Necklaces & Nooses Page 8

  “Presley, tell me.”

  “Shhhhh. He’s right over there. I don’t want him to hear me talking about him.”

  “Where?” Jared followed my line of vision.

  “Don’t stare,” I hissed.

  “Like anyone would notice. But really, Pres, I don’t see anyone.”

  “He’s walking right to us, all in black.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. Him?”

  “What? He’s cute,” I said defensively. I couldn’t see how Jared wouldn’t like him. I thought both he and Anna would think Willie was good looking. I didn’t care what they thought because he was hot.

  “Cute? He’s more than cute. He’s smokin.’ But Presley, he’s not what I would call your normal type. He’s—”

  “Be quiet,” I elbowed him in the ribs as Willie arrived at the table.

  Willie reached over and hugged me. “Hey, Presley, you look nice. This place isn’t as busy as I thought it would be.”

  “It usually fills up about eight, so we have a half hour or so before it gets super packed. Willie, this is one of my best friends, Jared. Jared meet Willie.”

  Jared stuck out his hand and looked Willie over. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “So, you don’t look like any cop I’ve ever seen.”

  “You don’t look like any felons I’ve arrested.”

  “I’ve never been arrested,” Jared said indignantly.

  “Oh. Well, you said I didn’t look like any cops you had seen so I assumed you’d been in trouble with the law.”

  I liked this. Willie was already able to banter with Jared, and I knew Jared would be impressed.

  “Well, the cops I do know definitely don’t look like you.”

  As the guys were chatting, Anna walked up behind me and whispered “That him?” in my ear while setting her purse on the table.

  “Yes,” I whispered back.

  “Cute. Good choice for your next boyfriend.”

  “I told you he’s not going to be my boyfriend.” But even as I said the words, I was kind of wondering what might become of this.

  “Hey, Jared, can you stop harassing Willie long enough for him to meet Anna?”

  “I’m not harassing him. I mean, if he can’t handle a few simple questions, he must not be a very good cop.” Jared was smiling as he said this, and I could tell from Willie’s expression he didn’t mind the good-natured teasing.

  “Anna, meet Willie. Willie, this is my other best friend Anna.”

  “Nice to meet you, Anna”

  “Same here.”

  “Hey Willie,” I said.

  “Yeah, Pres?”

  “Look over there.” I pointed across the room to the back right corner where a group of men were sitting.

  “Where? Oh, that’s interesting.” His eyes locked on what I was pointing out. The German man who had come into the store demanding a necklace the previous night was sitting at Muldoon’s drinking a beer. Kind of strange to see him at the same bar we were all at since I had never seen him before, though I guess I didn’t have a monopoly on the bar, and just because I hadn’t seen him didn’t mean he hadn’t been here.

  “Willie, do you think this is just a coincidence?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe he lives in the area. He has a right to be wherever he wants.”

  “I know, but I’ve never seen him here before. Have you guys?” I asked Jared and Anna.

  “I haven’t, but I only pay attention to the regulars,” said Jared.

  “Same here” Anna said.

  “Should we go talk to him?” I asked.

  “No. We don’t have any reason to, and we don’t want to look as if we’re harassing him,” Willie replied.

  “Well, then drink up,” I said.

  We spent the next couple hours just hanging out and having a good time. Willie hit it off well with Jared and Anna, which was great. He fit in like he had been part of the group for a long time. At about eleven, we decided that since most of us had to work the next day we should call it a night.

  “Call me tomorrow, Presley,” Anna said.

  Jared walked past me and whispered, “Good catch.”

  “Stop!” I whispered back.

  Chapter 8

  So, how come you are single? You seem like a pretty decent guy, for a cop. Why hasn’t some nice girl snapped you up?” This was the question every girl wanted to know about a single guy she was interested in, one that didn’t appear to have any readily noticeable flaws. If there wasn’t something wrong with them, then why were they still single? After thirty, you thought about these things.

  We had left the bar relatively early for a night out, but once we said our good-byes to Jared and Anna, we decided to go for coffee. Neither one of us was tired, and I think we both wanted to talk some more, at least I know I did. It had been hard to talk in the bar, plus we were with Anna and Jared, so the conversation was more basic and not so much on a personal nature. I wanted to get to know him better.

  “I was snapped up for a long time. I just recently got out of a long-term relationship.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. How long were you together?”

  “Almost three years.”

  “That’s a long time. May I ask what happened?”

  “We just seemed to be in different places in life. She was pushing to get married. I wanted to wait until we were both more settled in our careers and financially stable. It started a lot of arguments as you can imagine, and we just grew apart. We both felt like we were walking on eggshells, and it began to seem like a better idea to be apart than together. We still cared about each other; we just couldn’t seem to get along, and after awhile caring just isn’t enough.”

  “That sucks. You had a lot of time invested. Do you not want to get married or just not yet? And feel free to stop me if I’m being too nosy.”

  “Not at all, I don’t mind talking about it. I was married before.”

  I must have looked startled because he quickly rushed on. “It was right out of high school. We thought we were in love, but we were infatuated kids. We broke up and divorced after five years. Even though now both of us can look back and realize we were just young and immature and not at all ready to handle being a grownup, I remember how painful the divorce was and don’t want to go through that again. I guess I just don’t need the actual marriage. You know, been there, done that.”

  “I guess I can see your side, but as a woman I can see hers, too. Most women want the romance, the white dress, the ceremony, and all. In any case, it’s a shame after all that time.”

  “Yeah, it happens I guess. What about you, do you want the white dress and all it entails?”

  “Of course I do, someday. I am a romantic, and I want to meet my Prince Charming and have him carry me away on my white horse.”

  “Wow, you do want it all.”

  “Of course, but seriously, I haven’t had a really long-term relationship in a while. I dated a guy for a year or so and caught him cheating on me. Then I was dating this guy named Cooper for a while. We had gone to high school together, and I re-met him during the whole Senator Daniels debacle, but he traveled so much, it became impossible to maintain a long-distance relationship. We really connected, and I really liked him. It just didn’t work, at least not right now. Pretty much the same situation as you and your ex. We were in two different places in life and location, and then the timing was just as bad. I think that makes it harder in some ways, don’t you? When you both care about each other, but things just aren’t working, and you can’t figure out how to make it work.”

  “I agree. Emotions can be so complicated.”

  “Switching subjects, why do you think someone broke into Silk?”

  “There has to be something in there someone wanted, or thought was in there. When we checked the stock against the inventory list you printed out, there were only a couple of discrepancies, and it was a couple of shirts and a jacket.”

  “Those are probably
special orders that haven’t come in yet. They show in inventory once we get shipping confirmation.”

  “Even if that’s not the case, I can’t see someone tearing apart the store over a few shirts. I know, I know, you carry high-end exclusive stuff, but still.

  “You’re right. So, what do you think they were looking for?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

  “Do you think that German guy is involved? Maybe he was harassing me for a reason?”

  “Could be. You said he had never been in to the boutique before, and it seems a little odd that he would raise such a fuss … but then maybe he really wanted a necklace.”

  We talked a while longer and had a few cups of coffee; I switched to decaf after the first cup. He claimed caffeine didn’t keep him up and stuck with regular. At close to two, we decided we’d better call it a night. We walked back to the bar where our cars were.

  “I had a great time tonight, Pres. I really liked your friends.”

  “I’m glad. They liked you, too.”

  “Can I call you tomorrow?”

  “Of course you can.”

  “Good.” He leaned over and his lips touched mine softly. His kiss was super light and sweet. Just like him.

  He stepped back. “I hope that was okay.”

  “It was definitely okay,” I said, and he leaned over and kissed me again.

  Chapter 9

  The crime scene techs had once again made their normal mess. I finally I got the store cleaned up with the help of Steph and Lily and was able to open after the lunch hour. I was a bit worried that when clients started coming and messing things up I would go postal. I was not in any mood to clean this place up again. Ever. Both times we had been in here cleaning the place we had several clients call or stop by just dying to know what had happened. The incident, as I’d taken to calling it, had been all over the news, so I didn’t think there was anyone who hadn’t heard. They just wanted more details than the news. They wanted to be in the know, I suppose. The door chimed, and I looked up. It was Luis, one of our UPS guys.

  “Hi, Luis.”

  “Hey, Pres. How’s it going?”

  “Finally back to normal, I think. Well as normal as it can be under the circumstances.”

  “That’s good to hear.” He walked up to the counter and set the two boxes down. He leaned closer to me, and I was sure he was about to ask me a question—and I knew what it was going to be. It was the same question I had been continually asked the last few days.

  “So is it true you found her hanging?”

  And I was exactly right. People wanted the dirty details. I admit I was the same way, and yes, I asked Willie the details, but he was a cop. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t ask these questions of someone I barely knew who had found her.

  “Yes, it’s true,” I said.

  “What was that like?”

  “Creepy.” I didn’t want to encourage him. This was going to have to stop. It was crass to discuss and made me very uncomfortable.

  “Just creepy? How was she…?”

  “Luis!”

  He at least had the sense to look embarrassed. “Sorry. I got carried away,” he said sheepishly. “I’ve never known anyone who, well, you know.”

  “I know, Luis. You’re not the only one, but I would rather not talk about it. Now, how many boxes do you have for me today?”

  “Twelve. A lot for you”

  “Wow, that is a lot for us, but I suppose it’s the last couple day’s worth. Go ahead and stack them right by the counter.”

  Luis raised his eyebrows at this. Solange would have never allowed boxes to be at the front. But then, we never had the kind of foot traffic we had that day. Amazing how many people stopped in who had never been in Silk before and had not one intention of buying anything but still tried on clothes—and asked Is this where you found her? I wouldn’t care as much if they bought something rather than wasting our time for nothing.

  “I know, but we are all a little jittery, and it’s been busy today. I would rather have all of us here in the front.”

  “Makes sense. I’ll bring them in.”

  After a couple of trips I could hardly walk around the counter. But it was always exciting to get shipments and to see what new fun things we got in. Solange had always done the ordering with a little input from us. It was the one aspect I was unsure of in taking over the running of Silk. I had learned a lot from Solange, but didn’t have her eye or her innate sense for what people wanted.

  “Thanks, Luis,” I said and signed for the shipment then sent him on his way.

  “Presley, come look at this.” Lily called me over.

  “What?” I peered over her shoulder at the box of accessories she had just opened.

  “These aren’t ours. This clearly isn’t anything Solange would ever order. But the shipping label has our address, and the return label is our normal supplier.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Isn’t this ivory?”

  “It looks like it. I mean it could be imitation, but it looks a lot nicer than any imitation I have seen.”

  Lily picked up one of the necklaces, running her fingers over the smooth ivory. “Who would actually wear these? They’re so heavy.”

  “Don’t!”

  Lily dropped the necklace like it was on fire. “What’d I do?”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I just think due to what has happened I should tell Willie, I mean Detective Landon, who is handling the case. It might just be nothing, but it might be important. I’m calling him right now.”

  After a brief conversation with Willie he said he would be able to stop by in about an hour. I took the box to the back room where it would be away from the stream of steady traffic we had been getting all afternoon. Then Willie walked in, looking delicious in his uniform of faded jeans, navy T-shirt, and brown blazer. Had it already been an hour? I looked at my watch, and actually it had been almost two.

  “I take it we aren’t a priority anymore,” I teased.

  “What?” He looked confused.

  “You said an hour, and it’s been almost two.”

  “Ahhhh, so sorry. I will never let it happen again,” he said in mock seriousness.

  “Good. Glad we have an understanding.” I had to admit that it was fun having this type of banter. It’s one of those things that I missed about not being in a relationship, the easy exchange of playful barbs. “Follow me to the back. I brought the box back here so as few people as possible would mess with it.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “Lily did pick up one of the necklaces, but I put a sticky note on that one so it wouldn’t get mixed up with the rest.”

  “Gold star for you. I wish I had more people like you in the course of my investigations.”

  “I know. I’m such a good detective in the making.”

  He looked at the box, and I had to patiently explain to him why even though this was addressed to us there was no way we would carry something like this. He dressed well but sure didn’t understand women’s accessories.

  “Maybe Solange ordered something you didn’t know she ordered. Did she ever do that?”

  “Yes, but even then she never failed to fill out a purchase order, and there’s not one for this. She was meticulous about her financial records. Probably to make sure James couldn’t find more ways to berate her. And again, this isn’t something she would have ever carried here at the store. I know it might sound weird to you that I’m so sure, but you have to trust me. I know Solange’s taste for Silk, and this is not it.”

  “Well, I’ll take this with me and drop it off at the lab. I’m sure it’s just a legitimate mix-up, and they sent it to you by accident, but it can’t hurt to check.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “There is one more thing I wanted to discuss with you.”

  “Oh?”

  “One of the reasons I was late was I was checking into the people who are renting the places
around this building. Just to see if anything unusual popped up. I stopped on the way to visit a few that I couldn’t find information for, and you’ll never guess what I discovered.”