When she left Ted Cavanaugh, Celia went straight to her room. She admitted to herself that she had really enjoyed sharing a cocktail with him, but did not want to dwell on it. Instead she was desperate to know what people really thought of her.
She had spotted Yvonne and her two friends in the audience. She could only imagine how Yvonne was feeling. I hope my presentation took her mind off things for a while, Celia thought. She had barely reached the suite when the phone rang. She hoped it was Alvirah, and she was pleased to hear her voice.
“Celia, your presentation was simply wonderful,” Alvirah said. “I thought you were terrific the other day, but you were even better today.”
Take refuge my heart, Celia thought to herself. But she had to admit Alvirah’s compliment made her feel much better.
“I’ve been giving a lot of thought to your situation,” Alvirah continued. “I’d like to come see you in your room.”
“I could use a friend. Come on over.”
She was so used to seeing Alvirah and Willy together that it was a surprise to see Alvirah alone at her door. When she let her in, Alvirah anxiously asked, “Are you sure this isn’t an intrusion? I know you might be tired after your presentation.”
“Frankly, I’m glad to have your company, Alvirah. When I’m alone, I have too much time to think.”
“Well, that makes me feel better,” Alvirah said, as she sat on the couch.
“Celia, Willy and I know perfectly well that there is no way on God’s earth that you ever would or could have harmed Lady Emily or stolen her necklace.”
“Thank you,” Celia murmured. Should I? she asked herself. She decided the answer was yes.
She reached into her pocket and took out the Cleopatra necklace. Seeing the shocked expression on Alvirah’s face, she said, “I didn’t steal it. Lady Em gave it to me. Let me explain what happened.
“Right after I got back to my suite last night, Lady Em phoned and asked me to come to her suite. She told me to bring my loupe, the eyepiece I use to examine jewelry. When I got to her suite, she handed me a bracelet and asked for my opinion regarding how valuable it was. It was easy to see that it was composed of inferior diamonds. It was virtually worthless. When I told Lady Em, she looked terribly sad. She told me that she believed her assistant Brenda had been switching her good jewelry for cheap imitations.
“ ‘But Brenda has been with you for twenty years,’ I said. Lady Em told me that she was very sure of what she was saying, and that Brenda looked extremely uncomfortable when Lady Em told her the jewelry didn’t look right.
“Then she said that she felt so disappointed because she had always been so kind to Brenda and very generous.”
“How sad,” Alvirah sighed.
“That isn’t all,” Celia continued. “Lady Em also told me that she was convinced that Roger Pearson was cheating her. Apparently she told him yesterday that she was planning to have an outside accountant go over all of her affairs, and he looked very distressed.”
“I can understand that,” Alvirah said. “Willy and I heard him shouting at Yvonne the other night when we walked past their suite. He was saying that he could go to prison for twenty years.”
“Alvirah, what do I do about the necklace? Lady Em told me she had decided to do what Ted Cavanaugh asked. When she returned to New York, she would give the necklace to her lawyers and they would turn it over to Ted. Apparently at the cocktail party, the Captain had suggested to Lady Em that she give it to him to keep in his private safe. Last night Lady Em gave it to me and asked me to bring it to the Captain this morning.” Celia shook her head. “I’ve been so afraid to tell anyone that I have it. I’m sure there are plenty of people who already think I’m a thief because of the hedge fund. It will be easy for them to believe that I killed Lady Em and stole the necklace.”
“You’re right,” Alvirah agreed. “But you can’t be walking around with it in your pocket. And it will look terrible for you if someone finds it in your suite.”
“That’s my point,” Celia sighed. “I’m in trouble if I admit having it, and I’m in trouble if I hold on to it.”
“Celia, do you want me to hold it for you? I’ll give it to Willy. Let him be the one carrying it around. It will be safe with him. I can guarantee you that.”
“But what happens when we reach Southampton?” Celia asked. “What will you and Willy do with it then?”
“I have a little time to figure that out,” Alvirah said grimly. “I’m considered a pretty good detective. Let’s see if I can solve this case before we reach Southampton.”
With a sense of being unburdened, Celia picked up the necklace and handed it to Alvirah.
“It is so beautiful,” Alvirah commented, as she put it in her pocketbook.
“It is,” Celia agreed. “I think it is the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever seen.”
Alvirah paused, looked at Celia and asked with a smile, “Should I be worried about the Cleopatra curse?”
“No,” Celia said, smiling back at her. “The curse is that ‘whoever takes this necklace to sea, will never live to reach the shore.’ And if the curse was real, poor Lady Em was the victim.”
As she spoke, Celia’s mind was filled with the memory of Lady Em’s troubled, sad face when she told her that her two trusted confidants, Brenda and Roger, had been cheating her.