I was baiting him, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when he came even closer and began shouting, “It’s in his house! Look around! That place is full of secrets!”
So much for my smooth facade. I inched back a few millimeters because his rage was alarming. “I don’t know where it is, and I’ve lived next door to Jesse my entire life. He used to tell me everything, and I’ve got to be honest. He admitted flat out that he was making up the whole story about finding a necklace. Said he’d told a big lie. So now why should I believe you?”
“He changed his tune,” Cuckoo admitted, calming down a little. “Told everybody he’d been lying about it because people were starting to get a little too curious. Too aggressive. They wanted to see it, wanted to display it. They offered him money for it. He realized it was worth a lot more than he thought it was at first, so he had to regroup. But he was going to sell it to me eventually.”
“I wonder where he put it.”
“In his house,” Cuckoo said softly, as if he were talking to himself. “He would want to see it all the time, and touch it. He was obsessed with it. It was a priceless treasure.”
“Does that mean your offer of five thousand dollars is less than it’s worth?”
His eyes narrowed warily. “That was an opening bid. Now I’m willing to pay eight thousand dollars for it.”
“Eight thousand?” I said. “Last week you offered ten thousand.”
“Maybe I’m willing to pay twenty,” he said, his upper lip twisted in a snarl. “Why the hell am I negotiating with you, anyway? You’ve never even seen the damn thing. This is between me and Jesse.”
“You mean, between you and Jane.”
He blinked, suddenly looking a little disoriented. “That’s what I said.”
“You said Jesse, but Jesse’s dead.”
“Dead. Right.” He shook his head. “I know that. I know he’s dead. I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t think you were.” I tried another tack. “Do you know where Jesse originally found the necklace?”
“Of course I do. He was scuba diving out there by the Glorious Maiden.”
“Do you know any of the other people he showed it to?”
“Yeah.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and paced the floor in front of the counter. “That pawnshop down the coast a few miles. And there was some dinky little knickknack shop around Point Arena. Probably a few other places he didn’t tell me about.”
“One more question and I’ll leave you alone. Do you think the necklace was worth killing for?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I held my palms out. “Jesse’s dead, right?”
His eyes widened. “Hold on. Nobody’s killing anybody.”
“I didn’t say that.”
His cheeks puffed out like a fish’s. “So . . . what? What’re you saying? Somebody killed Jesse? Is that what you’re saying? Nobody killed him. He died, and that necklace belongs to me.”
“Legally it belongs to Jane.”
“Exactly. And I’m willing to pay her six thousand dollars for it.”
“Six?” I choked out a laugh. “You’re crazy.”
He waved his hands in the air. “Hell, yes, I’m crazy!” He swooped in close to my face and stared at me through empty eyes. “Why do you think they call me Cuckoo?”
I flinched, afraid he might attack me physically. I began creeping backward toward the door.
“I’m Cuckoo because I’m crazy!” He shrieked with laughter. And not happy laughter. It was high-pitched and hysterical and disturbing. “Certifiable! And I want that necklace before he gives it to—”
I whipped around. “Gives it to whom?”
But his eyes were unfocused and I was pretty sure he had just blasted off to another planet. But then he whispered, “Get out.”
And I did. I continued backing out of the store, my jaws aching from the stiff smile I continued to flash him.
I ran all the way to my truck parked three doors down. As I unlocked the door, I had to inhale deeply a few times. That was when I realized I’d been holding my breath for the past few moments.
I climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed and locked the door. To whom did he think Jesse was going to give the necklace? Was it Althea? Jane and I had theorized that Althea’s presence in Jesse’s life might’ve been the catalyst for Cuckoo to start searching for the jewels in Jesse’s house. Could it be true?
One thing I couldn’t figure out was why Jesse had been friends with Cuckoo. The man was seriously nuts. Jesse had never been known for his patience and he didn’t put up with a lot of crap. Cuckoo, on the other hand, was completely full of it.
*