Jane swallowed and I could tell she was speechless.
“Jesse claimed that the story about the necklace was untrue,” I said. “So you must realize we’re having a hard time believing you. Can you prove that you’ve seen it?”
He leaned over and looked me in the eye. “You’re playing a dangerous game here, missy.”
“No, I’m not.” I backed away a few inches. He really was a little cuckoo.
Jane recovered quickly. “Mr. Clemens, Shannon’s just trying to make sure you’re not trying to trick me. Can you describe the necklace?”
He expelled an angry breath. “Gold, three-tiered, with a couple dozen of the biggest rubies, emeralds, and diamonds I’ve ever seen. Man, that thing sparkled enough to blind your eyes.”
Jane didn’t dare glance at me. “So Uncle Jesse came to see you in hopes of selling the necklace to you?”
“That’s right.”
“And when was this, exactly?”
His forehead furled tightly as he calculated. “Almost two years to the day.”
“But you didn’t buy it.”
He coughed and blustered. “Well, no. I was having a little cash flow problem at the time, but things are different now.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Look, the piece is too garish to be worth much in this market. I’d be doing you a big favor by taking it off your hands for five thousand dollars.”
“Five thousand dollars.” Jane seemed to be considering the offer, but then gave him a smile of regret. “That’s an interesting offer, but since I can’t verify that the necklace exists, I can’t possibly sell it to you.”
“Don’t pull that crap on me,” he said with a hiss. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“I don’t believe you,” Jane said quietly.
His teeth clenched and he fumed silently for a moment. “All right, all right, damn it. Ten thousand, but that’s my final offer.”
“I doubt it,” I muttered. If the gems were as big as he claimed, the necklace had to be worth many thousands more than he was offering. If there really was a necklace at all, which was a big “if.” But since Cuckoo was making such a fuss, I figured it had to exist. And there went another one of Jesse’s so-called myths blown wide-open.
“You know, Mr. Clemens, Shannon was right.” Jane touched her forehead dramatically. “I’m really very tired.”
“Then just say yes and we can close the deal right now.”
“Why don’t I stop by your shop next week and we can discuss it again?”
He scowled so intensely that his dark, bushy eyebrows had to be blocking his vision. “Don’t wait too long, missy,” he warned. “I’m in the mood to do business now and I won’t be played for a fool.”
“And I won’t be bullied. Thank you for your advice,” Jane said graciously. “Good-bye, Mr. Clemens.”
Chapter Six
“He must’ve sold it,” Jane said. She had her eyes closed as she tried to rest on the comfortable couch in my living room.
After the party, we had escaped back to my house for a restorative glass of wine and a snack. All of the girls had gone home except for Emily, who had remained at the Inn on Main Street to help her team with the cleanup.
Upon hearing Cuckoo’s claim, Jane and I were obsessed with the possibility that Jesse might’ve actually found treasure in the sunken clipper ship, just as he’d once claimed.
I spread a dollop of Brie onto a cracker and took a bite. “That would explain why Jesse was searching the place like a madman.”
Jane opened her eyes. “I can’t believe he’d forget where he put it.”
“I can’t, either. He was forgetful sometimes, but that doesn’t mean he was getting senile.”
“He did get a little confused once in a while,” Jane admitted.
“I know. A few times lately he called me Jane.”
“Oh.” Her lower lip trembled. “That’s sad.”
“No, no,” I said quickly. “I think it was more to do with being preoccupied than actually losing his memory. And he would laugh about it with me. I mean, you and I are both tall, but that’s where the similarity ends. You’re blond and beautiful, while I’m—”
“Redheaded and gorgeous,” she finished. “Plus, you have the best arms of anyone on the planet. I wish I could get my arms to look like yours.”
I grinned. “You could come work on my crew.”
“I guess swinging a hammer all day is one way to get there.” With a sigh, she returned to the subject of Jesse. “But no, Jesse wasn’t getting any younger.”
She picked up her wineglass from the coffee table. “I still don’t think he would tear up his own house like that.”
I thought about the mess I’d walked through. “I don’t, either.”
Jane scowled. “If it’s true that the necklace exists, I hate that we had to find out about it from Cuckoo Clemens.”
“He’s so rude, isn’t he? And a little scary, too.” I shivered, remembering how he got right in my face.