Chapter 22
Dear Natasha,
I can’t stand the tiles in the backsplash behind my kitchen sink. I’ve pried one loose, so I know that can be done. But what can I replace it with that won’t cost a fortune? I can’t afford a tile installer.
Ugly Tile Has Got to Go in Pearl Beach, Michigan
Dear Ugly Tile Has Got to Go,
First pat yourself on the back for getting rid of that eyesore! You can always paint your backsplash. From a scenic vista, to flowers, or a checkerboard, your imagination is the limit. Just be sure to seal it. You can also buy beautiful stick-on mini-tiles in glass, stone, and mother-of-pearl. No one will ever suspect!
Natasha
Trying to look calm and collected, I crossed over to Lark’s house with Nina. “Is something wrong?” I asked Wolf.
Paisley glared at her husband. She held a green leather box, of a type I had seen used for antique jewelry, complete with a brass snap and hinges. She flipped open the lid. White satin lined the interior, but it was empty.
Frank’s face burned with fury. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. A priceless family heirloom is missing. The police did a thorough search of the house and surprise, surprise, now the box it was in is empty.”
Paisley winced, her brow furrowed. She spoke through clenched teeth. “Is that who took it, Frank?”
“Who else?” he said angrily.
Speaking softly, I asked, “Could this heirloom be the reason someone killed Lark?”
“No one knew about it,” said Paisley.
Wolf raised his eyebrows. “Clearly the two of you knew. Probably Bennett, too?”
“Bennett!” spat Frank. “If Bennett got hold of it, it’s gone by now.”
“What was it?” I asked.
“Jewelry that my grandfather had made,” said Paisley. “It makes me sick to my stomach that someone stole it. If they’re professional thieves, they’ll break it down into pieces and use it to make new jewelry so it can’t be tracked. And if they’re stupid kids, they may end up throwing it in the trash because they’ll panic and be afraid of getting caught. I can’t believe this is happening!”
“Who entered the house the day Lark died?” With angry black eyes, Frank directed his question to Wolf.
To his credit, Wolf remained stoic and unflustered. “I think it’s highly unlikely that the police have anything to do with missing jewelry.”
“Really?” Frank spoke sarcastically. “I want a list of those people and I want them all polygraphed. And if you don’t do that by tomorrow, I will file a suit against the police department.”
“Perhaps we should begin with a list of the non-official people who have been in the house,” said Wolf, sounding quite amiable.
Paisley nodded. “I can do that. It’s mostly just family.”
Of course, I couldn’t help thinking of the day Frank had hauled Lark’s possessions out to be sold.
“Let me know when I can pick it up,” Wolf said. “In the meantime, I would recommend limiting use of the house by anyone except yourselves. There’s a chance someone has moved it or hidden it elsewhere to remove later on.”
“What are you implying?” Frank shouted.
“I’m not implying anything. Perhaps you’ll find it tonight.” Wolf walked away.
Nina and I followed him. “You seem awfully calm about this,” I whispered.
Wolf shrugged. “If Frank and Bennett were ransacking your house, what would you do with something priceless that you wanted to keep?”
I gasped and stopped walking. “Are you kidding? You think Paisley hid it from them?” Now that I thought about it, that was exactly what I would have done in her shoes. Frank had been so busy carting Lark’s possessions out to sell on the very next day after her death. I would have taken anything that was valuable and hidden it. “Of course! And now she can’t come clean because Frank would run off and sell it. She didn’t plan on anyone calling the police about it.”
“Precisely.”
“How did you know?” asked Nina.
“Let’s just say it’s not the first time I’ve seen this particular song and dance. Death is heart-wrenching, but it brings out the worst in some people. All they see is dollar signs.”
“Does Frank have a criminal record?” I asked, hoping the answer would be no.
Wolf gazed at me for a minute. “It’s all public record. I don’t see why I can’t tell you. Frank doesn’t but his father was well known to the police. Frank’s uncle, too.”
“Would they have murdered Lark?”
“No. Frank’s father and his uncle have both passed away. With the exception of a few bar brawls, they weren’t violent. Mostly they were engaged in fencing stolen goods.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Nina shivered. “Imagine having them at your family holiday celebrations.”
“They’re small fry,” Wolf said as though that were reassuring. “But they have some connections to worrisome felons.”
“I guess that narrows down the suspects. Frank probably blabbed about his mother-in-law’s priceless jewelry. Then Frank, or one of his unsavory friends, paid her an early morning visit.”
“It’s possible,” Wolf murmured. “But it doesn’t explain the attempted break-in at Nina’s house or Dulci’s murder.”
“So you think they’re all connected.”
“It’s a possibility,” he said, neatly ducking my question.
“Do you have Dulci’s autopsy results yet?” I asked.
“The same as Lark’s, a bash on the head and bruising from a fall,” he said. “Nina, have you thought of anything that might have happened to you in Portugal?”
“Not a thing. Across the board, everyone says it was a great trip and nothing untoward happened except for the doll being thrown at us, which apparently happens quite often and not just in Portugal.”
He nodded. “That’s the same thing I’m getting. If you hear of anything, let me know. Okay?”
He walked away and more than anything, I wished it were dinnertime and that I could round up my friends to mull over the situation. Poor Nina had to be scared out of her wits.
A white-haired woman with a broad grin walked toward Nina and me. She wore a long gauzy skirt and a blouse that revealed cleavage. It took me a moment to realize that it was Natasha’s mother, Wanda. She had aged since I had seen her last. She opened her arms wide and crushed me in a big hug and then moved on to do the same to Nina.
“Sophie! Nina!” she cooed. “I haven’t seen you in the longest time.” Unlike her daughter, Natasha, Wanda Smith was about as down home as a woman could get. She had worked in a diner as long as I had known her. She gardened and loved animals. She believed in old-fashioned remedies that no one used anymore. I had once caught her in Natasha’s backyard turning in circles under the moon sprinkling some herb around her.
“Let me have a look at you two,” she said. “Oh darlin’s, you’re as pretty as ever. Now Sophie, I have to know. Did you get back together with Mars once Natasha tossed him to the curb? I knew he wasn’t the right man for her, but I sure do like that fella.”
Nina opened her mouth and gazed at me.
Natasha had lied to her mother about who instigated their break-up. I elbowed Nina. Natasha was, in the parlance of Desi Arnaz, going to have some ‘splainin’ to do. I wasn’t getting in the middle of that mess. “We’re still friends.”
Wanda seemed disappointed. “Well you keep workin’ on him, sweetheart. Now where might I find my daughter? She told me she had a booth here.”
And in the tent right next to her daughter’s was the woman Wanda’s husband had married when he left Wanda.