0.5 Bead Of Doubt Read online

  “Sure.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t you take Willow for a walk?”

  I grabbed the pink leash off the desk and noticed the Yellow Spinet’s pouch still sitting there. Relief settled in my stomach.

  “I’d love to.” Cheri took the leash and yelled for Willow, who followed right behind her.

  “Don’t be going and leaving that sitting around.” Marlene grabbed the pouch after Cheri and Willow left the office.

  “I’m not. I didn’t think anyone would come in here.” I assured her. “I will make sure the door is locked next time.”

  I shut the door.

  “This thing is worth a mint?” I said in a loud whisper.

  “I see you’ve had it checked out.” Marlene took the gem out of the pouch and kissed it. “I can’t wait to wear it. I just love it.”

  She put it back and handed to me. I opened the desk drawer and put it inside.

  “I’ve got a few ideas about bead wrapping.” I explained the design I thought she might like and that would go with her clothes.

  “I love it!” She screamed, and clasped her hands together.

  “Shh.” I put my finger up to my mouth just as someone knocked on the door.

  “You okay in there, Holly?” Bernadine asked from the other side of the door and jiggled the locked door handle.

  “I’ll be out in a minute.” I smiled at Marlene. “Marlene, you really should be nice to my friends if you want to fit in around here. Agnes is also a part of my group.”

  She nodded and we headed out to face the Divas.

  “Hi, Holly.” Jim and Doug were standing over at the Divas table.

  Before I even introduced them, I could already feel the electricity between Doug and Marlene.

  “Hi, Jim.” I said, and looked over at Ginger who was glaring at Marlene.

  “Let me introduce Marlene to everyone.” I pointed to all the Divas in order. “This is Flora, Bernadine, Jim, and Doug. You’ve already met Ginger.”

  “Nice to meet all of you.” Ginger said in that same accent she used on Noah. “I’m new in Swanee and I’d love to have someone show me around.”

  “I’d love to.” Doug took Marlene’s hand and kissed it. “How about a cocktail at The Livin’ End.”

  Marlene batted her fake lashes. “Definitely. Say seven-ish? Pick me up at Agnes Pearl’s and don’t be late.”

  “Doug?” Ginger cocked her head sideways. “What about. . .”

  Doug interrupted. “Marlene, this is my sister, Ginger.”

  “Yeah, we met.” Ginger brushed Marlene aside. “You don’t know this woman.”

  The teenagers left, leaving just the Divas, Marlene, Jim and Doug.

  “Look.” I pointed to the girls running out into the snow. “You’ve run off my customers. Can you take this outside?”

  Ginger led Doug out while Marlene took in Doug’s backside.

  “Holly, I wanted to talk to you about installing some security cameras in the shop.” Jim held up a tiny camera that would fit into the palm of a toddler’s hand. “My latest investment has been in the security camera business and I’ll give you a discount.”

  He showed me a few of the prices, and it almost made me sick. He knew I could hardly afford groceries much less ten thousand dollars in security cameras.

  “Since when did Swanee become crime-ridden?” I tried not to laugh in his face.

  Everyone in Swanee left their doors wide open. If someone broke into the shop, someone would see them.

  “Just checking.” Jim put the camera back in the bag. “A lot of businesses are using them. You never know with all the teenagers coming in and out of this place.”

  Teenagers? I knew every teenager that was in here today, or at least their families.

  “I’ll take my chances.” I patted him on the back.

  “Ladies.” Jim nodded toward the Divas and Marlene. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Yes, you too.” Marlene dragged her hot pink acrylic nail down his shoulder, then his arm, to his hand. She took his hand and squeezed it. “I might be able to talk Pearl into those.”

  “You do that.” Jim slipped his hand out of Marlene’s and walked out.

  “Marlene, Ginger might be a Diva, but they are never going to get divorced.” Bernadine picked up all the scrap wire and the loose beads on the table.

  It was getting late and the shop was ready to close. Cheri and Willow had come back from their walk followed by Ginger.

  “What’s a Diva?” Marlene questioned.

  “Bernadine, Flora and I are all divorced.” I explained how we all met. “Ginger is honorary because she’s my best friend.”

  “Can I be a Diva since I live here?” Cheri re-positioned the beret on her head. “I’ve been dumped by boyfriends.”

  “Sure.” Flora chirped between her conversation on the phone and ours.

  “I’m widowed.” There was a twinkle in Marlene’s eye. “I’d love to be a Diva.”

  And that was the only information we got about Diva Marlene’s history.

  Chapter Five

  It took a lot of convincing for Ginger to accept Marlene, but she did. With one stipulation. Marlene had to stop hitting on Jim, and knock it off with Doug. Marlene promised to stay away from Jim, but young Doug was another story.

  Marlene’s taste in men, were like her taste in jewels. Expensive.

  I looked out the shop windows, watching the big snowflakes cover the street and the sidewalk. I laughed thinking about the awning and how I was going to have to clean it off again by taking the broom to it.

  Everyone helped clean up. Bernadine counted the money in the cash register because she was so organized I knew she would do it right. Cheri took care of poor Willow who wouldn’t go near Marlene and her red hot heels. Flora caught up on her phone calls while she stacked all the Divas projects in the storage room. Ginger, in true best friend style, cleaned the under and dusted the dust bunnies off the beads.

  We said our goodbyes, and they promised they’d all stop by tomorrow to check in on me. I locked the door behind them and went to get Willow in the office.

  “How did you do?” Sean was sitting in the office chair.

  “Sean!” I screamed. “You scared the holy hell out of me! How did you get in here?”

  He pointed to the window in the office.

  “I know we are in Swanee, but you really need to keep the window locked.” Sean’s feet hit the floor when I knocked them off the desk.

  “You can’t break into the place like you own it, Sean Harper. Now get out.” I demanded.

  Willow twirled her tail, and looked up at him with her big black eyes. It was beyond me, but she loved him. Most women did. That was the problem. A marriage was for two, not three or four.

  “Fine.” Sean stood up. “But if you need anything, call me.”

  His hand slid down my arm, giving me chills.

  Too bad, I thought. If only he could be faithful.

  I made sure he was gone and locked the front door again. I stood at the front of the shop and marveled at my hobby turned dream. I giggled like a girl.

  Finally my life was becoming mine and what I wanted to do.

  “Let’s get your leash and go home.” I patted my leg for Willow to follow me. “And we can’t forget the you know what.”

  I didn’t even want to say Yellow Spinet out loud. The thought of it made me nervous that Marlene had left it in my care.

  I attached Willow’s leash and opened the desk drawer to get the pouch. I felt around the back of the drawer, the only thing in there was the money Bernadine counted from the cash register. I put the money envelope in my back pocket.

  My heart stopped. I dropped Willow’s leash and pulled the drawer off the rollers. It had to be here somewhere.

  Nothing.

  I threw the drawer on the floor and scoured the rest of the desk. Not a sign of the pouch. Frantically I searched the office high and low. There was nothing there.

  “Marlene is going to kill me
if we don’t find it.” I looked over at Willow with tears in my eyes.

  It didn’t bother her; she was asleep in the corner.

  There was nothing left in the office to search. The only things in there were the desk and the chair.

  Sean. I ran into the shop.

  I picked up the rotary phone on the counter and dialed his cell.

  “You need me already.” Sean answered.

  “No. Did you open my desk drawer by any chance?” I asked him. It would be out of his character to take the jewel. He would’ve said something about it if he did see it.

  “No. I didn’t even open the drawer. In fact I shut it.” Sean answered. “When I sat down, I had to shut it to put my feet up. Why?”

  “Oh, nothing.” I hung up the phone.

  Sean was too dumb to know what the gem was. He would’ve thought it was just another glass bead.

  I looked around the shop. I glanced around the floor. The under.

  I had to do it. Stick my hand in the under.

  With my eyes closed and ass up in the air, my elastic waist band was cutting into me, I sucked in and stuck my hand into the dark under of the hanging shelves.

  I knew Ginger had cleaned the under, but maybe somehow the gem was there.

  Nothing but dust bunnies.

  The phone rang, scaring the living crap out me of. I jumped up to get it and pulled my elastic pants up.

  “Hello?” I frantically answered.

  “You really should say The Beaded Dragonfly.” Marlene was on the other end.

  Thank god, she was going to tell me she had the Yellow Spinet.

  “Marlene. I’m so glad you called.” I said panting into the phone. I really needed to get some of this weight off.

  “Oh, good. Are you coming up with some great designs?” She questioned. “I was thinking. Maybe we could do a pendent for a necklace or something.”

  “Maybe.” I responded, not knowing if I should ask her if she took the Spinet or not. “How wide is it?”

  I figured if she had it she could measure it. Not that I really cared how wide it was. I just needed to know that she took it.

  “I don’t know. Measure it.” Marlene said, confirming she didn’t have it.

  Damn, damn, damn!

  “Is that all you need?” I had to get off the phone before I had a heart attack. “Gotta go.”

  I hung up the phone and started to cry.

  Chapter Six

  I sat on the floor of the bead shop for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only twenty minutes. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me who could’ve taken it. Even Willow didn’t come to my side.

  “I know you are hungry and want to go home.” I looked over at my little pink pig who looked pitiful. She wasn’t used to going so long without eating. Me neither. I put my finger in my waist band. It felt a little loose. Maybe all this stress was going to help me loose a little.

  Or jail would. Once Marlene finds out that her jewel was missing, I’m sure she’d bat her fake lashes and have Noah Druck arrest me.

  Let’s see. I got up and jotted down a time line. After the teenagers left, I went into the office and the Spinet was still there. It was still there when Cheri took Willow on her walk, but I didn’t check after the walk.

  I jotted Cheri’s name on the paper as a possible suspect.

  Bernadine was in charge of the money, but the money was still there. Surely Bernadine didn’t take it, but out of all the Divas she’d know the difference between a glass bead and real stone.

  I jotted Bernadine’s name down.

  Ginger cleaned the floor, but didn’t go into the office. So she didn’t make the list.

  Sean. Enough said. His name goes on automatically. After all, I had believed he wasn’t cheating all those years.

  Flora. She did take the projects back to the storage room and she would’ve passed the office.

  So, I jotted her name down.

  I looked my list over again. Cheri, Bernadine, Sean, and Flora.

  Could a Diva really have done this? I tapped my pen on the paper. How was I going to figure out who did this?

  I checked my watch. It was 5 p.m. Surely I could stop by their house and just see how each of them acted around me.

  I looked outside. The snow was coming down in huge flakes, covering everyone’s footprints.

  “Come on, Willow. If we are going to stop by all these houses before dark, we better get going.” I folded the paper and put it in my pocket. “Willow?”

  Normally my sweet swine would have already been at my feet. She must have been really crabby.

  I walked back to the office where she was fast asleep. The walk must’ve worn her out. I picked her up, and carried her out of the shop. I locked the front door and carried her to the car.

  “I’ll take you home first.” I patted her sweet hungry belly and headed to the cabin.

  Chapter Seven

  Poor Willow was so tired from her walk with Cheri, she just wanted to go lay down in the bedroom. It was already 5:30 and I was running out of daylight.

  First stop. Asshole.

  I parked the Focus right behind his beat up truck. It looked like he was home alone. I didn’t want to interrupt any hanky panky with any of his women.

  Quietly, I knocked on the door.

  “Well, well.” Sean opened the door, his hand held the door open as he leaned on the doorframe.

  It was hard not to notice his tanned biceps. I had heard that he’d been going to Tan Your Hide. I wasn’t sure if he was tanning or going down there to flirt with one of the community college girls.

  “Have you come to your senses and want to come home?” He asked.

  I wanted to smack that grin off his face.

  “No.” I barged into what was once my home.

  I couldn’t just tell him what I was there for. He already denied going through the drawer, but I had to see for myself. Like I said, Sean might be good-looking, but he’s as dumb as a box of rocks.

  I pushed my way into the house.

  “I. . .” I looked around the family room. It was never this messy when I lived there. He was living the single man’s dream. Empty pizza boxes and half empty beer bottles. “I came over because I think I left some of my winter clothes in the other room.”

  Suspiciously, he eyed me up and down. I knew he was taking in my current weight gain. I tugged the collar of my jacket around my neck.

  “I thought you took everything you wanted, since. . .” He stopped.

  “Since what?” I glared. I dare him say I’m fat. I’m not fat, just a little on the plump side.

  “Nothing. I’ll go look.” He sauntered down the hall toward our bedroom, which gave me some time to do some digging around.

  I tiptoed into the kitchen because the first thing Sean does when he gets home was empty his pockets in the basket next to the kitchen door. Sure enough, his keys and a wad of cash were sitting in there, but no sign of the pouch.

  Hmm. I slipped the cash in my pocket. He did owe me months of alimony, so it was rightfully mine.

  “Where would they be?” He hollered from the bedroom.

  “Ummm. . .” I jumped around the corner back into the family room. “Look in the little attic in the closet.”

  That was one of his pet peeves. I did store a few items in the closet attic. It was a pain to get to, but if I made a new shoe purchase that he didn’t need to know about, I put them up there. Hell, he had women I didn’t know about. So I didn’t feel too bad about buying shoes.

  Plus, having him try to get up in the attic would take a little more time.

  I looked in all the usual places, but came up with nothing. Under the empty pizza boxes and beer bottles on the table was just a film of dust. There was a few smelly socks on the floor, and a pair of woman’s underwear.

  “I still don’t see anything up there.” He walked into the room. His mouth fell open as I dangled the underwear in the air.

  “Those were a joke from a friend.�
�� He followed me to the door. “I swear, Holly. There wasn’t any girl here.”

  Slowly I turned around. If I could shot fire from my eyes, he would be a burnt hotdog.

  “Does it matter, Sean? We are divorced. You can legally go around sleeping with any floozy in Swanee now.” I slammed the door behind me, satisfied that asshole really didn’t have the gem.

  Next stop, Flora.

  Her townhouse was on the other side of town, and the streets might not be plowed with the newly fallen snow. By the time I pulled the Focus into one of the visitor spots, it was 6:15, and almost dark.

  I wrapped my scarf around my head, and got out of the car. Carefully, I walked up to Flora’s building. The last thing I needed was to fall and have a broken leg in jail. On the other hand, I hadn’t called her so no one would find me until I was frozen to death. Which reminded me that this would be another instance a cell phone might come in handy. But I refused to give into being at everyone’s beck and call twenty-four seven.

  I pushed her buzzer.

  “Hello? Who’s there?” Flora’s voice came over the speaker.

  “It’s me, Holly. I know it’s late but I. . .” Damn! I hadn’t even thought up an excuse to be there. “I need to talk to you. About. . .uh. . Sean.”

  The buzzer went off and I pulled on the handle.

  She was already at the door with her phone still pinned between her shoulder and her ear. “Yeah, I’ll call you back.”

  She flipped the cell phone shut. “What did he do now?” She took my scarf and coat from me, and picked up a plate of cookies. “Cookie?”

  One wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I was playing a part and I didn’t want her to raise any suspicions.

  “One.” I took the biggest one off the plate, and took a bite. “Flora, this is so good.”

  All the delicious yumminess almost made me forget why I was there.

  “Tell me, what did he do this time?” Flora was well aware of all of Sean’s secret rendezvous with women, and his late alimony payments.

  “I. . .” I took the money out of my pocket. “I went over there to get some of my clothes from the attic, and when he went to get them I saw this money on the floor. And. . .uh. . .I took it.” I handed the money to Flora. “I took it because he owes me so much back alimony.”