The Jewels of Sofia Tate

by Doris Etienne

  “Russia?” Garnet said.

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened behind her gold-rimmed frames. “Do tell us.”

  Anna sighed. “As I said, it is a long story. I can’t even say how much of it is true, since it was Serge who told me most of it. It all began with my father’s sister,” she said, sitting down on a chair next to the bed. The colour had drained from her freckled face and her wrinkles had suddenly become more pronounced. “She was engaged to be married to an aristocrat in Russia. But a few days before the wedding was to take place, she took off with a man who worked for a local jeweller. Together, they stole some jewels that belonged to my family and fled the country. My grandfather, the Count Mikhail Ivanov, and my father, Aleksei, vowed to get the jewels back, as they were said to be more valuable than anyone could ever know, but sadly, they never saw them again. My grandfather was killed in Russia in 1917, at the time of the Revolution, and my father had no choice but to flee the country with Serge, who was seven years old at the time. Serge, or Sergei, as we used to sometimes call him, had lost his mother five years before.

  Anna folded her hands in her lap. “When they arrived in France, my father changed his name to sound more French — from Aleksei Ivanov to Alexandre St. Jean. He met my mother and they married. I was born the following year. Soon after, we immigrated to Canada and settled in Montreal. Unfortunately, it did not go well, as my father did not like to work, especially to work hard. I don’t remember much about him but I do remember that he had a temper, especially when he drank, and he moaned to my mother that, if he only had the jewels that were rightfully his, how much better off we all would be. My father’s health declined and he passed away in 1925.”

  Anna paused, staring straight ahead, as though the years were rushing up to meet her. Garnet waited with the others for her to continue, and soon realized she was holding her breath.

  “My mother found a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy family in Montreal. She worked there by day and as a seamstress at home in the evenings, so we had enough money to get by. Serge quit school and worked at odd jobs, but he spent almost everything he earned on himself, especially on drink. He had a very bad temper and I didn’t like it when he was home. Neither did my mother. He was almost eighteen when my mother ordered him to leave, and thankfully he did. We lived the next few years in peace, poor as we were, especially during the Depression, when my mother lost her job as housekeeper. But we got by together, doing whatever work we could find and sharing an apartment above a store with another family.”

  “Did you ever see Serge again?” Garnet asked.

  Anna nodded. “Once. It was the winter of 1939. He had come back for a visit, and was in a particularly good mood, even though I could smell the whisky on his breath. He said that he knew where the jewels were, and that if I helped him, they would be ours, and we would be rich. ’Oh yes,’ I said to him and laughed to his face. ’We will be rich. And how will we get these precious jewels? Steal them?’ It was too preposterous to even consider. But he looked at me and I knew that he was quite serious. He waved his finger at me and said, ’Don’t you laugh. Don’t you know that whoever possesses those stones will receive divine favour? They will bring us the success that is rightfully ours and that we deserve. It’s not stealing if they are ours to begin with. Are you in or not?’

  “But I never trusted Serge. And I didn’t believe in fairy tales. He thought that I was still a naive child — someone he could use for his scheming and who would help him with his plans. I imagine, with the people he associated with, he couldn’t trust his cohorts either. I said no.”

  “So what did he do?” Garnet asked.

  “It was strange. He seemed unnaturally calm. I remember stepping away from him, afraid that he might strike me, but he didn’t. He said to me, ’You will regret this. When I find those jewels they will be all mine. And you will have nothing.’ Then he left.”

  “That was it?” Dan said.

  Anna nodded again. “Later that year, the war broke out. I heard nothing about Serge again until 1952 when there was a knock at my door. The police came to ask me some questions. My mother had already died by then, and I was married with a son and a daughter. They told me that Serge had died during a police chase when he lost control of his car. And they told me what Serge had done during those years. For some reason, he had joined the war in Europe and fought in France.” Anna snorted. “Why he would join, I will never know. It seemed so unlike him, risking his life for his new country. He never did anything for anyone but himself.”

  She tugged at a lock of her pinkish hair. “They said he came back to Canada with an English wife and that they had a child. However, they had recently divorced and I was his only next of kin besides them. Knowing Serge, though, it was no great surprise to hear his marriage didn’t last.”

  Garnet looked over at Elizabeth and then back to Anna. The realization of something strange was setting in. “I think I might know why he joined the war.”

  Anna raised her eyebrows.

  “You do?” Elizabeth asked, appearing equally baffled. Garnet pulled the pieces of the puzzle together as she spoke, their stories connected like the intricate weave of a spider’s web.

  “Your husband, Albert Tate, was a descendant of the count. So was Serge St. Jean, my grandfather, and you, Anna,” Garnet said, turning to her. “The detective my mother hired said that Serge St. Jean was a suspect in other crimes. He died during a police chase after a break-in. We all have similar stories. Don’t you see? He was the one who murdered Albert’s grandfather when he tried to get the jewels the first time. And why would he join the war? Likely to disappear for a while. Maybe he thought he’d get caught and figured his best bet was to get out and give things time to settle.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “He wouldn’t have known he’d be gone so long.”

  Garnet went on. “Right. And after the war, he married my grandmother, thinking her family had money, and lived with them in England until he realized they didn’t have anything.”

  “Sounds like something Serge would do,” Anna agreed.

  “Oh, so when he came back to Canada, that’s when he tried again to get the jewels,” said Elizabeth.

  “Yeah, but I think he had to find out where to look, first. My mother was born in Canada in 1950. The break-in and car chase didn’t happen for another two years. He probably had to investigate names and maybe even guess to make a connection to your house.”

  Anna appeared confused. “I don’t understand.”

  Elizabeth and Garnet took turns to explain their accounts to Anna — the story of Marie and Johann and the rest of Albert’s family and what Garnet’s mother had learned about Serge St. Jean.

  When they had finished, Garnet walked over to Anna and stood in front of her. “My mother’s search for her father is over. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet his sister, but I think now that she might.”

  Anna reached out, taking Garnet’s hands into her own slightly trembling ones, and smiled. “Family has always been important to me. My children and grandchildren have given me the greatest joy in my life. It’s a shame they must all live so far away. My son was transferred to Alberta last summer, my daughter’s in the States, and my grandchildren are away at university. But family or not, until now, I had no desire to ever meet anyone who had anything to do with Serge. He was a greedy and selfish scoundrel and I chose to simply forget about him. Now that I have met you, though, I think that I would very much like to meet your mother.”

  Anna reached for a pen and pad of paper on the bedside table behind her. She wrote something down, tore off the paper, and handed it to Garnet. “Here is my phone number and address. Please tell her to call me.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Garnet looked at Anna and said, “There’s just one more thing I’d like to know. What did Serge look like?”

  Anna’s eyes held Garnet’s a long moment before she spoke. “His hair was like flames, but his eyes were cold.”

  Garnet nodded. “Well, I’d bet
ter be going.” She turned. “Exams start next week and I have to do review.” Avoiding Dan, she walked back to Elizabeth and noticed how tired her friend looked. It had been an exciting day. Garnet patted her arm. “I’ll come back tomorrow, Elizabeth. I think I’ll bring the cross.”

  “That would be wonderful. I do want to see it. I’m more certain than ever those jewels are somewhere in that house and that the cross will lead us to them. Maybe if I see it, I’ll understand.”

  “I tried to find a Bible verse on it,” Garnet said, “but I couldn’t find one.”

  “Then there must be another clue, something that’s been missed. The cross is the way to the jewels,” Elizabeth said firmly. “Albert said so.”

  16

  Relative Questions

  Garnet walked down the hospital corridor. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother about Anna. What would her mother say? As Garnet approached the elevator, she heard quick footsteps behind her.

  “Garnet! Wait!” Dan called.

  She froze then slowly turned around. “What do you want?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “About us. Why do you keep dodging me? What’s wrong?” His blue eyes held hers as he waited for an answer.

  “Do you think I don’t know what’s going on?” she snapped.

  “What?”

  “I know it’s not over between you and Laura.”

  “Me and Laura?”

  Garnet let out an exasperated breath. “Oh, stop it! You know what I’m talking about! I saw it at the fireworks. And you were with her downtown the other day. I was in one of the shops. I followed you and saw her getting into your car. So don’t deny it. I know you’re still seeing her.”

  “But what does she have to do with us?” Dan demanded.

  “You just don’t get it, do you? You were with her. You had your arm around her. What am I supposed to think?” Garnet’s eyes flashed with anger. “Well, there’s something you should know about me, Dan. I’m not a doormat. You can’t date me and someone else. Why’d you even ask me to the formal when you really want to go with her? Are you trying to make her jealous or something? Is she going with someone else and this is some kind of rebound thing? Or maybe you really can’t decide between us.”

  Dan’s expression changed. He began to laugh, which only infuriated Garnet more.

  “Oh, so now it’s funny, too, is it?” She threw her hands in the air. “Give me a break. I hope I never see you again.” She banged on the down arrow button for the elevator and turned her back to him. “Why don’t you disappear?” she said through her clenched jaw. “Get lost!”

  The elevator dinged and the doors parted. To her disappointment, it was empty. She did not want to ride in it alone with him. She stepped on and pressed the button for the lobby. “Don’t get on,” Garnet warned, her hand up.

  “I am getting on,” Dan insisted, stepping in beside her. “Because there’s something you need to know.”

  Garnet crossed her arms and watched the floor numbers light up as the elevator quickly descended.

  “I was with Laura the other day because she needed someone to talk to. Her parents are splitting up and no one understands her family like I do. That day when I was supposed to meet you at Elizabeth’s house and my plans got cancelled — that was the day her parents broke the news. She was really freaked out. But there’s something else I have to tell you: Laura and I do go out together. We go out a lot. Usually with our friends. And that’ll never change. She’s kind of like a sister to me. But she’s not my girlfriend, Garnet. Never has been, never will be. Laura’s my cousin.”

  The elevator stopped, the doors opened and they stepped out. People brushed past them as Garnet stood still and Dan waited for her reaction.

  “Your cousin?” she repeated quietly, allowing the words to sink in. She could feel her face turning to a deep red.

  “Yeah. I guess I should have told you. I thought you knew. Everyone else does.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess I didn’t get that inside information. You know me. Kind of out of the loop. But what about that night at the park? Why was she looking at us so funny? And Michelle?”

  “Oh, that,” Dan said with a slight shrug. “Laura and Michelle had been trying forever to set me up with this friend of theirs from soccer, especially because the formal’s coming up, and then suddenly you showed up. She was probably wondering what planet you dropped in from.”

  “Oh!” Garnet gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “I just thought of something. You wouldn’t believe what I said to her the other day.”

  Dan chuckled. “Yeah, I know. She told me. It’s one of the reasons I came looking for you yesterday at Elizabeth’s. That, and I found out who the BMW belonged to. My grandfather told me.”

  “I’m so embarrassed. I’ve been such a jerk.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Dan searched Garnet’s face and her heart turned over. “Look. I know you’ve had a tough time with your move but I want to be your friend. I hope you feel the same.”

  Garnet nodded. “I do. But I don’t think I fit in.”

  “Come on! What are you talking about? Of course, you do. Just be yourself.”

  Garnet bit her lip. “But what about Laura? After what I said to her?”

  “Don’t worry about her. She’ll laugh when she hears about the mix-up.” Dan waved a finger at her. “But you are going to have to start being a little nicer. I don’t think she’ll take this crap forever.” His face broke into a grin.

  “I guess not,” Garnet replied, then her eyes danced with mischief. “Then again, maybe you should stop dating your cousins. Honestly ... “

  Dan threw back his head and they both laughed. He opened his arms to hug her tight and whispered in her ear. “I missed you.”

  “Missed you, too,” Garnet replied breathlessly.

  He held her a moment longer and kissed her cheek. Then he glanced at the clock on the wall and straightened up. “I need to go. I wish I didn’t have to, but I work in half an hour.” He took her hand and led her around the corner, through the rotating glass door where they squeezed together in the same compartment and shuffled to the outside.

  “Want a ride? I can drop you off on the way,” Dan offered.

  Garnet shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I biked.”

  Dan pulled her close and kissed her quickly on the lips. He pressed her fingers one more time, then started toward the parking garage. He had gone part of the way when he turned and looked back. “Hey,” he called out, “want to go to Elizabeth’s later and have another look at that cross?”

  “Okay,” Garnet called back.

  “Pick you up around eight?”

  “Sure,” she agreed, smiling.

  With a wave of his hand he was gone.

  17

  Believing Like Thomas

  Dan stopped the car in the driveway and turned off the engine. Garnet sucked in her breath. The BMW was still parked in the back.

  “You all right to go in?” Dan asked.

  Garnet looked up at Elizabeth’s house and nodded. “Stan’s in police custody. I know I’m safe. The strange part now is knowing that I’m the descendant of the one everyone was trying to hide the jewels from in the first place.”

  “Yeah, I guess that is a little weird.” Dan reached for his New King James Bible in the back seat and they got out of the car.

  Gerdie had already cleaned up the library. The books that had been strewn over the floor had been replaced on the shelves and the white plaster had been swept away as though nothing had ever happened. Only the hole in the ceiling remained as evidence. Garnet shivered at the memory and hugged herself. Dan walked up behind her and put his arms around her. “Sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Garnet reassured him, comforted by the warmth through his shirt. “Let’s get started.”

  She slid open the wooden panel of the mantel and reached into the pocket of her jeans. With the key, she unlocked the ir
on box and pulled out the crucifix.

  “How’d you ever find it?” Dan asked.

  “See that clock?” Garnet said, pointing. “If you look carefully, the word Rev is painted in the leaves. I had a hunch the hands might be stuck for a reason, so I looked up a bunch of Bible verses in Revelation.” She went on to tell him how she had uncovered the secret knob that opened the mantel and had concluded that the key in the clock would unlock the box.

  “Not only is she gorgeous, she’s brilliant, too,” Dan said, shaking his head. He tapped Garnet lightly on the head with the Bible and opened it up.

  “What are you looking at?” she asked, leaning in.

  “This afternoon I checked the Bible dictionary for all the places where Thomas is mentioned. Most were just references to him being one of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus. Another one was about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. But listen to this one in John 14.”

  Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

  Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

  “Hmm.... That one part kind of sums it up, doesn’t it?” Garnet remarked. “We don’t know where the jewels are, so how can we find them?”

  Dan nodded and looked up the next passage. “This one’s from John 20, starting at verse 24.”

  Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of those nails, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe.”