Chapter 10

 

Headlights skimmed the far wall of her living room as Sandy Werner pulled into the roundabout and parked. Penelope watched through the side glass as Sandy got out of her car and stared in wonder at the house. After a moment, though, she gathered her poise and picked up a cardboard pizza box from the backseat of her Mazda. She started slightly when she realized Penelope was standing in the open doorway, watching.

“Sorry, Mrs. Fitzpatrick, I can’t help but say it—this place is awesome.”

“First off, it’s Penelope—Pen, if you wish—I can’t manage to share wine and a pizza if we have a lot of formalities standing in the way. About the property, thanks. I chose it after my first decent advance on a book. My first husband and I lived in Chicago most of our twenty years together. I became weary of the cold, so I visited Phoenix for a month to get away and decide where my life would go. I never left.”

She ushered her guest toward the kitchen.

“I hope this wine is the right thing,” she said.

Sandy smiled, immediately at ease, and Pen realized the banker was no stranger to clients of great wealth, although it was likely she seldom visited their homes.

“I doubt you could go wrong when it comes to a wine for pizza.” She set the box on the granite countertop and lifted the lid. “I got half pepperoni and half veggies. I should have asked what you wanted.”

Penelope breathed deeply. “It all smells heavenly. Here are the glasses. Would you pour while I get plates?”

She switched on quiet background music and they sat at the breakfast table with its view of the glittering lights of the city spread out below.

“Sorry it was such a rough day for you,” Sandy said. She raised her glass. “Here’s to better tomorrows.”

Pen flexed her eyebrows and nodded. Half a slice later, she began to recount her visit with the jeweler followed by the call to the police department. “And then the museum’s absurd claim that they knew the necklace was a fake all along? Ridiculous! I’ll have to fight them on that, most certainly. Otherwise, I don’t really know what to do next.”

“It was insured, I assume?”

“Yes, but how does one replace a family heirloom? My real necklace is worth more than a million dollars, the value of the stones alone. Its real value, as a piece designed for the tsarina, is priceless. A check from a corporation isn’t going to replace it, I’m afraid.”

“An insurance company will have investigators. With a payout that large, they’ll go to great lengths to get the necklace back.”

“For themselves—not for me. If I accept their check, I’m afraid I may never get the necklace back. It will belong to them and they’ll sell it for a fortune, and that’s just not right.” She stopped, downed the last of her wine and refilled both glasses.

Sandy took another slice of the pepperoni. “So, what will you do?”

Pen shook her head sadly. “I don’t know. I can’t seem to think rationally today.”

“You know what we should do?” Sandy said. “We should find out who this stupid fake investigator is and then steal the necklace back.”

“Steal it back?”

“Sure.”

“The two of us?”

Sandy chewed slowly, her eyes rolling upward as she thought. “We’ll need a team. I’m pretty good with computer searches, but there’s got to be someone who is truly a whiz at it. We’ll get her to … I don’t know … hack into some big database of criminals and get his name.”

“And we’ll automatically know where to find him, based on that?”

“Well, let’s take this a step at a time. We can do it.”

Pen drained her glass and realized they were halfway through a second bottle. A tiny voice inside told her she should not be making such a major decision right now. Could she trust Sandy? The voice chided: what have I got to lose?

“Okay, I’m switching to water,” Sandy said, setting her wine glass down and rubbing her temples. “It’s not a long drive for me, but I need to get home safely and then I have to wake up functional at seven in the morning.”

Sandy folded the empty pizza box and asked where the trash basket was, then helped herself to a tumbler of water at the dispenser on the refrigerator door.

“I meant what I said about helping, Pen. I told you how I feel about very special pieces of jewelry. Now that I know a bit more about the history of this one, I can’t stand to think of this shyster getting away with it. Not to mention, if he’s this smooth about it then I’m sure it’s not his first crime. Or his last. If the police aren’t going to chase him down, then we will.” She set the tumbler down with a clack against the counter. “So, I’ll get out of your hair now, but I’m going to give this some thought. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

Pen still felt slightly giddy as she closed the door behind Sandy. Was it possible? Could she and a few friends actually solve this crime?