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“I was trying to find Brooke’s jewelry,” he admitted.
“So are we,” Zoe said.
“I haven’t had any luck yet. Brooke told me to leave it to the police but I just felt so helpless, you know? I – we – both thought it was a good idea to have Uncle Francis look after the items, but look how that turned out.” He spread out his hands in a helpless gesture.
“Which shops have you hit so far?” Zoe asked.
“Just this one.”
“And I told him he was out of luck,” the clerk interrupted. “The only jewelry I have right now are diamond earrings, bracelets, and some ruby rings – but I’m afraid they’re fake.”
“Really?” Zoe headed to the counter.
“Is there any more jewelry over there?” Lauren asked Jeff, gesturing to the corner he’d been browsing.
“No,” he confessed, “but I saw this cool looking radio and I was thinking maybe I should buy it. I think it’s from the seventies or something.”
“Here are the ruby rings.” The clerk pulled out a tray of jewelry, the stones gleaming under the lights.
“Ooh.” Zoe’s gaze skimmed the baubles. “This one. No, this one. No, this one. No, this—”
“I thought you wanted to check out as many pawnshops in the shortest time possible.” Lauren glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly seven.”
“Already?” Disappointment flickered across Zoe’s face. “No wonder Castern took so long to check out the stores. It’s fascinating.” She swung her gaze around the space and all the interesting items people had pawned. “Look, there’s a feather boa!”
“Which you don’t need.” Lauren looked at her. “Do you?”
“No, Mom.” Zoe returned her attention to the baubles. “Maybe I’ll become a jewelry person after all. Oh, look! This ring is just like Christina’s.”
“Where?” Lauren’s gaze zeroed in on the tray of rings.
“This one.” Zoe touched a ruby and diamond ring. The big red stone was bracketed by three elegant diamonds on each side.
“It’s not a sapphire.”
“No, but if you replaced this ruby with a blue stone...”
“You’re right,” Lauren breathed.
“Don’t forget it’s a fake ruby,” the clerk reminded them. “It’s costume jewelry. Pretty, though.”
“Christina said her sapphire and diamond ring was real.” Lauren mused.
“This setting is a bit old-fashioned,” the man told them. “This sort of design was popular last century, maybe in the fifties or sixties, but it has the kind of timelessness that appeals to women.”
“I bet you make a lot of sales,” Zoe commented.
“Some.” He grinned.
Lauren and Zoe studied the ring, then looked at each other.
“What if Christina’s ring is a fake?” They spoke at once.
***
“BUT CHRISTINA SAID it was the real deal,” Zoe said for the third time on the way home. They’d stopped at a drive-thru for burgers and fries, Lauren gulping hers down quickly. She didn’t want to be late for Annie’s cyber play date with Mrs. Snuggle.
“Maybe hers is,” she offered, hoping she wasn’t going to get indigestion from eating too quickly.
“We should see if we can get another look at her ring.” Zoe tapped her cheek, leaving a faint grease stain from her fries.
“Maybe whoever created those fake ruby rings copied the design from the person who made Christina’s real sapphire ring last century.”
“So does that mean that Christina’s ring is old – like seventy years old if it was designed in the nineteen-fifties? And what about Brooke’s grandmother’s jewels? When were they made? Around the same time? Even earlier?”
“Good point – or points.” Lauren kept her eye on the speed limit as she got them home safely, her headlights showing the way through the dark night.
Zoe jumped out of the car as soon as Lauren stopped outside the cottage. “Only five minutes late!” She ran into the house.
Lauren followed. “Did you tell Chris you’d be here tonight?” She nearly collided with Mitch when she entered the hall.
“How was your sleuthing expedition?” He wrapped his arms around her.
She leaned into the embrace, feeling as if they’d hardly spent any time together this week.
“I should have known you’d guess.” She smiled at him. “We bumped into Jeff at a pawnshop.”
He listened while she filled him in.
“That shop isn’t one Castern’s been to yet.” He shook his head. “The boss has him checking cell phone records now, as well.”
Zoe and Annie emerged from the living room.
“Brrt,” she scolded Lauren.
“I’m sorry.” She picked up her fur baby and held her close. “We didn’t have as much fun without you. I know we’re a bit late, but I’m sure Zoe is connecting with Father Mike right now.”
“Oops.” Zoe dug out her phone and peered at it. After a moment she said, “Hi, Father Mike. We’re just about ready.”
“Mrs. Snuggle is looking forward to it,” he told them, his face smiling through the screen.
“Hi.” Lauren waved, quickly telling Mitch about the play date.
Mitch greeted him as well, and they took the phone into the living room. Lauren set Annie gently on the floor, and she ran to get her orange ball.
Jingle.
“Meow,” Mrs. Snuggle uttered.
“Hi, Mrs. Snuggle.” Zoe beamed at the white Persian filling the screen. She looked a trifle grumpy. “Why don’t you and Annie play for a little first, and then I’ll ask you some questions about the princess movie?”
“Meow?” The Persian’s blue eyes widened in interest.
Annie pushed her ball toward the phone.
Mrs. Snuggle showed off her stuffed fish that made a crinkle crackle noise.
The three of them headed to the kitchen for a minute.
“You just mentioned cell phone records.” Zoe looked at Mitch. “Do Keith and Christina have alibis?”
“Yes,” Mitch replied. “Keith was drinking at a bar and the bartender has confirmed that. Apparently, he’s a regular.”
“What about Christina?” Lauren queried.
“Yeah, we were thinking about that in the car tonight.”
“I’m still checking hers out. She says she was home alone but she phoned Keith while he was at the bar. She wanted to know if he was interested in an ugly old lamp she got in the divorce.”
“Was she calling him from home?” Lauren asked.
“That’s what I’m still discovering. Christina doesn’t have a landline at her Sacramento apartment, so we’ve requested her cell phone records from her network but it’s taking a while.” He grimaced. “The boss decided to put Castern on that.”
“You might be waiting a long time,” Zoe observed.
“Have you had dinner?” Lauren asked.
“I grabbed a burger from Gary’s after I got your text.” He gently cupped her face. “Thanks for leaving the note on the kitchen table as well.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied softly.
“If you two are going to be lovey-dovey, I’ll join Annie and Mrs. Snuggle.” Zoe left the room, a smile on her face.
They sat down at the kitchen table and spoke about their day, Lauren relishing their time together.
“I’ll try and stop by the café tomorrow,” he promised her.
“Good.” She squeezed his hand.
The sound of Zoe laughing from the living room intruded.
“We might as well see what she’s up to.” Mitch looked at her in resignation.
Lauren nodded, and they headed to the living room.
“You’re right, Mrs. Snuggle.” Zoe sounded enthusiastic as she made a note on a piece of paper.
“Brrt,” Annie said. “Brrt!”
“So you do like my idea for a bit of spy drama in the next movie.”
“Meow.”
“What is she doing?” Mitch looked amused.
Lauren explained about Zoe’s idea to ask the cats what they wanted to see in the next princess movie.
“She’s really serious about writing a screenplay?”
“Definitely.” Lauren nodded. “Especially after word got out from Brooke’s salon.”
“If anyone can make it happen, she can.” He chuckled, then sobered. “So can you.” He looked into her eyes, his expression serious. “You can do anything you set your mind to, as well.”
“Thank you.” She blinked back a hint of moisture in her eyes. “The same goes for you.” She glanced at her fur baby, patting her ball. “And Annie.”
“That goes without saying.” He smiled.
They spent the rest of the evening supervising the cyber play date, and listening to Zoe enthuse about ideas for her script. Unexpected spies, another princess, mistaken identity –it seemed that all the crime and spy dramas Zoe had watched in the last several years were about to pay off.
She hadn’t realized her cousin had so many ideas brimming inside her. And she knew she’d do whatever she could to support her.