“Curse, schmurse, or whatever you want to call it. We thought it was just some schmaltzy piece of costume jewelry. We are not criminals.” Flossie pulled herself up to her full height of just five feet, planted her hands on her hips and glared up at Del Toro.
Sterling added, “Look, we’re exactly what we appear to be. Two old magicians who enjoy sharing our tricks with others. Keeps us young. Now, Agent Del Toro, instead of ‘taking us down to headquarters’ as you law enforcement types love to say, if you would be kind enough to follow me to my niece’s house, I can show you right where I dumped it. That thing was nothing but bad luck, anyway.”
He turned to Ketchem. “The invitation includes you, and when we get there you can take back your Cursed Black King, or whatever you called it. Good riddance.”
Del Toro and Ketchem stepped off to the side to discuss Sterling’s suggestion. After a few minutes, they came back and Ketchem said, “Okay. We’ll give you the opportunity to hand it over. If you give it back, Agent Del Toro and I agree that no charges will be filed.”
During the drive from the restaurant to Godiva’s house, Sterling’s old Caddy was sandwiched between Ketchem’s rental car and Del Toro’s FBI ride. When they got to Godiva’s, Sterling beeped the gate open and the parade drove through. Sterling and Flossie led them around to the side of the house where a concrete pad held the garbage dumpster. With a theatrical flourish, the old man threw the lid open, wincing as an arthritic twinge shot through his right shoulder. “See?”
Garbage had been dumped on top of the turban, but a fragment of colorful silk peeked out from beneath the remains of lamb curry, an empty wine bottle, and assorted sauces.
Ketchem stretched over the container, and pulled at the badly stained cloth, splattering sauce and bits of rice and peas over the sleeve of his suit jacket. He dug around in the mess until he managed to get the smelly, stained turban out. After inspecting it, he held it at arm’s length. “Good try, Mr. Silver. As you can see, the brooch isn’t on this disgusting piece of fabric.”
Del Toro added, “Enough stalling. Where are the jewels? Hand them over.”
Sterling stared at the turban, not believing the brooch wasn’t there. But, Ketchem was certainly right. The only thing the insurance investigator held was a badly stained turban—no sign of a flashy piece of jewelry.
“This is a fine how-do-you-do.” Flossie waggled her index finger at her brother-in-law. “I really thought you had come to your senses and finally tossed that damned thing. You sure made a big enough show of doing that last night. And what did you do? Sneaked back to grab the brooch as a keepsake? Well, the jig’s up. You’re not a thief. You can’t keep it.”
“But it was on the turban when I threw it in the dumpster. I’m telling you, I—don’t—have—it.” Sterling’s voice had lost its confident tone and he just looked like a frightened old man. “You know I threw the damned thing in the garbage last night. You saw me do it, Flossie. I went straight to bed after that. So, no! I didn’t sneak back. How could you doubt me?”
Ketchem waved the scruffy turban. “So whadda you think? Some burglar got past the security in this joint, dug into your rubbish bin, found the turban, plucked off the jewels, then disappeared into the night, eh? Sorry, you two, I don’t buy that. His narrowed eyes penetrated the old magician like a laser. “Who’s to say you didn’t go back to get it after your sidekick was safely in her cottage? Del Toro, I want this whole place searched. Grandpa isn’t going to get away with his cockamamie story.”
“Just a darn minute. Do you think you can search the place just because you say you’re going to? This estate belongs to my daughter Godiva, and you’ll have to deal with her. Besides, don’t you need a warrant or something?”
She turned to Sterling. “If you actually have that thing, please go get it and give it to these gentlemen. This has gone far enough.”
Her brother-in-law threw his hands in the air. “For the last time, I didn’t take it.”
Ketchem paid no attention. “How soon can you get a search warrant, Del Toro?”
“Under the circumstances, the agents in our L.A. office will find a judge who’ll give it to us right away.”
He turned to Flossie. “We’ll have it when we come back, so you can tell your daughter that. Meanwhile, I’m sorry Mr. Silver but you’ll have to come with me. If nothing else, I can hold you for questioning until we get that warrant.”
The FBI agent grasped Sterling firmly by the elbow and steered him to his car. Sterling threw Flossie a frightened look before the door closed and Del Toro drove off.
***
Flossie hurried into Godiva’s office and found her going through some of the choice letters Angel had culled from the never-ending stream of pleas for advice.
“Sit down, Mom. You look like you’re ready to pass out. Where’s Unk?”
Her mother sank into one of the leather guest chairs opposite Godiva’s desk, then gripped the cherrywood arms as if they were life preservers. After fanning her face and trying to calm down, she blurted out, “I’m afraid your uncle has done it this time. Turns out that gaudy brooch on the damn turban was the real deal. Not only that, but it was stolen and it was priceless.”
Godiva shook her head. “I don’t understand, Mom. Slow down. What do you mean?”
“It means that insurance man tracked down a stolen brooch that’s worth millions. And, where do you think it was? On that Shiek Ali Kazaam’s noggin. That’s where!”
“That’s crazy. A ruby that big had to be fake. I would have known if it was real. Are you sure?”
“As sure as I can be. When that guy from Vancouver showed up at the Has-Beens, he said he had to talk to us. Boy, did he give us a mouthful. Those were real diamonds and that big ruby? Apparently it’s famous.” She lowered her voice. “It’s called the Black King’s Curse and he accused us of working in cahoots with the people who stole it in Canada.”
“Canada? That’s impossible..”
“My cards don’t lie. I knew right from the get-go that thing was bad news. The FBI agent who took Kazaam’s killer off the ship turned up next, and they both followed us here. Sterling showed them where he threw away the turban, but the brooch was gone! Now, th-they want to arrest him.”
“This is outrageous. You and Unk jewel thieves? Are you sure you’re not getting something confused, Mom. Let me just talk to Unk.”
The color drained from Flossie’s face and she felt like the room was closing in on her. She had a hard time breathing and saw spots in front of her eyes. Godiva shouted for Angel to get a glass of water, then came around the desk to rub her mother’s back. “Take even breaths, Mom. Angel is getting you a glass of water. You look like you saw a ghost.”
She managed to say, “Not a ghost, honey. You can’t ask Sterling. That FBI agent just drove off with him, claiming he can hold him as a witness until they decide whether to arrest him.” A tear trickled down her cheek.
“But Unk’s not a jewel thief, he’s the most honest person you’ll ever meet. I’m sure this is all a big mistake.”
She picked up the phone and dialed the number for her attorney, Oscar Goldensheim. After explaining what happened and begging him to work his magic to get her uncle freed, Godiva turned to Flossie and said, “Don’t worry Mom. We’ll get this all sorted out. You know I always come up with a plan.”
“I know, Totteleh, but I would feel better if your sister were here. Two heads are better than one. You’re the impulsive type and she’s the analytical twin, that’s why you make such a good team. Maybe she could get away for a couple of days.”
Godiva humored her mother and reached for the phone. Goldie answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Sis? Is something wrong with Mom or Uncle Sterling? I’m getting really bad vibes.”
“No wonder you’re sensing something. The FBI took Unk into custody today, accusing him of being a jewel thief. Apparently it’s tied to that magician who was killed on Red’s ship. I don’t know all the details, but I’ll do my best to fill you in.” Godiva told her sister everything she could glean from her mother’s disjointed description.
“I really need you to come down here, Sis. Can Rudy watch your shop? I’ll have Angel book you on the first flight she can get. Don’t worry about the expense, I’m paying for it.”
Goldie’s voice sounded wobbly. “Of course I’ll come. Just have Angel give me the flight number and the confirmation code. How’s Mom holding up?”
“Not good.”