“I am on my way out, sir. Do you need anything before I leave the house?” Timmer asked his boss.
“No, have a good night off. Before you leave, I have your Christmas bonus,” Robert said, reaching into the desk drawer for a second time.
“Thank you, sir,” Timmer said, accepting the envelope.
“Don’t lose it all playing poker tonight,” Robert laughed.
“I am not playing poker tonight,” Timmer replied, cracking a slight smile. “I am Christmas shopping for my family. I will be spending money instead of losing it.”
“Good man! I will see you in the morning,” Robert said, returning his attention to his computer screen.
Miss Lottie came in an hour later to clear the dirty dishes.
“I am leaving for the day. If you need anything between now and dinner, call either Paulina or Anna. They will be here to serve your food and will leave shortly after that,” Miss Lottie explained.
“Lottie, please take these envelopes to the girls and tell them to take the afternoon and evening off. I’m quite capable of cooking my own dinner. I used to be a pretty good cook in college,” he insisted.
“Are you sure, sir? You will be home by yourself,” Lottie stated.
“James is out in his apartment if I need someone,” he responded. “It might be nice to be alone in the house for a change; it doesn’t happen very often.”
“Very well. I will see you in the morning,” Lottie said, heading out the door with the dishes.
Once in the kitchen, she gave the maids their envelopes and dismissed them for the day. Lottie cleaned up the dishes, took off her apron, and put on her coat. Her car was parked at the back of the house near the employee entrance. She was humming Christmas carols as she left for her day of shopping.
Robert tried to concentrate on his work, but he couldn’t. His mind kept returning to the gift he had ordered for Patricia’s surprise. He decided to go for a swim to clear his mind.
He waded into the pool and up to the bar. He poured himself a whiskey shot on the rocks and sat in the heated water enjoying the winter sun that was shining through the glass enclosure over the pool. Swimming a couple of laps, he ended up at the bar again pouring a second shot.
Robert was in the pool a good two hours, relaxing and drinking. After all, that was why he built this place, to get away and relax. He had a good buzz going from the whiskey when he finally crawled out of the pool and dried off.
He looked out over his backyard as the sun was setting. The sky was a mix of rich pinks, corals, and greys behind the black silhouettes of the trees. Robert went in to make a sandwich for dinner and get ready for his visitor.
CHAPTER 3
* * *
Robert had showered after eating and was now sitting in the living room watching the big-screen TV, waiting for the jeweler to show up for their eight o’clock appointment. At eight o’clock on the dot, the front doorbell rang. He shut off the TV and went to answer the door.
Thomas Tagnello, holding two large black suitcases, was waiting to be let in. Robert escorted him into the living room and over to the bar where the jeweler could lay the suitcases down flat. The jeweler took off his outer coat to reveal a 357 holstered at his waist.
“You don’t mess around,” Robert commented, noticing the gun.
“Not when I am carrying over five million dollars worth of diamonds with me, I don’t,” he stated seriously. “You have seen it before. I always carry it when I make a delivery here.”
“So, you were able to get the stones for the necklace?”
“Just this week; the rest of the pieces were done several months ago. I have never seen a piece like it in my whole career as a jeweler. Are you ready to see it?” he asked.
Tagnello took a key out of his suit pocket and unlocked the first suitcase. He lifted off the protective padding that was set on top of the necklace to keep it in place and held up the stunning piece for Robert Bellington to view.
A teardrop cut, twenty carat, canary diamond was the center stone in the necklace. Two five carat, matching teardrop canary diamonds were set on each side of the center diamond. Trailing backwards, towards the clasp on each side, were emerald cut white diamonds that started at three carats near the center stones and decreased in size as they neared the clasp at the back of the neck.
“I can’t believe you pulled it off,” Robert said in amazement, turning the dazzling piece in his hand.
“You are holding forty carats of yellow diamonds and one hundred and ten carats of white diamonds in your hand. This is the most exquisite piece I have ever created,” he bragged.
“What was the final price?” Robert asked.
“The canary diamonds were hard to find, especially in that size. They are intense yellow in color, some of the brightest I have ever seen. I had to send to South Africa for them. The white diamonds all have a flawless rating and the whole necklace is set in platinum.”
“The price?” Robert asked again.
“The necklace alone is 4.8 million dollars,” he answered as he unlocked the second case.
A pair of matching earrings, each one having a three carat, teardrop canary diamond hanging from a white flawless emerald cut diamond carried a price tag of ninety-five thousand. The matching bracelet was another two hundred and forty grand.
“Do you have the necessary paperwork with you?” Robert asked, looking over the other pieces.
“Everything is in this envelope,” Tagnello answered, laying it on the bar.
“Let’s have a cognac to celebrate your success,” Robert said, walking behind the bar.
“This piece is my finest work; my greatest success. I submitted a picture of the pieces to a jury that chooses entrants into one of the most prestigious jeweler’s shows in the whole country,” Tagnello stated. “After many submissions, I was finally accepted to be in the show. I need your permission to show the Canary set in Boston in February.”
“I don’t think so, Thomas. That is just asking for trouble. How many thieves attend those shows with the intent of following the pieces home to steal them?”
“This is the honor of a lifetime to be included in this show, sir,” Tagnello begged.
“I have to protect my family. The answer is no.”
The two men sat at the bar finishing their snifters of very expensive brandy in silence. When they finished, Robert washed the glasses and set them upside down next to the sink.
He pushed aside the planter on the wall behind the bar to reveal a safe. It was not the first time he had exposed the safe’s concealment to the jeweler. Several other times he had opened the safe to pay for purchases in front of the trusted businessman.
He pulled out an envelope that contained a five-million-dollar certified bank check and handed it to the jeweler.
“I’ll have to give you a personal check for the balance.”
“That’s fine,” he answered. “After all these years, I know that you are good for it.”
While Robert wrote out the check, Tagnello took the velvet boxes out of the suitcases, set the jewels back into their containers and placed them on the bar. The suitcases were closed and set on the floor. He collected both checks and tucked them into his inside coat pocket.
“Well done, my friend. Here is a Christmas bonus for all the work you have done for me throughout this past year,” Robert stated, handing him the envelope and shaking his hand. “Merry Christmas to you and your family. I know Patricia will have a merry Christmas thanks to you.”
He closed the safe leaving the diamonds on the bar.
“Aren’t you going to lock those up also?” Tagnello asked, pointing to the jewels.
“I have a special place for those. Follow me,” he answered.
They walked to the large family Christmas tree. A small table had been placed next to it covered by a purple tree skirt. On top of the table sat a three-foot tall etched crystal case. Centered inside the case was a bust of Patricia, done in white marble. Next to it, a matching ma
rble hand, extending upward as if waving, that would hold the bracelet.
“I am impressed,” Tagnello said.
Robert retrieved the jewels. He opened the case and placed the necklace around the neck of the bust. The earrings and bracelet were put in their proper places and the case was closed. He walked around the back of the table and a small click was heard. Tiny lights lit up around the base of the case, reflecting off the dazzling jewelry.
“Do you think the lights are too much?” Robert asked.
“Truthfully, sir, speaking as a jeweler, yes I do. The crystal case shows off the beauty of the stones by itself,” he insisted.
“Okay, no lights,” he agreed, turning them off.
“Are you going to leave them there until Christmas?” asked Tagnello, worried about their safety.
“No, I am going to put them in the safe until Christmas Eve. When my wife goes up to dress for our annual party, before the guests arrive, I will set this up and it will be there when she comes down the stairs,” he announced.
“Good. I am glad you are taking precautions and locking them in the safe,” Tagnello said, breathing a sigh of relief. “A piece like this can never be replaced.”
“No one else knows about the necklace, do they?” Robert asked.
“No sir, just you and I, and the four-member jury across the country in Boston,” he replied. “My staff doesn’t even know what I was working on these past weeks.”
He took the jewels out of the crystal case, and placed them carefully back in their velvet boxes. The small table was hidden behind the large tree not to be set up again until Christmas Eve. He re-opened the safe and placed the diamonds in with all the other valuables.
“The house will be alarmed when Miss Lottie gets home later, but I am not too worried if only you and I know about the necklace,” Robert stated, walking Tagnello to the door.
“Rest assured, locally, no one else knows.”
“Have a wonderful Christmas, my friend,” Robert said, as he was closing the door.
“You, also,” Tagnello said, walking towards his car. “You, also.”
It’s time for a nightcap and then bed. I have to be up early and ready to work to make up for all the time I wasted today.
*
Miss Lottie arrived home at eleven-thirty. The house was quiet. The only lights that were on were the multi-colored lights that lit up the family tree. She decided to surprise everyone by putting the candy canes on the tree that she had purchased while out shopping. She did her best to reach up as high on the tree as she could, but decided against climbing up on the ladder at her age.
The kids can finish the top when they get home.
She walked around the back of the tree, placing some of the candy canes on the branches as she went. She squeezed around the small purple table that held the crystal case. Inside, the white hand had been moved to the center and the bust of Patricia was gone.
What a beautiful case! Robert must be using it for Patricia’s Christmas gift. I wonder what he got her this year… it has to be a bracelet and a ring.
Tired from her day of shopping, she turned out the tree lights, set the alarm at the front door, collected her shopping bags from the front hall and went straight to her room to bed.
What she hadn’t noticed in the semi-darkness of the living room was that the safe behind the bar was wide open and empty, and that one of the porcelain candy canes was missing off the bar.
Miss Lottie was up at six, her normal time to get out of bed. She hustled to the kitchen to make sure the staff was present and doing what needed to be done.
“Timmer, would you bring Mr. Bellington’s breakfast to his room,” Lottie instructed.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, picking up the prepared tray.
Several minutes later he returned to the kitchen.
“Does Mr. Bellington wish to have something else for breakfast?” she asked, eyeing the returning tray.
“Miss Lottie, he’s not in his room and his bed hasn’t been slept in,” Timmer replied.
“Call James and see if he took Mr. Bellington anywhere last night.”
Timmer shook his head and hung up the phone.
“He did not take him anywhere and all the cars are accounted for in the garage,” the butler relayed.
Before Lottie could say another word, a scream came from the direction of the living room. The staff took off running.
CHAPTER 4
* * *
Paulina was leaning on the end of the bar, all the color drained from her face.
“Stay here,” Timmer advised Miss Lottie.
Behind the bar, laying on the floor in a pool of blood, was Robert Bellington. A porcelain candy cane that had been sitting on top of the bar was in pieces near the body. The safe was open and empty.
“Miss Lottie, call the police,” Timmer ordered. “Paulina, take your hand off the bar and go sit over there. No one touch anything.”
Anna walked with Paulina to the couch and put her arm around her to comfort her. Miss Lottie walked to Timmer’s side after she made the call.
“Is he dead?” she asked.
“He has no pulse,” he answered quietly.
“Let’s step away from the bar,” Lottie suggested.
James, the chauffeur and Chef Ramon Gonsalez joined the rest of the staff in the living room. They waited in silence for the police to arrive. The buzzer on the gate rang and Timmer let the police in. He met them at the door and showed them into the living room.
“Who found the body?” Detective Peter Adams inquired.
“I did, sir,” Paulina said, meekly. “I was going to vacuum that side of the living room and walked behind the bar to plug in the machine.”
“Did you touch anything?”
“I leaned on the edge of the bar because I was upset and felt like I was going to faint,” she answered.
“Did anyone else touch anything?”
“I felt Mr. Bellington’s neck for a pulse,” Timmer stated.
“This is Robert Bellington?” Detective Gail Piper asked.
Before anyone could answer, a frantic knocking on the front door sounded.
“May I answer the door?” Timmer asked.
“Yes, but keep whoever it is in the foyer. We don’t need this crime scene contaminated any more than it has been already,” Detective Adams instructed.
Timmer answered the door and Angie Simmons almost fell through as it was opened.
“What is happening? Why are the police here? Is everything okay?” she stammered.
“There has been an accident,” the butler replied. “Please remain here.”
“What do you mean an accident? Is Robert okay?” she asked.
“How did you know it was Robert Bellington and not another member of the family?” Piper asked, entering the foyer.
“Patricia and the kids are at her mother’s house in California. Robert was the only one home, besides the staff,” she replied. “It is Robert, isn’t it; is he okay?”
“Mr. Bellington is dead,” Piper answered.
Angie fainted and hit the marble floor with a thud.
“Adams, we got one down in the foyer,” Piper yelled to her partner.
“Pick her up and bring her in here on the couch,” Adams replied.
Timmer picked up their neighbor and gently laid her on the couch. Miss Lottie fetched a wet, cool cloth to put on her forehead. Angie came to slowly, muttering as she did.
“Not my Robert,” she mumbled.
Miss Lottie dropped her patient’s hand. Did she hear what she thought she heard? Thirty-eight years had passed since Robert broke it off with Angie and started dated Patricia. Was this woman ever going to give it up?
She looked around wondering if anyone else had heard what had been said; no one else was close enough. Angie’s eyes fluttered open. A flash of fear passed over her face for an instant and then she recovered her composure.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You pa
ssed out at the door,” Miss Lottie answered nastily. “What are you doing here, Angie?”
“I saw the police and was worried,” she answered, not meeting the elderly woman’s eyes.
“You just don’t give up, do you? This has always been a hard time of year for you, hasn’t it? Did you come visit Robert knowing Patricia and the kids weren’t here?”
“For your information, I was at the Spenser’s Christmas party all night,” Angie replied angrily. “Steven McNutt dropped me off at home around two in the morning.”
“We’ll ask the questions around here, Miss Lottie. It is Miss Lottie, am I correct?” asked Adams walking by the two women. “You are in charge here?”
“Yes, I am,” she answered, watching the medical examiner disappear behind the bar.
“Piper, escort the staff into the kitchen. We will talk to them one at a time,” Adams instructed. “Miss Lottie, would you please remain here?”
“I have to leave,” Angie stated. “I have a business to run.”
“Please wait at the front door for Detective Piper to collect your information and then you can leave,” Adams instructed.
“Detective Adams, can I speak to you?” the medical examiner said, standing up.
Adams walked over to the bar. Miss Lottie sat there, straining to listen to what was being said.
“COD is a blow to the left temple. There are fragments of porcelain in the wound, so I have to assume, for now, that the broken Christmas decoration on the floor is the murder weapon.”
“Do you know the time of death?” Adams asked.
“I can’t be sure until I check the liver temp, but, by checking over the body, my guess would be last night between nine and eleven. From the position of the body, it looks like the victim had just opened the safe and someone startled him from behind. When he turned, he got hit.”
Each of the staff was questioned by Piper. Adams spent his time talking to Miss Lottie.
“You are the only staff member who lives here with the family?”
Cozy Christmas Murder Page 40