A Killer Necklace

by Melodie Campbell

  I wish. “No, he left last night.” Had she kept bitterness and confusion out of her voice?

  “You do know that it’s only the night right before the wedding that the groom traditionally has to stay away.”

  She’s just teasing. She doesn’t realize how bad things are. “Yes I know, but men don’t catch the finer points,” she said, keeping it light herself. This was just between Tony and her now.

  “So what’s up today?” Becki asked. “Can I help you with anything?”

  “You’re a sweetheart for asking but no. As you know, I planned everything months and months in advance. Mostly so these last couple of days before the wedding would be stress free. All I can think of that’s left to do is pick up your dress at Bella Sposa tomorrow.”

  “You don’t want me to do that instead? After all, it is my dress. And you’re the bride and shouldn’t have to do anything more.”

  “The bride needs to keep herself a little bit busy. Besides, you’re keeping my mother out of my hair. I love her to bits but I do need some time alone.”

  “Not alone-alone.”

  Becki still assumed she’d be spending the day with Tony. Gina wasn’t so sure.

  “Yeah, and then at the rehearsal tomorrow we’ll all get together and it’ll be one great big party.”

  “Not like the actual wedding.”

  “Not that spectacular.” A girl could still hope.

  “Okay Gina, just tell me to shut up if you don’t want to hear this right now but I had an idea this morning about the jewelry.”

  No need to ask ‘What jewelry?’ “Me too!”

  “Louisa had more than just the necklace and earrings they found, didn’t she? She must have.”

  “I agree.”

  “The person who threatened you talked about jewels, plural, and we assumed he meant the sapphires and diamonds in that one necklace set, but Louisa probably had a treasure trove of jewels.”

  “What we would consider a fortune.”

  “It’s starting to make sense now that someone is after you about jewels,” Becki said. “Someone knew or figured, just like we did, that Louisa had more than one set, even if only the one necklace set was reported found. That person is asking the same question I’m asking myself. Where the hell is the rest?”

  “Stolen.”

  “By who?”

  “And how?”

  “If Louisa kept her jewels in her safe?”

  “Some of it must have been elsewhere at the time of the robbery.”

  “And murder.”

  “Louisa must have tucked some hastily in a drawer. Maybe she liked to admire her jewelry pieces like she did her gowns. Maybe she couldn’t be bothered putting them away every single time. Maybe she got careless living in sweet little Black Currant Bay. And maybe some of our suspects caught a glimpse of them.”

  “Not too hard to imagine Sylvia, her cleaning lady, seeing them if Louisa got careless.”

  “Her main friend, Lottie, too.” Gina thought a bit then continued, “We know Douglas Spellman heard rumours about missing jewels, plural, and Louisa’s ex would know for sure that she owned a whole collection. Probably gave her most of the pieces himself.”

  “And the mob?”

  “The mob makes it their business to know.”

  “So precious jewelry is apparently at large. And someone thinks that when we found the body, we searched the house before calling the police and nicked some shiny baubles for ourselves.”

  “Yeah right. Couldn’t be one of Canada’s brightest.”

  “Not so worried about his intellectual profile.”

  Sylvia almost cried when she zipped up her last suitcase. She’d always wanted to leave Black Currant Bay behind but this was not at all how she pictured it.

  In her dreams, she would label only the very best pieces of the furniture and accessories she owned and leave them for a high-end moving company to carefully pack and ship to her new condo in Toronto. She herself would prance out the door in her very best outfit with a small, elegant case of only the choicest garments, jump into her new MINI Cooper S Convertible and zip south to her new place, which would be splendidly decorated and awaiting her arrival.

  All the rest she’d leave behind.

  The contrast with reality was startling.

  She had no new condo to go to. In fact she didn’t know where she’d end up exactly. She only knew she had to get out of town.

  It was best not to make any arrangements about where she’d stay from her home phone, not even her cell. Phone calls can be traced. Who knew what resources her assailant had at his disposal? For heaven’s sake, he had rumoured connections with the mob. What was I thinking?

  She’d withdrawn everything she had left in her back account. Best to pay cash at an anonymous hotel when she got to TO. The Greater Toronto Area has roughly six million people in it. Easy enough to disappear. She’d have to start all over from scratch. She supposed it could be done.

  It killed her to have to admit that she was not a big league player.

  And she had sat down across the game table from the wrong person.

  She stuffed her two ragtag pieces of luggage into the trunk of her MINI Cooper S Convertible. She looked back at her apartment and suddenly felt like it had been a safe haven, a pleasant enough spot after all.

  Now she sat awkwardly behind the wheel. Which foot should she use? The heavy right one? Or should she somehow swing her right leg into the passenger space and press on the accelerator and brake with her left?

  The more she thought about her situation, the more scared and angry she got. Boiling over with resentment. She would clobber the steering wheel but she was afraid of cracking the only possession she was taking with her that hinted at who she really was and what she was really worth.

  She pondered the possibility of testifying to the police truthfully. Telling them what she blackmailed Garry with. That he knew where his ex-wife lived. That she had seen him at the house.

  No. That would be a mistake. It would only make things worse.

  She pressed the accelerator, too hard of course, and the car jerked backwards, then swung out onto the road and headed to the highway.

  In the southbound lane, it was pedal to the metal all the way.

  Chapter 34

  While waiting at Bella Sposa, Cathy sat in a white leather tub chair, deep in thought. So Garry had arranged to pick up a parcel at the wedding. That didn’t seem like a problem, although it was a little odd. He didn’t want to tell her more, because it might jeopardize her safety. Cathy smiled. This sounded a lot like a television series, where the hero thinks he’s protecting the heroine by limiting her knowledge.

  She didn’t care. It was almost sweet, in an old-fashioned way. The main thing was, they were going to the wedding, where Garry would pick up a parcel that was important to him. After that, they would go abroad.

  Briefly, her mind skipped over the strangeness of collecting something at a wedding. The church was a public place, and a lot of people would be milling around. That was probably it. So the package could be from the mob, and Garry didn’t want to meet them in private, for obvious reasons. Safer in a crowd.

  “Here it is.” Ilonka, the middle-aged sales clerk at Bella Sposa held up the ice blue sheath that had been expertly shortened. “Will you try it on?

  Cathy shook her caramel head. “I’m sure it’s good. And my fiancé is waiting in the car.”

  “Perhaps, just to be sure?” The clerk had a voice like honey. “It won’t take long. I would hate for something to be wrong.”

  Cathy hesitated just a second. “Okay.” It was too much to resist. She followed the dress into the change room.

  Two minutes later, she was modelling the thing in front of a full length, three-way mirror.

  “That is truly gorgeous on you!” Ilonka clapped her hands together.

  Cathy smiled with delight. It was a perfect fit, nicely sliding over her breasts, skimming her hips, and the hem came just below her kn
ees. Sexy, but appropriate for her age. Luckily, her legs were still good.

  “Cathy?”

  She whipped her head around.

  “Gina! What a nice surprise.”

  Gina Monroe was always a fashion plate, but today she was dressed in head to toe, skin-clinging Prada. A vision in magenta. Cathy wanted to groan. Oh to be young and willowy again.

  “Is that the dress you’ll be wearing to the wedding? It’s stunning,” said Gina.

  Cathy beamed. “I kind of broke the bank.”

  “Well, it was worth it,” Gina said kindly. “That colour is beautiful with your hair. You look fabulous.”

  Cathy’s heart soared with happiness. She spun in the mirror like a young girl. “Are you here to pick up your wedding dress?”

  Gina shook her head. “I’ve had it for ages. Couldn’t resist trying it on every week at home. No, I’m picking up my matron of honour’s dress.”

  “Oh!” said Cathy, feeling impetuous. “Speaking of the wedding, would you mind if I brought a date to the reception?”

  Gina smiled. “Of course not. We expected you to.”

  Cathy breathed with relief. That had been easy! So much better to let everyone know things ahead of time, rather than surprise everyone. Garry didn’t understand about things like that.

  Another pleasant wave of excitement washed over her. She had a sudden idea.

  “Are you leaving now?” said Cathy. “Because he’s right outside in the car, waiting for me. I could introduce you.”

  “Sure,” said Gina, without hesitating. “I’ll just be in the front, waiting.”

  “I’ll change and be right out.”

  Cathy hurried through the motions. She stepped out from the changing room and handed the blue silk dress to Ilonka. Within seconds, the dress was placed onto a padded hanger and fitted into a garment bag, ready to go.

  Cathy folded the dress bag over her arm and made her thanks. She hurried to the front of the store, where Gina stood. She also had a bag over her arm, and was gazing at a glittering display of shoes. Silk pumps and sandals had been died to jewel colours to match the bridesmaid dresses.

  “Lovely things,” said Gina. “But I’m not crazy about having everything matchy matchy.”

  Cathy nodded her agreement. “I can’t wear those. Silk doesn’t give like leather.”

  They left the store, both smiling.

  It was a beautiful, sunny day in Toronto, the sort of day that made you glad you lived in Southern Ontario. The sky was vivid blue, a colour that you seldom saw in places like England or Vancouver. Would she miss it, Cathy wondered? Surely Rome would have blue skies. Wasn’t it inland?

  Cathy led the way to the parking lot. “Follow me,” she said. “He’s just around the back.”

  Bella Sposa fronted on a main street, with an alley out the back. Along the back of the building were several parking spots for employees and select customers who had been told they could park there, without paying. This meant something in Toronto, where parking easily topped twelve dollars an hour.

  The pavement was rough and breaking up in parts. Someone had tried to fill in the gaps with pea gravel. Hell on heels, and Cathy could see that Gina was having a hard time coping. It was tricky, sort of like walking on ancient uneven paving stones. Better get used to it, Cathy thought to herself. Italy would be just like this, and damned if she was going to wear pedestrian running shoes in the land of high fashion.

  It was easy to find him. There was no one else in the back lot, and no other car as expensive as this one.

  “Not far. He’s just over here.” Cathy pointed to a dark blue car parked a few spots away.

  She quickened her pace. A big smile split her face. She was just so excited and proud to be able to show her man to someone.

  Garry opened the driver's door. He stepped out and removed his sunglasses.

  His body made a huge, very masculine silhouette against the sun. From this angle, with the sun behind him, you couldn’t tell whether he was young or old. Cathy felt a faint stirring, the kind that had been dormant for years, but that had become more common in the last several days.

  Damn, she loved this man. Nothing was going to separate them now.

  She heard Gina gasp beside her. The dress bag dropped to the ground.

  Cathy’s head turned to her.

  Gina was staring at Garry’s Audi. Her eyes were like saucers.

  “But that’s the car,” she said.

  “What car?”

  “The dark blue car with a silvery quality and a missing hubcap.” Gina’s voice was thin and strained.

  “Gina, what are you talking about?”

  “The one Becki described. The one involved in the hit and run.”

  “What hit and run?” Cathy was bewildered.

  “In Black Currant Bay.” Gina raised her arm like a zombie and pointed. “It’s even got a dent in front where it hit the body.”

  For a moment everyone froze. Then Garry shot across the distance between them and put his big hand over Gina’s mouth. He wrapped his other arm around her body to prevent her struggling.

  “Get the back door open,” he said to Cathy.

  Cathy hesitated. What was Garry doing?

  “I’m not going to hurt her. We just need to talk,” said Garry.

  Now she acted. Cathy ran to the back door and swung it open. Garry manhandled Gina into the car, and then got in himself.

  “You drive,” he said to Cathy. “Keys are in the ignition.”

  Cathy pushed the back door shut. She fit herself into the front seat and threw her purse and the bag containing her blue silk dress on the passenger seat. Then she checked for child locks. There! She pressed the button so the car doors couldn’t be opened from the back seat.

  “Smart thinking, sweetheart,” Garry said. “Now drive us to the motel.”

  Cathy started the car and drove steadily out of the parking lot, into the back alley. Her mind was in a maelstrom. It was crazy, insane. But for some reason, Gina was a threat to Garry. And her instinct would always be to protect Garry.

  Neither of them gave a thought to Gina’s purse or the garment bag which lay forgotten on the broken pavement.

  Chapter 35

  It was a minute or two past 7:15 p.m. and Anna and Gord’s house seemed momentarily hush to Becki except for the ticking of the old-fashioned alarm clock on the guest bedroom night table. But at 7:30 Gina was due to burst in through the front door of the house and lead them all merrily to the church for the rehearsal.

  Becki had propped a pink and white quilted pillow against the head of the intricate wrought iron bed she’d been using while staying here. She leaned back comfortably against it and lay down her book to soak in the cozy charm because tonight would be her last night in this lovely room.

  Becki figured that Gina had inherited her fashion sense from her mother’s obvious décor savvy.

  Anna had travelled all over the world with her husband, and had brought back items that she fell in love with to decorate their home. What made her purchases different from those of typical tourists is that she had a gifted eye.

  She chose pieces that she could incorporate into her decorating scheme, where they would neither clash nor take over the overall design.

  The perfect example lay right here on the floor. The Persian rug—with its jewelled tones of fuchsia and sapphire and of course the graphic strength of black and white—was probably sent home from Iran.

  On the wall across from the bed, the framed painting with subtle washes of pastel and bold strokes of India ink that depicted a young woman wearing a kimono and carrying a fan was likely a beloved souvenir of a trip to Japan.

  These items had not become mere conversation pieces or reminders of happy times. They were necessary parts of the atmosphere of the home and they lived here in absolute harmony with the rest of the furnishings and objets d’art.

  The musical ringtone of Becki’s cellphone interrupted her characteristic design reverie. She had
talked to Karl earlier. They were of course going to meet tomorrow morning at the wedding so it wouldn’t be him calling again.

  Do I even have time to talk to anybody else before we all head out?

  Her heart beat a little faster.

  “Hello.”

  “Becki, is she there?” It was Tony.

  Tony knew the plan. Gina was on her way here and then they would drive to the church and meet him there. Just like on the big day. But Becki could tell from the urgency in his voice that he was alarmed for some reason. Normally wedding jitters were associated with the bride, weren’t they?

  “Gina’s not picking up, Becki,” Tony continued. “Has she got her cellphone turned off? Is she there with you?”

  Becki felt her heart thud in her chest.

  Damn it, I know this! Gina was berating herself for being so naive.

  The first rule with regard to attempted abduction is never let yourself be taken to a secondary location. Scream bloody murder and fight as if your life depends on it. Because it might.

  If no one notices you being snatched, who’s to call the cops?

  Even if your family and friends eventually report you missing, if you don’t make a ruckus at the site of your kidnapping, there may be no clues left behind at the scene with which to look for you.

  As a woman you’ve probably been raised not to make a huge commotion, so if a matter of life and death comes up, you’re not immediately prepared to stand up vigorously for yourself. Your instinct is to wait and see and maybe you’ll find a way to save yourself at the right time and place.

  Fact is, more than likely you’ll be taken to an even more isolated location where you will be even more vulnerable, and have even less opportunity for escape.

  Tony lectured me on this time and time again. In fact, that’s all he ever does is try to toughen me up.

  But it all happened so quickly.

  She was pinned down in the deep seat of the back of the car by the creep’s massive legs. Her arms had been yanked behind her and they remained resolutely in his grip. She was painfully twisted toward the window, and all she could see of her abductor were pleated trousers, a brief span of finely knitted socks and large, polished leather shoes.