Chapter 5 - Ray Carried The Jewelry Case
Ray was waiting by the service entrance at seven twenty-five.
Eleanor was already there.
Of course.
She wore trousers and a heavy coat instead of navy silk.
No pearls.
She looked more dangerous without them.
“Olivia.”
“Move.”
“No.”
Ray stood several feet away.
He had aged.
More than three years should have managed.
Gray beard.
Workman's coat.
Hands shoved into pockets.
Eleanor looked at him.
“You have no right to be on this property.”
Ray answered:
“I was invited by the owner.”
Both of us looked at him.
He corrected himself.
“By Olivia.”
My mother almost smiled.
“This is my house.”
“Yes,” I said. “And I'm asking to see the cabinet before contractors tear out the wall around it.”
“You are not entitled to my private property.”
“Then tell me what the key opens.”
No answer.
I held it up.
Eleanor watched it.
Ray said:
“It fits the lower workshop cabinet.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I locked it.”
My mother turned.
“Raymond.”
I looked at him.
“You locked it.”
“Yes.”
“With what inside?”
Ray's face tightened.
Eleanor said:
“Don't.”
He ignored her.
“Your grandmother's sapphire brooch.”
The world did not stop.
Contractors were arriving down the drive.
A truck reversed somewhere.
Noah was with Ben.
Morning continued.
I preferred that.
“Say it again.”
Ray looked at me.
“The brooch was in the cabinet when I left this property three years ago.”
I turned toward Eleanor.
She did not deny it.
“Who put it there?”
Ray said:
“I did.”
My anger snapped toward him.
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor told me to.”
“What exactly happened?”
Eleanor moved toward the workshop.
“This discussion is over.”
I stepped in front of her.
“No.”
She stared.
I had rarely blocked my mother physically.
Interesting what one syllable can feel like after thirty-eight years.
Ray continued.
“Two days after the brooch supposedly disappeared, Eleanor called me into her dressing room.”
My stomach tightened.
“She had found it?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Ray looked at Vanessa's mother.
Eleanor stared at him.
He answered anyway.
“Vanessa's handbag.”
I closed my eyes.
Not because I needed the information softened.
Because I suddenly remembered that handbag.
Black leather.
Gold clasp.
Vanessa had left it on my kitchen counter while crying about Ben.
I opened my eyes.
“What did Mom tell you?”
“That Vanessa had made a terrible mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“Trying to pawn the brooch.”
“So she knew.”
“Yes.”
“What did she want you to do?”
“Take it to the jeweler.”
“Why?”
“The clasp was damaged.”
Of course.
“Then?”
“Bring it back here.”
“Why not put it in her jewelry box?”
Ray looked at Eleanor.
“Ask her.”
I did.
My mother said:
“I had not decided what to do.”
“With what?”
“With Vanessa.”
“Then why keep telling me the brooch was missing?”
Silence.
“Mom.”
“I was trying to understand the whole situation.”
“You understood Ben didn't have it.”
“Yes.”
The answer barely made sound.
My body went cold anyway.
“When?”
“Two days after it happened.”
“That was before I asked him to leave.”
Her face tightened.
“Yes.”
“How long before?”
“Olivia—”
“How long?”
“One day.”
I laughed.
One sharp sound.
“You watched me end my marriage while knowing he didn't steal from you.”
“That is not why your marriage ended.”
“Do not change the question.”
Eleanor looked at the workshop door.
“The brooch was only one part.”
“One part you knew was false.”
She said nothing.
I turned to Ray.
“Why did you agree to hide it?”
His shame arrived immediately.
“Because I thought it was temporary.”
“How temporary?”
“A day.”
“Then?”
“Three.”
“Then?”
“A week.”
“What happened?”
“I told Eleanor I wasn't keeping it there.”
“Then?”
“She told me my job was property management, not family management.”
Reasonable sentence.
Used badly.
“What did you do?”
“I told her if Olivia asked me directly, I would answer.”
“And?”
“I was dismissed the next morning.”
“Fired.”
“Yes.”
“Did you call me?”
Ray looked away.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I told myself you would eventually ask.”
I stared at him.
Apparently waiting for me to discover truth unaided had been a popular family pastime.
The renovation supervisor approached.
“Mrs. Carter?”
Eleanor and I both answered.
“Yes.”
He looked between us.
“Which one?”
Despite everything, Ray made a sound that might have been a laugh.
I pointed toward the workshop.
“That steel cabinet. Nobody touches it until I say.”
Eleanor said:
“This is my property.”
The supervisor immediately backed away from the family conflict.
Smart man.
I looked at my mother.
“Then open it with me watching.”
Her eyes moved to the brass key.
She did not reach for it.
May you like
That told me she was not afraid of what might be inside.
She was afraid of who got to see it.
