Ben’s grin spread wider than a canyon. “I knew you could do it. Who can say no to your charms?”
Heat filled my face. “Oh, good grief, he’s just being reasonable. Look, since he’s here, I’m not going to read to Ellie. I’m going back and bring Mitzi over to see Tillie. After that, I’ll probably stop in to see Olivia again as well. I’ll see you two before dinner when you can put this plan into motion.”
Time grew short, and my patience in taking care of business headed that same direction.
On my way back to get Mitzi, I thought about Ellie and her delight when Scot didn’t mention moving to her again. As least we had diverted that decision for a little while.
With Mitzi on her leash, we walked back over to the main building and to Tillie’s room. My little Schnauzer’s happy greeting and Tillie’s delight in our arrival warmed my heart.
Mitzi hopped into Tillie’s lap and snuggled against her. Tillie hugged the dog. “How are you today, my cute little friend?” She fingered the bow I had clipped to the top of Mitzi’s head. “You take such good care of her, and she’s so sweet.”
They continued playing for a few minutes before Tillie glanced over to where I sat watching them.
“I spoke with Maria. She told me she’s working with you and Ben Martin to find who took Ellie’s pearls and the other things. That’s good. I’m so glad she wasn’t the one the police suspected her to be. She also said she was sorry she’d be off duty this evening when we planned to pull our little scheme.”
“I’m glad she didn’t volunteer to stay. She needs to be home with Grace. With Ben on the look-out here and Harry in the other hall, we should have a chance of catching the thief if he or she takes the bait.”
“Well, I for one don’t intend to worry about it. The Lord says most of what we worry about never happens and what’s going to happen will happen anyway, so I’ll leave everything up to Him.”
“That’s always the best plan.” I leaned forward and stroked Mitzi’s head. She had gone to sleep in the comfort of Tillie’s lap. “I have another idea in case nothing happens during dinner. Would you go to the activities room to visit? That would leave your room empty for a little while longer.”
“Of course, and it won’t be a problem. I usually do that for a little while every evening when my favorite programs aren’t on TV. Some of us play dominoes and have a snack or two while enjoying each other’s company.”
Maybe I should be coming over here more often in the evenings. Mitzi opened her eyes and jumped down from Tillie’s lap. She padded over to the door and placed her paw against it.
“Oh, dear, does she want to leave so soon?”
“I think so. I’m going to stop by Olivia’s room with her. I thought maybe it might cheer up Olivia.” I picked up Mitzi’s leash to secure it to her collar.
After thanking Tillie again for helping us, I left with Mitzi and turned down the hall to go visit with Olivia. The fact that Olivia was only a few years older than I am made her condition even sadder for me. At age 71, I believed a lot of good years still lay ahead.
Mitzi pulled hard on the leash, when we reached the corner to turn toward Olivia’s room, she started barking and pulled harder and the leash slipped from my hand.
Jim Tate bent down to catch her, but she eluded him and buried her nose against the door frame across the hall from Olivia’s room. She grabbed at something and bounced back to drop it at my feet. Both Ed and I bent to pick up the shiny object. I grabbed it first and stood.
When I held up the object, I gasped. “Oh my word, look at this. It looks just like one of the earrings Ellie lost.”
He leaned closer to peer at it. “What in the world is it doing in the hallway? It’s been missing for weeks.”
“I don’t have any idea, but we should get this to Noreen right away.” I had to let Ben know as well.
We headed for Noreen’s office. Mitzi pranced ahead of us on her leash as though very proud of her find. She’d been the one to find the keys, and then the earring in my flowerbed that led to catching Pete’s killer.
We showed Noreen the earring which was a clip-on rather than a pronged one for pierced ears. After we explained how and where Mitzi found it, she sat back in her chair and shook her head.
“This is the weirdest thing ever. You said the room number was 131, and that’s Lela Carver’s room. She can’t do anything without her walker or scooter. Her mind is good, and she takes care of herself, but she needs that scooter to get around on her own, so it she can’t be the one who took it from Ellie’s room. It can’t have been there very long since we mop that floor every day.” She fisted her fingers over the earring. “I’ll get this to Ellie right away. We may be closer to finding the rest of the things.”
Jim held out his hand with a bit of red tinge to his cheeks. “Do you mind if I take it to her? I was going to spend some time with her this afternoon. We both like to play gin rummy.”
Noreen glanced over at me with a smile then handed him the piece of jewelry. “No, I don’t mind a bit. Tell Ellie what happened and how you or rather Mitzi found it.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Jensen.” He closed his hand around the earring and strode from the office.
I shook my head with more determination than ever to get to the bottom of this mess. “This is becoming more and more of a puzzle. Evidently the missing items are still around here somewhere which leads us to one of our residents. I’ll tell Ben and Harry what we found and get back to work on that part of our list.” I stood to leave.
“Thank you for all you’ve done to help us. I’m hoping this plan of yours to watch the halls before and during dinner will help.”
I reached for the door handle but remembered something else I wanted to tell Noreen. “By the way, Olivia Wentworth’s windows facing the courtyard looked smudged. I couldn’t tell exactly from that distance, but thought you should know.”
“That’s strange. I’ll check with Maria since she does the housekeeping on that first-floor wing. Of course, Maria’s been off, so her substitute may not be as thorough. We’ll take care of it.”
I called Ben on my way out and asked him to meet me with Harry at my house. If the three of us put our heads together again, maybe we’d see something we’d missed before.
On the way back, I let Mitzi off her leash since she’d been so good when we went to Noreen’s office. It seemed like she knew we were discussing serious business.
When I reached my porch, I turned around to call her to come on in. The sun was at just the right angle in the sky to shine on this side of the main building. I noticed a glare and blinked my eyes. The sun fairly sparkled on those windows. Someone must have come in and cleaned Olivia’s because they gleamed even brighter than the others.
Mitzi barked at my feet, so I picked her up and took her into the house. At least Maria wouldn’t have an extra chore now.
Chapter 16
When Ben and Harry arrived, we had one hour before putting our plan into place before dinner. After I explained how Mitzi found the earring, Ben and Harry both agreed the finding pointed more to another resident than a member of the staff.
I tapped my pen on my pad. “We can rule out Lela Carver because of her disability, but I think that means it’s someone area. Everything so far has been limited to the first floor of that wing.”
Ben opened the folder we’d been keeping on the thefts. “When we look at the tenants there, it’s hard to believe any of them could be the thief. The first ones we rule out are the victims. So that takes care of those tenants. Olivia Wentworth’s place occupies one whole section that forms the hallway at the back of the wing. We have two apartments across from her.”
He continued down the hallway, and I pictured the tenants as he named each one on the floor plan. I don’t know why I saved it after Pete’s death, but now I was glad I had. After going through all the names, we were no closer to solving the puzzle.
I sat back in my chair and dropped my pen to the table. “Obviously we�
��re missing something here, but what in the world could it be. I simply can’t see any one of these people being a thief.”
Ben closed the folder. “I feel the same. Maybe this plan to stake out the halls will work.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s time. We need to get on over and hide in the closets before too many people start leaving their rooms and coming to dinner. I’ll check the doors after they’ve gone to the dining hall. If no doors are unlocked other than Tillie’s, then that’s all we’ll have to watch.”
Harry shook his head. “No, we shouldn’t completely rule out a staff member. They have a master key for all of the apartments, so we’ll stick with the original idea.”
Ben frowned for a moment. “I suppose that is the best way to do this.” He pushed back his chair. “Okay, let’s get going.”
After making sure Mitzi was settled in, I followed them outside and over to the main building.
After making sure the halls were clear, I left Ben checking door locks and headed to the dining hall. When I entered, conversation buzzed around the room. Residents glanced up at me as I passed tables. When I sat down at ours, Bessie jumped right in with her question.
“Is it true what we heard about Ellie? Did your dog really find one of her earrings?”
“Yes, she did, but that’s all we found. We’ll keep looking and working until we find the other one as well as her pearls.”
“I should hope so.” Bessie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Is it true Tillie bought some new jewelry?”
Clara harrumphed and frowned. “If she did, she’s crazy for letting people know she did. That’s just asking for the thief to come in and steal it. Plain foolish if you ask me.”
Bessie sniffed with her nose in the air. “Oh, Clara.” Then she leaned forward as if in a conspiracy. “I hear it’s a sapphire ring and is at least five carets. Have you seen it?”
I almost choked and tried to hide it with a cough. I swallowed hard and peered at Bessie. Had Tillie made up some story about her jewelry in order to lure the thief to her room? “Bessie, you do have an imagination. It’s probably just a nice dinner ring, nothing that big and showy.”
Clara raised her shoulders straight, and her pigeon chest puffed out. “It’s asking for trouble, and knowing Tillie, trouble will find her.”
Bessie frowned and twisted in her chair. “Where are Ben and Harry? Aren’t they coming to dinner?”
“I think they’re running an errand and plan to pick up something while they’re out.” I placed a slice of ham on my plate and then added a spoonful of potatoes.
Disappoint filled her face. “Well, fiddly-dee, he promised to play Bridge tonight. That tournament will be here before you know it.”
Bridge would be the last thing on Ben and Harry’s minds tonight. “That may have to wait until we can find the thief.”
“I hope it’s soon. It’s really ruined things around here.”
Doris, who usually just listened to the others, stirred her iced tea. “I don’t know exactly how you plan to catch our thief, but I know you have our best interests at heart and will do what is best for all of us. I trust the three of you to know what you’re doing, and I’ll pray for your success.”
Dear, sweet Doris. Bless her heart. She never had much to say, but when she did, it always made others feel better. “Thank you, Doris. You are a dear friend, and we’ll certainly appreciate the prayers.”
Clara muttered something under her breath, but I couldn’t quite make it out from across the table. The usual light, fun banter had disappeared, and I missed it. If this scheme worked, then the lost jewelry would be found, and everyone could be happy again.
“Well, ladies, we decided dinner here was better than fast food.” Harry sat down next to me. “Ben had some business to take care of, so he’s gone back to his house, but I didn’t want to pass up the charming company of my table companions.”
The others blushed and tittered like school girls, but I wanted to know what he was doing back here and not in the linen closet. I raised my eyebrows and waited for an explanation.
He reached over for the platter of ham. “All the doors on my hallway were locked. Didn’t see any sense in staying.”
I barely heard his words, but got his message and frowned. Even if the residents were more conscientious than we had thought they’d be, he should have stayed since the staff had keys to those same doors. I hoped Ben took care of his business on Tillie’s side.
Several residents stopped by the table to comment about Ellie’s earring being found and wanted to know when we’d find the rest of the things taken. For that I simply didn’t have an answer.
I finished my dinner and left Harry entertaining the others. My first stop would be Tillie’s hallway to check on things there. Tillie stopped me by the door.
“Have you heard all the stories going around about my jewelry? Isn’t that a hoot? I do believe my jewelry gets larger and more expensive with each telling.”
“So you did spread some news about your jewelry.” I had to smile. “Yes, it is funny. Maybe everything will go like we hoped.”
“Well, I left my door open with the ring and pin in plain sight. If the thief takes the bait, you should be able to catch them.”
“I’ll walk back to your room with you and check with Ben.”
She went on about how much fun she had spreading rumors about her fancy jewelry. Tillie would be the one to get a kick out of helping us.
When we reached her room, she cried out. “Oh no, it’s still here.”
Sure enough, there lay the ring and the pin shiny and sparkling under the lamplight. “Well, it didn’t work at dinner, but you could still go to the activity room like we planned.”
“If you say so, but I’m really disappointed. I’ll leave in a few minutes.”
“Thank you. Now I’m going to relieve Ben so he can eat.”
When I reached the closet, Ben stepped out and closed the door. “Well, tonight was a dud. No one came anywhere near going into Tillie’s room. Maybe they figured out it was a trap.”
I tapped my chin as a new thought occurred. “All the doorways on Harry’s side were locked. What if the thief waits to see who leaves to go to the activity room? It could be possible that whoever it is didn’t have a chance during dinner and plans to come back later.”
“That sounds plausible, but who’s going to take the night shift? I’m hungry as a bear. Noreen has a tray waiting for me, and I don’t plan to completely skip dinner.”
“I’ll do it, but I can only cover one hallway, so it’ll be Tillie’s.” That was a dumb statement. Tillie was our target in the first place.
“Good idea, seeing as how—“
I stopped Ben in mid-sentence. “I know. I just wasn’t thinking. Now go eat your supper and I’ll stay in the closet. Give me the pass key.”
Ben handed it over before he headed off for the kitchen and their supper. The only noise at the moment came from the activity room where residents viewed the TV. Most of the residents had either gone back to their rooms or to the activity center.
After slipping into the closet and closing the door behind me, I developed second thoughts about doing this watch time. I don’t know why I volunteered when I hate small, confined spaces. Leaving the light on would help, but then that would give away my presence.
I sighed and pulled up the stool Ben left there for me and sat close to the door. I retrieved my phone and went to my e-book collection. May as well do something I enjoyed while waiting.
After an hour and a half, the only people I’d seen were those going back to their rooms. No one had gone into Tillie’s apartment. Another busted idea.
Tillie walked by the door with Olivia at her side. They moved down the hallway to Olivia’s place. Tillie waited until Olivia closed her door before making a beeline straight for me.
I opened the door to greet her, but she started in before I could say a word.
“Well, my stuff is still lying exactly where I left it, so
you’ve wasted your time.” Her mouth scrunched into a pout. “I thought it was such a good idea, and now we still have nothing.”
“I’m sorry, Tillie. We thought it was a good plan as well. I’m glad you were able to guide Olivia back to her apartment.”
“That was a strange thing, too. She warned me about leaving my jewelry lying around. She said she found hers all over the place if she didn’t put it away properly. That’s probably because she forgets it, but I didn’t say anything.”
“I’ll be glad when she can move to the new building. Maybe she’ll get the companionship and attention she truly needs.” I closed the closet door and made sure it locked.
“I’m going to find Harry and Ben to see if we can come up with any more ideas. Have a good night and thank you again for your help. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
“So am I, but I know you won’t give up. I’ll see you at breakfast.” She turned back and went into her apartment.
So, we’re back to square one. Why couldn’t we fit the pieces of this puzzle together? I clenched my lips and marched out to find Ben and Harry.
Chapter 17
I finally found Ben and Harry in the activity room playing Bridge with Bessie and Nell. I stopped to observe the four as they bid and played. Bessie and Ben I expected to be partners, but not Nell with Harry. When had she learned to play Bridge?
Nell’s giggle and playing a trump card on Bessie’s ace brought a compliment from Harry. Nell’s face flushed and she batted her eyelashes in Harry’s direction. I almost choked. The woman flirted with Harry like a teenage girl. Why were some women’s minds always on how to attract a man?
After another hand, Ben and Bessie declared themselves winners. That’s when Ben glanced my way. A broad grin creased his face, and he waved me over.
“You’re just in time to congratulate the perennial champions on another win.” He winked at Bessie whose face flushed to a bright red.
She fanned her face with her fingers. “Well, you certainly haven’t lost your skill despite not practicing more often.”
The Case of the Missing Pearls Page 9