by S F Bose
“Given the fire, I’m surprised he didn’t rebuild it with brick,” Josh said.
I looked at him and smiled. “My dad said the same thing. We think they just didn’t have the bricklaying expertise. But any farmer back then could build a house or barn if he had the wood, other materials, and some able-bodied men to help,” I replied. Josh nodded.
“Why did he want such a big house?” Megan asked.
“We don’t know for sure. Three-story, Victorian farmhouses with double gables, bay windows, and red clapboard siding were unusual in this area back then. We have some of Moira’s old diaries, but she never said why he wanted such a big house. One thought is that they wanted room for visiting family members and friends,” I replied.
“It could have been ego,” Josh said quietly and my eyes cut to him. He saw my look and added quickly, “Not in a bad way. But you know how some people like to have the biggest and best of everything just because they can? Maybe Connall was like that.”
I thought about that. Josh’s face was mottled red and he looked down at the wooden tabletop. “It’s possible,” I agreed. “Thanks. That’s a good observation I hadn’t thought of.”
Josh glanced up and gave me a shy smile. Susan reached over and patted his hand.
“Thanks, that’s really interesting. I love big, old houses,” Megan said. I noticed that she glanced at Susan. Susan watched Josh with a faint smile on her lips. Josh fingered the battleship game piece in front of him. Tony just looked at the table. What’s up with this family, I wondered.
I cleared my throat. “Can I get you coffee or anything?” I asked.
“No, thanks. We’ll play a little more and call it a night,” Tony replied, and his wife looked relieved. I waved and headed back to the kitchen.
At the door, I looked back at the dining room and everything seemed calm and in order. Little did I know that this was the calm before the storm.
Chapter 2
An hour later, I was talking to Nana Anna as she rolled out some dough on the large center island. Grandma and Grace talked at the farmhouse table at the back of the kitchen. Tillie Green was organizing the pantry and Millie Todd had gone to straighten up the big parlor.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. We had two sets of swinging doors that connected the kitchen to the dining room. Normally, we served through the doors on the right and returned through the doors on the left. Now I saw the doors to the right move. A tentative voice said, “Hello?” and Marie Wescott pushed into the kitchen. She had a black tote bag over her shoulder and clutched the strap with her right hand so hard that her knuckles were white.
“Mrs. Wescott, can I help you?” I asked. Nana Anna turned and smiled as Marie Wescott entered the kitchen.
“Please, call me Marie,” she replied and hurried over to us.
“Marie,” I replied.
“I have a problem,” she said when she reached us. She looked back at the door and I felt a frisson of worry.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
Marie lowered her voice. “My ruby ring is gone.” Her voice cracked, and tears came to her hazel eyes. “I think I’ve lost it.”
“Oh no!” I said. I had admired the ruby and diamond ring when she and Ray checked in on Monday.
“You lost it?” Nana repeated, and Marie nodded.
“Where was it the last time you had it?” I asked. I glanced back across the room to Grandma Addie and Grace. When I quirked an eyebrow, both stood and crossed the kitchen toward us.
“I wore it at dinner tonight and then when we played cards,” Marie replied. Her voice sounded shaky. “I looked in our room. Then I checked the dining room table where we played cards. I searched the floor too and I couldn’t find it anywhere.”
“What’s wrong?” Grandma Addie asked.
“Marie’s ruby ring has gone missing,” I said.
“Really? Come sit down,” Addie said and led us back to the farmhouse table.
Max and Bella trotted forward hopefully but Nana Anna intercepted them. She opened the inside back kitchen door and the two dogs ran into the west hallway. Nana Anna returned to the kitchen smiling.
“Would you like some tea or coffee?” Grace asked Marie. When Marie shook her head, Grace sat next to me. Marie sat across from me and Nana Anna sat across from Grace. Grandma Addie sat at the head of the table to my right.
“Marie, start from the beginning. Walk us through when you last had the ring and when you realized it was missing,” Grandma Addie said.
Marie took a deep breath and ran a hand through her wavy gray hair. “All right. I’m sorry I’m so rattled. Ray gave me that ring on our last anniversary. He spent much more than he should have but he wanted me to have something special. Now I’ve lost it.”
“Take your time,” Nana Anna said gently.
Marie licked her lips and clasped her hands together like she was praying. “Okay, I had the ring when we ate dinner tonight. Then Dante and Shelly asked us if we wanted to play cards, so we moved to a bigger table. I chatted with their little girls for a bit. Then we started playing poker. I guess my skin was dry because both my wedding ring and the ruby anniversary ring felt loose. But the ruby ring was worse. I mentioned it to Ray and he said he could get it resized when we got home. I told him my skin was just dry and it would be fine tomorrow. Shelly mentioned that her wedding band felt loose too.”
“Do you wear the ruby ring on the same finger as your wedding band?” Grace asked.
Marie shook her head. “No. I wear it on my right ring finger.”
“What happened next?” I asked.
“After the first game ended, I took the ruby ring off. It was so loose I was afraid it would slide right off my finger. My handbag was on the floor to the left of my chair. I reached down and put the ring in one of the outer pockets. But when Ray and I went upstairs to our room, the ring wasn’t there.”
“You’re sure?” I asked. “Can we maybe empty your purse again to be sure?”
Marie’s eyes brightened and she looked hopeful. “Of course. Maybe I missed it.” She grabbed her handbag and took everything out of the two exterior slip pockets. A comb, small mirror, facial tissues, some change, and a folded B&B brochure sat on the table.
“Could the ring be in the main part of your purse?” asked Grace.
Marie looked doubtful but unsnapped the tote and looked inside. She pulled out her wallet, keys, a change purse, a small notepad, pen, lipstick, more facial tissue, hard candy, Kindle E-reader, and a tube of makeup. Frustrated, she turned the tote bag upside down and shook it. Some coins fell out, but no ring.
“May I?” I asked, reaching for the bag.
Marie readily handed it over. I ran my hand slowly through the two outer pockets and then inside the purse. There was a center pocket with a zipper. “Is it okay if I open this?” I asked, and Marie nodded. When I unzipped the pocket, it was empty. There was another zipper pocket in the back of the bag. I raised my eyebrows at Marie and she nodded again. That pocket contained her checkbook.
I looked at the interior of the purse and the two outer pockets one more time. “No, the ring isn’t in the bag,” I said, and Addie pursed her lips. I leaned forward and looked at some of the items on the table. I checked the facial tissue, opened the B&B brochure, and shook the small notebook. I even opened the Kindle E-reader to see if the ring had lodged inside the covers. Nothing. I shook my head.
Marie grabbed some tissue, dabbed at her eyes, and then put everything back into her tote bag.
“So you and your husband have looked in your room and in the dining room?” asked Grace.
“Oh, my husband doesn’t know the ring is missing,” Marie replied, working the tissue nervously in her hands.
“What?” Grace and I asked in chorus. Marie jumped and sat back in her chair, staring at us.
Nana Anna directed a stern look at both Grace and me. “Why haven’t you told your husband, dear?” she asked Marie.
Marie’s eyebrows arched
down into a frown. “Because I don’t want him to know I lost the ring. Then we’d both feel terrible. I’m hoping it will show up and I won’t ever have to tell him.”
“Won’t he notice you’re not wearing it?” I asked.
“Well if I can’t find the ring tonight, I’m going to put a Band-Aid on my right ring finger tomorrow and tell him I got a paper cut or something. Then I’ll keep looking.” Marie’s hazel eyes glistened with tears again.
I nodded. As plans went, it wasn’t a bad one.
“Okay, we know you had the ring when you were playing cards. Are you sure you put it in one of the outer pockets of your purse?” I asked.
Frowning, Marie rubbed her eyes with both hands. “Shelly and I were talking. I remember glancing down at my purse. Then Shelly said something and I looked back at her. I reached down with the ring in my left hand while I was listening to Shelly. She said something interesting about the body reducing the flow of blood to our fingers and toes when we’re cold. Our fingers and toes shrink a little, so rings can feel looser. It was a very interesting explanation. But I remember thinking that I didn’t feel cold; there was a nice fire going in the fireplace. So her explanation, while educational, didn’t really fit.”
“Then you didn’t look as you put the ring in your purse?” I pressed.
“No, I was listening to Shelly. I wasn’t looking at my purse when I dropped the ring into the outer pocket. I just touched the leather, felt for one of the pockets, and dropped the ring in. I did it by feel.”
“This is an expensive ring?” Grandma Addie asked.
“Yes. It’s what they call an eternity or anniversary ring. It’s a white gold band with alternating square rubies and diamonds in a channel setting. It sounds flashy but it isn’t. The stones are small and tasteful.”
Addie spoke slowly and quietly. “Since the ring was expensive, may I ask why didn’t you put it inside your purse and zip it closed? I’m not being at all critical. I just want to understand what happened and why.”
Marie sighed and looked at Grandma Addie. “I don’t know why I didn’t do that. I should have put the ring inside the purse and zipped it up, but I was distracted by Shelly and our conversation.”
Marie looked so miserable that Nana Anna patted her hand.
I had a sudden thought. “Did you check the pockets of your clothes? Just in case?”
Marie looked down at herself. She wore a gray turtleneck sweater with blue jeans. Then she looked across at me doubtfully.
“I know it’s a long shot,” I said.
Marie stood and checked the pockets of her jeans. Shaking her head, she sat down again.
“Liz, would you please check the table they were using for the card game? Look on the floor and around nearby tables,” Grandma Addie said.
“You bet.” I got up and gave Marie a reassuring smile.
***
I went out the back kitchen door, turned left, went through the access door, and followed the corridor to the main hallway. Passing through the open doors into the dining room, I stopped and scanned the room. Thank goodness, it was empty. I was relieved that the B&B guests were elsewhere in the big house because I didn’t want to explain what I was looking for.
I exhaled and walked over to the table the Wescotts and Cloutiers had used to play cards. Somebody had killed the fire in the fireplace and the room felt chilly. While most of our tables rested directly on the wide-plank wooden floor, this one sat on an area rug. It was one of Grace’s experiments to make the B&B even cozier. This particular rug was beige with a red, gray, and muted green floral design. It looked pretty.
I slowly circled the table. First, I examined all the chairs and moved them out of the way. Then I went through the poker chip caddy sitting on the table and didn’t find a thing. Dropping to the floor, I inspected the entire area rug and around the legs of the table. I even moved the table and looked under the rug but couldn’t find the ring. I searched the neighboring tables in the same way. Disappointed, I returned the table and chairs to their original spots.
Chapter 3
I pushed through the set of swinging doors Marie had used and walked toward the back of the kitchen. Four sets of eyes locked on me. When I got close enough I looked at Addie and shook my head.
“No luck,” I said. Marie looked crestfallen.
“Should we call the police?” I asked, sitting down next to Grace.
“No!” Marie and Addie said in unison. They looked at each other in surprise.
“What’s your reason?” asked Grandma Addie.
Marie rubbed the tabletop with her right hand. Then she looked up. “Like I said before, I don’t want Ray to know the ring is gone. Can’t we search for the ring ourselves first? It might have fallen out of my purse somewhere. If we call the police now, they’ll want to talk to Ray and the cat will be out of the bag.”
Addie nodded. “I’m of the same mind. I want to find the ring without the help of the police too. It’s too early to bring them in.” Nana Anna and Grace both nodded their heads.
“But if Marie doesn’t have the ring and it’s not in the dining room or their guest room, where could it be?” I asked.
After a pause, Marie’s eyes widened and she looked at me with her mouth open.
“What?” I asked.
Marie said quietly, “Somebody could have stolen my ring.”
“Who?” Grace asked, her eyebrows darting up in surprise. We all looked at Marie.
“Okay, I have no proof. But that young Josh DeMarco came over to our table after he and his family ended the game they were playing.”
“Monopoly,” I said.
Marie looked at me, shrugged, and continued, “We had just ended the second poker game and were taking a break. Josh stood right next to me and chatted a little with Dante and then with Ray. He was nervous as usual but when he talked about sports, he seemed to relax.”
“Had he chatted with you before?” I asked.
“No. Never. I only saw him talk when he was with his family. He wasn’t very…sociable,” Marie replied.
“He hasn’t been much of a mingler,” I agreed.
“It got even stranger. Ray said he was tired and asked if Josh wanted to sit in for the next game. Ray knows I like to play poker and he didn’t want the evening to end on his account. Josh accepted and sat down to play with us. Ray went back upstairs to our room.”
“Was Josh still relaxed?” Grace asked.
Marie dabbed at her eyes with tissue and shook her head. “No, once Josh sat down he was definitely not relaxed. He got nervous again. He didn’t make much eye contact and hardly spoke. We tried to include him in the conversation, but he’d give one word replies or just shrug. Soon, the chit chat died down at the table. After a while, Dante and Shelly said they had to get their girls to bed. As they walked out, Josh stood up, mumbled something, and followed them out. He avoided looking at me and his face was beet red.”
“Let’s go back to the ring. Did you see Josh go anywhere near your purse?” Grandma Addie asked.
“Not exactly,” Marie replied. “Josh startled me when he first walked up to our table. After he chatted with Dante and Ray, he knelt down on one knee. I glanced down to my left and saw him tying the lace on one of his boots. Then Shelly asked me a question and I looked over at her. I can’t even remember what she asked. When I looked back, Josh was standing again. That was when Ray invited him to play.”
“When he knelt down, was he near your purse?” I asked.
“Just a touch away,” Marie agreed and looked hopeful “He could have reached into the front pocket and taken the ring.”
“What was the seating arrangement at your table again?” Grandma asked.
“There was me, Dante to my left, Ray across from me, and Shelly to my right.”
“Any chance Dante saw something?” I asked.
Marie thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. He was still talking to Ray about sports or something. Besides, if Dante had seen Josh take
the ring, he would have said something.”
“We should talk to both Dante and Shelly,” I said to Grandma Addie.
Marie looked alarmed. “Can’t you wait on that and talk to the DeMarco boy first? Ray and I have become friends with Dante and Shelly. If they find out the ring is gone, I’m afraid one of them will let it slip to Ray.”
I gave Marie a long look. Was she serious? A red alert went off in my head. “Marie, there’s no good way we can ask Josh about your ring without it sounding like we’re suggesting he took it. And we have no evidence. But maybe Dante and Shelly saw something or noticed Josh near your purse.”
Marie stared at me and then sighed. “All right. If it will help to find my ring, then you should talk to Dante and Shelly. But please be discreet and ask them to not say anything to Ray.” She looked worried.
“We will. We’ll keep this as confidential as we can,” I replied.
Nana Anna cleared her throat. “Nobody else was around who might have seen something?”
“Let me think,” Marie muttered. She dabbed at her eyes with tissue again. “When Josh took Ray’s seat, I looked to my left. The DeMarco family had cleared out. Holly and Jade Cloutier were sitting at the next table talking. Later they ran around a bit. Other than that, the dining room was empty, except for us. Earlier in the evening, an older couple had been seated a few tables away to our right. I remember you both sat and talked to them.” Marie gestured to Grandma and Nana Addie and they nodded. I perked up. The Blackwells.
“So, Grandma, you and Nana went out to the dining room to talk to Nancy and David Blackwell?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes, we both sat with them for a short while.”