When the call ended, Celia drifted to the couch and sat down in stunned silence. Lady Em murdered? she thought. And the necklace missing? She tried to remain calm even as the stunning implications of what that meant for her exploded in her consciousness.
I have the necklace, she thought frantically. I was in Lady Em’s room hours before she died, before she was murdered. Will anyone believe Lady Em gave it to me? With that story in People coming out today with Steven swearing I was in on the hedge fund fraud with him, who would believe that I wouldn’t steal if given the opportunity? Any crooked antiquities dealer would pay a fortune for the necklace, then sell it to one of those private collectors who want a treasure like that for their own satisfaction. Or those incredible emeralds could be sold one by one to jewelers. And who would have the connections to arrange a private sale? As a gemologist who travels the world, I would.
She went to her safe, removed the necklace and gazed at the flawless emeralds. It was hard for her to fathom that she was actively considering whether she should go out on the balcony and toss it into the ocean below.
57
When Brenda reached Lady Em’s suite, she found a guard at the door. “I’m sorry, ma’am, by order of the Captain no one will be permitted to enter this room until we dock in Southampton.”
Frustrated, Brenda said, “I have been Lady Em’s personal assistant for twenty years. Surely I can—”
The guard cut her off. “I’m sorry, ma’am, Captain’s orders.”
Brenda turned abruptly and walked down the corridor, her rigid back expressing her outrage to the guard. That’s the way I would act if I gave a damn about her, she thought. Now no more shuffling behind her, anticipating her every whim or need.
Ralphie! Now she could be with him all the time. Now she wouldn’t have to hide him because she knew Lady Em would not approve of him. The apartment she and Ralphie live in belonged to Lady Em. It wouldn’t have killed her to leave it to me. Who knows how long whoever manages her estate will let me stay there? In the meantime, it’s rent-free. I’ll just stay until somebody tells me to get out.
Her thoughts went back to Lady Em. She is leaving me three hundred thousand dollars, Brenda thought. And we have two million from switching and selling the jewelry. Free! I’m free of all the kowtowing I’ve been doing all these years.
At least during the valuation of all her jewelry I don’t have to worry about someone asking why so many pieces are cheap. Maybe they’ll think that with everything she bought over the years, she might have been taken by a crooked jeweler who sold her the junk. Lady Em insured only the jewelry that was worth more than one hundred thousand dollars. Those are the pieces they’ll focus on. Ralphie and I luckily stayed away from the insured jewelry.
Brenda reassured herself with that thought until it occurred to her that Lady Em might have asked Celia Kilbride to take a look at her “picnic” bracelet. I should find out a little more about this gemologist, Brenda thought to herself, as she opened her laptop. She typed Celia Kilbride into Google. The first story that appeared was about Celia’s potential link to her former fiancé’s hedge fund swindle. But Brenda’s eyes widened as she saw another headline exclaiming “Philanthropist Lady Emily Haywood Murdered on Luxury Cruise Ship.”
After quickly scanning the story, she closed her computer. She felt herself breathing rapidly. I was going to be okay, she thought, if Lady Em had died in her sleep. That’s what old people do. If they’re right and she was murdered, will that change the way they look at me?
It might provide cover for me and Ralphie. The article had said that the Cleopatra necklace was missing. That means the killer probably got into Lady Em’s safe. Unless he’s caught, nobody will know how much jewelry or which pieces were stolen. If I’m asked, I can say that Lady Em used to make copies of various pieces of her jewelry. She brought a number of legitimate pieces and a number of copies on the trip. The thief must have taken some of the good stuff and left the junk.
Brenda was now feeling infinitely better. That also explains the guard at the door of her suite and not letting me in, she thought. The ship was trying to cover up the murder and theft by saying she died of natural causes.
Lady Em’s gone and I have an alibi regarding the jewelry, but I’m not completely home free.
If Lady Em told Celia she suspected I had substituted the bracelet, would Celia tell that to the police when the ship docked? Or would she tell the Captain now, and will the police be waiting for me? If Lady Em was murdered, would Celia feel even more compelled to report anything Lady Em told her? But will Celia have any credibility because of the fund swindle?
If she tells them anything, it will be her word against mine, Brenda told herself nervously, as she returned to the dining room and asked the waiter to bring her a fresh cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin. Five minutes later, after she had taken a big bite of her muffin, her jaw froze. I’m the only one who has a key to Lady Em’s suite. Is anybody going to think I might have killed her?
58
Ted Cavanaugh was finishing breakfast and winding up a telephone conversation with his law partner when the announcement of Lady Haywood’s death came over the public address system. He was holding a cup of coffee and had to grasp it tightly to keep from dropping it.
He felt sorry for Lady Em, but his next thought was, I hope that the Cleopatra necklace is safe. I wonder if word of her death has reached the press, he thought, as he began tapping on his iPhone. It certainly had.
“Lady Emily Haywood Murdered and Famous Necklace May Be Missing” was the headline on Yahoo News. That can’t be true, he thought, even as he realized there must have been some verification. The Captain’s announcement had said nothing about murder. There are always wild rumors online, but he guessed this was too extraordinary to not be true. The story went on to say that in the early hours of this morning, Lady Haywood had been smothered with a pillow as she lay in bed. It said that her safe was open and jewelry was scattered on the floor.
The Cleopatra necklace. What a tragedy if it was lost. It was the last piece of jewelry Cleopatra had sent for as she prepared to commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner by Octavian.
He thought of the antiquities he and his law partners had recovered for the rightful owners. Paintings for the families of Auschwitz victims. Paintings and sculptures for the Louvre museum that had been stolen when France was occupied in World War II. And they had successfully sued antiques and art dealers who had peddled to unsuspecting buyers copies of valuable artifacts as if they were the real thing.
His mind raced as he thought of the people on the ship who were close to Lady Em.
Brenda Martin, of course.
Roger Pearson, but he was dead. Were Lady Em and Pearson’s widow close?