That afternoon Seth was released from the Beaufort Hospital and Detective Campbell came to assist him. Two of the nurses who had looked after him during his stay helped him into a wheelchair for the elevator ride down to the hospital lobby. Jenks carried his crutches. When they left the lobby, Dr. Walker and his wife were waiting beside their silver Cadillac. Detective Campbell helped Seth into the rear of the car. Before they departed, the detective nodded to Seth and said, “I think you should talk to your cell phone provider about dropped calls.”
Seth shook his hand while they said their good-byes, but as they pulled out of the parking lot, Seth whispered to Jenks, “What did Thomas mean about dropped phone calls?”
She squeezed his hand and responded, “I’ll explain when we get you home.”
That evening after dinner, Mrs. Walker showed Jenks to a guest bedroom and invited her to spend the night. “We would like for you to stay with us.” She ran her hand down the side of the doorway frame, and then said, “Seth has been like a son to me. I only wish that we had gotten to know him earlier. He’s a dear.”
“Yes, ma’am, I agree.”
“I hope you’ll join us in the living room. Leslie is going to play the piano for Seth.”
When they entered the living room, Seth was lying on the couch with a pillow under his leg. Jenks sat down in a chair beside him and touched his brow. His lips turned up in a slight smile before he closed his eyes.
Dr. Walker played his piano and Jenks was captivated by the loveliness of the music. She thought she recognized the song: it was the theme music to the movie Laura that she and Seth had watched together on their first date. She thought of her embarrassing behavior over dinner in Wren’s, when she had accused Seth of obsessing over her sister. She shook her head, and glancing at Seth, she noticed he was watching her.
“That was one of my favorite compositions—the theme from Laura,” Dr. Walker said at the end of the song.
He continued to play, introducing each song; first, “Waltz for Debbie,” and then, “Some Other Time.” She could have listened to him play for hours, but he concluded his performance after a hauntingly beautiful rendition of a composition entitled “Peace Piece.”
When he finished, Jenks clapped softly for him. “You play the piano magnificently, Dr. Walker, and I enjoyed each of the songs.”
“Thank you, Jenkins. The last three songs were made famous by my favorite artist, the late Bill Evans. He was a fine pianist. The last composition, ‘Peace Piece’ reminds me of the works of Erik Satie or perhaps Debussy.”
Dr. Walker rose from the piano bench and walked to where Seth was lying on the couch. He knelt toward him and softly said, “Son, I’d like to help you get to bed now. Dr. Petty said that rest was crucial to your full recovery.” He helped Seth into an upright position and then assisted him down the hallway to his bedroom. Once he was in bed, Jenks went by his bedroom to say good night.
Seth was under the covers except for his fractured leg, which rested on a pillow. Jenks bent over and kissed him on the forehead. His eyes gently opened and he said, “I’m glad you’re here. What was it that Thomas said to me today about the dropped phone call?”
Jenks sat down on the bed beside him. “After we found Gigi’s treasures in the hidden locker at the Fleming’s Seafood building, you tried to phone Detective Campbell to alert him. The phone call failed, and you started to go outside the refrigeration locker to place another one.” She squeezed his hand. “As you stepped through the threshold of the doorway, Frank Hiller hit you with a metal pipe.”
In the darkened bedroom, Jenks could see a frown cross his face.
“I’m so sorry that happened,” Jenks continued. “If I hadn’t been so obsessed to discover Gigi’s findings, we would not have been ambushed by her killer. You would be about to start law school.”
He looked sympathetically into her eyes, and responded, “I want you to understand something, Jenks. What happened to me is not your fault. Frank Hiller is to blame for your sister’s death and this.” He gestured to the cast on his leg.
Seth then closed his eyes for a moment, opened them again, and gazed at Jenks. “There will be a reckoning. I promise you.”
During the night, Jenks was awakened by frightening cries; she quickly rose from her bed and went to Seth’s bedroom.
Dr. Walker and his wife were already in the room and Seth was in tears.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Dr. Walker said as he took Seth’s hand.
Jenks noticed how stunned Seth looked as he slowly responded, “I dreamed about Steel. I was trying to save him—get to him before he—” Seth stopped talking and Mrs. Walker stroked his head and then handed him the glass of water that was on the nightstand. He came up on his elbow and took several sips before putting his head back down on the pillow.
“I’m sorry to have scared everyone.”
Jenks came forward and took Seth’s hand in hers. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“No, I’ll be all right.”
Dr. Walker looked at his wife and Jenks and said, “Why don’t you two get some rest. I’d like to talk to Seth.”
Jenks went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and on her way back to her bedroom she heard Dr. Walker tell Seth, “Son, I think you need to talk about what’s bothering you and get it off your chest. It’s unhealthy to keep these thoughts locked inside.”
She continued to her bedroom and lay back down in her bed. She had trouble going back to sleep. What did Dr. Walker mean, “You need to talk about what’s bothering you”?
The next morning, Detective Campbell called while Dr. Walker was serving breakfast to everyone in the kitchen. Jenks noticed how tired Seth looked as Dr. Walker gave him the telephone. When the conversation was complete, Seth handed the receiver to Jenks and she returned it to its resting place on the wall.
“Thomas said that he had received a phone call from Detective Sanchez with the San Juan Police Department. The police have been on the lookout for Frank Hiller, but there are no clues to his whereabouts. He’s just disappeared.”
Dr. Walker placed a plate of cooked bacon on the kitchen table and said, “Mr. Hiller’s appearance does cause him to stand out. However, there are dozens of islands in the Caribbean that can be reached by boat from Puerto Rico. The police may not have the manpower to seek out every person who owns a seaworthy craft.”
Dr. Walker returned to the stove and lifted a large skillet with scrambled eggs and brought it to the kitchen table. “Now, everyone, help yourselves. There is plenty to eat, so no one is to leave the table hungry.” He helped himself and then looked at his wife. “Sophie, dear, would you please pass the tomatoes?”
She gazed back at him and handed him the plate.
Jenks could not help but notice how kind and polite Dr. Walker and his wife were to one another. He often called his wife by a pet name, “Soosy,” rather than Sofia. Seth had told her they had been married for over forty years, but they still seemed to be deeply in love.
That morning after breakfast, Dr. Walker helped Seth to the living room couch and then left for Charleston and the first day of law school classes. Jenks made sure Seth was sitting comfortably and had one of his law school books, and then she assisted Mrs. Walker with the breakfast dishes.
“Mrs. Walker, I can’t help but notice how kind you and Dr. Walker are to one another.”
Mrs. Walker raised her eyebrows. “Jenks, that characteristic in Leslie is what attracted me to him. We met as students at Duke University. While I had other suitors who I thought were attractive, there was no one that I had ever met who showed me the kindness and respect that I have received from him. All I can tell you is that when you are deciding on the person with whom you’d like to spend your life, think about how you want to be treated. That will help you with your choice for a husband.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She patted Jenks on the shoulder and said, “Seth would make a fine husband.”
By midafternoon, Dr. Walker had returned from Charleston, and he joined Seth in the living room. Together, they went over the notes that Dr. Walker had taken, and then Seth listened to the recorded lectures.
While the Walkers prepared supper, Jenks went over the class notes again with Seth, asking him questions. She noticed that he was having difficulty retaining the information, and he was yawning. “Why don’t we start back up after supper?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t seem to be able to focus on the material.” He rubbed his temples and sighed.
“Dr. Petty said that you could have trouble retaining new information for a while. Please don’t get discouraged.” She closed his notebook and asked, “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”
Seth was quiet for a moment and Jenks thought he was about to tell her something, but instead he reached for her hand and kissed it.
She looked into his chestnut eyes and said, “I love you.”
He pulled her close to him and kissed her on the lips. “I love you too, Miss Ellington.”
After dinner, Seth fell asleep in his bed while reading over the notes that Dr. Walker had taken for him that day. Jenks removed the study materials and then joined the Walkers in the living room. Dr. Walker was softly playing his piano, and Mrs. Walker was reading Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. She motioned for Jenks to sit beside her on the couch.
Mrs. Walker placed a bookmark in her novel and then watched her husband perform on the piano. Jenks thought that each of his songs was rich and beautiful, and she rested her head on the back of the couch. When he finished playing, he closed the piano fallboard. “All we need are bass and drum musicians, and we’ll be all set.”
“What were the names of the songs you were playing?” Jenks inquired.
“The first was ‘Emily,’ followed by ‘I Loves You Porgy.’”
“George Gershwin from Porgy and Bess?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Both of those songs were recorded magnificently by Bill Evans.”
“I had never heard of him until I listened to a CD that Seth played for me one night,” Jenks added.
“You’re too young to be acquainted with his work unless you’re a jazz fan. He passed away over twenty years ago, a victim of his own excesses. I suppose he committed slow suicide due to his addictions.”
Jenks thought back to the day that Crawford Forrest described her brother as brilliant, but ruined by his excesses. “That’s terrible,” she said slowly.
“Yes, I agree. Sadly, artistic genius is often accompanied by weakness for unhealthy indulgences.” He sat down in a chair opposite her and added, “Jenkins, I want you to know that you are welcome here for as long as you’d like to stay. Seth is like a son to me, and I want only the best for him. What he’s going through is very difficult, but with all our help he’ll succeed. While he was one of my brightest students at the university, he singularly stood out due to his work ethic. I know he’ll overcome this.”
“Thank you, Dr. Walker,” Jenks said as she rose from the couch. She felt tired, and she said good night, checking on Seth before going to her bedroom.
Dr. Walker upheld his commitment and for the next few weeks traveled to Charleston, taking notes and making recordings of the law school lectures. Jenks studied with Seth each day. When they weren’t working on his assignments, she took long walks around the Walker property. Jenks often ended up at the Rabbit Hash Hunt Club where she studied grave markers from the nineteenth century. Summer was fading into fall, but the days were still warm and the leaves were yet to change color.
On the last Saturday of September, Dr. Walker received a phone call during breakfast. The tone of his voice was oddly morose, and when he hung up the receiver, he looked at his wife. “Sophia, that was Herbert Bradley over on Bray’s Island. He said that his granddaughter, Elizabeth, took an overdose of sleeping pills and has passed away.”
“Oh, my goodness,” she exclaimed. “We must go to them.”
“Yes, I agree. My Lord, we attended her high school graduation just a little over a year ago. ”
Mrs. Walker rose from the kitchen table and washed her coffee cup out in the sink.
“I’ll clean up the breakfast dishes,” Jenks volunteered.
“Thank you, my dear,” Mrs. Walker said as she left the kitchen.
When the Walkers departed for Bray’s Island, Jenks got out Seth’s school notes. “Would you like to go over contract law first?”
“Yes, that will be fine,” Seth replied. Jenks could see worry lines on his face. For the next two hours they reviewed his notes, but Seth was missing questions.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t concentrate.”
“Let’s take a break for lunch.”
“Okay.”
Jenks made sandwiches and as they sat down to eat, thunder sounded in the west. The sky became dark and the winds began to pick up. “Looks like we’re in for some bad weather,” she said.
Lightning flashed, followed by a large thunderclap, and the electricity went off in the house. Jenks went to the pantry and got several candles out, lit them, and placed them on the kitchen island. Walking to the window, she looked out. “My goodness, it’s pouring rain outside. I can hardly see to the edge of the woods.” She turned and glanced at Seth—he did not respond to her comment. In the half light of the candlelit room, she saw that he was staring into space.
When the severe weather passed, Seth asked Jenks to help him onto the screened porch. There was a daybed against the outside wall of the house, and she helped him maneuver with his crutches to the settee. He wearily sat down, and then Jenks helped him get comfortable. She put a light blanket over him, and then joined him on the bed.
He looked up into her eyes. “I’m very disturbed by Elizabeth Bradley’s death.”
“Did you know her?”
“Yes, I met her family on several occasions. Her grandparents are good friends with the Walkers.”
“Perhaps her death was an accident.”
“Unless she left a note, no one can be certain.”
Jenks looked out into the Walker’s rear yard. Large puddles of water were accumulating on the grounds, and she noticed a huge turtle making its way across the property. She turned back to Seth and said, “Prior to Rory’s suicide, I only knew one person who died that way.”
“A friend of yours?”
“I think I mentioned her to you. She had terrible trouble with her weight. This was in high school and teenagers ridiculed her because of her obesity. She took some kind of drug and killed herself one afternoon after class.”
“Terrible thing,” Seth said as he shook his head.
“I’ll never forget her wake. I’m not sure why her parents didn’t choose a properly sized casket for her, but she was severely cramped inside her coffin. I felt terrible sadness for her.”
“There are many reasons that people are driven to take their own lives. Sometimes, they don’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes, circumstances are so severe that a person chooses death over other alternatives.”
She noticed that he was beginning to have tears well in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
A painful expression was on his countenance, and he slowly replied, “My brother, Steel, took his own life in Afghanistan.”
“Oh, my God. Do you know what happened?”
“Yes, to some degree. Allied forces composed of British troops and US Marines were waging an offensive against the Taliban in the Helmand Province. The area is known as a major producer of opium and was heavily controlled by the Taliban. Steel’s unit was in an outpost that came under enemy fire, and the Marines were severally outnumbered. Those bastards . . .” He choked, and taking a deep breath, he said in a sob, “The last communication with his unit confirmed that Steel had been shot twice by enemy fire.”
“Please go on,” she whispered.
He wiped tears from his eyes and strained to speak. “I was told that his fatal wound was self-inflicted—I believe that he knew that he would be taken prisoner and tortured by the Taliban. They do horrible things to their prisoners, especially the wounded. Everyone in his unit died.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. “I believe he chose to take his own life rather than have death chosen for him and under tortuous circumstances.”
“Oh, baby.” Jenks lay down beside him on the daybed and took him in her arms. “This is what Dr. Walker said you needed to get off your chest the night you had the terrible nightmare about Steel.”
Seth nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“I can barely deal with it myself. Forgive me.”
“Shh . . . shh, it’s all right.”
He gazed into her eyes. “I knew that there was something seriously wrong with Steel on the day he died. I felt an indescribable pain.”
Cold chills descended upon her. “The same thing happened to me on the day Gigi was murdered.”
“I know,” he whispered.
They wrapped their arms around each other and held each other tightly. Jenks could feel Seth’s tears against her cheeks, and she leaned back to wipe them from his face.
“After he died, I drank myself into a stupor for several days. But I realized that Steel would not want to see me destroying myself with alcohol. I gained my self-control back by thinking about him. He was a man of courage and will always be my hero. For certain, I lost a part of me when Steel passed away.” He wiped tears away with the back of his hand. “I know that you felt the same sensations when Gigi was drowning in the river. God help us,” Seth said softly.
“Oh, Seth,” she said as she pulled him tightly against her and stroked his face. As they lay together, an occasional rumble of thunder sounded in the distance while the rain continued to fall.
After his cast was removed, Seth wore a soft cast and walked with a cane. He was having pain in his leg and could only walk short distances before having to rest. Since Jenks had met Seth, she had seen him only with a military-style haircut. He had not been to the barber in weeks and his dark hair had grown out to form wavy curls. Jenks loved to run her fingers through it, and she found him sexier with his thick tresses.
Jenks thought back to the first time they had been intimate. She had mentally compared his physique to the statue of a Roman youth whose steely facial determination and physical perfection had reminded her of her lover. Now Seth’s hair matched the wavy tresses of the Roman youth. She recalled wondering at that time what Seth’s hair would look like if he grew it out. His hair now covered his scar. Be careful what you wish for.
On class days, Seth was now traveling with Dr. Walker to Charleston. He was introduced to performing research in the law library, and Dr. Walker continued to help him in the evenings with his studies. Jenks noticed that Seth still tired easily and was continuing to have some memory problems. While Seth was away at school, she often volunteered at the Beaufort County Library. The children’s reading sessions were over from the summer, but there was usually someone who could use help with reading or finding a book.
One evening, when Seth lay down on his bed after dinner, Jenks came in to join him. “I’m so tired. Perhaps I should have postponed law school until the spring,” Seth said wearily.
“You’re going to be fine. Everyone wants to see you succeed. Just don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself.”
He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “I don’t want you to lose your job in Raleigh because you’re here helping take care of me.”
“I’ve already made a decision about returning home. I want to stay with you. I’m not going back.”
Tears filled his eyes, and he pulled her into his arms. “I’m glad you’re staying,” he whispered.
“I’m going by the Beaufort County School District office to inquire about substitute teaching and to see if there are any openings in the spring.”
The next day, Jenks met with Dr. Anderson at the District office, and she was given the contact information for the principals at several local schools. She phoned each administrator and explained her situation and that she was available for substitute teaching. The principal at St. Helena Elementary asked if she could come to work on Friday. One of their third-grade teachers was taking a personal day for business. Jenks agreed to be at the school early so she could meet the staff and go over the teacher’s lesson planner.
Jenks looked up from her desk as the children came in to the classroom. She greeted them as they entered. Some of the children had just finished breakfast in the cafeteria, and they were involved in conversations in pairs or in small groups.
Jenks looked down at her roll and noticed a familiar name—Amanda Stevens. No sooner had she read the name than she glanced up to see the happy face of her summer reading friend.
“Our teacher told us you were going to be here today. I was so excited when I found out.”
“Thank you, Amanda. I’m glad to be here.”
“Miss Jenkins, I’ve got something to show you.”
She removed from her backpack a letter and opened it on the teacher’s desk.
“What’s this?”
“Do you remember when we sailed our boats from my Grammie’s dock back during the summer?”
“Yes, I do.”
“This is a letter from the boy who found my boat and read my poem. His name is Charles Cain and he lives near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. He found my boat in the ocean two weeks after we sailed them.”
“Amanda, that’s wonderful!”
“Yes, ma’am. We’re pen pals now, and we write to each other. One day I’d like to go to Cape Hatteras and see what it looks like. Charles said that the Wright Brothers flew their first airplane from Kill Devil Hills. That’s near his home.”
“Yes, that’s true. I’m so excited that someone found your bottle boat. Now you know ‘where go the boats!’”
“He wrote me that Kill Devil Hills got its name from when there were ship wreckers. These bad people would hang lanterns around the necks of nags and walk them up and down the beach. It was dark, so the ships thought the nags were other ships floating in between them and land, so it looked like they had lots of space to sail in. Then they sailed right into the reefs. Nags are the same as mules, that’s what they called them then.”
“So that’s how Nags Head, North Carolina, got its name?”
“I think so. I got a book from the library about it. When the ships got wrecked on the rocks, the bad people would go out and steal the cargo. They stole the rum and hid it in the sand dunes. Charles said that the English called rum Kill Devil so that’s why the hiding place is named Kill Devil Hills.”
“Wow, you’ve learned some very interesting history from your pen pal.”
Amanda beamed with a tremendous grin and folded the letter, returning it to her backpack.
“What did you write about to Charles?”
“I wrote him about how we came to launch the boats, and I told him about you.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes, ma’am, I told him how you picked me up from my Grammie’s so I didn’t miss my reading, and how you took the time to work with me.”
Jenks took Amanda’s hand in hers. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
The bell rang indicating the beginning of the school day, and Amanda took her seat in the front row.
As Jenks began their lessons, two boys were talking in the rear of the room. Amanda turned and looked at them. Placing her fingers to her lips, she said emphatically, “You get quiet back there!”
The boys looked in her direction and then became silent as they gave Jenks their full attention. Jenks looked at Amanda; she knew she had a loyal ally in this little girl.
After school, Jenks checked on Gigi’s house. There were three real estate agents’ cards on the kitchen table. She concluded that the showings had not generated any interest since Agnes had not called her about an offer.
When she reached the Walker’s property, Jenks could hear the sound of the piano before she came inside. Entering through the back door off the kitchen, she glanced into the living room and saw that Seth was the pianist. She came up behind him as he continued to play. Before she reached him, he turned around and winked at her.
“How did you know I was behind you?”
“You’re too noisy. You’d never make it as an Indian.”
She bent over him and kissed him on the forehead. “You were playing so beautifully, I thought you were Dr. Walker.”
“They’re not here. They decided to visit Savannah this weekend.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, they have a favorite hotel in the downtown they like to stay in . . . the Mansion on Forsyth.”
“Interesting.”
“The staff is crazy about the Walkers, and they always invite Dr. Walker to play the piano in the Bösendorfer Lounge.”
“Bösendorfer?”
“It’s a magnificent piano made in Austria.”
“I see,” Jenks said as she massaged the back of Seth’s neck. She could feel the swollen area where Frank Hiller had slammed the steel pole into the back of his head. “How are you feeling this afternoon?”
“No headaches—third day in a row without any pain.”
“I’m so glad.”
“How was your day in school?”
“You wouldn’t believe it, but Amanda Stevens was in my class.”
Seth looked at her with slight confusion. “Jenks, I’m sorry, but who is Amanda Stevens?”
She realized that Seth was still having memory issues and she reminded him, “Amanda is the little girl I helped with her reading this past summer.”
“Oh yes, I remember now.”
Jenks sat down on the piano bench beside Seth and asked him to continue to play. She watched his strong hands on the piano keyboard and listened to him perform several compositions.
“I see you haven’t forgotten how to play the piano.”
He faced her on the bench and their eyes met and locked on each other’s. “We haven’t been intimate since we were both hurt,” Jenks said.
“Uh-oh, your eyes are turning green—they’re almost catlike. What have you got in mind?”
She ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair and then kissed him on the lips. He put his arms around her, returning the kiss, only with more power.
“I want you so badly,” she murmured with deep desire.
“I think carrying you into the bedroom is out of the question right now.”
“You don’t have to carry me. I can walk,” she said, standing up from the piano bench. She helped him up by the elbow and handed him his walking cane.
As she led him to his bedroom, she whispered in a calm voice, “I’ll be gentle.”
Opening the door, he said, “You promise?”
“Yes, sir.”
Once inside his bedroom, Jenks pulled Seth’s shirt out of his pants and unbuttoned it. Her hands roamed his chest, massaging his muscles. She placed her tongue on one of his nipples and caressed it vigorously. He gasped for breath and she took his hand, pulling him down onto his bed. Her hands went to his pants and unzipped his blue jeans, continuing to touch him passionately.
“What’s gotten into you?” he asked, gasping for air.
“I’m crazy about you,” she responded with breathless desire.
A low moan escaped his lips and he whispered, “Just keep proving it . . . just keep proving it.”
That evening after dinner, Jenks sat down on the living room couch and motioned for Seth to put his head in her lap. She bent over and kissed him on the forehead while rubbing his temples. Kissing him again, she massaged his head and ran her fingers through his curls. “I don’t want you to cut your hair in a military style anymore.”
“Why is that?”
“I think you look sexy with the waves in your hair, and I like running my fingers through it.”
“I see.”
Jenks turned on the television that had been put in the living room for Seth to watch while he rested on the couch. Searching through the channels, she commented, “I thought I saw in the paper that Casablanca was on tonight.” She picked up the Life and Style section of the newspaper and read through the listings for the evening’s television programs.
“Here it is—on Turner Classic Movies.” She used the remote control device and changed the channel. The movie had already begun, and the scene was set in Rick’s Café Américain.
As Jenks started to put the newspaper down, her eye was caught by the photograph of a beautiful blonde. The caption read: “Italian Countess Maria Gavriella in New York to participate in a fund raiser benefiting refugees in war-torn Sudan.”
Jenks stared at the photo and gasped. She tried to catch her breath. Seth sat up on an elbow and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Look at the necklace she’s wearing in this photo!”
She handed the newspaper to Seth and his eyes grew large as he studied the photograph. He stared at Jenks. “It couldn’t be.”
“I think it is,” Jenks responded, still in shock.
The Countess Maria Gavriella was wearing a gold cross with red stones that was virtually identical to the Petersburg Cross.
“My God—how can we find out about the cross she’s wearing?”
“The New York State Police. Jenks, give me your cell phone. I’m going to call Captain Barrett.”
Seth found out the next day from the New York police that the countess and her husband were staying at the Plaza Hotel. When questioned about the cross by the state police, the countess stated that she and her husband had recently purchased the crucifix and a gold-beaded necklace from a dealer of rare antiquities in St. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands. The dealer’s name: Frederick Augustin.
Within several days, the countess was shown a copy of the video with Gigi holding the cross beside her face. In conversations with the police, the countess stated that Augustin had authenticated the cross from a series of portraits on display in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, that showed Catherine the Great wearing the same crucifix. The initials of the jeweler were displayed on the back of the cross, AGK, for Aleksi Gregori Kartashkin. Augustin further authenticated the piece by showing them Kartashkin’s unique method of beginning each letter with a double curl at the base, the defining validation of the artist’s work.
The New York State Police, armed with a subpoena, were planning to take possession of the Petersburg Cross, but after their second visit to the countess, she and her husband took the first flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Rome, Italy. After their departure, a Park Avenue attorney by the name of Richard Scarborough contacted the New York State Police and said that he would be the countess’s legal counsel in the matter. He explained that the countess was attempting to rectify the matter with Frederick Augustin and since a large sum of money was at stake, she asked for patience in the matter. In an e-mail correspondence to the New York State Police, Scarborough included Augustin’s address and phone number in St. Thomas.
When Seth told Jenks of the countess’s departure back to Italy, she was livid. “The woman knows that my sister died over the discovery of the Petersburg Cross, but she runs like a coward back home.”
“The fact that they paid Augustin over two million dollars for the piece may have something to do with her behavior. I doubt she wants to give it up.”
“The cross is of secondary importance to me. I’m going to pay Mr. Augustin a visit. I want to know where Frank Hiller went.”
“Please hire an attorney who specializes in international law and let your legal counsel handle this.”
“I’m going to hire an attorney.”
Seth stared at her before saying, “Uh-oh, I see that gleam in your eyes— your eyes are turning green, Miss Ellington.”
“I’ve made my decision, and I’m going to St. Thomas.”
“Not without me, you’re not,” Seth declared.