by Sandra Balzo
As I set the phone down, Pavlik came up the steps.
‘You were close,’ I said, closing the door behind him. I would have given him a kiss, but this was an official visit. It would be unseemly.
‘Just driving back from the Slattery Arms to the office,’ Pavlik said.
‘You saw Helena?’
‘No, your boyfriend,’ Pavlik said, taking blue gloves out of his pocket and slipping them on. As he did, I saw him take in the fact that both Christy and I wore a single matching glove.
‘You have a boyfriend, Maggy?’ Christy was saying disapprovingly. ‘I may have poor taste in men, but I do restrict it to one at a time.’
‘The sheriff is being facetious,’ I told her.
Pavlik picked up the diamond, which was sitting innocently on the envelope now. ‘Have you handled it?’
‘Maggy wanted me to take a picture with it.’
A withering look from Pavlik.
‘That’s not quite how …’ Oh, what the hell. ‘Christy handled the diamond with her bare hands. We both handled the envelope.’
A tight smile. ‘Well, luckily we have elimination prints from both of you on file.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Christy said, perkily. ‘That is lucky. And we put on gloves after, just in case.’
Pavlik didn’t close his eyes and count to ten. Three, maybe. Then slipping the diamond into the envelope, he put the whole thing into an evidence bag. ‘You say this was delivered by the mail courier?’
‘Yes,’ Christy said. ‘Just this afternoon. I saw him and I rushed right over to get it, didn’t I, Maggy?’
‘She did,’ I told Pavlik.
‘But this is the envelope that was delivered to you on Tuesday?’ Pavlik asked. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Yes.’ Her head was pumping up and down. ‘I put it in my lingerie’ – a glance at me – ‘drawer.’
‘And reported it missing on Wednesday evening,’ Pavlik said. ‘You didn’t look in that drawer between Tuesday when you put the envelope in and Wednesday when you discovered it was gone?’
‘Well, of course,’ Christy said, seeming affronted. ‘I do change my under … lingerie, you know. Sometimes two or three times a day, if—’
Pavlik held up his hand. ‘I understand. But you didn’t see the envelope when you opened the drawer?’
‘Well, no.’ Christy wrinkled her brow. ‘I had put it in the back, you see. Under the bras and panties that are pretty, but I don’t wear every day. I was saving them for when Barry—’
Hand went up again. ‘And the bracelet. You also kept that in that drawer.’
Christy pushed up her sleeve to reveal the subject of discussion. ‘Yes, but not under the lingerie with the envelope. I put it in a sock, on top. Because I was wearing it every day.’
‘Sock,’ Pavlik repeated.
‘A clean one,’ Christy said a little defensively.
Pavlik looked at me.
‘Socks are good places.’ I shrugged. ‘They cushion things.’
‘Exactly,’ Christy said, nose in the air.
Pavlik held up both hands now. ‘I’m not questioning the wisdom of your storage methods. But you did say you wore the bracelet on Tuesday.’
‘Yes, and when I took it off, I put it in the sock on top of the good panties and bras.’
‘Which, in turn, were on top of the envelope by then,’ Pavlik said.
Impatience. ‘I told you that.’
‘You didn’t wear the bracelet on Wednesday?’ I asked, taking over to give Pavlik a break. ‘I didn’t see you that day.’
‘No, I was in mourning. Rebecca came here and got us both coffee, remember?’
‘I do. You said it was only when you were packing to spend the night at Rebecca’s that you realized the bracelet and envelope were gone.’
‘Yes. First the bracelet, since I was going to take it.’
‘In its sock?’ Pavlik asked, checking his watch.
I resisted a smile.
‘Yes. Watches pack beautifully in socks, too, by the way,’ she said, nodding at his. ‘They don’t scratch, you know.’
‘Excellent idea,’ I said, wanting to move on. ‘But back to the bracelet, Christy. When you went to pack it, the—’
Pavlik interrupted. ‘Was it an easily identifiable sock?’
‘Blue and black striped,’ Christy said. ‘I lost its match years ago.’
‘But you kept the single sock for—’
‘Jewelry, of course,’ Christy said nodding. ‘Or whatever.’
‘Whatever.’ Pavlik seemed mystified.
‘So, sock and bracelet are gone.’ I pressed ahead. ‘Then you think to look for the envelope?’
‘Yes. Rebecca and I went through the drawer systematically. The envelope was gone.’ She pointed. ‘Well, I guess it had to be, because here it is back.’
‘Yes, it is,’ Pavlik said, tucking it away in his inside coat pocket. ‘And you found the bracelet in your coat pocket on Friday. But no sock?’
‘You’re right.’ Christy’s eyes got wide. ‘The bracelet and envelope are back, but my sock is still missing.’
I touched her shoulder. ‘Isn’t is possible you did take the bracelet out of the drawer on Wednesday and just mislaid the sock? You were under a lot of stress.’
‘I suppose,’ she said, doubtfully.
‘These things happen,’ Pavlik said. ‘Maggy put the ice cream in the refrigerator just last night.’
‘I did?’ Ice cream is serious business.
‘I saved it in time,’ Pavlik assured me. ‘My point is that we’ve all done things without thinking.’
Christy was nodding. ‘Once I put my coffee in the microwave to reheat and then realized the cup was still on the kitchen counter.’
‘Then what had you put in the microwave?’ I asked.
‘My cell phone.’ Christy had picked up my own phone and was admiring the photo of her posing with the diamond.
I fought the impulse to snatch it out of her hand and walked Pavlik to the door. ‘Sorry about our handling the evidence.’
‘I should probably be glad somebody didn’t bleach it.’ He sniffed, wrinkling his nose. ‘Smells like a laundromat in here.’
‘Christy has been cleaning.’ Stepping out onto the porch, I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. ‘What did Helena have to say?’
‘You don’t believe I went to see Slattery?’
‘Jealous lover?’ I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. ‘I believe that you may have seen Stephen, but that Helena was your reason for going.’
‘Anthony was busy with the excavations, so I went to pick up Barry Margraves’ laptop.’
Helena’s mom must have overnighted the package after all – good for her. ‘Did she also send an ID for Helena so she can get on a plane? Assuming you’ll let her leave, that is.’
‘She did and Helena already was on the phone booking a flight as I left. We have no reason to keep her here. She didn’t steal her own money.’
‘Or run over her husband who was cheating on her?’
‘Your husband cheated on you and you didn’t run him over with a snowplow.’
I sighed. ‘It was autumn. And we had a son.’
‘Good to know you have principles.’ He kissed the top of my head.
‘Some.’ I was wondering where all this left Christy. Other than holding the bag. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to look at the computer.’
‘Not yet.’ Pavlik started down the steps. ‘I may be late tonight.’
I leaned down to give him a kiss. ‘Do what you have to do.’
And report back to me, I thought, closing the door.
Frank and I were watching a movie in bed when Pavlik got in.
‘Shove over, Frank,’ the sheriff said. ‘You’re taking the whole bed.’
Frank jumped down with a harrumph as Pavlik sat on the edge of the bed to take off his shoes. The sheepdog went to join Mocha on the dog bed. The chihuahua did not give an inch, so Fr
ank ended up partly on and mostly off the bed.
I muted the sound of the movie. ‘You’ve had a long day.’
‘Long and non-productive.’ He stood up and took off his pants, draping them over a chair.
‘The computer?’
‘No emails from or to Christy, no communication with Christy of any type. But then he would not leave evidence of an affair on his computer where his wife could find it, would he?’
‘Not if he’s smart.’ Ted had not been smart. I just hadn’t looked. ‘No dating site portal?’
‘Hell, no. That would be really stupid. We’re recovering the deleted emails and browsing history, but that’s going to take a while.’
‘What about financials? Bank sites and investments?’
‘Those are there and he accessed them recently. Not exactly a cyber genius. His usernames and passwords—’
‘Were all the same, Christy said.’ The words were out of my mouth before I realized how damning they would sound.
Pavlik had been unbuttoning his shirt and stopped.
I felt my face get warm. ‘Christy said she added security questions and answers for better security.’
‘She did, which gave our guys some trouble until I realized the questions and answers were authored by her, not the Margraves.’
‘So “mother’s middle name”.’
‘Actually, it wasn’t even that tough. City of residence was Brookhills. Instrument was piano. Father’s name was Wrigley. And like that.’
Oh, Christy. ‘Though if you didn’t know they applied to Christy, you’d have a hell of a time answering for the Margraves.’
‘As we did,’ Pavlik said. ‘Helena Margraves couldn’t get in either. Or provide us with answers that worked.’
‘Think about it, though,’ I said, sitting up to adjust my pillow. ‘If you did suspect Christy had done the questions, the answers would be a roadmap to her. Search “piano”, “Brookhills”, “Wrigley” and there she would be: Christy Wrigley, piano teacher, Brookhills, WI. Would she have been that transparent if Barry hadn’t given her permission to access the accounts in the first place?’
‘Christy microwaved her phone,’ Pavlik pointed out. ‘She may not always be functioning on all cylinders.’
‘A mistake anybody could make,’ I told him.
‘No, you would refrigerate yours, not microwave it. Which might keep space aliens from hacking it but wouldn’t fry it.’
Good to know. ‘I actually Googled “phone in microwave”. There are a surprising number of people who have done it accidentally. And a few on purpose.’
‘To what purpose?’
‘You know, someone read somewhere that it would shield their private information. Unfortunately, they neglected to continue to the next paragraph that said don’t turn the microwave on. Another thought the microwave would charge the phone. Another, dry it out after they dropped it in the toilet.’
‘Sanitize it, too, maybe,’ Pavlik said.
‘Speaking of phones,’ I said. ‘Did Kelly have any luck finding the burner?’
‘No. And she and the public works people are none too happy with you.’
‘I got that idea when she stopped in for coffee. I assume you told them it was my idea?’
He pulled his favorite sleeping T-shirt over his head. ‘They just seemed to know.’
Funny how that works.
He picked up the remote. ‘Do you mind if I turn this off? I have to be up early tomorrow to drive to Chicago.’
I was surprised. ‘But tomorrow is Sunday.’
‘And my father’s birthday, remember?’
Pavlik’s mom had died less than a year ago and we tried to stay in touch with his dad as much as we could. I grimaced now. ‘I completely forgot. I’m working.’
‘Dad knows,’ Pavlik said, rubbing his cold feet on my leg. ‘We’re going to spend a boys’ day.’
‘He’ll like that,’ I said, giving a little shiver and moving my leg out of range. ‘You’ll be back tomorrow night or are you staying over?’
‘Back.’
I could tell he was already drifting.
‘What about the transfers from the Margraves’ accounts?’ I asked before I lost him to sleep completely. ‘Have you found where the money was sent?’
He roused. ‘Financial crimes is looking into the wire transfers, but it was Margraves’ credit card that was used to buy the diamond you so kindly handed over today along with the tennis bracelet and plane ticket.’
‘The one for him and Helena to fly to London,’ I remembered.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘When was that supposed to be?’
No reply.
‘Pavlik.’
A low snore resonated from his open mouth. The sheriff was asleep.
I, on the other hand, was not the least bit sleepy. Leaning off the bed, I snagged my phone and ear buds from the nightstand and, shielding the screen with my pillow so the light wouldn’t bother Pavlik, punched up The Age of Adaline, the movie Frank and I had been watching.
Tuning down the volume so it was merely background in my ear, I tried to think.
The plane ticket was curious. Christy certainly wouldn’t have purchased a ticket for Helena and Barry to fly off to London. And I was pretty sure that Kelly Anthony had told us the ticket was in their names. That meant Barry purchased it, right?
I sat up.
Barry insisted on printing out things. ‘Boarding passes, hotel and flight reservations, directions, receipts,’ Helena had said.
And I just happened to have those very things he had printed out in my purse.
Slipping out of bed quietly, I padded into the living room where I had left my bag. Not even the dogs stirred.
Pulling out the folded papers, I flattened them on the coffee table. Boarding pass for Barry Margraves from Denver to Milwaukee, three fifteen Monday afternoon. That checked out.
Reservation for Slattery Arms in his name, one room for two, for two nights. That made me pause. Was the ‘two’ in the ‘guest(s) per room’ field just the default in the reservation site or a specific request Barry had made? But why specify a double room, which would raise red flags should Helena see it? Christy lived here and if all had gone as well as it seemed Barry had hoped, they could have stayed at her house.
I moved on to the last sheet of paper. It was a print-out of recent credit card transactions, with items highlighted in fluorescent yellow. Tiffany’s would have been the diamond bracelet. Tracing down the transaction dates with my finger, I found the purchase of a single plane ticket DEN to MKE to SAN, Denver to Milwaukee to San Diego. Then another purchase posted two days earlier, a booking for MARGRAVES/BAR/HEL to LHR, London Heathrow.
Not much more detail. Airline abbreviation, date of departure, MKE-ORD-LHR. I frowned. MKE, not DEN. And the date was tomorrow, Sunday.
I sat back on the couch, tucking my cold feet under me as I considered. Maybe Barry had planned to stay in Brookhills until then. But the hotel reservation had only been through Tuesday night, not through Saturday night for a Sunday departure.
So maybe the hotel room was just for him and he figured he would stay with Christy the rest of the time? But then he had met her and … what?
And why would he be flying with Helena from Milwaukee to London, assuming she was the ‘HEL’?
Folding the papers again, I creased the fold with my fingernail, trying to remember what Barry had said before he was killed on Tuesday. Something about that he hadn’t expected ‘this, whatever this is.’ And when I said I was going to call the police, he threatened to do the same, saying he’d do the honors as he stepped backwards off the curb and into the street with the phone in his hand.
I squeezed my eyes tightly closed, trying to see that phone in my mind’s eye. Was it an iPhone or something else? An iPhone, I thought, not so different than mine or Sarah’s, maybe a little older.
Opening my eyes, I focused on the scribbled address on the back of the folded papers. Christy Wrigley,
12 Junction Road, Brookhills, WI …
I frowned, trying to remember where I had seen the address in that particular form before.
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘The envelope.’
Which was now in police custody. But I had a photo.
Stealthily, I tiptoed back to my nightstand and picked up my cell, returning to the couch. Frank roused and followed me back, collapsing with his giant head on my feet for a pillow.
Scrolling through the photos, I slowed at Christy’s headshot with the diamond and continued on to the torn envelope. One half had the return address, the other Christy’s street address, which was identical to the one on the back of the bill, with one exception.
‘Different handwriting.’
SEVENTEEN
Pavlik was already gone when I awoke the next morning. I had not awakened him with my discovery, thinking I’d tell him in the morn …
OK, that’s not true. I was banking on Pavlik being gone. That way I had an excuse to keep my theory to myself and maybe confirm and even build on it before turning over what I knew to the police.
And what was that theory? It wasn’t fully formed, but if Barry had written Christy’s address on the back of the bill Helena had discovered, then he had not addressed the envelope with the diamond.
Were there explanations? Of course. Somebody – the diamond merchant? – could have sent the envelope for Barry, putting the Margraves’ return address on it for convenience sake. But that’s the very reason I wanted to think through it all again in the light of day.
I wasn’t due in to work until eleven, so I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table with the papers from Barry’s suitcase. The credit card charges, in particular.
I scanned the three highlighted items:
The charge at Tiffany’s for just over $12,000 for the bracelet.
Another with the merchant notation ‘Gemology’ for nearly three times that amount.
Both Christy-related and both highlighted.
Two plane tickets MKE-ORD-LHR.
‘Highlighted, too, but maybe not Christy-related,’ I said to Mocha, who had just hopped up on the chair across from me. We knew that Helena found this print-out and Christy’s address written on the back of it. Did she highlight the unusual charges intending to ask Barry about them?