Part 24
Claire stood to meet her.
The deputy’s name was Rosa Alvarez. She listened without interrupting while Claire described the two handbags, the ivory box, the property transfer, and Eleanor’s request. She asked every person to remain seated and put away their phones.
Nate immediately objected that his phone was already facedown.
Deputy Alvarez looked at him until he placed it on the table.
She photographed Lily’s bag where it rested, then the duplicate bag, the keys, the transfer, and the seating arrangement. She asked Lily for permission to open her handbag.
Lily said yes.
The deputy put on blue nitrile gloves. The color looked obscene against the linen and white roses.
She opened Lily’s handbag and removed each item separately: a wallet, keys to Lily’s apartment, a paper packet of almonds, cotton gloves, a small tape measure, a pencil case, a phone charger, a folded pharmacy receipt for her father’s blood pressure medication, and the ivory velvet box.
Eleanor watched the box.
Deputy Alvarez placed it on an unused bread plate.
“Mrs. Whitmore,” she said, “do you want to state what should be inside?”
“A vintage sapphire brooch surrounded by twelve old-cut diamonds.”
“Approximate value?”
“Insured for one hundred eighty thousand dollars.”
Nate whispered something that sounded like Jesus.
The deputy looked at Lily. “Did you open the box?”
“No.”
“Did you know what was in it?”
“I suspected it was jewelry. I saw Mrs. Whitmore remove it from a display cabinet this morning.”
Eleanor turned toward her. “You were spying on me?”
“I was checking the cabinet humidity.”
“You were not assigned to that room.”
“The alarm showed a humidity spike.”
“The alarm system has been malfunctioning.”
“Yes,” Lily said. “That’s why I checked.”
Deputy Alvarez raised one hand. “One person at a time.”
She examined the box without opening it. “Mrs. Whitmore, when did you last see the brooch?”
“This morning.”
“Inside the box?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In my dressing room.”
Lily looked at her.
Eleanor had taken the box from the display cabinet, not the dressing room.
Deputy Alvarez caught the movement. “Ms. Hart?”
“I saw her remove that box from the blue drawing-room cabinet at about ten twenty.”
“You’re certain it was this box?”
“It looked like this one.”
Eleanor gave a short laugh. “There are twelve ivory boxes in the house.”
“Fourteen,” Lily said before she could stop herself.
The deputy turned to her.
“Fourteen cataloged,” Lily said. “Two are in storage because the hinges are loose.”
Nate looked toward the house as if fourteen ivory boxes were more evidence of family decline than the alleged theft.
Deputy Alvarez returned her attention to Eleanor. “Where was the brooch stored according to your insurance records?”
“In the cabinet.”
“Not the dressing room?”
“I moved it.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“Did anyone see you move it?”
“I don’t require witnesses to handle my jewelry.”
Claire spoke from beside Lily. “The cabinet and its contents transferred with the house.”
Eleanor’s head turned. “The brooch is mine.”
“Then ownership will need to be documented separately.”
“It was a gift from my husband.”
Claire’s expression did not change. “Mr. Whitmore’s personal property schedule lists it among the Bellweather collection.”
“He gave it to me after the schedule was prepared.”
“Do you have a gift letter?”
“I have a marriage.”
The deputy looked from one woman to the other. “I am not deciding ownership today.”
She opened the ivory box.
Inside, on cream silk, lay a sapphire the dark blue of a storm seen through glass. Twelve diamonds formed a narrow oval around it. The gold pin at the back had been polished recently enough to catch the daylight.
No one spoke.
The brooch was exactly where Eleanor had told Lily to put it.
That did not make the moment less dangerous.
Deputy Alvarez photographed the open box and closed it again.
“Mrs. Whitmore,” she said, “did Ms. Hart remove this object from the cabinet?”
Eleanor looked at Lily.
“No.”
“Did you give her the box?”
“I asked her to keep it safe.”
“Did you tell her the brooch was inside?”
“She did not ask.”
“Did she try to conceal it?”
Eleanor hesitated. “She put it in her bag.”
“In front of you?”
“She was seated directly across from me.”
“And in front of these witnesses?”
Eleanor’s eyes shifted toward Evelyn and Nate. “Apparently.”
Deputy Alvarez removed her gloves. “Then I do not have a theft complaint based on what happened at this table.”
“I did not make one.”
“Did you intend to?”
“I intended to retrieve my jewelry.”
“From the duplicate handbag?”
The question hung between them.
Eleanor’s face cooled. “I don’t know why that bag is here.”
Adrian spoke from the doors. “You asked me to switch them after dessert.”
The deputy looked at him. “Come closer, please.”
He obeyed.
Eleanor did not turn around.
Adrian stood behind the empty chair at the end of the table. Up close, he looked younger and more tired. A thin line of sweat darkened his collar.
Deputy Alvarez asked, “What exactly were you instructed to switch?”
“Ms. Hart’s handbag with the duplicate.”
“When?”
“After Mrs. Whitmore gave her the box.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t say.”
“Did you agree?”
“I said I would handle it.”
“Why did you instead give the duplicate to Ms. Bennett?”
Adrian looked at Claire. “Because I called her yesterday.”
Eleanor’s fingers closed around the stem of her empty water glass.
Adrian continued. “Mrs. Whitmore had the duplicate delivered Monday. She told me Lily had taken something from the house before and that we were going to prove it. I didn’t believe that part, but I didn’t ask enough questions.”
“Did she tell you what would be in the box?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the estate transfer?”
“No.”
“Then why call Ms. Bennett?”
Adrian looked at Lily for the first time. “Because the bag had a second zipper.”
May you like
Lily remembered the rectangular pull.
Adrian said, “Mrs. Whitmore showed me how to open the inner lining. There was a hidden pocket sewn between the panels. She told me, after I switched the bags, to take the original through the pantry and leave it in her car. She said I should never open it.”
