The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds (18 page)

“You think she did hit
her?”

“Cheryl’s cheek was
bruised. I suppose it could have happened if she slipped, but it was probably
from being hit and then falling.”

“Danielle didn’t fess
up?”

“No. She kept insisting
Cheryl fell, that she didn’t hit her. I figured it was a possible scenario and
no one saw what happened.”

“Who was there?” Brian
asked.

“Danielle’s friend
Lily, who’s staying with her for the summer. Ian Bartley. He’s the author, the
one who wrote the article about the Missing Thorndike—and he’s writing the book
about Eva Thorndike’s life. And Joanne Johnson.”

Clarence Renton sat at
Lucy Diner’s lunch counter reading the current edition of the
Frederickport
Press
. The waitress behind the counter refilled his coffee cup and said,
“Can you believe it, a murder in Frederickport.”

“It certainly looks
that way,” Clarence said as he folded the paper and set it on the countertop.
He picked up his now full mug and took a sip of coffee.

“I wonder if that
necklace will stay lost for another hundred years? It really is a shame, that
poor woman getting killed,” the waitress said.

 “Foolish running
around wearing something that valuable.”

“When it first went
missing, I heard she stole it from her cousin. But now I’m hearing she just
borrowed it, intended to bring it back. Hey, didn’t I read you were the one
that handled that estate?”

“Yes. Brianna Boatman
was my client for years. Her mother was the one who inherited the property from
Walt Marlow.”

“Did you know the woman
who was killed?”

“I met her briefly.
Brianna left her estate to the murdered woman’s cousin.”

“So she really didn’t
have claim to the necklace? The one who was killed, I mean.”

“I don’t think so. But
it’s all a mute point now.”

“Well, it really is a
shame. I hope they catch the killer quick. I don’t like to think there are
people like that running around here.”

“I imagine there are
people like that in every community.”

“You’re just saying
that because you’re a lawyer and meet all kinds of crooked people.”

Clarence chuckled and
said, “I’m not a criminal lawyer. But I have to admit, a few of my corporate
clients are a bit crooked.” Giving the waitress a quick wink he added, “But
please don’t repeat that.”

The waitress laughed
and playfully swatted at his arm. The cook rang a bell, signally food was up.
She turned from Renton and grabbed the plate from the pass through window, and
then set it in front of him.

“Thanks,” Clarence said
as he picked up his fork. Taking a bite of his egg, he looked out the window to
his left.

“Can I get you anything
else?” the waitress asked, still hovering.

“Have any salsa back
there?”

“Sure.” The waitress
walked to the nearby cooler and grabbed a salsa-filled soufflé cup and set it
next to Clarence’s plate. “I heard Adam Nichols was a suspect. I know Adam can
be a little slick—always reminded me of a car salesman—but I can’t imagine he’d
kill anyone.”

“He was the last one
seen with her,” Clarence said.

“According to the
newspaper article I read, Adam swears she didn’t have the necklace on her. But
you know what?” 

“What?” Clarence
asked.”

“If they find that
necklace they’ll find the killer,” the waitress said.

“I suppose you’re
right.” Clarence pulled the lid off the plastic cup and doused the remainder of
his eggs in salsa. The waitress started to walk away when he asked, “Hey, do
you know what’s up with the jewelry store across the street? I noticed a ‘for
rent’ sign on the building.”

“Damnedest thing—last
week Sam comes in here tells me he’s decided to move. Says he wants a change.
Right out of the blue. Next thing I know his store is cleaned out and the
building’s owner has that for rent sign up.  I guess he was pretty pissed,
because Sam didn’t give him a thirty day notice.”

“I thought Sam owned
that building.”

“No, sold it last year.
I think he needed the money,” she said in a whisper. “Sold his house too. Been
renting back since then.”

“Too bad. That jewelry
store has been a fixture in this community since before I moved here. Surprised
he didn’t try to sell the business. Wonder what he’s going to do?”

“I don’t know. But he
already left town. Sam told me he was leaving by the end of the summer but he
must have figured, why wait? Heard he pulled out this morning.”

“Interesting…” Clarence
murmured.

• • • •

Marvin Burrows
nervously tapped his right foot as he waited impatiently in an office at the
Frederickport Police Department. Glancing down at the right sleeve of his
suit’s jacket, he flicked off a minuscule piece of lint. He was straightening
the sleeve when the door opened.

“Mr. Burrows, sorry to
keep you waiting,” Brian said when he entered the room.

“Is it true what they
said in this morning’s paper? Did you find Cheryl? Is she dead?”

“I’m afraid so sir.”
Brian took a seat at the desk in front of Marvin.

“I don’t understand;
why didn’t someone call me?”

“I’m afraid it’s been a
little hectic around here since we found her yesterday.”

“Hectic? My client has
been murdered and you tell me it was a little hectic so you couldn’t bother to
take two seconds to call me?” he said angrily.

“I am sorry, sir. We
are doing everything we can to find whoever murdered your client.”

“This is awful…just
awful…” Marvin shook his head.

“Had you known her for
a long time?” Brian asked.

“Yes. I was her
parent’s attorney. It was tragic, she lost them both, along with her brother,
aunt, and uncle in a plane crash when she was practically still a teenager.
Left the poor girl devastated.”

“The aunt and uncle you
mentioned, were those Danielle Boatman’s parents perhaps?”

“Yes. I’ve always felt
Ms. Boatman was rather bitter about the accident. Cheryl’s father was the
pilot. The girls were never close after that. I always suspected it was because
Danielle resented Cheryl, blaming her in some way for her parents’ death.”

“It was hardly Cheryl’s
fault.”

“No, but the sins of
the father, so to speak,” Marvin said.

“Did the girls have
other family, aside from the aunt who left Danielle Marlow House?”

“Cheryl does. She has
an aunt and uncle, plus several cousins who will be devastated at the news. As
for Danielle, I understand Cheryl was the only family she had, and yet she
wanted nothing to do with her. Such a shame. As for the aunt’s estate, I don’t believe
for a moment she intended to leave it entirely to Ms. Boatman. Had the woman
not been suffering from Alzheimer’s, she would have surely left it to both of
them. I suspect Ms. Boatman did a little manipulating there.”

“Will you continue to
pursue the issue?”

“You mean, continue to
contest Brianna Boatman’s will? What would be the point now, Cheryl is dead.”

“I don’t claim to
understand how these things work, but wouldn’t Cheryl’s heirs be entitled to
her share of Brianna Boatman’s estate, if Cheryl really did have a legitimate
claim?”

“Yeah right. I don’t
think that’s going to be an issue.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cheryl left her entire
estate to Danielle Boatman. An estate that is now worth in excess of ten
million dollars. I don’t think she has any interest in pursuing a case against
herself.”

“You’re saying Danielle
Boatman is Cheryl’s heir? Didn’t you say Cheryl had other relatives that cared
about her—while she and Danielle weren’t close?”

“I said Danielle didn’t
care about Cheryl. But obviously Cheryl cared about Danielle. Unwisely, if you
ask me. As far as I am concerned, there’s only one person who had a motive to
kill Cheryl and that was her cousin, Danielle Boatman.”

After Marvin finally
left the police station, Brian gave Joe a call and asked him to stop in. They
needed to discuss the murder.

“Did the attorney say
Danielle was aware of the inheritance?” Joe asked after Brian recounted his
conversation with Marvin Burrows.

“He didn’t know.
Apparently Cheryl had other cousins she was closer to, so I’m not sure Danielle
would assume she was in her cousins’ will, much less be her sole heir. You met
Cheryl, do you think she’s the type to keep something like that secret?”

“I don’t know,” Joe
shrugged. “But I really can’t believe Danielle would kill her cousin for an
inheritance.”

“Ten million is not
chump change.”

“No it’s not. Damn.”
Joe shook his head.

Another officer opened
the door and poked his head in. “Hey, Millie Samson from the museum is here, I
think you guys need to hear this.”

Five minutes later Joe
and Brian sat with Millie Samson in the interview room. By the way she was
fidgeting they could tell she was anxious to tell her story.

“What is this all
about, Millie?” Joe asked.

“I was working as
docent in the museum this morning when I get this phone call from a woman. I
didn’t recognize her voice, spoke in a whisper. I think she was afraid someone
would hear her. She says she has some information about the murder and I need
to get it to the police right away.”

“Why didn’t she just
call us?” Brian asked.

“I could tell she was
afraid. I don’t think she wanted you to trace her call. I see on TV how you do
that.”

“So what did she want
you to tell us?” Joe asked.

“She said Adam Nichols
killed Cheryl Hartford and took the Missing Thorndike, and you’ll find the
necklace in his office. It’s in a green vase on his bookshelf.”

“How would she know
that?” Joe asked.

“She said she saw him
put something in the vase when she walked by his office. She was curious, and
when he left the she looked inside the vase. She immediately recognized the
necklace from the pictures in the newspaper. She’s afraid for her life because
that woman was already killed for the necklace. So you can’t tell anyone how
you got the information. You better hurry before he moves it.”

When Millie left five
minutes later, Joe looked at Brian and asked, “What do you think?”

“If the call was legit,
means someone who works for Adam called Millie. After all, who else would still
have access to the office after he left?”

“But why call Millie?
If an informer gives away her place of employment, why would she care if we
traced the call? The anonymity ship has already sailed. I think only two women
work in that office; it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out which one
called Millie.” Joe said.

“Or it’s a prank call,”
Brian said.

“Or the killer trying
to throw us off,” Joe suggested.

“In that case, I doubt
we’ll find the necklace in the vase because I seriously doubt the killer will
give up the necklace just to implicate Adam.”

“True. But we need to
follow up on this.”

“I agree. How about you
get a search warrant while I run out to Marlow House.”

“I could go to Marlow
House,” Joe suggested.

“Come on Joe, you know
as well as I do I should be the one interviewing Danielle Boatman, not you.”

“Alright, but I hope I
find that necklace at Adam’s.”

“I wouldn’t hold your
breath.”

Danielle stood quietly
at the library window and looked outside. A breeze was blowing, rustling the
leaves of the flowering bushes along the perimeter of the yard, while sending
the tree limbs into a gentle sway. The lawn needed trimming and the yard seemed
desolate when she considered how it looked on the fourth, with the white lawn
chairs and tables set up, her guests milling around and enjoying the refreshments
while a few tried their hand at croquet. That day had not gone exactly as she
had planned.

“Do you think she’s
gone for good?” Lily asked when she walked into the library.

Danielle turned from
the window and looked at Lily. “You mean Cheryl?”

“Yes.” Lily sat down on
the sofa.

“I don’t know. Maybe.
After they took her body away, I looked around and didn’t see her. I wondered
if she stayed with her body or came back here. But if you think about it, there
is no reason for her to really stick around now.”

“How are you doing?”

“I think it’s starting
to sink in. Cheryl is really dead.”

“I’m sorry, Dani.”

“Yeah, me too.”
Danielle walked over to the sofa and sat next to Lily, propping her feet on the
coffee table. “She could sure be a pain in the butt,” Danielle chuckled. “I
think I might actually miss her.”

“Does it help knowing…I
mean…”

“That there is
something more after this?” Danielle asked.

“Yes.”

“I suppose so. But I’m
not really sure what that something is. And it’s not like I can summons up my
departed loved ones whenever I feel like a little chat.”

The doorbell rang. Lily
stood up and said, “I’ll get it.” Danielle nodded and closed her eyes, leaning
back on the sofa.

When Lily answered the
door Brian was standing on the front porch. He was in uniform.

“Hi,” Lily greeted.
“You’re Joe’s friend, Brian, right?”

“Yes. I’m here to see
Ms. Boatman, on official business.”

“Sure. Follow me, she’s
in the library.”

Brian followed Lily
down the entry hall and to the library.

“Dani, Brian is here to
see you. He says it is official business.” Lily announced when they entered the
library.

Danielle opened her
eyes and got to her feet. “Hello Brian. Has there been any news?”

“I was wondering if we
could talk, alone?” Brian asked.

“Umm…sure…”Danielle
looked at Lily.

“I’ll be in the kitchen
if you need me,” Lily said as she left the room, closing the double doors
behind her.

“Why don’t you sit
down,” Danielle pointed to the chair across from the sofa. When Brian took a
seat she sat back down on the sofa. “So what is this all about?” Danielle
asked.

“At the party, after
Cheryl took off with the necklace, what did you do?”

“What did I do? I hung
around here. I still had guests and people were still coming. I couldn’t very
well leave.”

“So your cousin takes
off with a million dollar necklace and you don’t go after her?”

“Joe did that, you can
ask him.”

“When did your guests
finally leave?”

“Everyone was gone by
the time it was dark. I sort of planned it that way because I figured most
would want to leave to go watch the fireworks show.”

“What did you do then?
Did you go watch fireworks?”

“No. I really wasn’t in
the mood for fireworks, considering Cheryl had taken off with the necklace.”

“So you stayed here all
night?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any
witnesses?”

“Lily was here.”

“For the entire night?”

“She went over to Ian’s
for a while.”

“Where is that?”

“Across the street.
What is this all about anyway?”

“I understand you hit
your cousin before the party.”

“I did not hit her. She
grabbed for the necklace and slipped.”

“According to witnesses
she claimed you hit her.”

“Well, she was wrong. I
didn’t.”

“Joe said her face was
bruised.”

“Joe said that?”

“Yes.”

“Well I don’t know how
it got bruised but I didn’t do it.”

“I understand you
haven’t taken any reservations yet for the B and B.”

“No, with Cheryl
missing…and now with her death…I think I want to give it some time. Maybe open
next season.”

“Or not at all?”

“I’d think you’d
understand why I’d want to postpone the opening.”

“I certainly do.
Inheriting over ten million dollars probably doesn’t make you too anxious to
move forward with your plans. Why be an inn keeper when you have all that
money?”

“What are you talking
about?”

“You’re Cheryl’s heir.
She left everything to you. How fortunate for you.”

“No, I don’t believe
that. Cheryl had other relatives; she wouldn’t leave it to me. And even if she
did, her estate isn’t worth ten million dollars.”

“What do you think it’s
worth?”

“When her parent’s
died, I heard the estate was worth five million.”

“Five million is still
quite a fortune, isn’t it? I bet you’d never have to bother turning this place
into an inn.”

“Everyone saw Cheryl
leave that night. Even if I wanted to find her, I had no way of knowing where
she was. You honestly think I would be able to track her down faster than Joe?”

“Perhaps you knew all
along where she was going.”

“How would I know
that?”

“Maybe she mentioned
the bungalow to you before that night. It’s my understanding Adam took her
there the day they met.”

“And if she did mention
it, would she really use that as a hiding place knowing it would probably be
one place I’d look—especially since she took off with Adam?”

Brian considered her
words for a moment and then said, “Perhaps it started out as a publicity
stunt.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“You’re good at
grabbing attention for your inn. Maybe you cooked this up with Cheryl, she
would run off with the necklace, it would stir up the press like when you
initially found it. But then you started thinking about all that money, and
figured this would be a good time to really cash in.”

• • • •

Adam sat at his desk
trying to focus on the invoices before him. It was a difficult task considering
he couldn’t stop thinking about Cheryl. He didn’t notice his assistant standing
nervously by his office doorway, while several police officers stood behind
her. He looked up when she cleared her throat and said, “The police are here.”

Adam set his pencil on
the pile of invoices and watched as Joe Morelli and two other officers, one
male and one female, filed into his office. Joe held a piece of paper in his
hand. He lifted it over his head and said, “We have a warrant to search your
office, Adam.”

“Should I be calling my
attorney?” Adam asked, still sitting behind his desk.

“I suppose that depends
on what we find.” Joe tossed the warrant on Adam’s desk and gave a little nod
to the female officer. She went directly to the green vase sitting in the
bookshelf. Adam watched as she lifted the vase down from the top shelf and
looked inside.

Giving Joe a nod, she
dipped her gloved hand into the vase and said, “It’s here.” Lifting the Missing
Thorndike from its hiding place she held it up for all to see. Instead of the
glittering piece Joe remembered fastening around Danielle’s neck, it was now
splattered in dry blood.

“What the hell?” Adam
stood abruptly, his eyes riveted on the bloody necklace in the officer’s hand.

Joe reached back and
grabbed the handcuffs from his belt. He stepped to Adam and said, “Adam
Nichols, you are under arrest for the murder of Cheryl Hartford…” Adam stood
numbly as Joe pulled his hands behind his back and fitted them in the
handcuffs. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will
be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you
cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you…”

• • • •

The police chief looked
down at the sealed plastic bag sitting on his desk. Inside it was the Missing
Thorndike. Dry blood dulled its shine. He shook his head and said, “Would have
been a hell of a lot less trouble if Boatman would’ve just kept the damn thing
locked up in the bank until she sold it.”

“I’m really sorry about
this, chief,” Joe muttered. The two officers who had accompanied him to Adam’s
office stood by his side.

The chief looked up at
Joe and said, “So you say he didn’t try to stop you?”

“No. In fact, he didn’t
seem a bit concerned about the warrant.”

“I guess we need to get
it over to the lab. They’re going to love this. We better get Hayman over
here.”

“Hayman?” Joe asked.

“We’ll need to verify
it is the real Missing Thorndike before we send it over there. When they’re
done with it, I really don’t want them sending back a piece of costume jewelry
and insisting that’s what we sent over.”

Joe pointed to the
makeshift wire attaching the clasp to the necklace. “I can’t verify the
diamonds and emeralds are real, but that is definitely the necklace Danielle
was wearing when Cheryl took it. The chain broke before the party and I added
that wire.”

“I’ve no doubt it is
the Missing Thorndike, but I want to follow protocol on this one.” The chief
picked up the plastic bag and placed it in the evidence box. Sealing the
container, he marked the tape. “I’ll take it to lock up myself. Call Hayman and
get him over here. The sooner I get this out of here, the better.”

• • • •

Danielle was about to
ask Brian to leave when his cellphone rang. He curtly excused himself to answer
the call. Disgusted with Brian’s accusations, Danielle left him alone in the
library to take the call. She found Lily in the kitchen.

“Did he leave?” Lily
asked.

“No, he got a call. The
jerk.”

“What happened?”

“He thinks I killed
Cheryl.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I wish I was. Do you
know what he told me?”

“What?”

“I don’t know if it’s
true. Not really sure how he would know. But according to him Cheryl left me
everything. Apparently she was worth considerably more than what her parents
left her.”

“How much are we
talking?”

“Ten million.”

Lily let out a low
whistle. “Wow.”

“I tell you what, I
wish people would stop making me their heir. It is starting to be a real pain
in the butt.”

“I thought you were
happy about Marlow House.”

“That was before the
Missing Thorndike. It’s been nothing but trouble. And if Brian Henderson has
his way, my most recent inheritance is going to get me locked up. I wonder, do
they have the death penalty in Oregon?”

“I don’t think you need
to worry about that quite yet,” Brian said from the doorway.

Lily and Danielle
quickly exchanged glances, wondering how much he’d heard of their conversation.

“What do you mean?”
Danielle asked.

“It seems the Missing
Thorndike has once again resurfaced.”

“Where?” Lily and
Danielle chorused.

“We got a tip this
afternoon that Adam Nichols had the necklace stashed in his office. Seems you
were right all along Ms. Boatman. Adam Nichols killed your cousin for the
necklace.”

Stunned, Lily and
Danielle walked Brian to the front door and watched him make his way down the
front walk toward the street where he had parked his car. After they shut the
door they looked at each other.

“I don’t believe it. It
really doesn’t go along with what Cheryl told me,” Danielle said.

Cheryl suddenly
appeared, shouting, “That’s because it isn’t true!”

“Cheryl! Where have you
been?” Danielle asked.

“Is Cheryl here?”

“Yes.” Danielle told
Lily. She then turned to her cousin and asked, “I thought you’d left for good.”

“So did I. But it seems
everything is screwed up here. I can’t leave now!”