Laurie was waiting at the corner in Queens while Charlotte spoke to Tiffany pretending to be a book researcher. It couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes, but it felt like hours before she saw Charlotte approaching her.
“How did it go?” Laurie asked. “Did she say anything about the bracelet?”
“First things first,” Charlotte said. “That house is like a trip to fantasyland. Outfits the grandmother wore in her cabaret days complete with dolls dressed in her getups.”
“Were you able to record her?”
Charlotte played the beginning of the recording to check the audio. It was crystal clear. Tapping on her phone, she said, “I’m emailing it to you right now.”
“You’re the best. What did she say about the bracelet?”
“Laurie, Gran the cabaret dancer lived in a world of her own and raised Tiffany telling her stories. It is obvious that most, if not all of them, are made up. According to Tiffany, Granny had affairs with three presidents, an Arabian prince, the Duke of Wellington, and God knows who else.”
“Did she say anything about John Kennedy?”
“Oh, he was Granny’s favorite, and this is where the bracelet came in. According to Tiffany, he gave her a charm bracelet exactly like the one he gave Jackie that was on the display at the Met. Supposedly he told Granny that she was his charm. Tiffany said it was a treasured symbol of JFK’s love. The bracelet was stolen along with other jewelry from her dressing room, and the loss broke Granny’s heart. Now Granny is in a nursing home, very sick and still talking about the bracelet.”
“Charlotte, that confirms everything. Why Tiffany might have grabbed it to give to her grandmother. And then when she realized she needed an alibi, she asked Tom Wakeling to cover for her. It’s the missing piece that’s been driving me crazy. I’m going to knock on Tiffany’s door and try to persuade her to tell the truth.”
“Maybe I should go with you.”
“No, I’ll be fine. It’s better if I talk to her alone, and I’ve kept you out long enough.”
A cab was coming down the street. Laurie hailed it, waited until Charlotte was in the backseat, then started walking the block to Tiffany’s house.
• • •
Tiffany was clearly surprised to find Laurie on her porch. “Is this about the thank-you gift you were sending? You didn’t need to bring it out here yourself.”
“No, I’m afraid it’s about something else, Tiffany. May I come in?”