They pulled into Mary’s driveway before she had decided which of the many questions she had for Emma Baxter she’d ask first.
‘My, that was so much more pleasant than walking on this hot afternoon.’ She smiled at Emma and tightened up on Millie’s leash.
The dog knew she was home and she wanted out of the car, now.
‘Why don’t you come inside for a few minutes? I have iced tea in the refrigerator. I made it this morning, and it’ll give you a chance to stay away until they finish arguing about whatever it is they’re arguing about.’
Emma hesitated and pulled out her cell. She grinned. ‘Fifteen minutes. They should have it resolved by then. We all know how it’s going to come out but I don’t blame Chief Dunham for trying to keep the body here. After all, it’s his murder.’
Dan’s murder? It probably was but that wasn’t quite the way she would have put it. Mary unlocked the front door and, with Millie leading the way, passed through the house to the kitchen. It was blessedly cool. She had hesitated to put out the money last year for the air-conditioning system but Dan and Ellen had persuaded her. Right now, she was glad they had.
‘Sit down there.’ She gestured toward the old white table, unsnapped Millie’s leash, ignored her as she sat down beside her empty dinner dish and pulled two glasses from the cupboard. ‘Sugar?’
Emma shook her head and looked around. ‘I love rooms like this. It looks like real people live here.’
As opposed to what? But Mary knew what she meant. Her kitchen would never appear in Better Homes and Gardens but a lot of good meals had come out of it over the years. Still did.
She set a glass in front of Emma and lowered herself into the other chair. ‘How long have you been with the bureau?’
Emma took a sip before answering. Her expression changed from determinedly cheerful to glum. ‘A couple of years. I signed on as a rookie right after I graduated from college and was assigned to Miller and Wilson a couple of months ago.’
‘Then you didn’t know Mr Miller very well?’
‘He wasn’t an easy person to get to know.’ Emma picked up her glass and held it in both hands, staring into it. ‘He and Wilson had been partners for – oh, ten years or more. Only, something happened. I don’t know what but they barely spoke. I’ve spent the last couple of months walking a tightrope between them.’
‘That can’t have been very pleasant,’ Mary said with what she hoped was a sympathetic voice. ‘Did they quarrel?’
‘No. At least, not in front of me. I think it was more than that. Ian – Agent Miller – figured out the connection between all those jewelry store robberies and I think Eric Wilson felt … I don’t think Ian told him he was even working on them. When Eric found out … it wasn’t good.’
‘What do you mean, connection? Dan said … Chief Dunham … there had been several robberies. Was there some doubt they were all done by the same person? Or persons?’
Emma buried her face in her glass as if buying time while she decided how to answer. ‘Robberies happen all the time. Jewelry store robberies are often smash-and-grabs, mainly because most stores are so well alarmed. But these were different. There have been twelve of them in the past twenty-six months over four states. It took a while to realize … Anyway, after three reports came into our office with the same method of entry, all in very different jurisdictions in the state but all seemingly committed by the same person, or persons, Ian got to wondering if there were other robberies that fit the pattern and started looking harder at out-of-state jewelry stores. He contacted other state law-enforcement agencies, telling them what he was looking for, and came up with nine more. He was an expert on tracing stolen jewelry, so this was his kind of case.’
Mary wasn’t sure what she’d just heard. ‘What do you mean, method of entry? What was so distinctive about that?’
Emma’s smile was broad. ‘It’s so bizarre it’s almost funny, but not quite. These people, whoever they are, have a metal saw. They cut the bottom off the back door of the jewelry store, then someone evidently crawls in below the motion detectors, which are almost always installed either up high or at the height of the door handle, disarm the alarm system then set the cut section of the door back in place. No one knows they’re inside and they can spend all the time they want choosing what to take. They must do a lot of research because they can really clean a store out of a lot of their best pieces. Mostly gold, but lots of good gemstones – almost all diamonds – have gone missing as well.’
Mary set her glass down and stared at Emma. ‘They do what? Saw the door?’
Emma nodded and her laugh was rueful. ‘Sorry. It’s not funny but the sheer audacity of this just bowls me over. A grown man, squeezing through the bottom of that door then replacing the panel he sawed off. But he – or they – must have some pretty awesome computer skills. They have been able to hack into every one of those alarm systems and turn them off. Then, when they leave, they turn them back on. The stores seem to be chosen carefully. They all carry high-end jewelry and they’re all stand-alone stores. No strip malls, no alleys that trucks might go through when they’re cutting their way in. More than half the robberies have been on long weekends or holidays. The thieves have been gone hours before anyone finds out they’ve been robbed.’
Tea abandoned, Mary stared at her. ‘Let me get this straight. These robberies – the ones where the robbers sawed off part of the doors – happened over four states? All in the last two years?’
‘With this entry method, yes. I’d be surprised if these were their first robberies, though. The guys appear to be pros.’
Mary shook her head as if maybe she could shake away the conflicting thoughts swirling through it. ‘If there were that many robberies, all done the same way, why was it so hard to realize the same people were committing them?’
Emma sighed and took another sip of her tea. ‘This is good.’ She took another, larger sip. ‘Four states, that’s why. Four different agencies investigating them, not one state talking to another. They struck three in California, each time stores that specialized in high-end estate jewelry. One shop in Beverly Hills, one in Palos Verde and another in the San Francisco Bay area. I guess that got Ian thinking and he started checking with other states. He found what he was looking for all right but he didn’t find any of the jewelry. No one else has, either. Wilson thinks Miller had a lead of some sort and that’s why he was killed, but what that was none of us know. Yet.’ She drained her glass, pushed back her chair and set the glass on the drain board. ‘Thanks for the tea. I was just about dying of thirst.’ She paused, stared at Mary, started to say something, stopped then blurted out: ‘I’ll be here another couple of days. If you have time and don’t mind, could we meet again?’ A bright red flush ran up her neck into her hairline. ‘I’d like to ask you … I never really knew my grandma when she was … normal. My dad won’t talk about his childhood much – my uncles won’t either – and they refuse to discuss my grandfather. I wondered if …’
‘If I knew them and could tell you something about them?’
Emma nodded.
Mary drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘I never really knew your grandfather but I’ve heard lots about him. Your grandmother was the older sister of one of my high-school friends. I knew her slightly but I knew your aunt well. I don’t know how much help I can be but yes, I’ll tell you what I know about your family. Why don’t you call me when you have some time? We can meet at The Yum Yum for lunch or coffee or something.’
‘The Yum Yum.’ Emma laughed out loud. ‘My dad still talks about it. Said he’s never had a hamburger half as good since he left here. I thought he was making up the name but I guess not. I’d love to have one of those hamburgers. If you’ll give me your number …’
Mary got a pen and notepaper and started to write.
Emma laughed. ‘Just tell me – I’ll put it in my phone.’
‘Oh. Of course. I forgot you can do that.’ She looked at Emma’s phone, wondering not for the first time if you could really rely on it. ‘Or you can always ask Dan, Chief Dunham. He’s my nephew and knows how to get in touch with me.’
The smile disappeared from Emma’s face and a faint look of alarm took its place. ‘I didn’t know that. Mrs McGill, if you don’t mind, please don’t mention what I’ve told you about the robberies. I don’t think any of it is classified but I’m always talking too much and—’
‘You have nothing to worry about.’ Mary smiled. ‘I won’t mention it but I don’t think there’s one thing you’ve said that won’t be on the local news tonight or in the paper. In the meantime …’ She put her finger to her lips.
‘Thanks.’ Emma leaned down and gave Millie a pat on the head. ‘I think someone wants her dinner.’ With that, she left.
Mary glanced at the clock then shook her head. ‘It’s not even close to your dinnertime.’
Millie looked crestfallen but Mary ignored her. She sipped her tea, staring out of the window, thinking. All those robberies. She had no idea how much money all that jewelry would be worth and, more to the point, where it was. She didn’t think for one moment thieves who could plan so many robberies so professionally wouldn’t be equally as efficient in turning it into cash. But how? Why had none of what they’d taken shown up? Or had it? The necklace in the window; the one Ian Miller found so fascinating. Could the stones in it be stolen? If they were stolen, did that mean the Lowells knew? No. She didn’t know Marlene well but her reputation for being a fair and honest businesswoman was well-established. Tommy had been gone most of the years they’d been open in Santa Louisa, away at school in London and then working there. He’d been back less than a year. She thought back. When had they come to town? Five years ago? Six? They’d bought the store from the Hudsons when Bart Hudson died. None of his children had wanted to run it. None had even stayed in town. The Lowells had changed the store a lot over the years but she was sure not with stolen jewelry. She finished off her tea, put her glass and Emma’s in the dishwasher and headed for the phone. Maybe she’d leave a message asking Dan to stop by on his way home. They had things to talk about.