The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds

by Bobbi Holmes

  “What do you mean?” Brian and Joe make their way up the front walk to Marlow House.

  “Cheryl’s estate, and Danielle’s inheritance,” Joe said.

  “If Danielle can avoid getting arrested for her cousin’s murder, then she’ll become a very rich woman.”

  “For the time being, we have someone arrested for that crime,” Joe reminded.

  “Yes. For the time being.”

  Five minutes later Joe and Brian were seated in the parlor with Lily and Danielle. Walt and Cheryl were also there, but neither lawman could see them.

  “Is Adam still in jail?” Danielle asked after the two men sat down.

  “He got out on bail this afternoon,” Joe explained. “But we’ve come to talk to you about the Missing Thorndike, not Adam.”

  Danielle couldn’t help but notice Joe’s normally friendly demeanor was absent. He might as well be a stranger, she thought. He is no friendlier than Brian.

  “Okay,” Danielle said in a quiet voice. “What about the Missing Thorndike?”

  “The chief wanted to have a jeweler verify the stones were real before we sent it to the lab.”

  “Why would he want to do that? We’ve already had it appraised twice,” Danielle said.

  “We have to maintain the chain of evidence,” Brian explained. “When we turn the necklace over to the lab, we want to make sure we get the same necklace back.”

  “Oh, you mean if someone at the lab switched out the stones and put in fakes?” Lily said.

  “Yes.” Brian nodded.

  “I suppose that makes sense.” Danielle still couldn’t figure out why they were here.

  “The necklace we found in Adam’s office was the same one you wore to the open house,” Joe explained. “The problem is, the stones of the necklace we found are fake.”

  “What does he mean fake?” Cheryl screeched. “Did I get murdered over fake diamonds?”

  “Excuse me?” Danielle looked from Joe to Brian. The way they stared at her she had the feeling they expected her to explain the fake stones.

  “We had the necklace looked at. The gemstones are fake,” Brian said.

  “Are you sure it’s the necklace Cheryl took? That might explain why the killer was willing to leave it in the office to frame Adam. It wasn’t the Missing Thorndike, it’s a fake. The killer has the real necklace,” Danielle said.

  “All I know—it is the same necklace you had on,” Joe told her.

  “How do you know that?” Lily asked.

  “If you will remember, the necklace broke before the party, and I had to fix it with a piece of wire. It’s the same necklace.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Danielle shook her head in disbelief. “It was appraised twice. How could that be? What did Sam Hayman say?”

  “We didn’t talk to Sam,” Joe said.

  Danielle frowned. “I assumed that’s who looked at the necklace.”

  “No. We had to get someone from Astoria. Sam’s gone,” Brian explained.

  “Gone, what do you mean gone?” Danielle asked.

  “He’s left town,” Brian said.

  “Left town? What about his store?” Lily asked.

  “I guess he’s been struggling for some time. He sold his commercial building a while back and his house.” Joe explained. “But it doesn’t matter, because the person who looked at the necklace is more than qualified. We aren’t saying the stones weren’t real when they went into the safety deposit box. But sometime between then—and when you put on the necklace, the stones were switched.”

  “That’s impossible. I seriously doubt Steve Klein or one of his employees switched out the stones. And I know it didn’t happen here. The killer must have murdered Cheryl, taken the necklace, switched the stones and then put the necklace with the gemstones in Adam’s office,” Danielle said.

  “The only problem with that is the blood,” Brian said.

  “What are you talking about?” Danielle asked.

  “Oh god…blood…they are talking about my blood…I think I’m going to be sick…” Cheryl groaned.

  “You can’t get sick,” Walt reminded. “You’re dead. We don’t get sick.”

  “Are you sure?” Cheryl asked. Walt nodded.

  “We spoke to the lab before we came over here, and it looks like the blood is Cheryl’s. Not a hundred percent yet, but fairly certain. Cheryl was killed with the necklace on—the necklace she took from you, the one Joe wired together. Her blood is all over it.” Brian said.

  “Oh my god, I did get killed over fake stones!”

  “This doesn’t make any sense.” Danielle stood up and began pacing the room.

  “I told you the stones were fake,” Walt reminded.

  “But they had to have been real. The insurance appraiser would never have made a mistake like that,” Danielle said.

  “We agree they were real when you had it appraised.” Joe didn’t understand Danielle was talking to Walt, not him.

  “Did you switch out the stones before the party?” Brian asked.

  “Excuse me?” Danielle stopped pacing and faced Brian.

  “It would be understandable. It’s not uncommon to keep the expensive stuff locked up while wearing fake doubles. After all, who at the party would be the wiser? Of course, if the necklace gets stolen, and you try to make a claim on the insurance while you have the real gems locked in your safe, then you might have a problem,” Brian said.

  “Oh my god, is that what you did?” Cheryl asked.

  “No, I did not swap out the stones,” Danielle said, staring past Brian to Cheryl.

  “Maybe you could let us see in your safe?” Brian suggested. “I mean you don’t have to let us, we don’t have a search warrant or anything. But it might clear a few things up for us.”

  “I’m not really sure what all this has to do with my cousin’s murder,” Danielle said angrily. “If I had swapped out those stones—which I didn’t—it wouldn’t really have any bearing one way or another on my cousin’s murder.”

  “We do need to figure out when those stones were switched. It does have a bearing on the case,” Joe said in a gentle voice, sounding much kinder than before. “If we know you didn’t change the stones, then maybe the killer did. Those missing diamonds and emeralds could lead us to your cousin’s killer.”

  “If that was the case,” Danielle considered the possibilities. “Then you’re suggesting Cheryl removed the necklace, someone switched the stones and then she put the necklace back on, and then someone bashed in her head?”

  “Bashed in my head? Oh Dani, please! Must you be so graphic,” Cheryl moaned.

  “Did you have anything to do with the stones being switched?” Walt asked.

  “Absolutely not!” Cheryl insisted. When Walt continued to stare at her as if he didn’t believe what she was saying, she crossed her finger over her chest, and said, “I am telling the truth, cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.”

  “Need I remind you…” Walt began. Cheryl stomped her foot and disappeared.

  Danielle was so preoccupied with the exchange between Walt and Cheryl that she didn’t realize Joe was saying something to her. Finally Lily touched her arm and said, “Dani, just show them.”

  “What?” Danielle looked at Lily.

  “Show them what you have in the safe. What will it hurt?” Lily said.

  Danielle looked over at Joe and Brian who stared at her. She imagined they wondered where she had just zoned out to.

  “Fine,” Danielle said. “Come with me, it’s upstairs in my bedroom.”

  The two men followed Danielle and Lily upstairs to Danielle’s room. They watched as Danielle removed a piece of paneling from the wall to expose the safe. Without saying a word she turned the combination lock to the right, and then the left and then the right again before swinging open the safe’s door. She stood to one side so the two men could look inside the small compartment. The safe was empty.

  “Well, at least you haven’t put
the stones in the house safe,” Brian murmured.

  “Are you insinuating I have them somewhere else?”

  “No. I’m just saying the only thing you’ve proved is that you didn’t put the gemstones in your wall safe.”

  “Will there be anything else?” Danielle asked tersely.

  “No, I think that’s all for now,” Brian said.

  As they walked back down stairs Joe whispered to Danielle, “I hope you understand, I am just doing my job.”

  Danielle paused on the stairway and faced Joe. Brian and Lily continued to walk downstairs and to the entry hall landing, leaving Joe and Danielle alone on the stairs—alone except for Walt who stood nearby listening.

  “Do you think I killed my cousin?” Danielle asked.

  “We’ve arrested Adam Nichols for the murder.” Joe said.

  “That doesn’t really answer my question. Your partner clearly does not like me. And I am beginning to think that you don’t either.”

  “Danielle, this has nothing to do with me liking you or not. I am simply doing my job, and to do that I have to remain impartial.”

  “Yeah…well…whatever….” Danielle started back down the stairs.

  “We noticed your cousin’s attorney was just leaving here when we drove up,” Joe said as he followed Danielle.

  “Yes, he was. I guess your partner was right. I am a very rich woman now that my cousin is dead.” Danielle said dully. “Lucky me.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Lily stumbled into the kitchen on Wednesday morning rubbing sleep from her eyes. There hadn’t been time to comb her hair; the aroma of the fresh brewed coffee was too seductive. Still wearing her Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and red tank top, she made her way directly to the pot of coffee sitting on the counter.

  Danielle looked up from where she sat at the kitchen table, drinking her coffee and reading the morning paper. “You were out late last night. Did you have a good time?”

  Lily sipped the coffee she’d just poured herself before answering. “Grabbed a burger down by the pier, and then spent the rest of the night at Ian’s, talking.” Lily brought her mug of coffee to the table and sat down.

  “Just talking?” Danielle teased.

  “Yeah, just talking.” She set the mug on the table and glanced around. “Are we alone?”

  “You mean Cheryl and Walt?”

  “Who else? Don’t tell me we have other spirits hanging around here.”

  “I’ve only noticed two. And yeah, we’re alone.” Danielle glanced around the room. I think we’re alone, she thought.

  “I told Ian about the gemstones being fake,” Lily said.

  “What did he think?”

  “He agreed they must have been removed after Cheryl left here.” Lily lowered her voice to a whisper and said, “He seems to think Cheryl must have been in on it and was double crossed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ian said that if the necklace had the real diamond and emeralds in it when Cheryl took it, then she—and whoever she was working with—switched out the stones. She intended to return here with the necklace, trying to pass off the fake stones as the real ones. But when she put the necklace back on, with the fake stones, she was double crossed when her partner in crime hit her over the head. Ian said he probably didn’t kill Cheryl just for her half of the take, but because she was a witness.”

  “The only problem with that scenario is that Cheryl insists that isn’t what happened. And I believe her.”

  “I know…but do spirits always tell the truth?” Lily asked.

  “No, I don’t think so. But I do believe her. After all, the buyer was supposed to arrive after the weekend and he would have spotted the fakes. All eyes would be on Cheryl, who had the necklace last.”

  “I thought that too. But Ian reminded me that Cheryl was trying to stop the sale of the necklace, and maybe she thought you would postpone the meeting with the buyer until after the estate was settled. By that time, she wouldn’t be a prime suspect because there would be significant distance between her and the Missing Thorndike.”

  “You’re also forgetting Cheryl was already a wealthy woman—there was no reason for her to suddenly embark on a new career as jewel thief.”

  “I know, but some people do things like that for the thrill.”

  “True.” Danielle sipped her coffee.

  “Ian also thought it was bizarre that Sam Hayman has disappeared. He was surprised the police aren’t looking into that. But I told him maybe they were, but just didn’t tell us.”

  “Sam hasn’t disappeared, he moved. So what?”

  “Don’t you think it odd? Sam has been living in this town his entire life—he is the one who appraised the necklace for you—he was at the party—and then poof—he ups and moves about the same time they find poor Cheryl’s body?”

  “And if someone wanted to switch out the stones, he would certainly know how to do that,” Danielle murmured. “I wonder if he was the one Cheryl met on the beach that night. She said he was someone familiar—someone she thought she met here.”

  The landline began to ring. Lily got up from the table and answered the phone. “Hello, Marlow House.”

  “Lily, I tried calling your cellphone.” It was Ian.

  “Oh, I left it upstairs. You’re up early, what’s going on?”

  “Actually I’ve been up for a couple hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about what we were talking about last night. I found something interesting, can I come over? I would like to show it to you and Danielle.”

  “Sure, I guess. Give me a minute to get dressed.”

  “Hey, you don’t have to dress for me,” Ian said with a chuckle.

  Fifteen minutes later Ian was sitting in the parlor of Marlow House with Lily and Danielle. Before he arrived Lily had slipped into a pair of shorts and a clean tank top, and had combed her hair. Danielle had already been dressed for the day, wearing denim shorts and a blouse when Lily found her in the kitchen that morning.

  “After Lily told me about the stones being fake, I kept thinking about how you initially insisted they were fake when you first found the necklace,” Ian told Danielle. “I woke early this morning thinking about it and I remembered something I’d seen when researching for the Thorndike story. So I got up and started rummaging through the boxes I brought with me. I found this.”

  Danielle took the slip of paper Ian handed her. On closer inspection the yellowed and crumpled piece of paper appeared to be a receipt from a Portland jewelry store—dating back to the weeks prior to Eva Thorndike’s death.

  “I don’t understand,” Danielle looked from the paper in her hand to Ian. “What is this?”

  “It’s a purchase receipt for diamonds and emeralds—purchased by Eva Thorndike’s father from a Portland jeweler,” Ian said.

  “What does this mean?” Danielle looked back to the paper.

  “It didn’t click when I first saw it—I didn’t realize this had anything to do with the Missing Thorndike. And maybe it doesn’t. It could just be a coincidence. After all the Thorndikes were wealthy and this wasn’t the only receipt I came across that showed they had extravagant tastes.”

  “I still don’t get it.” Danielle shook her head. She felt stupid. What is Ian implying?

  “This purchase receipt is for gemstones—diamonds and emeralds, to be exact. It’s the precise number of diamonds and emeralds and karat sizes as the stones in the Missing Thorndike.” Ian pointed to one line in the receipt. “And if you see there, the jeweler charged to have the diamonds and emeralds set. There is no mention of the Thorndike's purchasing a setting to put the diamonds in.”

  “So her parents figured out the stones were fake,” Walt said, appearing in the room. “They are the ones who replaced the stones.”

  “I have a question for you,” Danielle asked Ian.

  “What?”

  Danielle waved the receipt in the air and asked, “How in the world did you ever get a hold of this?”

  �
�I guess Lily never told you how I happened to start writing about Eva Thorndike?” Ian asked.

  Danielle glanced from Ian to Lily and back to Ian. “No.”

  “I mentioned I was working on the story with my sister, Kelly.”

  “Yes, I remember that,” Danielle nodded.

  “Kelly is also a writer. She freelances for several of the smaller newspapers, writing local interest and historical pieces. She’s also a bit of a yard-sale addict. She even writes a blog about her finds. A couple years ago she went to one of those sales where they auction off old trunks and suitcases that haven’t been opened by the auctioneers. Gives the sale a bit of mystery and surprise. You never know what you’re really buying.”

  “Like a dead body,” Lily smirked.

  “No, that would smell,” Ian said with a grin.

  “Is it really necessary to speak so cavalierly about those of us who have departed? Please get on with your explanation,” Walt said, knowing full well only Danielle could hear him. Danielle glanced over to Walt and smiled.

  “She purchased a trunk, and when she brought it home and opened it up, it was stuffed with personal papers, letters and receipts from the Thorndikes. Kelly wasn’t quite sure what she had on her hands, so she called me over. The rest is history.”

  “So you got a book out of the trunk,” Danielle said.

  “Pretty much.” Ian grinned.

  “It sure looks like her parents replaced the fake stones,” Danielle said.

  “Okay, stop there.” Ian interrupted. “I agree this is fascinating that her parents happen to purchase the identical stones needed for the Missing Thorndike, but what makes you so certain it once had fake stones—I mean, before now.”

  “It’s hard to explain…” Impossible is more accurate, Danielle thought.

  “Was there something else about the receipt you wanted us to see?” Lily interrupted. “I’m not sure why you felt it was so urgent for us to see this. I mean it is interesting and everything, but…”

  Ian pointed to a signature at the bottom of the receipt.

  Squinting her eyes she brought the piece of paper closer to her face and tried to make out the handwriting. “Jacob Hayman,” she read aloud.