Two days had passed since Godiva entrusted her most expensive jewelry to Dexter Diamond for updated appraisals. A few hours later, the transaction was forgotten when Godiva received the frantic call from Angel, locked in the trunk of her car. From that moment on everything had been a whirlwind of activity. Ricky Thompson came to Angel’s rescue. The police had swarmed the crime scene at the run-down house in the canyon. The Silver Sisters and Ricky had gone to Dexter’s house to see if he was in trouble and found the place deserted.
The next morning Roxy Rhinestone contacted Godiva to tell her that the jewelry store had been robbed and she had been taken into custody as a suspect. “Oh, Godiva, it was awful! My lawyer finally came and convinced them that I was innocent, but all the best merchandise is gone.”
“What about the pieces I gave Dexter for appraisal?”
“I don’t know anything about an appraisal. When did you give them to him?”
“The day he disappeared.”
“Then it’s all gone.” At the other end of the phone, Godiva could hear Roxy beginning to sob. “And Dexter’s gone, too. I don’t know if he discussed it with you, but he decided to drop everything and take an extended vacation on some remote island. He sold me the shop for pennies on the dollar and left just before the store was robbed.”
Godiva slammed the phone down and stared out the window at the jacaranda trees lining the garden path. Seething with anger, she dressed in a Donna Karan jogging suit—never used for that purpose—and stomped downstairs to the kitchen where the Silver family was having breakfast.
“That charlatan! You won’t believe what I just found out.” Over huevos rancheros and onion bagels, Godiva told them what she had learned from her conversation with Roxy Rhinestone.
Goldie gasped, “Your jewelry is gone, too?”
“To tell you the truth, everything’s been happening so fast I almost forgot about my jewelry. First I freaked out about Angel being attacked, and then I worried that something terrible had befallen Dexter, too.”
“So it looks like you worried for nothing,” Flossie said. “That schlemiel took off for parts unknown and didn’t even have the courtesy to say goodbye.”
“I think you put your money on the wrong horse, Godiva.” Sterling forked in a big bite of omelet. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he had it all planned and skipped town with your jewelry.”
“I never liked the guy, but I can’t tell my daughter who to date. By the way, my friend Esther from the Canasta Club said she was shopping on Rodeo Drive yesterday afternoon. She passed his shop and it was still open, so she went in and looked around. The lady who used to manage the place said she’s the new owner. How about that?”
“I know, when Roxy called she said that Dexter sold her the shop for a song right before he left.” Godiva shrugged her shoulders as if it didn’t really matter.
Goldie took a bite of her bagel, looked at her twin sister with genuine sympathy, and said, “I’m so sorry about what happened with Dexter, and I guess we’ll never find out the whole story. I know you were really falling for him, Sis, but I sure didn’t feel comfortable when you gave him all that jewelry.”
“At least my insurance will cover some of the loss. Dexter was right about one thing, though. I should have had it reappraised long ago. The worst part of it is, this is so embarrassing. Here I am giving advice to all my clueless readers and I’m the one who gets the wool pulled over my eyes. I just have the worst luck with men.”
“Speaking of men, I’ve got two of them tugging at my sleeve, begging me to get back to Juneau. I talked to Rudy last night and he doesn’t know how much longer he can stay on the wagon. You know he doesn’t go drinking with his buddies at the Red Dog Saloon when he has to open the shop in the morning, and he’s just about hit his limit of dry days. Then there’s Red—he’ll be coming into port on Wednesday and insists that his wife meet him at the dock. So, I’ve made a reservation to fly back to Juneau tomorrow.”
Awakened from his nap in the corner of the breakfast nook, Waldo raised his head and yawned. It sounded like, Fllyyy hoooommme. Then the big shaggy dog went back to sleep.
Goldie got up and gave her sister a hug. “Don’t fret Sis, if I know you, it won’t be long before you have another Romeo in your sights. Wish I could hang around to meet the next lucky guy, but I really do have to get home.”
The words had just left Goldie’s mouth when Chili came bopping into the breakfast room. She planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek. “Did I hear you say you’re going back to Juneau? It’s been really cool having you in town, Mom, I’ll miss seeing you every day. But then, since Aunt Godiva looks just like you and I see her all the time, it’s almost the same.”
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but at least you’re surrounded by family.”
Chili turned to Godiva. “Auntie, my car is in the shop and Caesar offered to give me a ride to the studio. Is it okay if I invite him in for breakfast when he gets here?” Before Godiva could answer, she added, “I know you’re really bummed about losing Dexter, but look on the bright side. Caesar isn’t seeing anyone now and he still talks about you all the time. I know he feels terrible about deceiving you last year, maybe...”
The phone rang and Godiva picked it up. Caesar said from the gate, “Godiva! How lovely to hear your voice. Can you please buzz me in. I’m here to pick up Chili. Is she ready?”
Godiva’s mind raced a mile a minute. Compared to what Dexter pulled, Caesar’s old faux pas seemed inconsequential. After her anger had subsided months ago, she only kept up the façade of being unforgiving to save face. He had been a good boyfriend and she did miss him. She said into the phone, “Caesar, it’s so nice of you give her a ride.” She winked at Chili. “She’s just sitting down to breakfast. Why don’t you come in and join us?”
Chili gave her aunt a smile and a nod. Sterling said under his breath, “I see it starting up again and I always did like the fellow. I wouldn’t mind sitting down to a few more of his fancy dinners. I mean, Martina’s a great cook, but Caesar—well, he’s a famous chef.”
***
A few days after Goldie returned to her quiet life in Juneau, Godiva received a surprise phone call from Agent Manny Del Toro. “I wonder if I can come by and have a chat with you, Ms DuBois. I know that you were close to Dexter Diamond, and since he disappeared at the same time as our charming jewel thief, I’ve been doing some research on him, too. I’ve come across a very interesting turn of events and I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Why, of course, Manny. I can call you Manny, can’t I? Now that our family is no longer under suspicion. Come by any time. I’d like to hear what you found out about my missing boyfriend.”
She told her mother and uncle, “That was the FBI guy, Del Toro. He’s still here in L.A. and he’s been looking into Dexter’s disappearance. He has some questions for me.”
Flossie rubbed her bony hands together in glee. “Oh, boy! I can’t wait to ask him a few questions of my own. I want to know where that goniff disappeared to with your jewels.”
“Calm down Old Girl,” Sterling said. “He probably located Dexter on some South Pacific island surrounded by native girls feeding him mangos.”
“Well, if that’s where he is,” pouted Godiva, “they can have him. If they’re not careful, he will steal their grass skirts right off their cute little buns.”
When Del Toro arrived, Godiva showed him into the cozy family room and settled him down on one of the butter-soft leather chairs. She asked Guadalupe to bring some coffee and a plate of Martina’s fresh baked cinnamon peach scones. “I normally don’t disclose the details of an investigation,” he said. “But I don’t see any harm in bringing you up to date. I made a very interesting discovery.”
Flossie was so excited she could hardly contain herself. “So, is it real juicy? I love juicy details. Is he an axe murderer or something?”
“Afraid not,” the FBI man answered.
“Well, Manny, what did you find?”
“Nothing. That’s just it. He’s in his mid-fifties now, but until he was in his thirties, Dexter Diamond did not exist. I ran a complete background search, everything possible. There was no record of him anywhere. No school history, No driver’s license. No medical records. No social security number. No credit cards. It seems Dexter Diamond suddenly materialized fully formed about twenty-five years ago. After that, we found everything necessary to establish a trail for his identity.”
A wide smile spread across Sterling’s face. “Of course! You’re going to tell us he was in the witness protection program, right?”
“Wrong. We checked all those sealed records, too. I believe he had the help of a very clever forgery network that creates new identities for international criminals. We’ve never been able to put our finger on the source of those forged documents.”
“So, how did you think I could help you?”
“You’re a very smart woman, Ms DuBois. I thought you might have caught something he said to you that would reveal his true identity.”
Godiva sagged in her chair. “You flatter me, Manny. But I’m afraid I’m not as sharp as you think. At least not when it comes to detecting the lies of dashing middle-aged men.”