Refreshed from a quick nap, Flossie came back to the main house with Sterling trailing behind her. They found Goldie and Godiva in the family room, each curled up on one of the buttery-soft leather sofas. Waldo snoozed on the oriental rug in front of Sterling’s favorite chair, occasionally twitching a leg or letting out a grunt.
Goldie looked up from her yellow note pad. “Hi, guys. Feeling better? We’re just going over everything we know again, but I have to confess, we’ve come to a standstill.”
“The way that brooch disappeared just doesn’t make sense, Unk,” Godiva added. “You definitely put it in the dumpster, and now it’s disappeared into thin air.”
Guadalupe entered the room so quietly no one heard her. “Here ees some tea and the scones Martina made in the morning. You are needing the energy for your thinking.”
“Thanks, Lupe. I’m so sorry you had to be questioned about the missing jewelry. But the agent had to ask everybody,” Godiva said reaching for a blueberry scone.
“Ees okay Senora Godiva, God knows I am a good woman. I would never do this thing,” Lupe said as she put down the tray, then padded out of the room.
Waldo jumped up before Sterling could trip over him on his way to the easy chair, and Flossie settled onto the sofa next to Goldie. “This is so confusing,” she said. “We must be missing something.”
Sterling grunted, “I would normally say what you’re missing is a few marbles. But this time I’m even more confused than you.”
Flossie sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have hounded you so much about that damned turban. If I hadn’t made you feel so guilty, you wouldn’t have thrown it away. Then you could have just handed it over and this whole dreadful thing would be history.”
“Aw, don’t sweat it, Old Girl. At least it’s over now. So I spent the night in the hoosegow. I’ve had worse happen. I—”
The phone rang and cut him off. Godiva reached over to answer it. “Yes. You mean right now? Oh well, why not? Sure. This circus couldn’t get any crazier.” She replaced the receiver and said, “Looks like it’s not over yet, Unk. That was Agent Del Toro. Apparently he’s learned some interesting things from the murder suspect, Sly Cunning, and wants to talk to you two again. I hope you’re not back on the hot seat. He hung up before I could ask him what was so urgent. I guess we’ll have to wait until he gets here in about half an hour.”
While they waited for the FBI agent, the twins speculated about what Sly Cunning might have said, but soon gave up and decided to wait for Del Toro. In an effort to lift everyone’s mood, Flossie and Sterling took the opportunity to tell some positive stories about their adventures on the cruise. The talk turned to Quick Rick.
“I felt so sorry for that boy,” Flossie said. “Looks so much like his grandfather, such a handsome young man. I’ll bet he never told Pearl Woo how he felt about her. We could see he was gaga over her, couldn’t we, Sterling?”
“Yep, he was really grieving, still carrying the torch.”
“I remember when I went to work for my dear Harry, my mother was afraid I would be sawed in half. I had to assure her that being a magician’s assistant wouldn’t be dangerous. If Pearl told her mother that, she would have been dead wrong. I know Kazaam swore he checked everything, but—”
“Well, I don’t trust all those newfangled illusions,” Sterling interrupted. “Check, schmeck. Something still went wrong and it killed that poor girl.”
When Agent Del Toro arrived, Guadalupe led him into the family room. The Silver family expected to see Ketchem, too, but the FBI agent was alone. “Sorry to barge in again, folks, but some interesting things turned up when I spoke to Sly Cunning, and I’m pretty sure you can help me out with this.” He looked at Sterling, who was fidgeting in his seat, and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Silver, you’re off the hook.”
Waldo howled, hooooook, and began sniffing at the agent’s shiny black oxfords. After a few sniffs, the big shaggy dog sat down in front of him with a raised right paw, a signal that he wanted a little shake. Del Toro bent down and took the offered paw.
“They call me Manny the Bull for a reason.” The big man sat on one of the leather wingback chairs and cleared his throat. “When I suspect something, I keep digging until I get what I’m after. Now that I’m starting to put the pieces together, the puzzle looks pretty interesting.”
“Where’s your sidekick Ketchem, that insurance guy?”
“This is an official FBI investigation now and I don’t feel comfortable with him looking over my shoulder. We may uncover some facts that we don’t want to make public. I struck a deal with our suspect and he told me who he was working with. If he’s on the up-and-up, there’s no telling where it could lead. It might even involve Ketchem.”
Flossie crossed her arms. “Humph! I wouldn’t be surprised. I thought he looked crooked the moment I met him. So who was that Cunning guy in cahoots with, anyway?”
Manny the Bull looked directly at Flossie and Sterling. “When I questioned you two on board, you mentioned that Jade Moon was acting as the assistant to the victim, and of course when I questioned her that was verified. As I recall, Mrs. Silver, you said you talked to her a few times and that’s what I wanted to discuss with you .”
Flossie slid her glasses up on her nose. “See, Sterling. I knew there was something fishy about that woman. So was she in on it?”
Del Toro continued. “Look, this is quite a long story. Any chance of getting a cup of coffee or a glass of water? I’ve been going non-stop for hours now.”
As though the FBI agent were an invited guest, Godiva acted the perfect hostess. She said, “Of course,” then rang for Guadalupe and asked her to bring Agent Del Toro a cup of coffee, a glass of water and some of the delicious blueberry scones.
He gave her an appreciative look and leaned back in his chair.
“Well, of course it’s still under investigation, but according to Cunning she’s the mastermind in that jewel theft. He owns up to being a two-bit thief, says his specialty is disabling sophisticated alarm systems. She cozied up to him—of course who could resist a knockout like her—and then talked him into helping her rip off that Chinese tycoon. Cunning says Jade Moon got real close to Mr. Kah Ching to see what kind of valuables he had in his house. When he showed her his collection of expensive jewelry, she zoomed in on his newest acquisition, the fabulous brooch called the Black King’s Curse. She told Cunning she was determined to have it, and then talked that sap into helping her steal it.”
Sterling showed genuine interest as he leaned forward and said, “So this was a well thought-out plot, not some smash and grab?”
“Yep. And she promised to split the take with Cunning when she fenced that big ruby brooch and all the other pieces involved.”
While Del Toro paused for breath, Goldie made a note on her pad and thought about how this was all beginning to be a much different scenario than any of them had anticipated.
“I’m surprised that the unlikely team of Jade Moon and Sly Cunning managed to mastermind a sophisticated robbery like this.” Goldie still had her pen in hand and was scribbling notes on her yellow pad. “Ketchem said that his client, Mr. Kah Ching, is a billionaire. He must have all kinds of security and safeguards to protect against the theft of his valuables. Do you think the lovely Miss Moon is part of some kind of syndicate?”
Before Del Toro could answer, Guadalupe brought the coffee and snacks and placed them on the table. “Here you are, Senor Del Toro. You would like something more?”
He took a sip of the coffee. “No thanks. Nothing more. This is great.”
While the Silvers waited, he swallowed a bit of the scone and took a sip of coffee. With obvious satisfaction he set the cup down and cleared his throat. “I have no answers at this time, Miss Silver. It does seem as though someone in the insurance business would be in a perfect position to work with a ring of thieves. He could tip them off about the most valuable items his company insures. That’s why I want to keep Ketchem at arm’s length until I can find out more.”