He stepped over to his file cabinet and unlocked one of the drawers. The minute he opened it, I could smell Chanel No. 5. He sat back down and put a small box on his desk.
“We found these items in and around the car.” He pulled out a capless perfume bottle. “This was next to the car. As you can see, the top is broken. The lid must have rolled away. We didn’t find it.”
“That’s Aggie’s.” Miss Jane’s voice was low.
“We figure it fell out of her purse. I know how ladies are about leaving purses unfastened.” He grinned.
“Aggie would never have left her handbag open. She was too afraid of robbery.” Miss Evaline’s statement was true, especially since the kidnapping.
Sheriff Turner cleared his throat. “Uh, yes, and this here pearl bracelet. The clasp is broken. We found it on the floorboard. It probably fell off, and she didn’t know it.”
The ladies and I all gasped.
“No, Sheriff,” I protested. “There’s no way Miss Aggie would have been that careless with her pearl bracelet. Or any of her jewelry for that matter.”
“Victoria’s right.” Miss Evalina spoke for the first time. “There’s some sort of foul play here, Sheriff.”
“Now, now, ladies, don’t get all riled up. She was probably late for her flight and didn’t notice the bracelet.”
“But…” Before Miss Georgina could say more, Miss Evalina reached over and touched her arm, silencing her.
We needed to get out of there and talk this over. “The items you’ve shown us are Miss Aggie’s. Is there anything else you need from us, Sheriff?”
“Er…no, I guess not. You can go.”
We stood and left the room, mute.
Once outside, the roar started as everyone began to talk at once. Passersby were gawking.
“Wait,” I said, holding my hand up. “Let’s go back to the lodge where we can talk privately.”
Miss Jane sent me a scathing look. “I want to know where Aggie is. And I don’t think we’re going to find her by talking.”
“Now Jane, Victoria’s right. We need to put our heads together and see what we can think of to do.” Bless Miss Evalina’s voice of reason.
“Besides, it’s getting cold out here.” Miss Georgina shivered.
She was right. I pulled my sweater tighter around me and noticed the others doing the same.
We piled into our vehicles and headed for home with Miss Jane’s black Cadillac leading the way. I hoped we didn’t look like a funeral procession.
October was making a grand entrance in Cedar Chapel. By the time we arrived back at the lodge, the temperature had dropped into the thirties, and the wind whipped around the building with a roar, making me thankful my grandfather had added an attached garage to the house. I tried not to think about Buster’s walk.
We were welcomed home by the heavenly aroma of Mabel’s wonderful beef noodle soup and hot coffee. She’d heated up the soup and left it on the warmer for us. The seniors had left the center before lunch was served, so they were all hungry. My own stomach was making its needs known to me as well. We quickly washed up, and Miss Jane helped me get the soup and sandwiches into the dining room where Mabel had left dishes and flatware on the sideboard. There was also a container of cookies for dessert.
By common consent, we ate our lunch without mentioning Miss Aggie’s disappearance. After we’d cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, Miss Jane joined the others in the front parlor while I called Benjamin and filled him in on the latest news. He promised to be over in a half hour or so. Relieved that he was coming, I went to the parlor.
Logs in the fireplace crackled and popped as flames leaped around them, and the welcomed smell of wood smoke greeted me.
“Oh wonderful. Who do I thank for getting the fire going?”
“I brought the wood in, and Frank stacked it up and lit the match,” Martin said with a grin.
“Then, thank you both.” I smiled at Martin, who usually didn’t volunteer to do much.
We settled ourselves in the chairs and sofas. Frank and Miss Evalina claimed the love seat, and I curled up in my favorite overstuffed chair.
“What do you think is going on, Victoria?” Frank was direct, as usual.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t believe for a minute Miss Aggie boarded a plane. They’d have a record of it, and the sheriff would know by now.”
The doorbell rang, and when I went to the door, it was Corky. He looked tired, and the worry in his eyes spoke volumes. He followed me to the parlor and flopped down in the chair next to mine.
“I’m sure the sheriff showed you the perfume bottle and bracelet. They’re Aunt Aggie’s, aren’t they?”
I nodded, and the slight hope in his eyes faded. I reached over and patted his hand.
“I don’t understand who would want to kidnap her,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair.
Miss Georgina gasped. “Kidnapped? Oh no. Not again. She couldn’t have been kidnapped again, could she, Victoria?”
“Georgina, calm down, please.” Miss Evalina, seated between Miss Georgina and Frank, put her arm around her friend’s plump shoulder. “We don’t know that Aggie has been abducted. She’s probably gone off somewhere without even thinking we might be worried.” But her eyes said she didn’t believe her own words.
Miss Jane’s face was strained, and for the first time, she looked her eighty-two years.
By the time Benjamin arrived, we’d come up with nothing helpful.
“This room is starting to depress me.” Miss Georgina’s words didn’t surprise me. We did seem to discuss a lot of trouble in this parlor. But we’d come up with plenty of solutions, too.
This time, however, solutions eluded us, and by the time Ben and Corky left, we’d come no closer to an explanation for Miss Aggie’s car and belongings.
The afternoon seemed to drag on forever, and the house was nearly silent as we each dealt with the latest shock.
Somehow, we managed to eat dinner. I did the cleanup alone, preferring to be left with my thoughts. The seniors went to bed early. I was sure they were all exhausted from the stress. I was feeling it myself.
There must be something we could do. I went to my office and pulled up the document with my lists.
My eyes came to rest on Clyde’s entry. The more I looked at it, the stronger the feeling grew. Miss Aggie’s disappearance had something to do with Clyde and/or the treasure. I glanced at my watch. Only nine. It wasn’t too late to call Laura Baker. I grabbed the phone and dialed her hotel.
“Yes, Miss Storm, what can I do for you?”
“Would it be possible for us to meet again? I have some things I’d like to discuss.”
She agreed, and we made an appointment to meet at the steak house in Caffee Springs for lunch the next day.
Feeling relieved just to have done something, I headed up to bed. As I passed Miss Aggie’s room, sorrow washed over me and tears flooded my eyes. “We’ll find you, Miss Aggie,” I whispered. “I promise we’ll find you.”
I followed the hostess to a booth near the rear of the restaurant, wood chips scattering beneath my feet. Surprised and annoyed to see Christiana seated next to her mother, I slid into the padded seat on the other side of the table.
“I hope you don’t mind me tagging along, Victoria. When Mother told me she was meeting you for lunch, I decided to join you.”
“Not at all. You’re welcome, of course,” I lied.
The waiter took our orders then brought our drinks to the table. We sipped iced tea, and I wondered what to do. I’d planned on opening up to Laura about Miss Aggie’s suspicions concerning Clyde and shady dealings, but I wasn’t sure if I should in front of Christiana.
“What did you want to talk to Mom about?” Christiana’s voice was challenging, but her dark eyes were intense and waiting.
I smiled. If she thought she could intimidate me, she had another think coming.
“Tiana, don’t be rude.” Laura bit her lip and thre
w me an apologetic smile.
“That’s quite all right, Laura. We can talk another time.” I glanced at Christiana to see her reaction.
She didn’t disappoint me. “You mean you don’t want to talk in front of me? What do you have to hide?”
“Why, not a thing. It just happens my business is with your mother, and it’s private.” I directed an oh-so-sweet smile straight at her.
A blush tinged her tan face, and her eyes flashed with anger. She jumped up. “Fine. I have to get back to the office anyway.”
“But Tiana, you haven’t had lunch yet. And you’ve ordered.” The dismay in Laura’s voice made me almost wish I’d gone ahead and discussed things in front of her daughter.
The girl flashed a smile my way. “Actually, I’d forgotten. Benjamin asked me to have a late lunch with him today.”
Was that a truck that hit me in the stomach? I took a deep breath, determined not to show any reaction to her words. She was probably lying anyway, just to get under my skin.
“That’s nice. Benjamin has always been thoughtful of his office staff.” There. That should prove to her I was all right with her having lunch with my fiancé. “He tells me you’re doing a great job.”
“Really? He’s never mentioned you at all to me.” With a toss of her head, she left.
Her mother’s sigh caught my attention.
“Please forgive her manners. She’s young, and I’m afraid my mother rather spoiled her. Mom lived with us for years after my divorce.” Sadness filled her eyes. “She passed away last year. Tiana misses her a lot.”
“I understand. Please don’t worry about it. I’m afraid I may have goaded her a little.” I knew I had.
“By the way, she fibbed. Benjamin told us all about you at our first meeting with him. She knows very well you’re getting married in December.”
Relief rippled through me. Of course I knew Benjamin loved me, but still.…I sighed. I thought I’d gotten over being jilted by my former fiancé. My goodness, it had been several years. But apparently I still had issues to deal with.
The waiter brought our food, and we ignored Tiana’s entrée as we ate.
When the waiter picked up our dishes, he looked pointedly at the untouched plate of food.
Laura smiled and asked for a to-go box. We ordered coffee and leaned back.
“Oh, by the way, Victoria, did you know the sheriff has released my father’s property to me?”
“Are you serious?” I’d thought he’d tighten things up more with Miss Aggie missing.
“Yes, he said it’s been thoroughly combed for evidence.”
Excitement coursed through me. This was going to be easier than I’d thought. “Would you mind if I do another search? I still feel there’s something there.”
“But wouldn’t the sheriff have found any evidence?”
I held my tongue for a moment, not wanting to say anything to make the sheriff sound stupid. “You’re probably right. But I’d feel more comfortable if I could look things over once more.”
“I don’t mind, but you’d better do it soon. I’m putting the shop up for sale.”
CHAPTER TEN
The cold wind lashed around me as I got out of the van in front of Clyde’s store on Monday morning. Dark clouds threatened rain. Probably soon. All I needed. Cold rain. I suppressed a sigh. At least the temperature was above freezing, whether it felt like it or not.
Laura had given me a key in case I arrived before she did. A good thing, because there was no sign of her car, and the shop was dark.
I put the key in the lock and turned.
“What exactly do you think you’re up to now, Victoria Storm?”
I groaned and slowly turned to face the sheriff. Anger reddened his face, and his teeth were clenched. I held up the key.
“Oh, so now you’ve managed to get your hands on a key. How’d you pull that off?”
Indignant, I opened my mouth.
“Never mind handing me a bunch of lies.” He shook his finger in front of my nose. “Give me that key, and get on out of here.”
Laura’s blue SUV pulled up. She parked and jumpedout. “It’s all right, Sheriff. Miss Storm and I arranged to meet here today to look over furniture. I gave her my spare key in case she got here first, and it appears she did.”
The sheriff looked from me to Laura, a cloud of suspicion in his eyes. “Furniture, huh?”
“That’s right. She’s thinking of purchasing a few pieces for her boardinghouse.”
Wow, what a liar. I tried not to look surprised. How would I get out of this if Bob Turner directed his questions to me? After all, Laura wasn’t a Christian, so she probably thought it was a justified fib. I knew I couldn’t get by with such a thing. My conscience would hurt too much. As a matter of fact, it was hurting even as I stood there in silence. Should I tell the sheriff it wasn’t so? But then Laura would look bad.
He squinted at us, his fingers tapping against his thigh. Finally, he nodded and got back in the squad car. I bit my lip as he pulled away.
Laura laughed, and then as she turned and saw my expression, she frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“I suppose I was surprised you felt it necessary to make up a story. We had a perfect right to be here.”
She shrugged. “I suppose so. But he’d have hung around longer. What difference does it make?”
Suppressing the answer that rose up in me, I followed her into the shop. A cacophony of barks, meows, chirps and a myriad of other animal sounds greeted us. From the din, I suspected the elderly lady who was supposed to be feeding them hadn’t arrived yet.
“What in the world am I going to do with all these creatures?” Laura looked around, obviously overwhelmed.
“You might call the pet stores in neighboring towns and let them know you’ve closed the business and have animals and other merchandise to sell.”
“Good idea. Thanks. My father left very few assets, so any money I can bring in will help.”
I glanced at her expensive coat and the name-brand pantsuit she was wearing. Surely she wasn’t hurting for money.
She noticed my glance. “You see…” She stopped and cleared her throat. “Miss Storm, I’m going to go through these papers from my father’s safe-deposit box while you look around. Just make yourself at home.”
Safe-deposit box? Interesting. If Clyde wanted to hide something, what better place? But how could I find out what was in there? Ask?
“So, I’ll be in the office if you need me for anything.” Laura walked through the door to the back room while I mentally kicked myself. Of course I couldn’t ask what was in Clyde’s safe-deposit box. What was I thinking?
I ran up the stairs and looked around the small apartment, not sure where to begin. We’d gone through every inch of it before, and I was sure the sheriff had, too. It was silly to even think we might have missed something. I went to the small bedroom and checked all the bedknobs on the four-poster. Then went through every inch of every drawer, even checking the bottoms of the furniture to see if something might be taped there.
After an hour of useless searching, I went downstairs. I tapped on the office door and walked in. Startled, Laura looked up, her cheeks flushed and excitement in her eyes. She slid a large envelope on top of the papers she’d been perusing.
“Oh, Miss Storm.” She sounded breathless. “Did you find anything?”
“No, nothing at all.” I couldn’t help my eyes from wandering to the papers. “How about you? Anything interesting in the box?” There, I’d asked anyway.
“N–no. Just some old letters,” she said, her eyes evading mine.
“Okay, then I’ll get back to the lodge. Thank you for letting me look around.”
I left the shop, my mind darting to the letters from Clyde’s box. Laura was definitely hiding something. Was it possible she knew more about this case than she was admitting? Even something about Clyde’s murder?
I decided to swing by the Mocha Java for a latte, but when I pas
sed Hannah’s, I noticed Benjamin’s Avalanche parked in front. So I pulled into the parking spot next to it. I pushed through the door, waving at Hannah, who motioned toward the back. I turned with a grin and headed that way, then stopped, the grin frozen on my face.
Benjamin sat in a booth next to the window, with Christiana perched—an enormous smile on her face—right next to him. Just like a cat that had stolen the cream.
I focused on Benjamin’s face. Did he look pleased? Happy? Hmm. He actually looked downright uncomfortable. Okay. I could handle this. I relaxed the grin that had taken residenceon my lips and started toward the booth. As I drew near, Christiana glanced up and saw me. Instead of the embarrassment or fear that should have shown on her face, the little floozy gave me a taunting smile.
“Hi,” I purred. “Who’s minding the store?”
Benjamin gulped. Yes, he gulped. Then he cleared his throat. “Jory’s there. Christiana has an appointment later.” Jory had worked for Ben for ages. He was the all-around fix-it man and knew everything about the newspaper business.
I looked pointedly at Christiana. Slowly, she unfolded her body from the vinyl seat. She smiled slowly at Benjamin as though they shared a secret. “I need to meet Mother at the courthouse. See you later, Benjamin.”
She brushed past me without a word.
“Sit down, Victoria. People are looking.” He patted the seat next to him.
I sat on the other side and glared across at him, waiting to see how he’d get out of this one.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m an innocent man.” He grinned, reached over, and tried to take my hand, which I slid out of the way.
“Yes, it looked that way.”
“Okay, this is what happened.” He took a deep breath. “I came in about fifteen minutes ago to get a cup of coffee and try to round up some local news. Tiana came in and sat by me. I didn’t invite her. In fact, I was about to suggest she move to the other seat when you walked in. That’s it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, I believe you. But you need to keep your guard up, because that girl is out to get you.”
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