Jonelle had barely opened the door to the office when Rainey called out to her. “Jonelle Sweet. Why the heck aren’t you answering your phone? I’ve been trying to reach you for the past hour.”
“Sorry. Sorry,” she said, holding up both hands as if warding off a blow. “I turned it off because I had to conduct some interviews. Is there an emergency? Is everyone okay?”
Rainey visibly relaxed. “Yes. Everyone’s fine. It’s been a stressful day and that client of yours, Mrs. Piedmont, is one reason I’m about ready to pull my hair out. I thought you closed that case.”
“What’s happened? Do I need to go over there?” Jonelle’s heart raced.
“She’s called at least five times. She sounded so upset, I told her I’d get the police over there, but that just upset her more. Said she needed you, and only you, to go over to her place. You may want to call and tell her you’re on the way.”
Jonelle started down the hall to her office, stopped and came back. “I think I’d better just head out there.”
Rainey nodded. “Tell you the truth, hon, that ole lady made my ears hurt.”
Jonelle dashed out of the office, ran down the back stairs and out to her Jeep. Thirty minutes later she pulled in front of Sally’s house. She saw her client sitting on the porch, rocking back and forth.
“My God, Sally. What’s the matter? Rainey said you sounded frantic.”
Sally stopped and looked up at Jonelle. “More jewelry’s gone,” she muttered.
“What? What are you saying? Do you mean the items I just found?” Jonelle sat down on the step.
“Yes,” Sally said. “ And… do you want to come inside?”
“In a minute. Tell me what happened.”
“Well, I kept a few good pieces, in case I went out with someone to someplace special. But then I got nervous and thought maybe I better put them away also. Anyway, Hugh came over and we had such a nice tea that it slipped my mind that I needed to go to the bank, until this morning. When I looked in the jewelry box, not only were the pin and necklace gone again, but also my sapphire and diamond earrings and matching bracelet. I tried calling you on your phone, but it kept going to messaging. So, I called your office. Several times. I’m afraid I upset that nice receptionist.”
“Don’t worry about Rainey,” Jonelle said. She was more concerned about Hugh being in Sally’s house.
Jonelle stood on shaky legs. She’d have to go back up to the attic and look for the jewelry. A quick glance across the street proved Hugh was not at his window. “Let’s go inside,” she said.
Once in the house, Sally took the chair and Jonelle sat on the sofa. While Sally seemed worried, she didn’t look all that upset. “Tell me, Sally. What do you think is going on?”
“Well,” Sally began. “I know you don’t believe it, but I still think Percy’s playing games with me. We didn’t get along those last few years. And I’ve been seeing him again.”
Jonelle left the couch and walked over to the window. She stared at the house across the street. After a few moments, she turned around and faced Sally.
“When did you see Percy?” she asked.
“Last night. I’d gone to sleep same as always. Not sure what time it was, but I woke up because I thought I heard something. I was a little woozy. Not sure why, but it happens from time to time. Anyway, when I turned over, I saw Percy looking through my jewelry box. I tried to say something, but I couldn’t get the words out. Then everything went black. When I woke up this morning, I checked and the jewelry was gone.”
“Isn’t it possible you saw Percy in a dream?”
Sally looked down at her lap. “I guess. But I didn’t dream my jewelry is missing.” Sally stroked the arm of her chair. “Maybe William is right,” she said. “Maybe this place is getting to be too much for me. Too many memories. Not even my brand new locks can keep Percy away.”
Jonelle didn’t believe in ghosts. Someone was upsetting Sally.
“Tell me about your day yesterday. Don’t leave anything out, no matter how unimportant it may seem.”
“Well,” Sally began, “it’s kind of boring.”
“Not to me,” Jonelle replied.
Sally took a deep breath and explained to Jonelle that she woke up at the same time, had the same breakfast she always ate—one hardboiled egg, toast with orange marmalade, coffee with milk one sugar—and then did a little dusting. “Old houses like this trap the dust, you know.” Next, she went outside and worked in her garden for a while.
“My next door neighbor, Irene, is having problems with her roses. I’m a pretty good gardener, so I went over and we discussed what she should do.” Sally paused. “William called. We talked for a few minutes. It was pleasant. For once, we didn’t argue.”
“What did William want?”
Sally shrugged. “He said he just called to check up on me. He wanted to see how I was doing. I told him I was fine. I didn’t mention the new locks, though.” She frowned. “I’m not sure why I didn’t.”
Jonelle wondered about William’s call. If her mother was Sally’s age, and they lived in the same city, she would make it a habit to stop by to check up on her, not just call her on the phone. Maybe that was more of a daughter thing.
“Okay. So William called. What happened next?”
“I fixed a little lunch and then sat down and watched a few of my shows. I watch too much television, but I really enjoy those judge programs. You wouldn’t believe what people do to each other. Well, maybe you do.”
Relieved that Sally seemed more comfortable, Jonelle told her to continue recounting her day.
“After the last show went off, I got up to start putting things together for tea. I knew Hugh was coming over. I had just gone into the kitchen when someone knocked on the door. It was Hugh and he was early.”
That peaked Jonelle’s interest. “What reason did he give you for coming over earlier than usual?”
Sally smiled. “He had a surprise for me. He brought over his lovely teapot with the matching cups, and fresh pastries. I didn’t have to do a thing. He’s such a gentleman.”
“Seems like if he wanted to do everything, it would’ve been much easier for you to go over there. Instead of him carrying all that stuff over here.”
A soft smile lingered on Sally’s face. “Maybe. But he didn’t want me crossing the road. He’s so thoughtful. Besides,” Sally added, “only the pastries and teapot were different from what we usually do. Hugh always made the tea. He has a special blend, plus he doesn’t like the way we Americans make it.”
Jeeze. Sally’s smitten with the man. “Okay, was there anything else out of the ordinary?”
“No.” Sally still had a faraway look in her eyes.
Jonelle needed to bring Sally out of “Hugh zone” and back to reality. “If you don’t mind my asking, what do you two talk about during your tea time?”
“Oh, you know. This and that.”
That wasn’t the answer Jonelle was looking for, so she pressed further. “How about explaining a little bit of this and a little bit of that.”
Sally giggled. “Well, we often talk about how hard it is for us old folks these days. Everything costs so much. Poor Hugh. Even though it’s just him, he wants to buy a bigger place, but he can’t afford it. Every now and then we’ll talk about gardens. Even though he doesn’t have much of one, he gives me good advice on mine.” Sally stared off in the distance. Her hands played with the doily on the chair’s armrest. “Sometimes, we talk about our families, but not much. He knows about Vera and he’s met William several times.”
“Now that’s interesting,” Jonelle said, more to herself than Sally.
“What’s that, dear?”
“Just thinking out loud. You know, I’ve never asked you what Percy looked like.” Jonelle surveyed the room. Next to a large schefflera plant in a blue ceramic pot, there were some photographs on a side table next to the couch. She went over and picked one up. It was an old black and white photo of two adults and
two children, a boy and a girl standing stiffly in front of a vintage automobile.
“That’s me, Percy, William and Vera. William was ten and Vera was eight,” Sally said.
Jonelle examined the picture. She could see the family resemblance between William and his father. And also something else.
“I bet I know what you’re thinking,” Sally said.
“What’s that?” Jonelle glanced over at Sally.
“You’re thinking that Hugh looks an awful lot like Percy. Except Percy kept that thick head of hair until the day he died.”
Jonelle had kept her eyes on Sally when those words were said, and almost dropped the picture. “Oops,” she said, catching it before it fell. She bumped into the large plant and was ready to apologize when something shiny caught her eye. She pushed aside the lower leaves and stared down into the container.
Nestled on top of the dirt was the missing jewelry, everything reflecting off the sunlight streaming through the window.
CHAPTER 18
Forty-five minutes after finding the jewelry, Jonelle headed back to the office. She had convinced Sally to let her keep the items at the agency until she could take the elderly woman to the bank.
Sally had brushed off Jonelle’s suggestion she stay with her friend Irene.
“Nonsense,” she’d said.
Jonelle was worried Sally didn’t seem distressed that her jewelry was someone’s idea of expensive plant food. “Maybe they just slipped out of my pocket and landed in there,” Sally had said.
“A whole bunch of maybes,” Jonelle said to herself as she settled into her chair at work. She stared at her computer screen. Technically, Sally’s case was closed, yet Jonelle couldn’t end her involvement as long as things kept moving about. In spite of the woman’s advanced age, Jonelle couldn’t shake the feeling that someone other than Sally was playing hide and seek with the jewelry.
“How’s it going?”
Jonelle jumped at the sound of her uncle’s voice.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Marvin walked into her office and squeezed himself into the one guest chair.
He looked around as if seeing the office for the first time. “It really is cramped in here. You doing okay? Claustrophobia wise?”
“I think I must be getting used to it,” she answered. “I can sit here for a whole hour before I start to feel the walls closing in.” That last statement made her think of the episode in Sally’s attic.
“Tell me something,” Jonelle said. “Have you ever had an assignment where you have a feeling there is more going on underneath the surface, than the facts of the actual case attest to?”
Marvin tented his hands under his chin before he responded. “Is this about the missing jewelry or the missing transgender?”
“I’ve found the missing jewelry. Twice. And discovered more pieces where they weren’t supposed to be,” she said. “The first time was last Saturday when Adrienne and I went to Sally’s to search her closet and the attic. I already told you about that.
“I realize now that my thinking the floor was shifting and the furniture moving around was probably just my claustrophobia. To tell you the truth, I’m not so sure that the shadows I saw move and the scraping noises I heard were mice.” There. She’d said it. “Also,” she added, before Marvin could interject, “there’s still the issue of the mark on Adrienne’s arm.” She sighed. “I’m not sure where to go from here.”
Marvin slid his chair back and bumped into the small wooden bookcase, positioned against the wall. “I’ll call the contractors to see if they can give an ETA on the expansion.”
Jonelle waited.
“You know I’m a logical man,” he said.
She nodded.
“You also know that I keep an open mind. I’ve always trusted your judgment; that’s why you’re working here. Relative or not, you’re in this agency because I know you can do the job.”
Marvin stood to leave. “This is what I recommend you do. Don’t end your involvement in this assignment until you’re satisfied in your own mind that you’ve resolved all your client’s issues. Ask her if she wants you to reopen the case. We don’t want the agency to charge Mrs. Piedmont beyond what she contracted us to do. So technically since some of the items went missing again, you could say you closed the case too soon. But,” he added when he noticed the smile on Jonelle’s face, “if I need you on another job, Mrs. Piedmont’s other, uh, issues, take the back burner. How does that sound?”
Jonelle stood up so fast, she banged her knee against the desk. She ignored the pain as she reached across and hugged her uncle.
“Hey, watch it. This is a place of business,” he said, holding her tight.
“You’re the best,” she said, releasing him.
“Yes, I think I am,” he said, straightening his tie. “Not to mention, modest as well.”
He stopped outside her door. “You know, one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s is placing familiar objects in unusual places. Just keep that in mind.”
Jonelle nodded. She understood what her uncle said. To her, the elderly woman still had a sharp mind. Aware of the enormous leeway Marvin just gave her to continue on with Sally’s case, Jonelle vowed to get to the bottom of whatever was going on in that house as quickly as possible.
With one less worry behind her, Jonelle checked her calendar and decided she’d stop by the theater. There was this business of a half hour discrepancy between Peter’s version of that day LucieBlu ran off, and what Kendra told her.
***
Pleased to see all the cars in the lot, Jonelle tried to enter through the front, and found the door locked. “Damn,” she said. She dug out her phone and called Sherman. He answered on the fourth ring.
“Hi, Sherman. It’s Jonelle Sweet. I’m at the front door, but it’s locked. I just have a few more questions to ask Peter.” She detected a slight annoyance in his voice as he agreed to let her in.
“Sorry to bother you,” she said, as he opened the door and she entered the lobby. “I probably should’ve called to let you know I was coming.”
Sherman waved her apology aside and indicated the stage area.
“Tell you the truth, we could use a short break.” He looked back at Jonelle, who had to quicken her steps in order to catch up.
“Things aren’t going well today?” she asked.
He stopped and she nearly collided into him.
“That’s putting it mildly. Kendra can’t handle the solos, which is a damn shame because she has the right look. One of the three backup singers has a stronger voice, and I thought about switching them, but turns out she can’t really act that well. And Peter is being… well, Peter’s made his feelings known that he’s unhappy with his leading lady’s performance.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Don’t know. I need time to think,” he said, taking out a large white handkerchief and mopping his face.
Sherman led Jonelle down the aisle toward the stage where Peter and Kendra stood side by side. Even from a distance, Jonelle picked up anger on Peter’s face and fear on Kendra’s.
“Listen up, everybody,” Sherman yelled. “Let’s take a twenty minute break while I figure out what the hell I’m gonna do. Ms. Sweet needs a few more questions answered.” Without waiting for anyone’s comment, he turned around and left Jonelle standing there.
It took a moment for Jonelle to grasp that Sherman was giving her carte blanche. Everyone stared at her. “Um, Peter. I’d like to clear up a few things.”
He didn’t move, the scowl still planted on his face.
“Okay, then,” Jonelle said. “I’ll just come on up to the stage and ask you my questions. For all to see and hear.” She started toward the stage.
“Just hold on,” he said, stomping down the side stairs. He sauntered up the aisle and selected a chair near the back.
Jonelle kept one seat in between them as she sat down.
“When I was here before, you told me when LucieB
lu ran out, you followed her. You said you were gone a few minutes. Yet, others are telling me they didn’t see you for about a half hour.”
He slouched sideways and crossed his arms. “Whoever claimed I was gone longer, well, they must’ve made a mistake.” His mouth twisted into a lopsided grin.
“Or, you made the so-called ‘mistake’. See, the person who told me this had no reason to stretch the truth. There were others here that day that I haven’t interviewed yet. What do you bet their recollections about how long you were gone are closer to thirty than five?”
Jonelle draped her arm across the back of her seat. “Why the attitude, Peter? I’m just trying to find out what happened to LucieBlu. If, God forbid, this turns into more than just a missing persons case and I have to get the police involved, they’re not going to be as nice to you as I am.”
Jonelle waited while Peter decided what to do. She glanced at the stage and noticed everyone had stopped what they were doing. Quiet hung over the theater like dark clouds preceding a storm and she was afraid they could hear every word she and Peter said. Peter must have thought the same thing, because he lowered his voice.
“All right,” he said, sitting up straight, his voice barely above a whisper. “Let’s keep this as quiet as possible. I did run after her. I was shocked at the way she responded. I wanted her to know that while I still considered her a friend, there was no way I could allow myself to get physical with her. I mean, there are kissing scenes in this play. That amount of contact, no matter how innocent, could ruin my career.”
“What did she say to that?”
“She went on and on about how a true friend would think of others before thinking of themselves.” Peter shrugged. “I told her friendship doesn’t pay the bills. In this business it’s not just talent that counts. It’s the whole package.”
Glad she wasn’t in a profession where you had to put your morals on the back burner, Jonelle still felt Peter’s reluctance at telling everything he knew. “That didn’t take thirty minutes. What else happened?”
Gone Missing: A Jonelle Sweet Mystery Book 2 Page 11