The Marquesa's Necklace (Oak Grove Mysteries Book 1) (25 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Eli was released from the hospital a few days before Thanksgiving. He wasn’t supposed to travel yet, so Luke and Joe invited him to join us for the holiday. Bob had appointed himself as Eli’s designated caretaker, and he was invited too. Poor Piper got banished to the yard, but I made sure he got his share of the turkey.

The big football game was the Pittsburgh Steelers playing the Miami Dolphins, so Eli was totally outnumbered. The Steelers won, of course, even though they played in Miami. We all agreed it was a better place to have the game than at home. A cold drizzle, almost but not quite snow, fell on Pittsburgh and Oak Grove most of the day. It made me jealous of Eli—when he went home he would be returning to sunny skies and sandy beaches. I added Florida to the list of places I wanted to go sometime in my lifetime.

During one of the commercial breaks, we started discussing the historical significance of various homes in Oak Grove. It was the commercial for the company that does clean-up after water damage that got us started. Oak Grove hasn’t had a real flood in over seventy-five years. That’s when Joe mentioned their house was built by the same builder that built Jake’s.

My eyes met with Eli’s, and I saw the same sense of excitement in his that I felt. But he shook his head, just enough for me to see, and I didn’t say anything. And I somehow managed not to rush an end to the day. Traditionally I stick around for supper, and to help with the clean-up, and I made sure nothing changed. I wasn’t about to give Luke or Joe any reason to question my activities.

It was late when I announced my intention to go home. I was flattered when all four men jumped to their feet, surrounding me, claiming the privilege of making sure I got up the stairs safely.

I stood with my hands on my hips and shook my head. “I don’t need all of you to go with me,” I laughed. I swayed a little—I might have had a little too much to drink.

“I’ll go,” four voices said in unison.

I chuckled. “Let’s do this the old fashioned way,” I said. “Eeny-meeny-miney-mo, catch a tiger by its tail.” I pointed to each man in turn. Not coincidentally, my finger ended up on Eli. “Y-O-U.”

He grinned and the other men groaned. “Back in minute, losers,” Eli said. “Don’t leave without me, Bob.” Bob was the designated driver and Eli’s chauffeur for the day. Eli grabbed his coat—I hadn’t worn mine—and headed outside.

We both giggled as we climbed the stairs. “What would you have done if the ‘U’ had landed on someone else?” he asked.

I giggled harder. The signs were all there—I would have a headache in the morning. “I learned how to cheat the system,” I admitted. “But it’s a secret and don’t ask me how. I won’t tell you anyway.” Halfway up I missed a step and almost fell backward. It’s a good thing he hadn’t had near as much to drink and caught me.

I leaned back against him. Just for a second, long enough to recover my balance. His arm tightened to pull me even closer, and I smelled again the faint essence of clean, moist earth. But before I could turn around so that we would be face to face, he let go.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice a tender whisper. No, I’d imagined it. Yeah, I’d had too much to drink.

“Must be some ice on that step,” I said, glad he couldn’t see me blushing. “Be careful.”

I made it the rest of the way up the stairs without a problem. Eli stood close behind me as I unlocked my door. It was a new habit of mine—used to be that when I was downstairs visiting with the boys I left it unlocked. No more.

By the time we got inside, I was shivering. Thankfully, I’d left the heater on. Doesn’t take a whole lot to keep my place warm, because it’s an old house. The boys keep their part warm, and heat rises.

Eli started to shrug out of his coat, but hesitated. “I’ll take that,” I said to ease the tension. I hung it on the nearby coat rack.

We stared at each other. “Do you think…?” Eli started.

“Could Jake have…?” I asked at the same time.

It was the perfect time to giggle again, but I didn’t, and neither did he. Instead, he put his fingers to his lips and walked over to my bookshelf. He pulled two small gadgets from the underside of a shelf, opened the door, and tossed them outside. “Where were you when you gave the necklace back to Jake?” he asked.

“Here.” I didn’t mention that we were in the bedroom after a night of love-making.

“And you know for sure that he took it with him when he left?”

“No.” When I had come out of the shower, the necklace was gone. I assumed Jake had put the box in his pocket. But I didn’t say that out loud either.

There was a long silence.

“It’s either there or it isn’t,” Eli said. “And we’re not going to find out unless we go look.”

Thankfully, I’d put all my laundry away before going down to Luke and Joe’s. I didn’t want Eli to see my underwear. Well, not now, anyway. I led him into my bedroom and hesitated by the closet door. “Do you want to do the honors?” I asked.

He took a deep breath. “No, I think it’s up to you, Harmony.” His voice caressed my name.

I nodded, and reached in and pulled the cord to turn on the light. I entered the closet and turned around, facing the door. Sure enough, there was a section that hadn’t been plastered over. Why had I never noticed it before? Probably because I never looked for it.

Eli hovered outside the door. I smiled weakly at him, and reached into the hole.

Part of me hoped I wouldn’t find anything. The part of me that still couldn’t believe that Jake was capable of stealing a necklace of such great value. The part of me that wished he had really been a real estate entrepreneur. The part of me that remembered him telling me he would always love me.

Halfway in, my hand met an obstacle.

Eli must have read the shock in my eyes. “Harmony?” he asked tentatively.

I got a firm hold on the object and pulled it out. My hands were trembling, and I didn’t want to drop it. Eli stepped out of the way, and I gently placed the box at the bottom of my bed and studied it.

The box didn’t look like much from the outside. Not what I would imagine as a treasure chest. It was just a plain wooden box, no fancy woodcarving, no intricate lock, nothing to indicate the treasure that might be inside.

“I can’t do it,” I whispered, my hand hovering above the bare metal clasp.

With the barest of touches, Eli placed his hand on mine. “Do you want me to open it?” he asked.

The warmth of his touch gave me the courage I needed. With a wry half-smile, I shook my head, clicked the latch, and opened the lid.

Hundreds of diamonds and rubies, joined by white gold chains, glittered in the harsh light of the bare bulb overhead, rejoicing in their freedom after so many days in the dark.

“God damn it, Jake,” Eli swore fervently, looking at the necklace, mesmerized by the display. “You had to go for the big time, didn’t you?”

Our contemplation of the object that had caused me so many problems was interrupted by a knock on my front door. We started, guiltily, and I quickly closed the lid of the box. “Answer the door,” Eli whispered. “I’ll take care if this.”

I didn’t run, but as small as my place is, it only took a few seconds for me to get to the door. “Who is it?” I called sweetly, playing innocent.

“Just me. Bob.”

As I opened the door, Eli slid into a spot on the loveseat. I shot him an inquiring glance, and he shook his head ever-so-slightly.

“You about ready to go?” Bob asked, stepping into my entryway.

Eli stood up and stretched. “It has been a long day,” he agreed. “I may have overdone it. Why don’t you go get the car warmed up, Bob, and I’ll be right down.”

Bob studied the two of us, shrugged and left. As I helped Eli with his coat, I breathed into his ear, “Where did you put it?”

“Back where it came from,” he told me in an equally low voice. “It should be safe overnight. We can decide what to do with it tomorrow.” Louder, he went on. “Good night, Harmony. I’ll drop by in the morning. Don’t forget to lock your door.”

With a nod, I closed the door and twisted the lock.

I couldn’t resist.

Once I was really,
really
sure I was alone and no more unexpected visitors would be dropping by, I tugged the curtains in my bedroom together to close the crack between them. Then I pulled the necklace back out of the closet. And just because, I peeled off the jeans and blouse I’d worn for the day, and slipped into the red dress from the back of the closet. I took the necklace back out of its box and fastened the chain around my neck.

I stared at myself in the mirror, and brushed away a solitary tear. With the necklace gracing my neck, I almost looked beautiful. I knew I couldn’t keep it, but it seemed a shame to send it back to a cold and lonesome existence in a glass case. I imagined it sparkling in the Spanish sunshine, worn by a noblewoman.

To the sounds of “The Voices of Spring” waltz, I twirled around my front room. Like most men, Jake didn’t like to dance. But he’d promised me we would go one day. I closed my eyes and imagined being in Jake’s arms. But by the time the song ended and I opened my eyes, I realized that in my fantasy, it was Eli who held me in his arms.

Chapter Thirty-Three

As I went downstairs to pick up my paper Eli and Bob arrived, bringing bagels and cream cheese. The weather system that moved in overnight brought bitterly cold air with it, so we tromped upstairs to drink our coffee. We settled around my small kitchen table and shared sections of the paper. Being the day after Thanksgiving, there was a ton of ads and very little news. As hostess, I let the men have first shot at sports. The comics were more interesting anyway.

I pretended I didn’t see the men trying to avoid looking at each other and at me. Whatever they didn’t want to tell me, it was bad. I was on my third cup of coffee when I decided I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“What’s up, guys?” I asked casually, although my stomach was churning. I shouldn’t have had that second bagel. “Sallis’ lawyer come up with a get out of jail free card? Or is Agent Felton hovering around outside waiting to bust me?”

Eli folded his section of the paper in half, and then in half again before setting it down on the table. He and Bob exchanged a look before Bob answered me. “Neither one, Miss Duprie,” he said. I’d never been able to get him to call me Harmony. “But I got a call from my agency. They have another assignment for me. I’ll be leaving today.”

It surprised him when I got up and hugged him. “Thanks for saving my life,” I said before I kissed him on the cheek. “You’ll keep in touch, right? You have my number.”

He blushed! Mr. Steady-as-a-Rock blushed! “Just doing my job,” he mumbled.

“And you do it very well.” The words came out easily, and I meant them. “I think I’ll even miss you!”

I turned and fixed my eyes on Eli. “So what’s your problem?” I crossed my fingers that there was nothing wrong with Scotty or Lando.

“I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday.” Eli paused. Shit, was he dying or something? “He cleared me to travel. I’m heading home tomorrow. My parents are upset I missed Thanksgiving dinner, and I need to get back and reassure them I’m all right.”

My brain screamed that we had unfinished business to take care of. My heart just screamed.

“I thought after Bob leaves we could go for a ride in your car,” he continued casually. “I’ve never had the chance to drive it.”

That was a lie, but I read an unspoken message on his face. “We could head north and go to Lake Erie. You live close to the ocean, but have you ever seen a Great Lake?”

“Sounds like fun,” Eli said.

“Too bad Dolores is a two-seater. I’ll bet Aunt Martha would like to go too.”

Eli questioned me with his eyes, but he kept his mouth shut.

He came back an hour or so later, minus Bob. “What do you have in mind, Harmony?” he asked when I let him in.

I had a plan, and I’d already started putting it into action. “Can I get you to carry this bag of garbage downstairs for me, please?”

“What?”

“I was cleaning. It’s heavy.”

He obviously thought I was crazy, but he picked up the black plastic bag and started down the stairs, with me right behind. I stopped him before he took the lid of the garbage can. “What are the chances my place is still bugged?” I asked.

He considered the concept. “Considering the Feds are involved, all bets are off.”

“Are we safe out here?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Okay, here’s the plan. Everything we need is in the bag.”

We made some minor adjustments. We took Eli’s rental car instead of Dolores, in case another tracker had been attached. Besides, the silver sedan looked like half of the other vehicles on the road and would be easy to forget.

We headed north for half an hour before we pulled off at a random fast food joint along the highway. While he got us coffee, I headed into the woman’s room with my overstuffed backpack. It took me a while to get everything just right, but it was Aunt Martha who came out.

Eli waited in the car for me. I figured the fewer people who saw us together, the better. He grinned when I slid into the passenger’s seat. “Long time no see,” he said.