Bats and Bling (4 page)

That took me by surprise. “I thought Veronica had said she had the piece custom made for her.”

“She did, but it hadn’t quite been paid for yet. The store was just gracious enough to allow her to take it home before paying for it.”

What kind of store let someone take an expensive piece of jewelry without paying? It seemed as if Veronica might also be in trouble over this. I couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope that if Veronica hadn’t paid for it, maybe she’d be accountable for the loss not me. I felt bad for even thinking that but I couldn’t help it.

Bert pulled a notebook out of his pocket and looked back at me.

“If you could please run down the events of how the brooch came to be in your possession?”

I recounted everything from when Veronica and her friends came in the store to opening the safe the next morning to discover the brooch was missing.

“And you have no idea who could have gotten into the safe?”

“No,” I shook my head. “The police are of course investigating but I haven’t heard anything yet. There are only a few of us who have access and I can’t bring myself to believe it’s one of us but then that leaves me at a loss as to who could have not only got into the store but also the safe.” As I was telling him all this I started to wonder if maybe I was giving out too much information. Though the cat was out of the bag so to speak so I couldn’t take it back.

“Well thank you,” he said. “I think I’ve got what I need. For now anyway.”

“Really?” I couldn’t help but be surprised that’s all he asked. It didn’t seem very investigative like. But before I could say anything else he turned and quickly left before I could ask any of the million questions running through my mind.

“What was that all about,” Katy asked as she walked back up to me. She had been helping customers when I was talking to Bert.

“A guy from an insurance company who is representing the jewelry store. He said that brooch was out on loan. That Veronica hadn’t paid for it.”

“Who let’s something that expensive out without payment?”

“That’s exactly what went through my head when he told me.”

“I might not have the answer to that question, Pres, but what I do know is those two ladies who just came in are definitely in the mood to drop some cash. So let’s see how much we can sell them and brighten up your day and Silk’s bank account.”

As I went with Katy over to the shoppers I couldn’t help thinking about the fact Veronica hadn’t paid for the brooch. There was something not quite right about that. She was loaded. At least that’s how she portrayed herself and with all the money I knew she’d dropped at Silk in the last couple months she’d have to be rich or seriously in debt. Though maybe she was in debt and didn’t have the money to pay for it.

The morning flew by, the new customers adding a healthy number to our daily sales which we sorely needed and did help my mood. Anna came in to join us for lunch and the three of us were trying to decide what to eat when the door chimed and we looked up to see it was Willie.

“Willie,” I exclaimed and walked around the counter to give him a hug.

“Do you remember my friend Anna?” I said, motioning to her.

“Of course,” he smiled and held out his hand. “Good to see you again. You too, Katy.”

“So what do we owe the pleasure?” I asked.

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and fill you in on what we have so far about your break in.”

“I thought you weren’t working on the case?”

“I wasn’t but I asked Detective Braden if I could take over since I knew you so here I am. How lucky are you?”

“Super lucky. We have the best detective in Chicago.”

Willie smiled and I was thrilled that he had taken over this case. I felt comfortable with him and knew I could bug him with updates at any time.

“Unfortunately there isn’t much to go on yet. They did find several sets of fingerprints on the safe and around the back door and we need you all to come to the station so we can eliminate your prints and see if we have anything left to go on.”

“Some guy was in here this morning from Windy City Insurance. He said he represented the jeweler who made the brooch. Apparently they let Veronica take it when it wasn’t paid for,” I said.

“That’s the information we got too,” Willie replied.

“I can’t believe they let her take something that expensive out of the store!”

“I’m sure they wished they hadn’t now,” Willie said with a small grin. “Lesson learned I suppose.”

“We were just heading out to lunch. Join us?” Katy said.

“I wish I could, but I’ve got to get up town. Crime never slows down. Job security I suppose. You ladies have fun though.”

“Bye Willie,” I said.

“He is so damn cute,” Anna said as we watched him walk out the door. Taking in what was a great view of his backside. Anna was right. Willie was very handsome. Not what you’d expect from a cop. Not that cops couldn’t be handsome, he just had a different way about him. His presence, his demeanor, just didn’t scream cop. At least not to me. He had awesome taste in clothes. Expensive suits when he was on duty as a detective and full sleeve tattoos visible when he wasn’t. He was very Wentworth Miller in Prison Break. Just the heterosexual version. I wondered whatever happened to Wentworth Miller. I hadn’t seen him in anything in the last few years and I really liked him.

“So are we ready for lunch?” Katy said.

“Lunch can wait. I want to go talk to the jewelry store that made that brooch,” I said, grabbing my purse from under the counter.

“But I’m starving,” Anna said. “You lured me here with the promise of food,” she teased.

“Me too, Presley. You must feed us!” Katy added.

“We can gulp and go something on the way,” I said. I was hungry too but I was much more focused on getting more information on this brooch than I was on food. Definitely a first for me. I called goodbye to Yvette leaving her with one of our part time associates to run the store while we were gone and we headed down First Street toward the store we were looking for.

“How do you guys feel about a falafel? There’s a cart right there,” I said, pointing to the corner.

“Smells wonderful,” said Katy.

“Fine with me,” Anna added. “I just need food.”

We quickly grabbed our sandwiches and kept walking the remaining blocks to Garrett Jewelers.

“Eating and walking is harder than it looks,” Katy said as I watched the sauce drip over her hand. “Thought we’re burning the calories just as quickly as we’re eating them. That’s a plus.”

“You have to eat fast and have a lot of napkins,” I said, pulling a few from the handful I had stuffed in my pocket. “It’s a practiced skill us Chicagoans have.”

“What are you hoping to find out from the jewelry store?” Anna asked in between bites.

“I’m just going to lead with the truth and see how far that gets me.” Since I had absolutely no idea what I should say or what their reaction would be, I figured it was my only option.

“And what is that exactly?” Katy asked.

“That Veronica left her brooch with me and it was stolen and I want to figure out by who. It’s not like they don’t already know it was stolen from Silk.”

A few more minutes and we arrived at our destination.

“I don’t have any sandwich stuck in my teeth do I?” I asked Anna and Katy.

“Nope,” they replied.

Feeling a little nervous, I swung open the door that led into a very posh environment. By the looks of the dark wood furniture pieces that were antique even to my untrained eye and the huge crystal encrusted light fixtures, this was a very high end place.

“I bet there’s not a single thing in here we could afford,” Katy whispered. “Even if we all went in on it together. This place looks like the high end of the high end.”

“It sure looks that way,” I said at almost a whisper, this place was intimidating.

A woman, probably mid-fifties, impeccably groomed and in a gorgeous suit that fit her so perfectly it had to be custom tailored for her svelte body, walked out of the back. She looked exactly as I’d imagined someone working here would. No more touchable than any of these high end diamonds.

“Can I help you ladies?” the woman said in a smooth cultured voice. If she thought we didn’t look like her typical customers she didn’t show it.

“I sure hope so,” I said a little too cheerfully. A side effect of my being nervous was sometimes being too upbeat and this wasn’t exactly an upbeat sort of place.

The woman raised her eyebrows as a signal she was waiting for me to finish whatever it was what I wanted to say.

“I, uh…”

“I’m Katy and this is Presley and Anna.”Katy said taking over. “We run a boutique called Silk and one of our customers, Veronica Knapp had a custom ordered brooch your store made for her. Well I’m afraid to say it came up missing and we were, well, hoping you might know if anyone knew about that brooch and might want it? Enough to want to steal it?”

The woman sniffed. “You mean someone who’d want to steal it more than Veronica Knapp?”

I was so amazed at how Katy had so smoothly engaged this woman that I was afraid I hadn’t heard what she’d just said correctly.

“What do you mean,” I asked. “I thought Veronica had that piece on loan?”

“While technically she did it’s not our normal practice to let customers take unpaid merchandise out of the store. When she came to pick it up she conveniently forgot her purse. She talked an associate into letting her take it on the promise she would call later with her credit card number. She never did of course so in my book that’s stealing. I guess she got lucky that it was miraculously stolen from you. Now I’m sure she feels she doesn’t have to pay for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to sue her to get our money.”

I cringed at the mention of a lawsuit.

“So you think she took it, never planning on paying for it, Ms….I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Raquel Rivers. And no, I don’t think she planned on paying for it. I think she lied about forgetting her credit card just to get her hands on that thing.She’s just that type you know.”

“Not really. What type is that?” I asked.

“The newly rich and entitled type. She thought she should get anything she wanted whether she deserved it or not. We called her husband about payment, he’s bought things for her from us before, and he had no idea she had commissioned a piece and didn’t seem none too happy about it. He was very clear that he wouldn’t be paying for it. In fact he told me he’d cut her off. Though I didn’t ask why and why he even offered that information to me in the first place I don’t know. I don’t care to know the particulars of my customers’ finances.”

“Is that why your insurance company is investigating? Because you think Veronica planned this?”

Raquel furrowed her eyebrows. Thought they didn’t move that much. Botox maybe?

“I haven’t called the insurance company yet. Against my advice the owner wanted to wait and give Veronica a chance to pay up. That brooch was valued at over six figures and while we want to get our money we also don’t want the negative publicity. These matters need to be handled very carefully.”

“So you didn’t send someone over to my store from Windy City Insurance?” I said confused.

I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t know which was worse. Knowing how expensive that brooch really was or wondering why that guy was in the store asking questions if he hadn’t stopped by at the request of the jewelry store.

“Is the associate who allowed Veronica to take the brooch working today?” Katy asked.

“She may be working but it’s not here. She no longer has a job with us. Mistakes like that can’t be tolerated.”

“Can we get her name?” I asked.

“Angela. Angela Scott.”

“Thank you, Raquel,” I said and she nodded in the way of her goodbye and the three of us walked out.

‘That’s not at all what I was expecting,” I said once we got back out to the sidewalk.

“What that the jewelry store thinks Veronica is a thief?” Katy said.

“Yeah that and the fact that brooch was valued at over six figures. It was a bat for goodness sake. It was sparkly but sure as hell wasn’t all that beautiful. Though Veronica sure thought so, so maybe you just have to be a fan of bats to appreciate it. I still can’t wrap my head around her not paying for that piece of jewelry and taking it anyway. Who does that.”

“According to Raquel, Veronica does,” Anna said.

“Maybe it’s a thrill for her. She’s bored and did it to see how long she could go without paying for it. Just playing a game. Then unfortunately it was stolen from us which of course probably wasn’t in her original plan,” said Katy.

“That doesn’t actually sound all that crazy, Pres,” Anna said.

“If that were the case wouldn’t her husband have paid for it when they called him?” I said.

“Maybe she does this a lot and he’s tired of it. Who knows? You know you can never tell what’s going on inside someone else’s home.”

“Good point, Katy. What bothers me more is who that Bert guy really is and why was he asking so many questions? I about died when Raquel said they hadn’t yet contacted the insurance company. I can’t believe I was so stupid to take his word for it. He showed me a business card but anyone can get any business cards made up. Hell you can print your own at home these days.”