The Master’s Hand

by Diane Noble

  Chapter Thirty

  At six o’clock that evening, Kate was ready to go to the Victorian. Eli, who was now in on what had been happening, had stopped by earlier and given her his key. Paul had fixed chicken and dumplings for dinner, thinking it would be a comfort to her nervous stomach. But even after a few bites, she felt too anxious to eat any more.

  Before Kate left, Paul and Nehemiah each took one of her hands as they stood in a circle and prayed.

  At the last minute, she called Renee to see if she’d heard from anyone yet about Brother John.

  “Not a word,” Renee said. “Not since this morning when Skip Spencer stopped by to talk to Mama.”

  Renee didn’t say why, but Kate figured that Brother John had probably listed Caroline as a contact, or perhaps even said something about her being a friend who could vouch for him.

  “Did Nehemiah call you about being on the ready?” She knew the lingo would appeal to Renee.

  “Ready-Teddy,” Renee said breathlessly. “Over and out.”

  “Please stay by the phone,” Kate said, “and wait for the call. That’s the most important element of this whole operation.”

  “Yes, I understand,” Renee said, her voice changing into the professional tone of a Law and Order character. “You going for all the perps, or just the big guys?”

  “All of them.”

  She let out a whooshing sigh. “By yourself?”

  “Yes, but if everyone does his or her job, I’ll be fine.”

  “Is there anything else we can do, Mama and me, I mean?”

  “Just pray, Renee. You and your mother both.”

  “We’ll pound the doors of heaven,” she said.

  AT 6:45, KATE PULLED OUT of the garage. Nehemiah and Paul were in the pickup and backed out just after she did. Kate headed to the museum, this time parking right in front, beneath Caroline’s Victorian streetlight, and let herself in the front door.

  The museum, dim in the fading light, had taken on the eeriness that she’d noticed the first time she encountered Clive Garfield inside on the day of the grand opening.

  She flipped on the light in the parlor, and then, walking to the place where a Webcam could see her best, she flipped on another light and sat down on the antique settee beneath the fake oil painting of The Tempest.

  Fitting, she thought wryly.

  The Webcam lights were on and steady. That gave her some measure of relief. She smiled bravely and waved, hoping and praying that Nehemiah, Paul, and James were on the receiving end of the wave.

  She’d been there only five minutes when she heard two cars drive up and stop outside. The sound was followed by voices, but one stood out above the rest: the booming voice of that bear of a man, Clive Garfield.

  The door creaked open, and he filled the doorway.

  Kate didn’t know much about guns, but she knew one when she saw one. And she saw one now.

  In Clive Garfield’s hand.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Kate gulped hard and stood as Garfield strode into the museum. His size made everything else shrink in comparison. Behind him trotted the exterminators in their tie-dyes and jeans, then bringing up the rear was Davis Carr. No sight of Celine. In the dim light, she couldn’t read any expressions.

  “I’m in here,” she called out, trying to sound braver than she felt. “In the parlor.”

  “I think the sunroom would be a better spot for this,” Garfield said, waving the pistol. “I know the cameras are on. Couldn’t get them to turn off for some reason. I’d rather not be on film.” He laughed, but the sound had a sharp edge to it that made Kate shiver.

  She whispered a quick prayer. “I think not,” she said. “Besides, if you don’t do as I say, your treasure, those diamonds you’re looking for, will never see the light of day.” She gave him a tight smile.

  She was surprised when he tucked his gun in his belt and nodded. “Have it your way, then.”

  “Have a seat, all of you,” Kate demanded, attempting to take the control away from Mr. Grizzly.

  Reluctantly, the rat patrol and Garfield sat down.

  “I prefer to stand,” Davis said, frowning at her.

  She stared at him for a moment, then said, “Have it your way, then. But get over here where I can see you. I’m assuming you’re armed as well? That all of you are armed?”

  “Nope,” said one of the rat-patrol exterminators. “I use firearms for hunting only. Safely, I might add.” He sounded like a commercial for the NRA.

  “First order of business,” Kate said, “is the condition I gave you. All charges need to be dropped against the man we know as Brother John.”

  Davis gave his cousin Clive an angry look. “They have been,” he said tight-lipped. “I saw to that part myself.”

  “I need verification.”

  “The deputy I spoke with said a ride had been arranged.” Davis studied his hands, not making eye contact with Kate. She didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one.

  Almost as if on cue, her cell phone buzzed. She reached into her jeans pocket to retrieve it, then flipped it open.

  “Got him,” Renee whispered into the phone. “He and Mama are having a cup of tea in our kitchen as we speak. How are you doing with the perps?”

  “So far so good,” Kate said. “Thank you.”

  “Ten-four, good buddy,” Renee said, which almost lightened Kate’s spirits...if it hadn’t been for Garfield and his gun.

  She flipped the phone closed. “Okay, your end of the deal is done. Brother John is safe.”

  Garfield started to reach for his gun, but Kate held up a hand. “Throw that thing outside—near the rose garden will work fine—or, as I said before, your diamonds won’t see the light of day, let alone cool your palms with their touch or light your eyes with their glitter.”

  Four pairs of eyes turned greedy at her words, just as she’d hoped they would. Both exterminators jerked their thumbs toward the back door.

  “Do as the little lady says,” said the one nearest Garfield. “I, for one, want my palms cooled with their touch.” He raised an eyebrow toward Kate. “You have a way with words.”

  “The gems are beautiful,” Kate said, filling her voice with artificial awe. “Wait till you see them.”

  “Get that thing out back, and fast,” said the second exterminator, rubbing his hands together. Garfield finally left.

  “Don’t forget, these bags—and family lore says there are dozens of them—have to be split among the cousins.” That from exterminator number one.

  “Cousins?” Kate frowned. “You’re all related?”

  “You betcha,” said the one who’d always seemed to be running the compressor.

  “What about Celine?”

  “Yup, she’s our Mobile, Alabama, cousin, though a second cousin once removed. We brought her into the deal because she’s always had this ability to mimic foreign accents.”

  The other ones laughed. “Her theory is that people automatically think her IQ is fifteen points higher if she pretends to be British.”

  “Her cut’s not as much as ours, though,” said Mr. Compressor Exterminator. “She played a relatively small role. Not that it matters much, since she seems to have gotten some ants in her pants and skipped town.”

  Kate heard the back door slam and heavy footsteps coming through the sunroom back down the hall. Seconds later, Garfield reappeared. The gun wasn’t in sight, and too late, Kate realized she should have watched to see if indeed he threw it out in the rose garden. It might be stuck in his boot for all she knew.

  “Wouldn’t painting the forgeries be a pretty significant role? Earn her a greater share of the stash?” Kate said, looking at Davis for confirmation. But still looking as angry as a wet hen, he said nothing.

  The other three laughed, then Garfield said, “Forgeries? We got those off the Internet. Ordered them from some outfit overseas we’d never heard of that promised the copies were so good, no one could tell the difference, not even an art exp
ert.” He laughed again. “Guess we had most of the good, gullible folks in Copper Mill fooled, didn’t we?”

  “But not all,” Kate said pointedly.

  “Let’s get to it, then,” Garfield said. “You lead us to the diamonds, then we’ll all part and call it a night.”

  “Though millions richer,” laughed Mr. Compressor Exterminator. His eyes glittered.

  “You don’t need me to find them,” Kate said. “I can tell you exactly where they are. They’re easy to get to. Upstairs bathroom under the claw-foot bathtub. You’ll find the tiles loosened and a brick on top that you’ll have to remove. The diamonds are inside the space under the floor. I’ll wait here until you’ve found them.”

  The men rushed for the stairs, then from the midst of the muddle of them all trying to be the first to reach the top, one of the exterminators turned and said, “Hey, I may be dumb, but I’m not that dumb. We can’t just leave you here. What if we don’t find them, and you disappear while we’re looking?”

  “I’m staying here to watch her,” Davis offered. He’d now taken a seat and seemed in no hurry to be part of the swarm of greedy-eyed treasure hunters.

  He settled back in his chair, not taking his eyes off Kate.

  “I thought you’d be as greedy as the rest,” she said. “Greedier, perhaps, because the diamonds are actually from a different lineage in your family. They all belong to you.”

  He sat forward, still watching her intently. “How do you know that?”

  “I’d like to take credit because of my superb sleuthing skills,” she said quietly. “But I talked with Brother John, and he told me.”

  “He knows about the diamonds.”

  She nodded. “He has since 1949.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “You’ll need to ask him yourself someday.” She paused. “But you didn’t answer my question. Why aren’t you upstairs with the others, laying claim to what’s rightfully yours?”

  “The diamonds don’t seem to matter anymore. When I found out what Clive had done to Brother John, that he’d called and turned him in with false information, that he’d blamed him for what we—for what I—had done, I couldn’t stand the thought of getting my hands on anything connected to this so-called treasure. It sickens me...It still does.” He turned away from her. “I’ve done some terrible things in my life, always on the edge of ethical business behavior, I suppose. But this is far beyond anything, far worse a place inside than I ever imagined I would go.”

  He turned back to Kate. “You may not believe this, but I’d already made the call to the sheriff, told him Brother John had been falsely accused.”

  “Was that this morning?” She remembered how the deputy had shown up at Renee and Caroline’s, probably to corroborate the story he’d gotten from Davis.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’m pretty ashamed about the whole thing. My cousins can have all the diamonds as far as I’m concerned. I’m staying here just long enough to see that you’re safe, then I’m leaving town, leaving these shirttail relatives in my dust.”

  “Don’t you want to see Brother John first?”

  He shook his head. “Are you kidding? After all I’ve done to him—ignored him for years, didn’t acknowledge him at the grand opening, and then had him arrested for something unethical that was put together because of my greed. There’s no way he’d want to get within ten feet of the likes of me.”

  Before Kate could answer, a triumphant shout came from upstairs.

  “They found the cache,” Kate said quietly. “But it’s not exactly what they’re expecting. Be prepared.”

  He seemed to understand, perhaps sensing danger. He stood and then walked toward Kate.

  The other men raced down the stairs. Just as Kate had worried about, Garfield was again waving his gun. Either that or he’d stashed another one someplace.

  She stood. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Put it away.”

  “These are just rocks, little rocks that look like they’re worthless.” He practically spat the words. “And there’s only one bag. Where are the rest?” This time he pointed the gun right at Kate. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  Before Kate could speak, he held up the bag of jewels. It wasn’t tied tightly enough, and diamonds began to spill out, a few at first, then the entire contents of the bag, the uncut diamonds bouncing across the floor.

  “Put the gun away, Clive,” Davis said, stepping in front of Kate to protect her.

  She blinked in surprise. She didn’t want him or anyone taking a bullet on her behalf. She poked her head out from behind him and said to Garfield, “Haven’t you ever heard of uncut diamonds?”

  He bent down to scoop up a few. Davis shoved Kate backward and lunged for his cousin, knocking him flat.

  Diamonds flew as the two scuffled and the exterminators jumped into the fray. Kate stood back, then looked up at the Webcam in front of her. “I hope someone’s called the sheriff,” she said.

  They obviously had. There was no more welcome sound and sight than the screaming sirens and flashing lights that appeared just as Davis twisted the gun from Garfield’s hand and tossed it across the room. The other two cousins were so busy trying to pick up the diamonds, they didn’t even notice that Davis had the upper hand, or that the house was being surrounded by law-enforcement personnel, yelling that they were coming in.

  Three seconds later, the front door was broken through. Deputy Skip Spencer was the first to appear, crouching low, his gun pointed toward the action. Kate didn’t think it was the time to tell him that the door had been unlocked. Or that the action was mostly over.

  “Good to see you, Deputy,” she said. “You got here just in the nick of time.”

  “Good to see you too, Missus Hanlon,” he said. “Looks like you’ve got everything under control.”

  “With a little help from my friends,” she said, looking at Davis, who’d let go of his cousin as soon as Skip had him cuffed.

  “Who all is guilty here?” the deputy asked Kate.

  “That’s for you to sort out,” she said, looking at Davis. “Some of the men were in on forcing me off the road, though I’m not sure which ones. What I do know is that Davis may have made errors in judgment, but he didn’t do anything illegal.”

  Three other law-enforcement officials had come into the house. But a female voice behind them said, “Better tape this area off. It’s a crime scene, boys.”

  Kate would have recognized that voice anywhere. She grinned at Renee as she stepped inside the old Victorian with Kisses at the end of a pink jeweled leash.

  Renee caught the eye of another deputy and pointed to the scattered diamonds. “And those. Better sweep them up as evidence.”

  They went about their business as they were told. Renee then stepped up to Davis. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said.

  He looked puzzled but shook her extended hand.

  “I’m Caroline Beauregard Johnston’s daughter,” she said quietly. “And there’s someone waiting for you outside. Two people, actually.”

  He walked toward the door, Kate and Renee following, Kisses in tow. On the porch, he stopped, and for a moment seemed unable to move. Brother John stood under the Victorian streetlight, and slightly off to one side stood Caroline.

  For a moment no one moved. Then Brother John held his arms open wide and stood waiting in the glow of the streetlight. Davis still seemed unable to move. Then with a small cry, he practically flew off the porch and down the stairs toward Brother John, who drew him into a bear hug.

  Caroline glanced at Kate and her daughter, then joined them, her thin arm covering Brother John’s as together they held Davis tight.

  Epilogue

  TWO WEEKS LATER, JUST BEFORE 2:00 PM

  Kate watched Renee putting the final touches on the centerpieces that graced each table. She and Caroline had picked the roses from the back garden at the Victorian Museum, and now, arranged beautifully, they filled Kate’s living room with a heavenly fragrance
.

  The round folding tables were covered with linen tablecloths, all pale pink, which set off Kate’s grandmother’s dishes beautifully.

  “I’d really have preferred high tea to low tea,” Caroline said, carrying a teapot to a table in the back corner.

  “Normally I would agree with you, Mama. But in this case low tea works better. Less formal for the ladies of Copper Mill.”

  Caroline came back into the kitchen for another teapot, then carefully repeated the action. Renee and Kate noted the older woman’s shaky transport of the precious teapots, gave each other alarmed looks, then quickly began transporting the remaining ones to the rest of the tables. Then while Renee arranged the petits fours on crystal-tiered plates, Kate placed small wooden boxes filled with various teas on each table.

  She had just added the pitchers of cream and crystal bowls—all inherited from her grandmother—on the tables when the doorbell rang.

  Within just a few minutes, more than two dozen women filled the room.

  Renee stood to one side, looking pleased. Then in a loud voice, she said, “Bee Attitudes, welcome to what I hope will be our first annual tea at the Hanlon’s.”

  Kate’s eyes widened in surprise. Annual? This was the first she’d heard about the tea being an annual affair. She quickly recovered and smiled out at the ladies who graced the room. And “graced” was the right word. These women were friends from Faith Briar and other places she frequented in town—the library, the Mercantile, Emma’s Ice Cream, and the Country Diner.

  Friendships were one of those intangible riches that couldn’t be measured. On this day she was feeling especially blessed.

  Renee, now standing at what she considered the head table, clinked her glass with a spoon. The room fell quiet.

  “Sometimes we go through life thinking we know everything.” Renee grinned. “Then we find out, much to our surprise, that we don’t.”