Alibis and Amethysts

by Sharon Pape

  Jaye turned to Kyah. “Do you have any idea how long ago your grandmother saw this animal?”

  Kyah shook her head. “All we know is that she was a small child at the time. We don’t even know if she’s the one who drew this pictograph or if someone else did. Of course, that would mean at some point in the past another person saw the animal too.”

  There were so many questions popping into Jaye’s head she was having trouble choosing where to start. “Who discovered the drawing?” she asked, seizing upon one.

  “When I was fifteen,” Kyah said, “one of my friends had a license and an old, rusted-out pickup. Sometimes we’d ditch school and—”

  “Nice,” Daniel interrupted. “As I recall, you came down pretty hard on me when I did the exact same thing.”

  Kyah shrugged. “It’s a matter of wisdom. By the time I was raising you, I actually had some. Anyway,” she said, turning back to Jaye, “you’ve seen Tuba City. We couldn’t exactly hang out in town without getting caught. So we’d come here, play cards at the picnic tables, hike, even play a version of hide-and-seek. I was looking for a good place to hide when I found this place and the drawing.”

  “You didn’t tell your friends about it?”

  Kyah shook her head. “Doli Joe had already told me about the creature her mother had seen, and she’d sworn me to secrecy for the animal’s sake. She was afraid it would be hunted down.”

  “And you’ve never heard anyone else mention an animal like Raffles?” Jaye pursued.

  “Never.”

  “And no one’s ever seen the drawing?”

  “As far as I know, but then there’s no way to be sure.”

  Daniel rose from his knees and had to hunch over to keep his head from hitting the low ceiling. “Can we finish this conversation outside? I really need to stretch.”

  Kyah seemed glad to follow him out. “I loved this little hiding place when I was younger,” she said with a laugh, “a lot younger and a lot more flexible.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Jaye said, pulling the cell phone out of her pocket and snapping a quick photo of the pictograph before she joined them. When she walked outside, her eyelids immediately blinked shut against the sudden glare of sunlight.

  “Sorry, I forgot to warn you about that.” Shielding her eyes with her hand, Kyah looked up at the sky. “It’s well past noon,” she said, confirming the hour with a glance at her watch. “We’d better start back. The climb up takes longer, and you might need to rest along the way. Who am I kidding? I need to rest along the way.”

  ***

  Bryn was busy straightening up the main display case when Jaye returned from canyon climbing. “Welcome back,” Byn said, still focused on what she was doing. “It was really busy this morning. Oh, and before I forget . . .” She finally looked up at her boss and frowned. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Jaye replied, wondering why Bryn was studying her with so much concern. “Just a little tired.” Did she look all that bad? She grabbed the mirror off the countertop to see for herself. Wow, definitely not her best look. A good third of her ponytail had escaped its band and was hanging limply around her face. Sweat had etched wavy trails down her cheeks as it ran through the fine patina of dust and dirt that covered her. And her nose, not to be outdone, was a shiny red from too much sun and too little sunblock.

  “I see what you mean,” she said, laughing to assure Bryn she was indeed all right. “I’m afraid this is my outdoorsy look.” She made a mental note not to let prospective husbands take her on anything more strenuous than a stroll.

  Bryn’s expression said she still wasn’t convinced her boss was fine.

  “That’s what I get for letting Daniel take me on a hike,” Jaye added in a jaunty “everything’s A-OK” tone. It was the truth, although hardly the whole story, but since the subject of Raffles was still only “need to know,” she wasn’t about to elaborate. “Now, what was it you didn’t want to forget?” she asked, deftly changing the subject.

  “Oh, right.” Bryn shook her head as if to realign her thoughts. “I sold the last two Heart and Soul bracelets today. Did you order more of them?”

  “Yes, the links too. I paid for next day service so they should get here tomorrow.” The bracelets were selling out faster than they could stock them. As soon as Jaye had realized what a gold mine Bryn’s idea was, she’d started giving the girl a cut from each sale. Although the initial cost of the bracelet itself was low, the stainless steel version being even lower than the silver, the addition of the quartz and other stones ratcheted up the final price. Most tourists knew they wouldn’t be returning to Sedona anytime soon, so they purchased all of the stones they wanted at once. After all, where else would they find such an amazing assortment as well as someone who could give them detailed insight into each and every one? For those times when Jaye was out of the store, she’d given Bryn a chart with the information. But from time to time a customer would insist on dealing directly with the expert, and for those people Bryn was happy to schedule an appointment with Jaye.

  “Great,” Bryn said. “We can’t get them soon enough. During the lunch lull, I also made a list of the stones that we’re low on.”

  “What would I do without you?” Jaye restrained herself from giving Bryn a hug. In her post-canyon condition it wasn’t likely to be a pleasant experience for the girl.

  ***

  “You’ve got to try these garlic noodles,” Jaye said, offering the serving fork to Sierra.

  “No way. I’m going to burst,” Sierra groaned, collapsing dramatically against the padded back of the booth. She and Jaye were seated across from Daniel in a corner of their favorite Chinese restaurant in West Sedona. The three of them had started meeting at meal times to share information and strategize. The only other free time they had in common was the middle of the night, and they were already sleep-deprived. “Besides,” Sierra had remarked at the first of these meetings, “it makes me happy to be with my best buds.” In the face of a murder trial, that was reason enough.

  “I’ll take the noodles if you don’t want them,” Daniel said.

  Jaye pushed the dish across the table to join all the other serving dishes that had accumulated in a semicircle around his plate. “You’re like our very own trash compactor.”

  Sierra laughed. “Who says men are only good for one thing?”

  “Okay, back to business,” Jaye said before Daniel had a chance to come up with a snappy rebuttal. While waiting for dinner, they’d already filled Sierra in on their visit to Coal Mine Canyon, so Jaye wanted to finish up with the subject of the not-a-cat. “I think the next logical step is to have Raffles’s DNA tested.”

  “And I finally have a lead on a lab tech we can trust,” Daniel said, digging into the noodles as if he hadn’t already eaten his own meal and Sierra’s leftovers.

  “Do you know him?” Sierra asked.

  Daniel shook his head. “He’s a friend of a friend of one of my cousins.”

  “But how can we be sure he’s trustworthy?” Jaye didn’t like all those degrees of separation.

  They’d already been talking in hushed voices, but Daniel lowered his a few more notches. “He’s the best money can buy, if you know what I mean. So he’s got a reputation to protect.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that either.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Sierra said.

  Daniel polished off the noodles. “That’s the spirit! Now all we need is a sample from Raffles. A cheek swab will do. I already have the sterile swabs and the vial they have to go in. Unless you have a better plan, that is.” They both looked at Jaye.

  “Fine. I know when I’m outvoted,” she said, raising her hands in mock surrender.

  The waitress came by to ask if they wanted dessert, which they declined. Then the busboy appeared to clear the table. On
ce they were alone again, Sierra opened the discussion on the murder investigation by saying that she had nothing new to report.

  Daniel told them he’d stopped into Finnegan’s Saturday afternoon for a cold beer after his last tour group. “Quinn was tending bar and chatting with a local I see in there from time to time. After playing tour guide all day, I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. So I sat at the other end of the bar to drink my beer in peace. The TV was tuned to the Preakness prerace chatter—you know, the talking heads.” The women nodded. “Anyway I couldn’t help hearing Quinn with that booming voice of his. From what I caught, he had money riding on the outcome. Ten large, to quote him.”

  “Is that ten grand?” Jaye asked.

  “Sure is.”

  Sierra shrugged. “That’s probably pocket money to him. The restaurant’s always been a gold mine.”

  “My thought too, but I figured I should pass the info along anyway.”

  Jaye sighed. “Even if he has a gambling problem, I don’t see what it has to do with Peggy.”

  “Maybe she was his bookie,” Sierra suggested, buying them all a round of much-needed laughter. After it faded, she said, “We ought to follow up on it though. We can’t afford to overlook anything.”

  Jaye volunteered. “I can try speaking to Quinn’s wife, Luisa.”

  “Sounds good,” Sierra said. “If there’s nothing else, I guess we’re done.”

  “Well, there is one thing,” Jaye said. “I had an interesting phone call last night.” She’d wanted to follow up on it herself without involving them. In fact, she’d debated that possibility all day, but she kept coming up with the same answer. If she didn’t tell them ahead of time, they might just kill her after the fact.

  Daniel raised one dark eyebrow, which produced an expression that was both curious and skeptical. “Don’t tell me—the killer called and confessed.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “I don’t think we have time for Twenty Questions,” Sierra said as if she thought that was a real possibility. “I still have to stop for Frosty before Dee locks up for the night and keeps him there. The last time that happened, he gave me the cold shoulder for a week.”

  Jaye took a deep breath to bolster herself for a potential battle. “It was Adam Grayson.”

  Chapter 24

  The discussion was short and not particularly sweet. Jaye knew her friends were just trying to protect her, but she was sure they were passing up an important opportunity to learn more about the man Peggy had intended to blackmail. Another date with him, just one more . . . They couldn’t be swayed. In the end, she caved—sort of. They wanted her to make it clear to Adam she wasn’t going out with him again. But when she had him on the phone that wasn’t quite what she did. Instead she claimed she wasn’t over the breakup with her fiancé back East, and she didn’t want to embark on a relationship with Adam when it would be nothing more than a rebound, doomed from the start. Adam refused to be put off that easily and swore he was up to whatever challenges she presented. He even questioned how she could still be pining for her fiancé after six months. He started getting downright pushy about it. Big mistake. Jaye pushed right back. “You need to let it go for now,” she said firmly, then added with a seductive undertone, “I promise you’ll be the first one to know when I’m ready to move on.” With all due respect to her two partners, until the case was solved, she wasn’t shutting any doors.

  ***

  Jaye set an opened can of tuna on the kitchen counter along with the sterile vial and swabs Daniel had given her. She’d waited for dinnertime to try to take Raffles’s DNA sample, reasoning that the animal would be less energetic at day’s end and less likely to put up a fight. The trouble with that logic was that she herself was also more tired after a busy day in the shop. Sierra had volunteered to help, but Jaye suspected Raffles would feel as if they were ganging up on her.

  Smelling tuna, the not-a-cat appeared in the kitchen doorway. She was standing up on her hind legs to better locate her dinner, licking her lips with anticipation. Swab in hand, Jaye casually approached her. “What a sweet girl you are,” she cooed, “what a good baby.”

  Raffles was regarding her warily, apparently sensing in her demeanor that something different was afoot. She swiveled her not-a-cat ears as if she were trying to gain a better perspective on Jaye’s intent.

  When Jaye was close enough to try for the sample, it occurred to her that she hadn’t figured out how to make Raffles open her mouth. If she’d been a normal pet, Jaye wouldn’t have hesitated to simply hold her mouth open and swab inside her cheek. No big deal. But on more than one occasion she’d seen the fine set of pointed teeth in Raffles’s mouth and had actually once experienced just how sharp they were when they’d both gone for a piece of cheese that had fallen on the floor. For that matter, the nails on her nearly human hands looked pretty lethal themselves.

  She tried opening her own mouth in the hope that Raffles would mimic her. No dice. Jaye knew that if she didn’t act soon, the moment would be lost. She started to stroke the underside of Raffles’s chin, an action that had been well received in the past. From there she reached up slowly—so far, so good—and gently pulled the side of Raffles’s mouth open just enough to insert the swab. For a split second, Raffles actually opened her mouth, only to clamp her jaw down again so hard and fast that Jaye was barely able to pull her fingers out of harm’s way. The swab didn’t fare as well. The not-a-cat’s teeth severed it instantly. She spit out the offending cotton tip with an expression of disdain and, worse, distrust. After that, she wouldn’t let Jaye come near her.

  Unfortunately, Jaye could be just as determined and stubborn as Raffles. She spent the next twenty minutes chasing the animal around the apartment, like Sylvester trying to catch Tweety Bird. Although Raffles had always been lithe enough not to break any of Jaye’s knickknacks, the cheek swab was apparently a deal breaker. She leapt from shelf to shelf, from dresser top to windowsill, from curtain rod to hanging lamp with total disregard for Jaye’s property. A glass bud vase, two ceramic frogs and a small potted plant were among the casualties Raffles left in her wake as she tried to outmaneuver her roomie. In order to salvage the few breakables that were not yet broken, Jaye finally conceded defeat. Since she didn’t have a white flag or an olive branch, she popped the tuna out of the can and set it on a plate on the floor. Then she went downstairs to the shop so the not-a-cat would feel safe enough to eat in peace.

  Jaye was still in the shop when the Hinklemeyer twins rapped on the glass door. The sign hanging on the door had been turned to “Closed,” and Jaye wasn’t in the mood for company after going twenty rounds with Raffles. But she couldn’t very well ignore the women now that they’d seen her in there. Stifling a sigh of resignation, she turned off the alarm system, plastered a smile on her face and opened the door. Edith and Esther stepped inside after a brief game of “After you,” “No, after you.”

  “Hi, ladies. Good to see you,” Jaye said. The sisters were dressed in identical aqua blue warm-up suits with rhinestones sprinkled liberally across the yokes of the jackets. At first glance they looked a bit off-kilter, but Jaye quickly realized it was because they were each wearing just one pearl earring, the left one. She didn’t know if it was a fashion statement or they’d both managed to lose their right earrings.

  “Hello, dear,” they said in unison.

  “I told you she’d let us in,” Edith added with a triumphant lift of her chin.

  “I never said she wouldn’t,” Esther came back. “I said I didn’t think we should impose on her after hours.”

  “You’re looking very lovely tonight,” Jaye told them in hopes of short-circuiting their debate. The sisters were clearly pleased by the compliment. They responded with broad smiles, Esther’s bracketed by impish dimples, one of the differences the sisters hadn’t been able to vanquish in their war on individuality. “Bu
t are you aware you’re each missing an earring?”

  Edith’s smile withered. “We know,” she replied dismally.

  “She lost her right one,” Esther explained with a sigh.

  “It’s not as if I did it on purpose,” Edith bristled. “I put them in my jewelry box, and this morning the right one was gone and there was a domino in its place.”

  “Are you saying a thief broke in during the night to steal one earring and leave you a domino?” Esther demanded.

  “I don’t know what happened. But it’s not like you haven’t lost plenty of things over the years too.”

  Jaye had never heard the sisters fight before. She felt awful for having brought up the subject and even worse because she couldn’t end the hostilities by telling them the thief had to be Raffles. “What can I do for you ladies this evening?” she asked brightly. Maybe refocusing them on the reason for their visit would help.

  “Well,” Esther said, apparently willing to move on, “we believe we have some information that might be helpful in your investigation.”

  “When lunchtime rolled around today, we just couldn’t face another boring sandwich, so we took ourselves over to Scooper Doopers for hot fudge sundaes instead,” Edith said, her cheeks pinking up as if she were confessing to some shameful indiscretion.

  “At our age, we should be able to do as we please,” Esther added supportively, “even if that means donuts for breakfast and ice cream for lunch.”

  “And pizza for dinner.” Edith said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Jaye agreed, wishing they’d get to the punch line.

  “There we were, innocently enjoying our sundaes, when who sits down at the next table but Detective Brock and that partner of his.”

  “Detective Anastos,” Edith supplied.

  “The tables in there are jammed so close together we couldn’t help but overhear what they were talking about.”