Murder at the Geo-Cache...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 3)

by Victoria LK Williams

  “I know this will sound a little bit odd, but I have a ring here with one of your store tags on it. I was hoping if I showed it to you that you might be able to tell me a bit about it.”

  Megan reached into her pocket, pulled out the ring, and held it up for the woman to examine. The older woman’s only response was to raise her eyebrows as she acknowledged that, yes, the ring was from her shop.

  “Let me tell you how I acquired this. A good friend of mine has been murdered, and I’m trying to help the police find her killer. When I was going through her personal items, I came across this ring stored in a locked box, which indicated to me that it was something important. I’m hoping that you can help me out, Mrs. Purdy.”

  Mrs. Purdy pushed her eyeglasses down further on her nose and she asked examined the ring closer. It took her a few moments to decide to trust Megan, and she nodded her head thoughtfully to confirm that she recognized the ring.

  “Yes, my dear, I do recognize the ring and I have to tell you there’s a bit of history to this ring. I also remember your friend, a rather quiet woman that had the ring.”

  “You remember Mary? That’s wonderful news. Can you tell me anything about her visit?”

  “Yes, I remember it distinctly because it was a consignment piece she wanted to know about. As a matter fact, now that I think about it, she followed somebody in and waited as they wandered around the shop. She stalled for quite a while until after they had left, looking around my shop for other items, before she made asked me about a pawn ticket she had with her. But I could tell her little about it, other than it was for a ring. Then she showed me a ring she had brought in and asked if it was the same item. I verified that it was. She asked several questions, including if it was possible that the ring had been stolen. She was quite apologetic; she assured me she didn’t feel that I was dealing in stolen goods, but she wondered if I had any history on the ring.”

  Megan held her breath as she waited for the older woman to continue, hoping that this would be the clue that would lead to Mary’s murderer. Maybe Mary had discovered a jewelry theft ring and that is what got her killed. The possibilities could be anything, but until Megan had more information, she couldn’t make a proper decision.

  “She was quite insistent that I confirm that the ring was not on any listing for stolen goods. I did a thorough search for her, and when she was satisfied, she purchased a similar ring from my showcase without even hesitating over my price. Now, that may not seem so odd considering I’m dealing with items being turned in for cash, no it was how she acted after-wards. Well, this is what made her linger in my mind. Your friend asked me to keep a lookout for any other items that would match this ring. It was obvious to both of us it was part of the set, an older set belonging to someone of distinction. She also asked me to contact her if the woman who’d brought the ring in brought in any other jewelry. She didn’t go into a lot of detail but I grasped it was important so I agreed. But I never heard from her again.”

  Megan was silent for a moment as she thought over what the woman had told her. Had Mary intended to talk with the shop keeper again? Or, had she found out something about the ring on her own and that was why she had hidden it? The woman watched Megan as she sat silently, and then she placed her hand on Megan’s in the form of comfort and asked if she was okay. Megan nodded her head, appreciative of the woman’s thoughtfulness. Then the woman surprised her with a question that Megan did not expect.

  “You know, I did come up with some more information for your friend, but when she never came back I completely forgot about it. Would you like that information?”

  Megan’s head jerked up, and she stared at the woman, her eyes wide. She never expected to get more information just confirmation that the ring had been purchased here. Now Mrs. Purdy was offering her the information she had promised Mary. Mrs. Purdy stood up and motioned for Megan to follow her into the back room. As she walked through the doorway she informed her security guard she would only be a moment. Once in the back room, she indicated that Megan should sit down the comfortable, high-back chair in front of her desk while she opened her drawer, searching for something. While she hunted in her desk drawer Megan looked around. Antique pieces of the highest quality decorated the simple room, pieces that reflected the sophisticated charm of the woman in the room with her.

  “Here it is,” the woman said as she pulled out a small notebook from her desk drawer.

  “I have to admit that after your friend left I was curious about the ring itself, so I did a little research of my own. The piece has never been reported stolen. At one point it belonged to one of the more prominent families living part-time down here in West Palm Beach and it was written up in the fashion section of a society magazines. Since I had planned on giving your friend this information, I will turn it over to you and hope that you will be able to use it.”

  Mrs. Purdy reached across her desk and gave Megan her notes on the ring. She also included a few newspaper clippings that she had attached to the notes. The older women held Megan’s hand for a moment as she took the papers.

  “There is something about this ring that is important, I can feel it. You say your friend hid it, so she must have thought the same thing. Follow where the ring leads you, but be careful, Megan. I will keep my ears open. You would be surprised at the stories I am told by my customers as they part with items from the past, either theirs or their family’s.”

  Megan nodded her head to show she understood what Mrs. Purdy had said. Then, not wanting to take up anymore of the woman’s time or keep Lucy waiting, Megan thanked her and took her leave. She promised to keep her informed if she found out anything more about the ring or Mary’s interest in it. When she reached the front door, the security guard held the door open for her once more, and she waved back at them as she left.

  Within minutes she was back in the car with Lucy and the dogs, telling her friend about the encounter with Mrs. Purdy. As she talked, Lucy reached over and took the pages from her hand and began to read the articles written about the set of jewelry the ring belonged to. When she shifted through the pages she found a picture from the security camera, of a young, beautiful women at the front counter holding out her hand to Mrs. Purdy. Off to the side of the shot, Lucy could make out the blurred image of Mary in the back ground.

  “This must be the woman Mary followed into the shop. And here is a picture of another woman, maybe she’s the one who originally pawned the ring.”

  “Here’s a picture of the owner of the ring, and she’s wearing the matching pieces. We need to contact this woman and find out when her ring was stolen.”

  “Let me see that. Good, it includes her full name. We should be able to Google her and maybe we’ll even find a way to contact her directly.”

  Megan took the paper back, and after checking on the correct spelling of the jewelry owner, she grabbed her tablet she always had with her for work, and Googled DeChante family jewels. Even though “DeChante” was a popular French last name, it did not take her long to find more information on the collection and the owner. She looked over at Lucy and getting her nodded approval, she dialed the number in front of her and crossed her fingers.

  It took a bit of explaining and a couple of phone calls, but finally Megan found herself talking to Marie DeChante herself. Not wanting to go into full detail, Megan told the woman on the other end of the line she was researching antique jewelry and she had run across information about the set in question. Marie was more than happy to talk about her family’s jewelry and gave quite a history lesson about how it had become part of her family’s heritage. The two woman chatted for a few minutes before Megan forced herself to ask the question she’d been dreading. She put her phone on speaker mode so that Lucy could listen as she asked her questions.

  “I thank you for your time. I was wondering if any duplicates had been made of the jewelry.”

  “Absolutely not! My family is been extremely protective of the set, and conscience of its role in our fam
ily’s history. I assure you, no one has been able to get hold of it to make a duplicate set. Why do you ask?”

  Megan debated for just a moment and then decided the woman deserved at least a version of the truth.

  “I was recently in a shop and saw a ring that seemed exactly like yours. It was such a beautiful piece that I had to call and find out if it was a duplicate. Of course, I’m sure I must be mistaken and there must be something different about it, since you say your ring has never been copied.”

  “No, I’m quite sure you’re mistaken. Some older jewelry sets can seem very similar to each other. But I appreciate you calling and asking me about the jewelry. And telling me about this other piece. Could you tell me what shop you founded in? It might be another piece of the set that my family did not know about. I would love to look into it, and if it is part of the set add it to mine.”

  “I’m so sorry, but the piece has been bought from the shop since the time I saw it. If I find out any more information I’ll be happy to let you know. I can’t thank you enough for your time, Marie.” Megan said goodbye and ended the conversation not wanting to go into any more detail with the other woman.

  Megan and Lucy looked at each other in astonishment, they had never expected to get any answers at all, but they were both convinced that this ring was the original. Marie DeChante did not realize her ring was not in its safe with the rest of the set.

  “How much do you want to make a bet that Marie will be making a quick trip down to her bank to check out her safety deposit box?”

  “Yeah, and when she finds the ring missing, you can bet I will be the first person she looks to for answers. That means, Lucy, that we need to figure out how Mary came to possess this ring and just what’s going on in Citrus Beach”

  “Oh, my gosh, you’re right. This certainly makes it look like we had something to do with the theft of that ring. We need to find out who the woman was that pawned it, and quickly.”

  “Where do we start?”

  Megan sorted through the papers that Mrs. Purdy had just given her and pulled up the security photo of the woman who might have pawned the ring.

  “With her. And we go back to Citrus Beach. Mrs. Purdy said she’d never seen the woman before and I don’t think we’ll find out much more in Palm Beach. No, the answer lies back home. We need to find out where Mary saw this woman and where she followed her to and from. That’s the key.”

  “Citrus Beach might be a small town, but it covers a lot of area. Where do we start?”

  “Where does everybody eventually go? Tourist and townspeople alike?”

  The two women answered together as they came up with the same answer.

  “Susie’s Diner!”

  They grinned at each other and Megan wasted no time starting the car and heading back towards home. They had the answers they came for, and now they needed to figure out what to do with them.

  Chapter 25

  Tuesday

  They had made it back to Citrus Beach in good time, Megan ignored the speed limit where she could and avoided the worst of the rush-hour traffic. But even so, between a pit stop here and there for the dogs to stretch their legs, it was evening before Megan pulled into Lucy’s driveway to drop her off.

  “There’s not much we can do tonight Lucy. Why don’t we meet at the diner in the morning for breakfast, and we can show Susie our picture and see if she recognizes the woman. Let’s make it a late breakfast. That way most of the crowd will have left and Susie will have time to talk to us.”

  “Sounds perfect. That’ll give me a chance to catch up on some of the things I missed today. Call me tonight if you think of anything else.” With a wave of her hand Lucy left, heading toward the open door where her husband waited for her. Paul gave his cousin a wave before he gave his wife a quick kiss and closed the door behind them. Megan sat for a moment, looking at the closed door, remembering what it felt like to have a husband to come home to. She heard a whine in the back of the car, and she glanced in the mirror and saw the two dogs looking at her as if asking were they getting out.

  “Sorry guys, this isn’t our stop. We’ll head home and I’ll get you some dinner. Gypsy, Aiden said he would pick you up from my house. It looks like you get to check out Barney’s digs.”

  She put the car in gear, pulled out of Lucy’s driveway and headed home, ready to spend the evening relaxing. It wasn’t too much longer before she was putting together a light dinner for herself. Aiden had called ahead and said that he wouldn’t be back to pick up Gypsy until later in the evening. Megan spent the evening playing with the dogs, and when Aiden finally appeared Gypsy was happy to go with him. He appeared tired, so Megan pushed him out the door and told him to go home, they would talk in the morning.

  The next morning was beautiful, cool enough that Megan needed a lightweight sweater but with the promise of warmer weather later in the day. This was the time of year when you dressed in light layers, within a couple of hours the temperature can easily go from 60° to 80°. Since she would not be meeting Lucy until later in the morning, Megan got a bit of gardening done. It always helped clear her mind of unnecessary clutter so she could concentrate on the matters before her. Barney followed her out to the garden, looking a little lost without Fred. But he perked up when Aiden dropped by and asked if Gypsy might stay with Megan. He was on his way to the office and had a few appointments and wasn’t sure if the dog should go with him. Megan agreed and soon the two puppies were romping around in the garden chasing the butterflies that were enjoying the milkweed she had planted to attract them.

  Megan experienced a twinge of disappointment as she realized that Aiden would be too involved in his own case to work with her on solving Mary’s murder. She gave a sigh and realized she wouldn’t want to be in his shoes either. Feeling guilty that she had forgotten to give him Charlotte's message, she called him to tell him Charlotte would talk to him about Mary’s family. As she hung up the phone, she turned to the two puppies and grabbed the ball they’d left at her feet, throwing it for them to chase. The rest of the morning went by uneventfully, and before she realized it, she was getting ready to meet Lucy at the diner for a late breakfast. The two puppies were worn out from their activities in the garden and she was comfortable leaving them curled up in the dog beds in the kitchen.

  Her timing was perfect, she pulled into the diner right behind Lucy. The two of them walked into the building, holding the door for two tourists that were just leaving. As she’d expected there were few patrons in the diner at this time the day, and she and Lucy took a back booth where they could talk to Susie without being overheard. When Susie made her way over to their table, they gave her their order and asked her if she would mind sitting with them for a couple minutes to talk. Her curiosity aroused, Susie agreed and after putting their order, she grabbed a cup coffee for herself and join them at the booth.

  “Well the two of you look like you’ve got something up your sleeves. What’s up?”

  “Susie, you know most people in town and you get to see most visitors because let’s face it, at some point or another they all stop here for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I realize we asked before if you were aware of anybody that stands out as being a visitor that stops in periodically. Maybe a younger woman?”

  “You’ve found something out, haven’t you, Megan? I really hope you’re being careful. To answer your question yes, I can safely say that I get to see most people who come to town. As to young women there are quite a few. This may not be the most active beach town, after all, it’s not Miami or Fort Lauderdale, but we still get our share of visitors.”

  “Megan just show her the pictures. Even if she doesn’t recognize the different women, there might be something that triggers a memory. Here, give me.” Lucy reached across the table and grabbed the folder from Megan, her impatience showing through. Lucy dug into the folder and pulled out the two pictures, pushing them across the table for Susie to glance over.

  Susie looked the pictures over thoroughly a
nd she made no comment, sipping her coffee, wanting to be sure of her answer. Her eyes widened as she realized one of the pictures also included Mary, and she regarded Megan, waiting for an explanation.

  “Susie, you have to promise to keep this information to yourself, at least until we know what to do with it.”

  “Megan, you’ve known me long enough that you shouldn’t even have to ask that question. Of course I’ll keep quiet about this, unless the information is dangerous to somebody. Obviously that’s Mary in the picture. Yes, the woman looks familiar, but I’m not sure from where. Give me a moment to think.”

  Megan held her silence for a few moments and then grew impatient. She gave Susie a few probing hints to help jog the woman’s memory.

  “Try to just look at her face. She’s dressed rather uptown in this picture. I think if you had seen her around here she would have been in more casual attire. You know, flip- flops and shorts.”

  “That’s it, Megan. I’ve seen her here, but usually she has a beach hat on which covers her hair. I’ve seen her a few times, on her own and with another woman. Both of them look like typical tourist ready to go to the beach. Nothing about them stands out in my memory other than she always had a hat on.”

  The other two women exchange excited looks. They had a good, solid clue. Now they needed to figure out what to do with it. They spent the next few minutes telling Susie about finding the ring and following the trail to the upscale pawnshop. Careful to keep their voices low, discussing possibilities. Lucy kept looking over her shoulder, sure that somebody would listen into their conversation. Susie finished her cup of coffee and then got to her feet. She told her friends she would keep her eye out for the women in the picture, or any other strangers and she excused herself, saying that she had to get back to work.