Long after Manny the Bull left, the Silver family was still pondering possibilities.
Sterling scratched his head in bewilderment. “I just don’t get it. Someone took that jewelry out of the dumpster after I threw it away. How would anyone know it was there?”
“Some thief could be watching us. Who knows? We could be in real danger here.” Flossie shuddered, then pushed her glasses up on her nose. “Maybe that Jade woman—or her accomplice—snuck in when the gates were open. I’m gonna sleep with Harry’s old trick gun under my pillow for protection.”
Goldie sat beside her mother and put her arm around her thin shoulder. “Let’s not get carried away, Mom. You know that gun is just a prop. It wouldn’t do you any good.”
“Yes,” the old lady said, “but the bad guy wouldn’t know that. Why I could look just like one of those babes on the TV.” She stood up and took a stance with both hands together like she was pointing a gun at someone. “Stick ‘em up, you no-good low life. You don’t want to mess with me, Buster. I shoot to kill.”
With that, everyone broke out in laughter. Godiva said, “Look, Mom, Ricky’s got a big galoot named Bruno Boxer watching the house. Until this is over, he’ll stay on the grounds and swing past your cottage several times a night.” She turned to Sterling, “And yours too, Unk. Of course, both places are wired with state-of-the-art security equipment, so just relax and don’t put any trick guns under your pillow.”
Flossie sat back on the sofa, and let out a sigh. “Well, okay, but I sure hope it’s over soon. I didn’t trust that Jade woman from the moment we met her. The both of us figured something wasn’t kosher in that story about her and Sly Cunning, didn’t we Sterling?”
“Yup. It sure looked like she was giving him the old slipperoo and taking the booty with her. It was ‘bye, bye, sucker’.”
“He must have figured out what she was doing. When we saw them arguing, it was pretty obvious she didn’t want him on that ship.”
Goldie leaned back in her chair and said, “I was interested in what Del Toro said about that Canadian, Ken Ketchem. As an insurance investigator he would have access to all sorts of juicy information regarding highly insured jewelry.”
As they batted ideas back and forth, Goldie scribbled on her yellow pad. They all agreed that Ketchem could definitely be one of Jade’s partners in crime.
Sterling said, “You know, the way he was following Del Toro around, he seemed to have an abnormal interest in that blasted brooch, like he had a bigger stake in it. It may be his job to track it down, but I think he was trying to divert attention away from himself and pin the whole thing on me.”
Flossie adjusted her glasses and mused, “Boy, did he look surprised—and kinda angry, too—when Kazaam’s beat-up turban came out of the dumpster covered in crap and missing the jewels. He looked like someone pulled the rug right out from under him.”
“I’ll bet he knew all along how those jewels were being smuggled into the United States,” said Godiva. “If he was working with Jade, that would explain it.”
Her mother added, “When your crazy uncle snatched that turban, he sure threw a wrench in the works.”
“Well, from what you say, it sounds like he was ready to take possession of it right then and there, wasn’t he? Maybe he had no intention of returning the jewels to his client. But I guess I’m jumping to conclusions,” Goldie said.
“Wait, Sis, just for a minute let’s suppose Jade is in L.A. and working in cahoots with Ketchem. Maybe she was having Sterling watched because she suspected him of taking the turban. Then she might have somehow known that he tossed the turban into the dumpster.”
“If she got word to Ketchem, he’d have known about it even before Unk told the Feds, and he has been sticking to Del Toro like glue.”
Sterling thought for a moment, then said, “You might have something there, Goldie. When I told Del Toro that all they had to do was bring me here and I’d pull the turban out of the dumpster, Ketchem got a funny expression on his face. And even when the agent tried to keep him out of it, he insisted that as an insurance investigator whose job it was to recover stolen goods, it was his duty and his right to tag along.”
“But on the other hand, if Ketchem was working with Jade Moon, maybe she was two-timing him, just like she did to Sly Cunning. Maybe somehow she snuck in and grabbed it out of the trash and didn’t tell him. Goldie smiled triumphantly as she underlined something in her notes.
Flossie got up and stretched. “Well I’ve had just about as much of this mishagas as I can take. Come on Sterling, let’s go back to our cottages and call it a night.”
Angel was settled at her desk by the time Godiva came downstairs and peeked into her office the next morning. “Where’s Goldie? When I looked in the kitchen Martina said she had a cup of tea and two cinnamon rolls hours ago.”
“Right, Boss. Goldie said you told her she could borrow the Town Car, so she went to visit some antique wholesalers. She said she doesn’t get to L.A. very often, so she decided to shop for some stock for Silver Spoon Antiques while you slept in.”
“Getting up at ten o’clock isn’t sleeping in. It’s a civilized time to wake up.”
“You know your sister, she says she’s out of bed by six-thirty every morning. Her idea of sleeping late is seven o’clock.”
“Well, if Goldie is making good use of her morning, I guess I can do the same. After I have my coffee I’ll sit down and get the advice column under control. By the way, have you seen the old folks this morning?”
“Flossie and Sterling came by for breakfast about an hour ago. They said between the month long cruise, Kazaam’s murder, and Sterling’s short stint as a suspected jewel thief, they were totally exhausted. I think you’ll find them in the rose garden relaxing in the lounge chairs.”
The baskets of mail on Angel’s desk were overflowing. She set to opening each of the letters, throwing those with no potential in the “send stock answer” basket and setting aside the few that were winners. Godiva was on the phone, making arrangements with Dexter for their date that evening.
Angel looked up from her work when she heard Godiva say goodbye to Dexter in a strained voice. “Hey, Boss, you sound upset. Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, Agent Del Toro called Dexter and he’s mad as a hornet. He said he was questioned as if he were a suspect. He tried to tell them he really didn’t have anything to do with what’s going on, that he only happened to be a guest at dinner the night Unk threw away the turban. I have to say, if Del Toro treated him like he treated Uncle Sterling, I really can’t blame him for being upset. I tried to calm him down by saying they even questioned Guadalupe, but you know Dex can be touchy at times, and this was one of them.”
Godiva brushed her hair behind one ear and took off her reading glasses. “Well, I won’t worry about it. I’ll get it smoothed out tonight.” She finished with a theatrical wink.
Angel gathered up three letters and took them over to Godiva’s desk. “Okay, Boss, I think you’re gonna love these.”
Godiva picked up one of the letters and a smile lit her face. “Hey, this one is great.” She read it out loud in a faked Southern accent.
Dear G.O.D.,
My husband works as a bouncer at a strip club. He’s a really good looking guy, and the ladies love him. I met him while I was working as a dancer in that club and now I stay home with our two boys, Bubba and Scooter. My husband is pretty friendly with some of the dancers and waitresses and I was okay with that at first, but I’m beginning to wonder. I hear him talking to some of them on the phone late at night when he thinks I’m sleeping. He says he’s just like a big brother to them, but I hear him saying things like, ‘What are you wearing now? Ooooh, sexy baby. Yeah I like that.’ Do you think he’s just giving them fashion advice?
~Miffed in Miami
“Can you believe some people are so naive, Boss? Fashion advice, my foot. I can’t wait to see your answer.”
“Yeah, this one’s a doozy. He may be a bouncer, but I think this guy is doing another kind of bouncing around. I’ll have to set her straight.”
Angel returned to her desk and, appearing to be deep in thought, gazed out the window at the beautiful grounds. “You know, Boss, I was thinking about those photos Flossie and Sterling showed us from the cruise. Particularly the one of Jade Moon. I can’t get the notion out of my mind that I’ve seen her somewhere before. I just can’t put my finger on it. I’ll have to look at that photo again.”