The Case of the Missing Pearls

by Martha Rogers

  The puzzle pieces began to fit together. “Olivia, could you show me a few pieces of your jewelry? I imagine you have a wonderful collection.”

  “Why, yes I do. Mr. Wentworth loves to give me lockets and rings and necklaces.” She stepped over to the window. “I started hiding them because I was afraid the maids were taking them.”

  When she reached up to pull the cord on the blinds, I held my breath. What had she done? Olivia yanked on the cord and it flew up causing a number of pieces of jewelry hanging there to fall to the ground. She squealed. “Oh no, I pulled too hard.”

  I jumped back with a gasp, and Ben yelped. I never saw such a collection as dropped to the floor. Some still lay on the wide ledge of the boxed window. In fact, all of the missing items seemed to be either there or on the floor. Olivia bent down to scoop them up, but Ben jumped over to kneel beside her. My heart pounded as I realized what she had done fit almost exactly like the story my friend told me.

  “Mrs. Wentworth, let me take care of this for you. You don’t need to be down on the floor.”

  “Oh, you sweet man, thank you.” She stood and reached over to ruffle the hair between Mitzi’s ears. “I’m so glad you found the necklace. It must have fallen off, and I would be looking everywhere for it.”

  Mitzi barked, and I grasped Olivia’s arm. “Why don’t we go back to the living room while Ben picks up everything?” I glanced over her shoulder at Ben and tried to signal him to find something to put it all in. We needed to take it all to Noreen.

  He must have understood my message because he nodded and pulled out his handkerchief. That wasn’t going to be near large enough, but he could figure that out. After slipping the pearls into my pocket, I led Olivia back to the living room.

  She looked at me in confusion. “I don’t understand why all that stuff was lying on the floor. It should be my drawer. Mr. Wentworth is going to be quite angry if I ruined any of it.”

  The question became what would I do now? I tried to soothe her and helped her to a chair. Mitzi nudged her hand, and Olivia smiled.

  “Whose cute little puppy are you.” She patted her knee and Mitzi launched herself from my arms to Olivia’s knees.

  While she petted the dog and cooed at her, I went to find Ben. He had gone into the bathroom and found a hand towel to use for holding the jewelry. He’d laid it on the bed to examine and spread the jewelry on it.

  “I think we have everything that was taken, but some of this either belongs to her or was taken and not reported.”

  I counted the things there and couldn’t believe that all the things reported missing now lay on the towel. “Mercy sakes, I never expected to find all of this. The pearls yes because we found the earrings nearby, and Olivia visited Ellie’s room that night.”

  This was almost too much for my head to comprehend, but here sat all the evidence we needed. The question now became what we were going to do with it. The first thing would be to take it all to Noreen and let her decide what to do next.

  I helped put a few pieces in place. “What are we going to tell everyone, especially Jacob Wentworth?”

  “I think that’s something for Noreen to handle. Right now, we need to get all of this to her, and see that it gets back to the rightful owners.” He picked up a few pieces and set them back on the window ledge.

  “At this moment, I’m more concerned about Olivia than I am anything or anyone else. I think she may have already forgotten about the jewelry. Why don’t you wrap up what we know disappeared and put the rest on the window ledge? Then we can take this other to Noreen. I’m going to go check on Olivia now. It would probably be best if you can leave without her seeing you, so I’ll try to keep her distracted.”

  While I talked, Ben had removed the rest of what he couldn’t identify as part of the loot and folded the towel around what he’d take to Noreen. “That’s a good idea. I’ll finish putting this other stuff back while you go.”

  With that settled, I returned to find Olivia and Mitzi having a grand time with each other. Mitzi yipped and licked Olivia’s chin, and she laughed and cuddled Mitzi closer. That ought to be enough distraction to give Ben enough time to get out of the apartment. A few minutes later, the soft click of the door let me know he’d made it.

  I allowed Mitzi another few minutes with Olivia. “Mrs. Wentworth, I think it’s time for me to take Mitzi home. She’s had a busy day, and we’ve really enjoyed visiting with you.”

  Sadness filled Olivia’s eyes as she handed Mitzi to me. “Thank you for bringing her to see me. I always wanted a pet, but Mr. Wentworth is allergic, so we don’t have any.”

  She stood and followed me to the door. When I opened it to leave, she leaned forward with her hand bent at the side of her mouth. “Be careful out there. A lot of strange people are walking around. I see them all the time, but I don’t think they’ll hurt you.”

  “I will. Thank you for warning me.”

  She gave one last pat to Mitzi’s head and closed the door. I turned away and all but ran to Noreen’s office. The next hour or so loomed to be most interesting. How would our residents react to what we’d found? If they were the people I thought them to be, they would understand, but one can never tell when a situation applies to his or her possessions.

  Chapter 21

  When I reached the lobby, Ben and Harry stood and waited for me to reach them. “What are you two doing here? I thought you’d be in Noreen’s office by now.”

  “We thought it better to wait until you could be with us to explain what happened.” Ben laughed and pointed at Harry. “Our friend here thought I’d taken to stealing towels when he saw me.”

  Harry drew his shoulders back. “Well, it isn’t everyday you see someone coming out of a hall where he doesn’t live carrying a towel all folded up. Besides, I was teasing you.”

  “That’s all well and good, but now we need to get this stuff to Noreen, so we can give everything back to its rightful owners.”

  At her office, once again we had to wait until she was finished with a phone call. When she saw us, she motioned for us to come in.

  We entered the office as I tried to figure out how to tell her what we found and where we found it. Ben didn’t hesitate. I had no idea where this would go from here, but Noreen would think of something, and Harry may have an idea himself.

  “You won’t believe what we found.” He dropped his bundle on her desk and unfolded the towel.

  Noreen looked at the towel then back to Ben with her mouth dropping open. After a moment she recovered and jumped up. “What in the world—where did you find this? It’s everything that was stolen.”

  Harry reached over to pick up one of the items. “Here’s Clara’s gold cross.”

  Ben sat down. “Yes, we think so, but we need to check it against the list.”

  Noreen glanced up at me. “How did you discover this?”

  I retrieved the pearl necklace from my pocket. “Mitzi found these first.” I went on to explain what we’d discovered.

  Noreen shook her head and reached into her drawer. She drew out a folder and laid it on her desk. “Here the itemized list.” She opened the folder and handed the list to Ben. “I would never have believed this if you’d told me that sweet woman was going around stealing people’s things.”

  I couldn’t have agreed with her more. I had my suspicions about the pearls, and if I had found only the pearls, I’d have been satisfied, but the rest had been a shocker.

  Ben picked up the list and handed a pencil to Harry. “I’ll call off the items and you check them against the list.”

  He picked up the first item, the pearl necklace belonging to Ellie Davenport, and checked it off. They went through each item lying on the towel and compared it against the master list. At the end a few pieces remained.

  Noreen sat back in her chair and peered at me. “How did you ever come up with Olivia as a suspect?”

  “It’s really sort of weird. Several years ago I had a friend who worked in a nursing home. S
he had a number of Alzheimer patients and told me many stories about them. One particular stuck in my mind. One lady was always losing her jewelry, but every time they looked for it, they found it hooked somehow to her blinds and to the windows. Even had some pinned to the drapes.”

  Harry nodded. “So that’s why you wanted us to check the windows of her room.”

  “Yes. And when you said you saw something shiny, I put two and two together. Whenever I was in her bedroom, I noticed the blinds and drapes were always closed and from the outside I could the blinds closed as well. I decided to check out the theory. If it had happened once, it could happen again. Besides, if I opened the drapes, and nothing was there, I could always say we needed a little sunlight to see her furniture better.”

  Ben shook his head. “I couldn’t believe it when all that stuff fell on the floor off the window ledge. Olivia said her maids left things lying all over the house, so she hid them.”

  Noreen slumped in her chair. “That’s an amazing story. I’m glad we have the things back, but what are we going to do about Olivia? And what am I going to tell Jacob Wentworth?”

  Harry walked over to the coffee pot. “May I?” At Noreen’s nod, he filled a paper cup then turned to the group. “What we need to do first is to have all the people who lost things come to your office and identify the articles. Then we’ll explain what happened. In the light of the situation, I don’t see any of them pressing charges.”

  All except maybe Clara, but even she might be willing to go easy under the circumstances if I could talk with her. “Hmm, that’s a good idea, but who’s going to call Mr. Wentworth?”

  Noreen blew out her breath. “That’s my job. I’ll call him and ask him to come here because I have something I need to discuss about his mother. Once he’s apprised of the situation, maybe he’ll listen to the idea of having a full-time caretaker live with Olivia until she can be moved to the new building.”

  She planted her palms on the desktop and stood. “In the meantime, while I make the call, you three find the other residents and bring them to my office. I’ll show them what we’ve found and return their items to them.”

  I bit my lip, concern for Olivia filling my heart. “Is there any need to get the police involved in this?”

  “No. If no one files charges, there’s no case.” Harry said.

  “Okay, then let’s proceed.” Noreen picked up her phone to call Mr. Wentworth, and Ben, Harry and I went in search of residents.

  “You know guys, it’s so sad to see a woman like Olivia not having all her faculties about her. She’s a precious lady, and I hope her son is willing to admit she needs help and get someone to stay with her.”

  Ben said, “I’m glad I don’t have Noreen’s job of calling Wentworth. How do you tell a man that his mother is the one who took all the stolen jewelry? We can’t really say she stole it because in her state of dementia, she had no idea what she was doing.”

  He was right of course, but Mr. Wentworth didn’t concern me as much as the reaction of our fellow residents and victims of what Olivia had done. The victims, now that was a strange word to use in this case. Yet, the term fit. Still, I didn’t think of those who had lost items in the way one usually thought of others who had been robbed. If I hadn’t heard that story from my friend, I might never have decided to pay Olivia that visit. In fact, she most likely would never have been a true suspect.

  We didn’t tell any of the residents why they were wanted in Noreen’s office only that we had information about the missing things. Since they were all eager to find out what we knew, they complied without a complaint.

  Ben offered to wheel Ellie, but Jim stepped in and said he’d do it. When we all arrived back at Noreen’s, she stood at her door waiting for us.

  “We’ve found some things and want you to come in one at a time to identify them. After each of identifies your belongings, I will meet with all of you as to what happens next.”

  Cheers and exclamations of joy rose from the residents with missing items. Clara harrumphed and said, “Well, I’m glad to know you three finally caught up with our sneaky thief. It’s about time. I hope whoever it is does plenty of jail time.”

  This was exactly what I had expected of Clara “Please wait until you hear the whole story before you make any judgments.”

  More comments and complaints rose, but Noreen quieted them. “Abigail is right. We need all of you to hold back your condemnations until we tell you everything. Now, let’s begin. Ellie, you were the first to lose something, so let’s go into my office.” She glanced toward me. “You come in with us since you found the items.”

  One by one, the residents came into the office and picked up the item they said had been stolen. Once they had all recovered their possessions they gathered back in the office as one group.

  “Well, at least I got my gold cross back, but I’d sure like to know who our thief is. I’d like to give whoever it was a piece of my mind.” Clara crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at Noreen.

  “Once you hear the story of how and where Abigail and Ben found your items, I hope you will be much more understanding of the situation.”

  Clara still frowned with her mouth puckered and eyes narrowed, but the others simply looked at each other and shrugged.

  At Noreen’s signal, I began the tale of how we found the missing pearls and all the other things that were missing. I even added the part about Mitzi being the first one to find anything.

  Ellie reached over and patted Mitzi’s head. “I always knew you were a smart little dog. This proves it.”

  Mitzi didn’t bark, but I do believe she understood the attention given her. She cocked her head at Ellie as though to thank her.

  As I continued my story, disbelief slipped into each one of their faces, except for Clara. She still glared at me with narrowed eyes and arms crossed over her chest.

  I finished with a plea. “So you see, she didn’t know she was stealing anything. When Olivia wanders in the halls, she believes she’s in her own home. She thought her maid lad left her things lying about in different rooms and picked them up to take them for safe-keeping. She’s not a thief, simply a woman whose memory is declining and who needs our understanding and forgiveness. I’m not sure she’s even aware that we took these items from her apartment.”

  Ellie Davenport patted her chest. “Oh, that poor, sweet woman. To be that confused. As long as I have my necklace again, I don’t care about anything else. Olivia needs our help and support.”

  The others quickly agreed except Clara. I could almost see the wheels of her mind working out the logic. She had to digest and think through everything she’d been told. Finally, with everyone staring at her, she shifted in her chair and shook her head.

  “It’s not a good thing, and I do feel bad for her. I suppose, as long as no one had been hurt, and no real harm done, there’s no need to go any further with this. After all, but for the grace of our Lord, it could be any one of us.”

  The others nodded their heads in approval, and some said they felt the same way.

  Noreen stood behind her desk. “I’m so glad you all understand. Mr. Wentworth will be here shortly, and we’ll explain the situation to him. Now, take your things with you, but I do suggest not leaving items like this out in the open and make sure your doors are locked whenever you leave.”

  They murmured among themselves as the left. I wanted to shout hallelujah at their reactions and decisions. These were truly lovely people.

  Noreen sat back in her chair. “I’d like for the three of you to stay and be here to explain everything to Mr. Wentworth when he arrives.” She glanced at her watch. “And that should be any minute now.”

  Mitzi who had been quiet all this time, upped and wiggled in my lap. I’d all but forgotten about her. “Let me take Mitzi back to my place. I’ll be back soon as she’s settled in.”

  I left with my precious pooch cradled in my arms. I snuggled her close. “Well, little lady, you were certainly the st
ar today. Now if we can get Mr. Wentworth to understand about his mother, it will be one fine day.” I prayed he’d understand we weren’t accusing her of being a thief, but asking for help to keep her occupied.

  Chapter 22

  When I returned to the main building after taking care of Mitzi, I entered Noreen’s office right behind Jacob Wentworth.

  He stopped in front of Noreen’s desk. “You told me you had solved the mystery of the missing pearl jewelry and other things. So, what happened?”

  “Have a seat, and I’ll explain. Mr. Spencer, Mr. Martin, and Mrs. Billings are here because they’re the ones who solved the crime which wasn’t actually a real crime.”

  “What do you mean not a real crime? If things are stolen, it’s a crime.” Mr. Wentworth sat forward on the edge of the chair.

  “You’ll see when we give you all the information. I know how much you love your mother because you’ve given us the responsibility of caring for her, but we have a problem.”

  “What do you mean by that? Is Mother okay? Has something happened to her?” He leaned forward and shot his gaze around to each one of us.

  “No, no, nothing has happened to your mother, but we are concerned about her. I’ve told you how we found her wandering in the halls and couldn’t find her way back to her apartment.”

  “Yes, and that’s why she’s here. She can’t get lost with so many around her. So what’s the problem?”

  Noreen locked eyes with me. The plea in them asked me to take over.” I took a deep breath while I tried to think of where to start. The beginning is always best, so that’s where I began.

  “For the past six months or so, we’ve found your mother wandering the halls like Mrs. Jensen mentioned. Someone would always help her back to her apartment, but we discovered something that alarmed us.”

  He started to protest, but Noreen held up her hand. “Let her finish, Jacob.”

  “I’ve been to see your mother a number of times, and I’ve met your wife. Olivia will be lucid and talking to me about things going on around here, and in the next breath she’s retreated to the past and talking about her apartment as though it is her previous home, and that her husband will be returning shortly. One time she even thought the attendants who came to help her were trying to kidnap her or take her away. She also complained about how she left her jewelry and other things lying around and how she’d find them in other rooms. She said she’d take them back to her room for safe-keeping.”