than I deserved. No! I’d already solved it. I would not give in. I turned over.
Stanley had most likely visited Ivanna since they’d been so close. But he was too ungainly to have hidden at her place after killing her. He simply wasn’t cold-blooded enough to pick a ring off a dead woman’s hand, and he was too clumsy to sneak out in front of cops, although he could have planted the evidence at my house. So could’ve Amy, who might have been there on wedding business, and Ruby, who could have been there on business. Jason, naturally. He hadn’t ever been invited to my house. People who’d had supper with me recently included Mom, Virgil, Adam, Elvis, and Aunt Chris. Hmm. Who else…Dow had been inside yesterday. And earlier, so had…oh, no. A person who’d claimed to be recovering from a cold that hadn’t been a cold after all, but the flu. And passed it to my cat.
Mom alert: Never let your kids get too close to strangers, no matter how sweet they appeared.
I shivered and went to take some aspirin.
“You OK, honey?” Mom called softly from the guest room, where she’d left
her door ajar.
“Yeah, Mom. Thanks. Just grabbing something for my tiny headache.”
“Anything I can do?”
“I’ll be OK.” I swallowed the pills and stood in her doorway. “I love you. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart. Things will come to a head soon. Then you and Adam will be free to start your lives fresh and unencumbered.”
“I believe you. Good night.”
“Try and sleep. Sweetest dreams.”
My dreams might not have qualified as sweet, since they consisted of various ways to trap the killer.
~*~
The next morning, I huddled as close to Adam as our chairs would allow back at the good old police station conference room table. One of the desk clerks brought our group beverages. Virgil’s color looked better. He said he’d simply been tired out and thanked me when I expressed concern. Mom, Virgil, Aunt Chris, and Elvis held down the far side of the room.
Elvis’s Plan A from yesterday meant confronting one person while collecting evidence about the ring from an expert. The police had announced their successful search yesterday at my house, and that they were bringing in persons of interest for questioning this morning. The expert witness was supposed to make the interesting—suspect—person talk.
Thank goodness, we didn’t wait long enough to have to taste the nasty stuff pretending to be coffee curling steam in the air from paper cups.
Detective Reyes escorted Jason Clark into the conference room. His eyes narrowed at the sight of us. At me. We were all missing church services that Sunday morning. I could tell by the sleep creases on his cheek, mussed up hair, rumpled T-shirt, and bravado he was sick about not getting to attend church too.
“She did it?” He put his hands on his hips. “I told you that. You should have kept her in jail in the first place. Where is my ring?”
And there it went. The last of my belief in dignity. I sat up, despite Adam’s pinch of my elbow. “Are you kidding me? Just what do you think I did, Jason Albert Clark?”
“How do you know my full name?”
“From your wedding invitations. Since the box had my name on it, I opened and read them. Don’t distract me. Just what are you accusing me of?”
Reyes winced.
“My engagement ring wasn’t in the stuff they gave Doralynn after…uh…” Jason looked scruffy, not-handsome scruffy, but skinny little-boy-with-scabby-knees scruffy. “It was my ring and I want it back. Need it.”
“Yours?” I shrilled. “You gave it—”
“Why didn’t you accuse Doralynn of keeping it?” Adam cut in gently but firmly.
“I did. She vowed she didn’t have it.” Jason eyed Ripple. “She may be a bag, but she’s not a liar.” Jason glared at me but spoke at Ripple. “Ivanna was my fiancée, but I was told I wasn’t entitled to her things. They had to be given to the next-of-kin. As a fiancé, I had no rights. I wasn’t even her heir. I’m dealing with that.” He flared his nostrils in Mom’s direction. “But I do have some rights, don’t I? I should at least get back the stuff I gave her. It belongs to me. All the jewelry she has in her condo. My mother borrowed a ring and a necklace for—for the wedding.”
I nodded. That ring she wore at the exercise-a-thon, I bet. But why did Jason need the stuff if he was already rich?
“Todd Wyler loaned Ivanna stuff to model and wear and talk about where she got it. Sort of like a walking ad. All his work is original. I had matching earrings and a necklace to go with the engagement ring.” He shrugged. “Wedding present. He gave me a break on the cost.”
“Because the jeweler is your friend,” Elvis said.
Jason pouted, checking Elvis from the corner of his eye. “Yeah. We’re buddies.”
Commotion at the door claimed our attention. This was not the second expected visitor. A uniformed officer brought in a sealed envelope. Ripple nodded to the table, where the young man set the envelope and had Ripple sign papers. The young man handed the papers to someone else just outside the room and stationed himself at the door. Ripple unsealed the evidence tape and opened the flap. He poured out the contents. A brilliant twinkle reflected the morning sun.
“This your fiancée’s ring?” Ripple asked.
Jason nodded. He’d gone pale.
“You can pick it up,” Ripple said. “We’ve already tested it for evidence.” He sent me a discreet wink.
The wind went out of my self-righteous sails. Elvis was unnaturally intent on Jason’s demeanor, while Adam stayed his natural calm presence. I wondered if technically Stanley owned the ring now, since he’d inherited most of Ivanna’s estate. What were the rules in this case? If an estate included property that wasn’t legally owned by the deceased…Virgil must know. I looked at him. He, too, was watching intently. I’d ask later.
“It seems…at least, I’m pretty sure this is it.” Jason stared at the ring. He slid it on his right pinky finger where it winked next to a ring set with a large square-cut onyx and embedded small diamond.
“This is the setting Todd made,” Jason said.
“But you’re not one hundred percent sure it’s the same ring,” Reyes said.
“You told me you found Ivanna’s ring,” Jason said to Ripple, the little-boy confusion underlining his accusation.
Was it an accusation? The ring looked the same to me.
Elvis’s plan involved some subterfuge here at the station to give the other players time to get into place at another location. He had some secondary agenda, I figured, but I knew he wouldn’t reveal his ulterior motive despite his cheerful comment on “killing two birds with one stone.” I had no choice but to wait.
The young officer at the door stepped in front of another person. “Ma’am, you have to show me…ma’am…”
Another party-crasher. I clenched my jaw at the sounds of struggle.
“I was called,” a woman’s voice insisted. “I have every right. He’s my son, not a ‘person of interest.’ Step aside.”
My hackles rose. Melody Clark. Who had called her? Jason? What did she think she could accomplish by coming here? Elvis appeared nonplussed, and I tried to act calm. Aunt Chris looked as if she could use some popcorn and Virgil’s eyes twinkled. Mom just looked sad.
“Jason? Jason, what’s going on? Why are you here? Officer, what are the charges? Why did you arrest him? Jason, you haven’t said anything have you?” Melody turned on Ripple. “Officer, I warn you, my son has the right to legal representation. You—”
“Ma’am, no one’s been arrested. Yet.” Ripple folded his arms and put on his don’t-mess-with-me face.
Melody glowered. Unlike her son, however, she was well put together in a delicate yellow, dotted swiss dress, heels, and perfect war paint. She took a seat next to Jason and whispered in his ear. He pulled away from her and wouldn’t meet her eyes.
Interesting.
I don’t think Elvis anticipated this event, but knowing him, he had a Plan B. In fact, he was texting, subtly, just out of sight.
Adam squeezed my hand. “It’ll still work out,” he whispered. I nodded.
“Perhaps you can help us identify your late daughter-in-law’s engagement ring as long as you’re here,” Ripple said.
“Obviously.” She held out her hand and gave me a wicked glare. “We were just devastated to learn such an evil person would remove a beloved gift from the hand of our darling girl, weren’t we, dear?”
Jason tightened his mouth and let the ring fall to her palm. He immediately turned his face away.
I noted her initial reaction but double-checked Elvis’s expression to make sure he saw the same thing: a fractional eye-widening.
The police gave her a few moments.
I remember thinking the first time I saw the ring the band was pretty but the diamond too large to be tasteful. I wasn’t sure I would have been able to pick it out of a line-up with other similar rings, however. I hadn’t looked that closely on the last day Ivanna wore it. Todd Wyler had excelled with his el
ectroplating skills. I wondered if I could watch him make some jewelry using the technique. But I didn’t understand why Jason and Melody had trouble being one hundred percent sure this was Ivanna’s ring. They were hiding something. This wasn’t part of Plan A at all, but a useful time filler. I glanced at the clock.
Melody continued to hold the ring. She deflated as her shoulders bowed and she suddenly snuffled and addressed the ring. “Oh, Jason. How could this have happened? Take it, take it!” She held her hand toward Reyes and hid her face in the crook of her arm.
Jason went somewhat greenish. He inched away from his mother. Yesterday, he spoke at a memorial event for his late fiancée on the day of what was to have been his wedding.
It wasn’t my place to judge anyone’s relationship. I twined my fingers with Adam’s.
Reyes set the ring back near the evidence box. Our guard willingly stepped aside for the second invited person—a woman, spare, with ashy brown hair in a tight ponytail. I guessed her to be about Adam’s age. She had crow’s feet fanning from her eyes and was attractive in a natural way. She carried a small bag and a lab coat.
Ripple held out his hand to shake hers. “Thank you for coming. Everyone, this is Karen Ulich from IIDV, the International Institute of Diamond Verification. Mrs. Ulich is an accredited gemologist who will determine the authenticity of the piece. Instead of our usual practice of sending jewelry to their office, Mrs. Ulich agreed to drive down from Joliet this morning to examine this ring here at the station.”
Jason sank in his seat. He folded his hands on the table. They were shaking.
I glanced at Adam, who shook his head.
Aunt Chris was practically humming with excitement.
Mom and Virgil looked on, calm, politely interested as if observers, nothing more.
“Uh,” Jason said. “I need to tell you something.”
Elvis was stone-faced, Ripple purse-mouthed, and Reyes annoyed.
“It’ll have to wait,” Reyes said. “Please, Mrs. Ulich, proceed.”
Melody raised her head and dabbed at her eyes.
The gemologist set out a cloth on the table. She put on her lab coat and explained she would unset the ring first. We watched her gently open the prongs. Next she took out a cylinder from her tool kit. “This is a dark-field loupe.”
Meow Matrimony Page 23