While Connie taught, Grace refreshed the iced teas that were getting low.
“Congratulations on receiving tenure,” Grace said, as she topped off Allister’s glass.
He nodded his thanks while keeping most of his attention on his work. Once he got the wire through the tiny hole on the first few beads, he looked up at Grace. “Thank you. Sorry. I want this to be perfect. It will be a gift for a woman I’m seeing.”
Allister’s announcement brought silence to the room. Isabel’s eyes remained glued on her work, but Mary Ann and Abby glanced up at Paige with what Connie interpreted to be an expression of concern.
Connie looked briefly at Grace, who discretely shrugged. There were clearly dynamics at play beneath the surface, but, whatever was going on, Connie was determined that the class would maintain a friendly tone.
Making her way around the table, Connie offered help to anyone who needed it. Gertrude turned out to be a quick study, and Emma, too, was absorbed in her work.
After a few minutes, Allister put down his work, apparently taking a breather, then leaned over to check out Paige’s necklace. “You are so much farther along than I am. I think you have a knack for this,” he said, looking at Connie for support.
“He’s right,” Connie said, admiring the beginnings of Paige’s necklace. “You’re good at this.”
Jerry had looked up just in time to catch the interest that Allister had suddenly taken in Paige’s work and shook his head in apparent disgust.
Allister ignored him, keeping his focus on Paige. “So, do you plan on working on your necklace all weekend, or do you have plans?”
She remained silent and didn’t bother to look up until Abby kicked her under the table and shot her a glance that told her to be polite.
Paige put on a fake smile. “I have plans with some friends.”
Mary Ann rolled her eyes at Isabel, who looked back down with a smirk.
Allister appeared to be nearly thirty years older than Paige, and she clearly wanted no part of him. Since Connie didn’t want Paige to feel uncomfortable in her class, she pulled up a chair between the two and proceeded to distract Allister by giving him some pointers.
Appearing relieved that Connie had shifted Allister’s attention away from her, Paige asked Abby if she was enjoying the book that she lent her.
“Oh, what book is that?” Allister asked.
Abby blushed. “Nothing you would approve of, Dr. McCue. I mean Allister.”
“Oh, who cares whether he’d approve. We may be literature students, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some lighter romance books in our spare time,” Paige said.
“Tell me you don’t read the same garbage as Paige,” Allister said to Abby. “You should feed your mind with the classics, even when you are pleasure-reading, so you can emulate those writers. Don’t fill your head with useless trash.”
Allister glanced at Isabel, but she either didn’t see him or refused to make eye contact.
“I mean it,” Allister said to Paige. “Only the best and brightest gain admission to our English Department. Don’t waste your talent.”
Connie glanced around the table while Allister was talking and thought she detected a flash of anger Mary Ann’s eyes.
Isabel put her hand on Mary Ann’s forearm. “Just ignore him. He didn’t mean anything by that.”
Mary Ann pulled her arm away and refocused all her attention on her the beads in front of her.
“Would you have any ice water?” Isabel asked Connie. “I spent the afternoon on my boat and am feeling a little dehydrated.” Connie was happy for the diversion and wondered if Isabel changed the topic of conversation on purpose. Either way, Connie was grateful.
Elyse hopped up. “I’ll get it. Victoria and I could use a little walk.”
“I will never understand how you can afford a boat like the one you have on a professor’s salary,” Allister said. “Not to mention the condo in Cabo.”
Connie half expected smoke to come out of Isabel’s ears as she glared at Allister. “Not that it’s any of your business, Allister, but I am fortunate to be a woman of private means.” She managed to maintain a friendly tone, but her eyes were icy cold.
Allister smirked and turned his attention back to his work.
Elyse returned with fresh cups and two pitchers of water. Connie poured a cup for everyone, then left the pitchers in the middle of the table.
“Here you go, Isabel,” she said, as she leaned past Jerry to give her the first cup. “Isabel is such a beautiful name. Does anyone ever call you Bella?” Connie asked, hoping to change the direction of the conversation.
Isabel seemed to transfer her agitation from Allister onto Connie. “No, I only go by Isabel. No Bella. No Izzy. Just Isabel.”
Jerry leaned toward Connie, trying to suppress a smirk. “These creative types are so temperamental,” he whispered.
She nodded in agreement and mouthed the words, “I know.”
After offering pointers, answering questions, serving drinks, and repeatedly trying to steer the conversation to safer ground, Connie hadn’t yet had a chance look at Emma’s bracelet. She was pleasantly surprised at how well the girl was catching on. “Emma, you’re doing a great job. I think you might have a future in jewelry making.”
Emma beamed with pride and immediately got up to show her bracelet-in-progress to Elyse, but Victoria was squirming on her lap and Elyse had to stand. “It’s beautiful, honey,” she said, taking Victoria on a walk around the store.
Emma burst out in protest. “Can’t you just stay here for a few more minutes? Victoria always needs something.”
Gertrude tried to explain to her great-grandniece that three-year-olds needed a lot of attention, but Emma wasn’t having it. She sulked and put her work aside. “I’m not in the mood for this anymore.”
“I know how you feel,” Connie said. “I have a little sister, too. They can be a real pain sometimes, but, in the end, I promise they’re worth it.” After a little more coaxing, she managed to get Emma to return to work.
Elyse smiled gratefully at Connie.
The one-hour class flew by, and before Connie knew it, it was time to wrap things up. She reminded her students that class would not meet the following week, since it would be the Fourth of July. The town of Sapphire Beach hosted annual fireworks that night, and it would be too chaotic to try to conduct a class. Besides, her students would likely have plans for the evening. The second and final session would be a week from Thursday.
Everyone took home their creations to work on them between now and the next class, and Connie encouraged them to stop by at any time to work on them in the shop or to ask questions.
After seeing Jerry and the Florida Sands group out, Connie leaned against the door and let out a sigh. “Well, that was an interesting group of people. There were clearly some underlying issues at play.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Elyse said. “You can’t help it if they were a little strange. Maybe they’ll warm up when they come back in a couple of weeks.”
“Was Allister hitting on Paige, or was that just my imagination?” Grace asked.
“Yeah, that was strange,” Connie said. “And if she’s his student, it’s probably against the school’s policy, as well. I wonder why Isabel didn’t say anything.”
“Well, strange people aside, you did a fantastic job teaching,” Gertrude said. “I learned so much tonight.”
By the time everyone left it was after 8:00. Elyse promised to take Gertrude, Emma, and Victoria for an ice cream before dropping Gertrude off at Palm Paradise, and Grace decided to join them, so they left promptly.
Shortly after, Connie closed up shop for the night.
Chapter 3
Connie got up early on Friday morning to get in a quick workout before heading to the shop. She opted to avoid the oppressive heat and instead took the elevators up to the fourteenth floor, where the air-conditioned gym at Palm Paradise was located. After a stint on a couple of t
he cardio machines, she hit the heavy bag for a while. Not only did it allow her to work out her upper body, but it kept sharp some of those martial arts skills that she acquired, at her parents’ insistence, when they learned she was going to volunteer in Africa after college. At the time she had taken self-defense classes to humor them, but it turned out she loved sparring, so she happily kept up the skill over the years. Plus, pounding the bag went a long way in working off any stress accumulating in her body.
After her workout, she took Ginger, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that she unofficially inherited from her aunt, for a walk, then headed back upstairs for a cold shower and some breakfast before making her way to Just Jewelry. With summer in full swing, Connie was expecting a slow day, so she planned to spend most of it making jewelry. Restocking her merchandise for the busy season was her top priority this time of year. From what she learned talking to other downtown shop owners, business would pick up in the fall, but January through April were by far the busiest months. Since she wasn’t sure exactly what to expect for volume, her plan was to make as much jewelry as she possibly could and hope for the best. If she found her supply getting low towards Christmas, she could always place additional orders with her overseas artisans.
Grace normally worked on Friday mornings, but since she had helped with class last night, Connie insisted that she take the day off. Since Grace was her only employee, this meant Connie would be alone for the day.
After disengaging the security alarm, Connie filled Ginger’s water bowl, then sat at the rectangular oak table to begin work.
Connie was excited to get started on this particular set. She fell in love with the sapphire blue pearl beads the second she found them online. She had also purchased slightly darker and smaller beads that would complement them beautifully. She would begin by making the earrings, since they would take the least amount of time, then move on to the necklace and bracelet. Since the necklace was an intricate pattern, Connie estimated that it would take about thirty hours to complete.
Connie reached for her favorite pliers among her jewelry-making tools, but they weren’t where she thought she left them. One of my students must have put them away in the wrong place last night, she thought. She proceeded to open every drawer in the dentistry cabinet, where she stored many of her beads, then searched the storeroom out back. But still no luck.
She made a mental note to keep better track of her tools when there was a class going on. If she had to keep replacing them, the cost would quickly add up.
After grabbing another pair of pliers, Connie went back to the table to get to work. She hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a woman’s designer raincoat on one of the chairs. Connie knew the brand, and it was an expensive one. Whoever left it behind would certainly be looking for it. She didn’t think it belonged to Grace, Elyse, or Gertrude, so if the owner didn’t call by the end of the day, Connie would reach out to Abby to see if it belonged to anyone from the university. Since Abby had registered the entire group, hers was the only cell phone number Connie had.
Connie worked diligently, and about a half hour later, just as she was finishing the earrings, Elyse popped into the store with two iced coffees. “Hi Connie. I just finished a showing down the street, and I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Perfect timing,” she said, eagerly accepting the coffee. “I was just about to take a break. I’ve been working on these earrings.” Connie proudly held them up to show Elyse. “The necklace is going to take a while, but I thought I’d dive into some of the more intricate pieces now that I have the time and do the less time-consuming ones as the store gets busier.”
“Sapphire-colored beads for Sapphire Beach. That’s perfect. I can’t wait to see the finished products.”
Connie led Elyse over to the couch. “So, what’s so important that you wanted to tell me in person?”
Elyse rubbed the back of her neck. “I have some unfortunate news to share.”
“Oh, no. Is everything okay with the kids?”
“Yes, it’s nothing like that.” Elyse seemed to be searching for the right words. “Josh got called back into work late last night, because there was a murder on the beach. Under the pier to be exact.”
Connie gasped. “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry to hear that. But why did you want to tell me in person? Was it someone I know?” Connie tried not to let her thoughts go wild. Please don’t let it be anyone I know.
Elyse took a deep breath. “The victim was Allister McCue.”
Connie felt her heart drop to the floor. “Allister was killed last night? After my class? There must be some mistake.”
“It’s no mistake. And that’s not all. The murder weapon was a pair of pliers, like the kind you and your students were using last night.”
Connie felt dizzy. This couldn’t be happening. Her first jewelry-making class could not have ended in murder. It seemed so wrong that her pliers, a tool that she employed to make beautiful pieces of jewelry that brought people joy were used for something as ugly as murder.
“We’d better call Josh right away,” Connie finally managed to say. “My favorite pliers, which we use last night, are missing. I looked everywhere but haven’t been able to locate them.” Given the circumstances, Connie had little doubt that the pliers in question were hers.
Elyse texted Josh, and within a half hour, he and Zach were at Just Jewelry. After seeing a picture of the murder weapon, Connie verified that it was indeed the same set of pliers that had disappeared from her shop. She had used them for many years and knew them well. She had no doubt they were hers.
“Who had access to these pliers last night?” Josh asked.
Connie pushed back the strands of dark hair that had fallen in front of her eyes while she studied the picture. “Literally everyone used them,” she said. “Everybody’s fingerprints, including Emma’s, are likely on those pliers. We will be using the tools more in the next class, as students finish their necklaces, but I encouraged everyone to pass them around the table to get the feel of them.”
“Can you remember who the last person was that you saw using them?” Josh asked.
Connie searched her mind, but she came up blank. “I remember Gertrude had them midway through class. Then she passed them along to Mary Ann. But that was well before class ended. They probably changed hands again several times after that.”
“Did you see them after the class ended?” Zach asked. He had been so quiet up to that point that Connie almost forgot he was there. Since Josh was taking the lead on questioning her, Connie assumed that Sergeant Donahue had assigned Josh as lead investigator. But something seemed off about Zach. He was usually much more relaxed in her presence. Connie and Zach had gone on a date a couple of months ago, and he said he was going to call her to take her out again, but she hadn’t yet heard from him. Of course, he had gone home to Illinois for his uncle’s funeral in May, then Josh and Elyse had taken a mini vacation earlier in June, so she knew Zach had been busy at work. But, still, his less-than-friendly demeanor told Connie that there was more to it.
Connie shook her head. “No. I straightened up a little after everyone left, but now that I think about it, I don’t remember seeing the pliers after class. But I didn’t put the all the tools away, because I knew I’d be making jewelry this morning, so it’s possible they were still on the table. I mainly threw away the empty cups and washed out the pitchers of iced tea. Grace left right after class, so I know she didn’t put them away. She doesn’t usually touch my tools, anyway.”
Josh jotted down some notes as they spoke.
“The only people with access to my pliers last night were those who were present at my class,” Connie continued. A lump grew in her throat. “I can’t believe that one of my first students is a killer.” She looked at Elyse in horror. “And you were here with your girls.” This was exactly the opposite of the atmosphere that Connie had was working so hard to create in her store. She wanted Just Jewelry to feel like a home away fro
m home for her students and customers, not the Wild West.
“I’m sure we weren’t in any danger,” Elyse said. “The killer obviously had a very specific target.”
“She’s right,” Zach said. Why did he look like he’d rather be anywhere else? “We’re going to need the names and contact information of everyone who was in the store last night during the class.”
Connie booted up her laptop and jotted down the names, phone numbers, and emails that she had. Since Abby had registered the group from Florida Sands, aside from Gertrude’s and Emma’s, Connie only had contact information for Abby and Jerry. As she wrote the names of her first students, she felt more like a traitor than a successful teacher. This certainly couldn’t be good for business.
“Aside from myself, Elyse, Victoria, Emma, and Grace, these are the people who were here last night,” she said, ripping a sheet of paper with the requested information from a notebook and handing it to Josh.
Zach narrowed his eyes as if trying to remember something. “Didn’t you get surveillance cameras after you were broken into a few months back?” he asked.
Connie nodded. “Yes. I’ll email you the footage from the last twenty-four hours. It just shows the storefront and the back door, but you’ll be able to tell if anyone broke in after hours and stole the pliers.”
After the police left, Connie and Elyse went back to the couch and their half empty cups of iced coffee.
“Cheer up, Connie,” Elyse said. “The police will get to the bottom of this. Besides, the murder happened on the beach. People won’t even make the connection with your store.”
But Connie wasn’t comforted. “I was hoping these classes would become a popular activity in Sapphire Beach. You know, provide something different for people in the area to do. I was planning to offer an afternoon class for retired folks, and the evening classes could make a fun girls’ night out. I had such high hopes. But who’s going to want to come to a jewelry-making class that ends in murder? Plus, what am I going to do about this class? We’re supposed to meet again in two weeks, but I doubt they’ll come back.”
Sapphire Beach Cozy Mystery Collection Page 37