Jewelry Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 6) (4 page)

J
o drove
with Walt towards Bucky’s place. It was quite a long drive, so she flipped on the radio.

“Do you have a favorite station?”

“Not really. I enjoy all music.”

“All?” Jo smiled a little.

“All.”

Jo tuned into her favorite station and blasted rock and roll music that had more bass than lyrics. Walt slunk back in his seat and looked from the radio to her. To her surprise he began singing along with the music. She laughed as he mimicked an air guitar.

“Walt, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Jo.” Walt’s hands settled back into his lap. “I hope we can change that.”

“Me too.” Jo nodded.

They sat in silence for most of the way enjoying the music.

“We’re about ten minutes out. Walt, I appreciate you coming with me, but it is probably best if you wait in the car.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I came with you to ensure your safety, and that is exactly what I will do.”

“Do you think I’m not capable of protecting myself? Why, because I’m a woman?” She parked the car and looked over at him. “Isn’t that a bit old-fashioned?”

“No, I don’t think you’re incapable of protecting yourself because you’re a woman.” He fixed his eyes to hers. “No, I think you are very capable of protecting yourself, but I would like to help so you can relax a little.”

Jo narrowed her eyes. “What am I supposed to say to that?”

“Thank you.” He opened the door of the car and stepped out. Jo stepped out on the other side and met him in front of the car. “Jo, I won’t accept any argument.”

“Walt.” She met his eyes and offered a half-smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He nodded once and then turned to look at the building before them. It was a simple, small, white building. But all of the windows were blacked out.

Jo paused outside the door and looked over at Walt.

“Are you sure you want to do this with me? Once we get inside it is rather hard to get back out quickly.”

“Huh?” Walt frowned. “Does he lock the door?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, whatever it is, I’m here with you, Jo. I can be your protection.”

Jo quirked a brow and tried not to smile. She didn’t want to hurt Walt’s feelings, but she was fairly certain he didn’t do well in the role of protector. As she knocked twice on the door and then kicked the base of it once, she hoped that the code hadn’t changed over the years. A few minutes later Walt frowned impatiently.

“Maybe no one is here.”

Jo glanced at her watch. “Just another minute.”

A buzzing sound emitted from inside the door. She nodded and turned the knob. Then she shoved the door as hard as she could. A musty scent spilled out through the door. She squeezed her way through the door. Walt followed behind her. Jo did her best to climb over the piles of papers, magazines, and old records on the floor. She tried not to look at the piles that were crammed to the ceiling all around her. Going to see Bucky was like walking through a crumbling old building, only the bricks were abandoned, useless items. Walt gasped as he struggled to get in behind her.

“What is all of this?”

“This is Bucky’s treasure.” She spoke in a hushed tone as she knew that Bucky might be able to hear her. “He is a collector.”

“Hoarder.”

“I don’t recommend using that term, he has a very large array of automatic weapons. Of course he probably doesn’t know where they are right now, but not a risk I would recommend taking.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

Walt shuddered as he brushed some garbage on the floor aside with the toe of his shoe.

“Just stay in the middle, don’t bump into anything, and don’t look down.”

“Huh? Why?” Walt looked down at his feet just in time to see a large cockroach race across the floor. It was followed by a flock of smaller bugs. “Oh no, oh dear no, oh my no.” Walt pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it against his mouth.

“Walt?”

“Just keep going, I’m right behind you.” His voice was muffled by the handkerchief. The path narrowed as they walked single file. Jo could tell that Bucky had added quite a bit to his collection since the last time she visited. Every creak and groan of the building made her concerned that she was about to be buried, and very likely become a part of Bucky’s collection.

“Who exactly is this man?” Walt cleared his throat.

“He’s a fence. The fence really. He’s the best person to see if you want to get a good price on stolen goods.”

“How can anyone find him?”

Jo grinned. “You have to be somebody, or know someone that is somebody.”

“Ah.” Walt did his best not to look at the floor as he heard the squeak of a live animal.

They emerged from the narrow hallway of junk into a slightly larger space. In front of them a wall to wall glass counter stretched out. At least it was to be assumed that it was glass. The amount of dust and grime on the surface made it rather difficult to tell for sure. Set back in a giant, leather chair was Bucky. Jo could see that he had likely put on about one hundred pounds. He was a very large man the last time she saw him, but now he was mountainous. He munched happily on crackers as they approached the counter.

“What do you have to offer?” He didn’t look up.

“Nothing.” Jo paused in front of the counter. “I’m here to get something from you.”

Bucky choked on the cracker he crunched. He cleared his throat and peered through his glasses at Jo. “Is that who I think it is? Could it really be?”

“It’s me, Bucky.”

“Jo. After all these years.” He stared at her with disbelief. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again. Look at you. Wow, you’re still a sight.” He stared at her with cracker bits stuck to his bottom lip. “I fell in love with you the first day you climbed over a pile of comics.”

“You say that to all the girls, Bucky.” Jo crossed her arms.

“Maybe. But I only mean it with a few.”

“Mmhm. Great, then you should be able to help me out.”

“What do you need from me, Goddess?”

Walt looked between the two of them with a hint of anxiety.

“I need to know about the ‘Rose Job’.”

“That was Tony’s job.” He rubbed his hands clean of crumbs and looked at the two over his square glasses. “Where’s Tony?”

“I’m not here about Tony.” Jo met his gaze directly. “I’m here to find out about the necklace.” He laughed and knocked a few crumbs off his shirt in the process.

“I bet you are. You and about twenty of your friends.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that this place has been a revolving door of all you so-called professional thieves begging to get your hands on a ghost. Everyone knows that it’s a fairytale.”

“It’s no fairytale.” Jo rested her hands on the counter and ignored the droppings of unknown creatures. “I saw the necklace with my own eyes.”

“Ha, more lies.” Bucky narrowed his eyes. “The Jo I know would not see a necklace like that without stealing it herself.”

Walt cleared his throat. “She’s not the Jo you knew anymore.”

“Please don’t help, Walt.” Jo shot him a look before she returned her attention to Bucky. “Look, all I want to know is who was working with Tony. Who was his accomplice?”

“How should I know?”

“He sold you all of the stuff.”

“And I make it a point to forget the face of anyone who sells me stolen goods. That’s why I’ve lived so long.”

“Which is completely against all scientific and medical explanation.” Walt looked around the environment and shuddered at the thought of how many different kinds of mold were probably growing around him.

“You have a problem with my humble abode?” Bucky used his hand to gesture to his surroundings. “Nobody asked you to be here.”

“He’s just not used to being around so many unique treasures,” Jo explained and shot a look of warning at Walt.

“Yes, that’s it.” Walt lowered his eyes.

“Now Bucky, what about the guy who sold the stuff from the ‘Rose Robbery’? Who was he?”

“I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now.”

“Why?”

“The guy who came in here, was a dead man. I knew that from the first moment I looked at him.”

“Why?” Jo held her breath.

“Because he had that look. That look of a novice who stumbled onto something much too big for his britches. I can tell you right now that he had no idea how to price the things he had. Tony was the brains, and the brains were locked up. But I was no dummy, I knew he was supposed to have the necklace. I told him that Tony was going to be expecting the money from that necklace. I didn’t want him going to any other fence, you know. I wanted to be the one to finally get the ‘Rose Diamond’. But he insisted that there was no necklace. He said that when they did the robbery the necklace was nowhere to be found. So, I just gave him what I felt like for what he had, and our business was settled.”

“A name, Bucky?” Jo leaned closer despite the putrid scent. “I need to know a name.”

“Uh.” He rolled his eyes up in his head and smacked his lips a few times. “Dale, no, Dave, no.” He frowned. “I know it started with a D, but my memory, it’s just not so great.”

“What do you want, Bucky? Do you want cash?”

“You can’t give a criminal money,” Walt said as he went pale.

“I’m not a criminal, you fool, I’m a businessman. Besides, it’s not money I want.”

“Then what?” Jo cringed at the possibilities.

“That.” Bucky pointed at Jo’s chest. Jo blinked.

“What?” Jo said.

“Don’t be so crude!” Walt warned.

“The necklace, Jo.” Bucky’s voice lowered. “You give me that necklace of yours, and I will give you the name.”

Jo reached up and clutched the necklace. She recalled putting it on that morning. She hadn’t worn it in years. It was a piece of the past that she kept locked away for the sake of compartmentalizing her emotions.

“It’s worthless.”

“Sure. But I want it.”

“Why?”

“You know why. It’s a piece of theft history. I can add it to my collection.”

“Bucky. That’s ridiculous.”

“The necklace for a name, Jo. What’s it going to be?” He smirked.

Jo reached up and unfastened the necklace.

“Jo, you don’t have to do that.” Walt moved closer to her. “That’s yours.”

“Which means that it’s mine to give. It means nothing to me, anyway.” She held it out to Bucky. Bucky met her eyes.

“I doubt that.” He closed his hand around the small charm, but Jo held onto the chain.

“The name, Bucky?”

“All right, fine. The name was Clem. A guy about your age I guess. Definitely a newcomer. He had no idea what he was doing. I’d be surprised if he has lived this long. But like I said, he didn’t have the necklace.”

Jo let go of the chain and brushed her hand down the leg of her jeans. “All right. Anything else?”

“Just that he was terrified of going to jail. I told him he should be more scared of Tony, because he wasn’t going to be happy taking the wrap for the whole theft alone when Clem was involved. Never saw him again after that.”

“Thanks for your time, Bucky.” Jo turned away from him.

“If you ever want this back, just let me know, we can work something out.” He dangled the necklace for Jo to see.

“Your loss, Bucky, it’s worth nothing.”

“Maybe, but it’s history.” He grinned and gazed at it like it was the ultimate treasure. Jo picked her way back through the piles of junk until she made it to the door. Walt followed in her exact footsteps. When she reached the door she had to shove things out of the way that had slid out of place when they had entered. More creatures scuttled into and out of view. Walt reached out a hand to steady himself and placed it right through a spider web.

“Oh no! Out, out the door now!” He nearly shoved Jo through the door. As he did he brushed and swiped at his hand and arm while shaking the rest of his body.

“Walt, are you okay?” Jo stared at him with wide eyes.

“Spider web,” he hissed.

“Oh.” Jo grinned. “You can’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

“Actually, I can say that. You did not fully inform me of the situation that I was walking into.”

“I tried to.”

“Hm. Either way I’m glad I was here. Now, do you want to tell me about that necklace?”

“The ‘Rose Diamond’?”

“No. The necklace that was important enough that Bucky wanted it.”

“It’s not important to anyone but him. Bucky has this weird habit of keeping memorabilia related to thieves. That necklace was a gift to me, so he wanted it.”

“From him?”

“No. From someone else.”

“Who?” Jo opened the door to her car and settled inside. Walt followed suit. Jo started the car. “Jo, you can trust me you know.”

“It’s not important.” She backed the car out of the parking lot in one swift movement that left Walt breathless with his hands glued to the dashboard. “It’s ancient history.”

A
fter Jo dropped
Walt off at his place she continued to her own. Samantha called several times before she answered.

“Did you find out anything?”

“It was nice of you to send me an escort,” Jo said.

“Oh, you didn’t mind did you? I just thought Walt might enjoy the trip.”

“I don’t think he did.” Jo cracked a smile.

“Well?”

“I found out that the man who brought the items from the ‘Rose Robbery’ to the fence was named Clem. Does that line up with anything you found?”

“Yes, actually. The man that was brought in for questioning was named Clemson Pick. He was questioned and released without the police finding any evidence of involvement.”

“Great.” Jo frowned. “I guess that leaves us at a dead end.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’m texting you a picture now. See what you think.”

“Okay. I’ll call you in the morning all right?”

“Sure. Are you okay, Jo?”

“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

“Okay. Get some rest.”

Jo hung up and waited for the text to come through. When it did, she looked at the picture. She thought it looked very similar to Roger, but it was hard to be sure. Many years had passed. The man in the picture had jet black hair. Roger had very blonde hair. She sent a text back to Samantha agreeing that the picture looked similar to Roger.