The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds (20 page)

BOOK: The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds
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Chapter Thirty-Five

 

“I have to
admit I’ve been dying to have a look at the Missing Thorndike,” Aaron Michaels,
the jeweler from Astoria said after they led him into the interview room.
Officers Morelli and Henderson stood in the room with the chief. On the desk
was the necklace, still in its plastic bag.

The moment
Aaron glanced down at the blood stained stones his face went ashen. “I guess
that was a poor choice of words, considering the circumstances.”

“This definitely is not
the Lucky Thorndike,” the chief noted, handing the jeweler a pair of latex
gloves.

The men were silent as
they watched Aaron remove the necklace from the bag and inspect the stones.
Immediately the jeweler started shaking his head, as if he didn’t understand
what he was seeing.

“This isn’t the Missing
Thorndike,” Aaron said, returning the necklace to the bag. “Those stones are
fake.”

“Fake?” the chief
asked.

“As far as fakes go,
they’re pretty nice. Quality costume jewelry. But this necklace doesn’t have a
single diamond or emerald in it. The gold is real. The piece is obviously an
antique—even the fake gemstones are old. This necklace is worth something, for
its antique value alone. But over a million? No.”

“I don’t understand,”
Joe muttered. “This is the necklace Danielle and I took out of the safety
deposit box. It’s the one she wore to the party. This is the Missing
Thorndike.”

“How can you be so sure
it’s the one Danielle wore to the party?” Brian asked.

“Because of this,” Joe
pointed to the wire he’d used to re-attached the latch to the necklace.

“Maybe it is the same
one,” Aaron suggested. “Maybe the Missing Thorndike had fake stones all along.”

“When they found the
necklace Sam Hayman appraised it,” the chief said. “Claimed the stones were
real.”

“Well if Sam said they
were real, then someone must have switched out the stones since then. Sam would
easily recognize these as fake,” Aaron said.

“Could Sam have been
wrong…could you be wrong?” Brian asked.

“You’re welcome to get
a second opinion. Frankly, the guy at your local pawn shop will be able to tell
you these stones are fake,” Aaron said. “As for Sam being wrong. Only if he
intentionally lied. But why would he?”

“I don’t think Sam
lied,” Joe said. “I know the insurance company sent out their own appraiser
before insuring the necklace.”

“I certainly don’t
think the insurance company’s appraiser would confuse fake stones for diamonds
and emeralds,” Aaron said.

• • • •

Brian and Joe pulled up
in front of Marlow House late Tuesday afternoon. They were just getting out of
their car when they noticed Marvin Burrows, Cheryl Hartford’s attorney, coming
through the front gate. Carrying a briefcase, the attorney seemed preoccupied
as he made his way down the walk toward the street. He got into his vehicle,
which was parked in front of their car.

 Brian stood by the
police car and watched Burrows drive away. “That’s Hartford’s attorney, isn’t
it?”

“Yes. Wonder if it is
official.” Joe slammed the car door shut.

“What do you mean?”
Brian and Joe make their way up the front walk to Marlow House.

“Cheryl’s estate, and
Danielle’s inheritance,” Joe said.

“If Danielle can avoid
getting arrested for her cousin’s murder, then she’ll become a very rich
woman.”

“For the time being, we
have someone arrested for that crime,” Joe reminded.

“Yes. For the time
being.”

Five minutes later Joe
and Brian were seated in the parlor with Lily and Danielle. Walt and Cheryl were
also there, but neither lawman could see them.

“Is Adam still in
jail?” Danielle asked after the two men sat down.

“He got out on bail
this afternoon,” Joe explained. “But we’ve come to talk to you about the
Missing Thorndike, not Adam.”

Danielle couldn’t help
but notice Joe’s normally friendly demeanor was absent.
He might as well be
a stranger,
she thought.
He is no friendlier than Brian
.

“Okay,” Danielle said
in a quiet voice. “What about the Missing Thorndike?”

“The chief wanted to
have a jeweler verify the stones were real before we sent it to the lab.”

“Why would he want to
do that? We’ve already had it appraised twice,” Danielle said.

“We have to maintain
the chain of evidence,” Brian explained. “When we turn the necklace over to the
lab, we want to make sure we get the same necklace back.”

“Oh, you mean if
someone at the lab switched out the stones and put in fakes?” Lily said.

“Yes.” Brian nodded.

“I suppose that makes
sense.” Danielle still couldn’t figure out why they were here.

“The necklace we found
in Adam’s office was the same one you wore to the open house,” Joe explained.
“The problem is, the stones of the necklace we found are fake.”

“What does he mean
fake?” Cheryl screeched. “Did I get murdered over fake diamonds?”

“Excuse me?” Danielle
looked from Joe to Brian. The way they stared at her she had the feeling they
expected her to explain the fake stones.

“We had the necklace
looked at. The gemstones are fake,” Brian said.

“Are you sure it’s the
necklace Cheryl took? That might explain why the killer was willing to leave it
in the office to frame Adam. It wasn’t the Missing Thorndike, it’s a fake. The
killer has the real necklace,” Danielle said.

“All I know—it is the
same necklace you had on,” Joe told her.

“How do you know that?”
Lily asked.

“If you will remember,
the necklace broke before the party, and I had to fix it with a piece of wire.
It’s the same necklace.”

“That doesn’t make any
sense,” Danielle shook her head in disbelief. “It was appraised twice. How
could that be? What did Sam Hayman say?”

“We didn’t talk to
Sam,” Joe said.

Danielle frowned. “I
assumed that’s who looked at the necklace.”

“No. We had to get
someone from Astoria. Sam’s gone,” Brian explained.

“Gone, what do you mean
gone?” Danielle asked.

“He’s left town,” Brian
said.

“Left town? What about
his store?” Lily asked.

“I guess he’s been
struggling for some time. He sold his commercial building a while back and his
house.” Joe explained. “But it doesn’t matter, because the person who looked at
the necklace is more than qualified. We aren’t saying the stones weren’t real
when they went into the safety deposit box. But sometime between then—and when
you put on the necklace, the stones were switched.”

“That’s impossible. I
seriously doubt Steve Klein or one of his employees switched out the stones.
And I know it didn’t happen here. The killer must have murdered Cheryl, taken
the necklace, switched the stones and then put the necklace with the gemstones
in Adam’s office,” Danielle said.

“The only problem with
that is the blood,” Brian said.

“What are you talking
about?” Danielle asked.

“Oh god…blood…they are
talking about my blood…I think I’m going to be sick…” Cheryl groaned.

“You can’t get sick,”
Walt reminded. “You’re dead. We don’t get sick.”

“Are you sure?” Cheryl
asked. Walt nodded.

“We spoke to the lab
before we came over here, and it looks like the blood is Cheryl’s. Not a
hundred percent yet, but fairly certain. Cheryl was killed with the necklace
on—the necklace she took from you, the one Joe wired together. Her blood is all
over it.” Brian said.

“Oh my god, I did get
killed over fake stones!”

“This doesn’t make any
sense.” Danielle stood up and began pacing the room.

“I told you the stones
were fake,” Walt reminded.

“But they had to have
been real. The insurance appraiser would never have made a mistake like that,”
Danielle said.

“We agree they were
real when you had it appraised.” Joe didn’t understand Danielle was talking to
Walt, not him.

“Did you switch out the
stones before the party?” Brian asked.

“Excuse me?” Danielle
stopped pacing and faced Brian.

“It would be
understandable. It’s not uncommon to keep the expensive stuff locked up while
wearing fake doubles. After all, who at the party would be the wiser? Of
course, if the necklace gets stolen, and you try to make a claim on the
insurance while you have the real gems locked in your safe, then you might have
a problem,” Brian said.

“Oh my god, is that
what you did?” Cheryl asked.

“No, I did not swap out
the stones,” Danielle said, staring past Brian to Cheryl.

“Maybe you could let us
see in your safe?” Brian suggested. “I mean you don’t have to let us, we don’t
have a search warrant or anything. But it might clear a few things up for us.”

“I’m not really sure
what all this has to do with my cousin’s murder,” Danielle said angrily. “If I
had swapped out those stones—which I didn’t—it wouldn’t really have any bearing
one way or another on my cousin’s murder.”

“We do need to figure
out when those stones were switched. It does have a bearing on the case,” Joe
said in a gentle voice, sounding much kinder than before. “If we know you
didn’t change the stones, then maybe the killer did. Those missing diamonds and
emeralds could lead us to your cousin’s killer.”

“If that was the case,”
Danielle considered the possibilities. “Then you’re suggesting Cheryl removed
the necklace, someone switched the stones and then she put the necklace back
on, and then someone bashed in her head?”

“Bashed in my head? Oh
Dani, please! Must you be so graphic,” Cheryl moaned.

“Did you have anything
to do with the stones being switched?” Walt asked.

“Absolutely not!”
Cheryl insisted. When Walt continued to stare at her as if he didn’t believe
what she was saying, she crossed her finger over her chest, and said, “I am
telling the truth, cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.”

“Need I remind you…”
Walt began. Cheryl stomped her foot and disappeared.

Danielle was so
preoccupied with the exchange between Walt and Cheryl that she didn’t realize
Joe was saying something to her. Finally Lily touched her arm and said, “Dani,
just show them.”

“What?” Danielle looked
at Lily.

“Show them what you
have in the safe. What will it hurt?” Lily said.

Danielle looked over at
Joe and Brian who stared at her. She imagined they wondered where she had just
zoned out to.

“Fine,” Danielle said.
“Come with me, it’s upstairs in my bedroom.”

The two men followed
Danielle and Lily upstairs to Danielle’s room. They watched as Danielle removed
a piece of paneling from the wall to expose the safe. Without saying a word she
turned the combination lock to the right, and then the left and then the right
again before swinging open the safe’s door. She stood to one side so the two
men could look inside the small compartment. The safe was empty.

“Well, at least you
haven’t put the stones in the house safe,” Brian murmured.

“Are you insinuating I
have them somewhere else?”

“No. I’m just saying
the only thing you’ve proved is that you didn’t put the gemstones in your wall
safe.”

“Will there be anything
else?” Danielle asked tersely.

“No, I think that’s all
for now,” Brian said.

As they walked back
down stairs Joe whispered to Danielle, “I hope you understand, I am just doing
my job.”

Danielle paused on the
stairway and faced Joe. Brian and Lily continued to walk downstairs and to the
entry hall landing, leaving Joe and Danielle alone on the stairs—alone except
for Walt who stood nearby listening.

“Do you think I killed
my cousin?” Danielle asked.

“We’ve arrested Adam
Nichols for the murder.” Joe said.

“That doesn’t really
answer my question. Your partner clearly does not like me. And I am beginning
to think that you don’t either.”

“Danielle, this has
nothing to do with me liking you or not. I am simply doing my job, and to do
that I have to remain impartial.”

“Yeah…well…whatever….”
Danielle started back down the stairs.

“We noticed your
cousin’s attorney was just leaving here when we drove up,” Joe said as he
followed Danielle.

“Yes, he was. I guess
your partner was right. I am a very rich woman now that my cousin is dead.”
Danielle said dully. “Lucky me.”

Chapter
Thirty-Six

 

Lily stumbled into the
kitchen on Wednesday morning rubbing sleep from her eyes. There hadn’t been
time to comb her hair; the aroma of the fresh brewed coffee was too seductive.
Still wearing her Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and red tank top, she made her way
directly to the pot of coffee sitting on the counter.

Danielle looked up from
where she sat at the kitchen table, drinking her coffee and reading the morning
paper. “You were out late last night. Did you have a good time?”

Lily sipped the coffee
she’d just poured herself before answering. “Grabbed a burger down by the pier,
and then spent the rest of the night at Ian’s, talking.” Lily brought her mug
of coffee to the table and sat down.

“Just talking?”
Danielle teased.

“Yeah, just talking.”
She set the mug on the table and glanced around. “Are we alone?”

“You mean Cheryl and
Walt?”

“Who else? Don’t tell
me we have other spirits hanging around here.”

“I’ve only noticed two.
And yeah, we’re alone.” Danielle glanced around the room.
I think we’re
alone
, she thought.

“I told Ian about the
gemstones being fake,” Lily said.

“What did he think?”

“He agreed they must
have been removed after Cheryl left here.” Lily lowered her voice to a whisper
and said, “He seems to think Cheryl must have been in on it and was double
crossed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ian said that if the
necklace had the real diamond and emeralds in it when Cheryl took it, then
she—and whoever she was working with—switched out the stones. She intended to
return here with the necklace, trying to pass off the fake stones as the real
ones. But when she put the necklace back on, with the fake stones, she was
double crossed when her partner in crime hit her over the head. Ian said he
probably didn’t kill Cheryl just for her half of the take, but because she was
a witness.”

“The only problem with
that scenario is that Cheryl insists that isn’t what happened. And I believe
her.”

“I know…but do spirits
always tell the truth?” Lily asked.

“No, I don’t think so.
But I do believe her. After all, the buyer was supposed to arrive after the
weekend and he would have spotted the fakes. All eyes would be on Cheryl, who
had the necklace last.”

“I thought that too.
But Ian reminded me that Cheryl was trying to stop the sale of the necklace,
and maybe she thought you would postpone the meeting with the buyer until after
the estate was settled. By that time, she wouldn’t be a prime suspect because
there would be significant distance between her and the Missing Thorndike.”

“You’re also forgetting
Cheryl was already a wealthy woman—there was no reason for her to suddenly
embark on a new career as jewel thief.”

“I know, but some
people do things like that for the thrill.”

“True.” Danielle sipped
her coffee.

“Ian also thought it
was bizarre that Sam Hayman has disappeared. He was surprised the police aren’t
looking into that. But I told him maybe they were, but just didn’t tell us.”

“Sam hasn’t
disappeared, he moved. So what?”

“Don’t you think it odd?
Sam has been living in this town his entire life—he is the one who appraised
the necklace for you—he was at the party—and then poof—he ups and moves about
the same time they find poor Cheryl’s body?”

“And if someone wanted
to switch out the stones, he would certainly know how to do that,” Danielle
murmured. “I wonder if he was the one Cheryl met on the beach that night. She
said he was someone familiar—someone she thought she met here.”

The landline began to
ring. Lily got up from the table and answered the phone. “Hello, Marlow House.”

“Lily, I tried calling
your cellphone.” It was Ian.

“Oh, I left it
upstairs. You’re up early, what’s going on?”

“Actually I’ve been up
for a couple hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about what we were talking about
last night. I found something interesting, can I come over? I would like to
show it to you and Danielle.”

“Sure, I guess. Give me
a minute to get dressed.”

“Hey, you don’t have to
dress for me,” Ian said with a chuckle.

Fifteen minutes later
Ian was sitting in the parlor of Marlow House with Lily and Danielle. Before he
arrived Lily had slipped into a pair of shorts and a clean tank top, and had
combed her hair. Danielle had already been dressed for the day, wearing denim
shorts and a blouse when Lily found her in the kitchen that morning.

“After Lily told me
about the stones being fake, I kept thinking about how you initially insisted
they were fake when you first found the necklace,” Ian told Danielle. “I woke
early this morning thinking about it and I remembered something I’d seen when researching
for the Thorndike story. So I got up and started rummaging through the boxes I
brought with me. I found this.”

Danielle took the slip
of paper Ian handed her. On closer inspection the yellowed and crumpled piece
of paper appeared to be a receipt from a Portland jewelry store—dating back to
the weeks prior to Eva Thorndike’s death.

“I don’t understand,”
Danielle looked from the paper in her hand to Ian. “What is this?”

“It’s a purchase
receipt for diamonds and emeralds—purchased by Eva Thorndike’s father from a
Portland jeweler,” Ian said.

“What does this mean?”
Danielle looked back to the paper.

“It didn’t click when I
first saw it—I didn’t realize this had anything to do with the Missing
Thorndike. And maybe it doesn’t. It could just be a coincidence. After all the
Thorndikes were wealthy and this wasn’t the only receipt I came across that
showed they had extravagant tastes.”

“I still don’t get it.”
Danielle shook her head. She felt stupid.
What is Ian implying?

“This purchase receipt
is for gemstones—diamonds and emeralds, to be exact. It’s the precise number of
diamonds and emeralds and karat sizes as the stones in the Missing Thorndike.”
Ian pointed to one line in the receipt. “And if you see there, the jeweler
charged to have the diamonds and emeralds set. There is no mention of the
Thorndike's purchasing a setting to put the diamonds in.”

“So her parents figured
out the stones were fake,” Walt said, appearing in the room. “They are the ones
who replaced the stones.”

“I have a question for
you,” Danielle asked Ian.

“What?”

Danielle waved the
receipt in the air and asked, “How in the world did you ever get a hold of
this?”

“I guess Lily never
told you how I happened to start writing about Eva Thorndike?” Ian asked.

Danielle glanced from
Ian to Lily and back to Ian. “No.”

“I mentioned I was
working on the story with my sister, Kelly.”

“Yes, I remember that,”
Danielle nodded.

“Kelly is also a
writer. She freelances for several of the smaller newspapers, writing local
interest and historical pieces. She’s also a bit of a yard-sale addict. She
even writes a blog about her finds. A couple years ago she went to one of those
sales where they auction off old trunks and suitcases that haven’t been opened
by the auctioneers. Gives the sale a bit of mystery and surprise. You never
know what you’re really buying.”

“Like a dead body,”
Lily smirked.

“No, that would smell,”
Ian said with a grin.

“Is it really necessary
to speak so cavalierly about those of us who have departed? Please get on with
your explanation,” Walt said, knowing full well only Danielle could hear him. 
Danielle glanced over to Walt and smiled.

“She purchased a trunk,
and when she brought it home and opened it up, it was stuffed with personal
papers, letters and receipts from the
Thorndikes
. Kelly wasn’t quite
sure what she had on her hands, so she called me over. The rest is history.”

“So you got a book out
of the trunk,” Danielle said.

“Pretty much.” Ian
grinned.

“It sure looks like her
parents replaced the fake stones,” Danielle said.

“Okay, stop there.” Ian
interrupted. “I agree this is fascinating that her parents happen to purchase
the identical stones needed for the Missing Thorndike, but what makes you so
certain it once had fake stones—I mean, before now.”

“It’s hard to explain…”
Impossible is more accurate,
Danielle thought.

“Was there something
else about the receipt you wanted us to see?” Lily interrupted. “I’m not sure
why you felt it was so urgent for us to see this. I mean it is interesting and
everything, but…”

Ian pointed to a signature
at the bottom of the receipt.

Squinting her eyes she
brought the piece of paper closer to her face and tried to make out the
handwriting. “Jacob Hayman,” she read aloud.

“That’s Samuel Hayman’s
grandfather,” Walt said. “He’s the one who started the store—he’s the one who
appraised the necklace for Eva.”

“Hayman. I was
wondering, could that possibly be any relation to Samuel Hayman, our missing
jeweler?” Ian asked.

“That’s Sam’s
grandfather,” Danielle explained. “He’s the one who opened the jewelry store in
Frederickport—the one that just closed down.”

“I have no idea what
any of this means—if it means anything at all—but I had to show you,” Ian said.

“Lily mentioned you
thought it was odd that Sam left and the police don’t find that suspicious.”

“Yes. Especially since
it looks like someone switched out those stones while Cheryl had the necklace.
That’s not something just anyone can do. You’d have to know what you were
doing. I’m surprised Sam isn’t on the top of the police’s suspect list.”

“No, that would be me,”
Danielle said.

• • • •

When Danielle went to
the police station to talk to Joe later that day, she was annoyed to find
herself led to the interview room with both Joe and his partner Brian
Henderson.

“I was wondering,”
Danielle asked Joe. “Have you found Sam Hayman yet?”

“I didn’t know he was
lost,” Brian chuckled.

Danielle glared at
Brian then looked back to Joe. “You aren’t looking for him?”

“I’m not really sure
why we would be,” Joe said apologetically.

“Are you seriously
saying you haven’t for a moment considered Sam Hayman as a suspect?”

“What motive would Sam
have to kill your cousin?” Brian asked. “He didn’t stand to inherit ten million
bucks.”

“Brian, please,” Joe
lightly reprimanded.

“Well, let’s see,”
Danielle said impatiently, looking back at Brian. “I would say getting away
with diamonds and emeralds worth over a million dollars is a good motive. We
have a jeweler who was at the open house,
and
he spent a great deal of
time there chatting with Cheryl. He certainly knows how to set stones; after
all, that’s what he does for a living. Oh, and when it comes to reselling those
diamonds and emeralds, I think he’ll know how to do that too. After all, that
is his profession. Have I left anything out? Oh, I know, he just happens to have
up and move from a town he has lived in all his life—closed his store
overnight—and leaves. Leaving the necklace in Adam’s office was a nice touch,
to throw off the cops.” Danielle stood up abruptly.

“Are you saying Samuel
Hayman stole those gems and killed your cousin?” Brian asked.

“I am seriously
beginning to doubt the overall intelligence of the Frederickport Police
Department.” Danielle turned and abruptly left the room.

“Not sure about the
overall intelligence of our department,” Joe said to Brian. “But I sure feel
stupid.”

 

 

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