PAWSitively Sinister (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 11) (10 page)

Michael shook his head. “Man, this just gets more and more weird. Hey, bring up what you have there and let’s take a look.” He called out to Rupert, “Come check out what he found.”

Michael was crouched over an outdoor water spigot when Savannah walked up. “Whatcha doing, hon?” she asked.

He squinted up at her. “Hi. What am I doing? Washing Arthur’s treasures.” Before she could respond, Michael held out his hand, saying, “Arthur found this jewelry down in the pit.”

“Really?” she said, taking the brooch from him. “It’s beautiful.” She turned it over a time or two. “Looks really old.”

“Yes, it does.” He motioned toward a swatch of grass where he’d laid several other pieces of freshly washed jewelry. “Just look at all this.”

“He found it in the pit?” Savannah asked, her eyes wide.

Michael nodded, then chuckled. “Yes, it’s like the end of the rainbow down there.”

“Wild,” Savannah said, shaking her head. She glanced toward the pit. “How did we miss this stuff?”

Michael stood. “I guess most of it was in this box.”

When Arthur joined the couple, he explained, “There are also random coins and pieces of jewelry buried down there. Most of it’s against the walls. At least we didn’t walk all over them and smash them.”

Savannah picked up a few pieces of the jewelry saying, “Unbelievable. I’ve gotta go show these to the gals.”

When she entered the living room, she found Suzette talking to an elderly woman about a set of rose-patterned dishes gilded in gold. The woman asked, “Now, am I to understand that the money from the sale goes to help animals?”

“Yes, Mrs. Harold, some of the proceeds go to local animal rescue organizations,” Suzette explained, “and a portion goes to help young burn victims and their families.”

“Wonderful,” the woman said, handing Suzette two one-hundred-dollar bills. “I’ll take the set.”

“I’ll wrap them for you, if you’d like to continue looking around,” Suzette offered.

The woman thought for a moment, then said, “This has been a draining journey. I think I’ll sit for a spell if that’s all right.”

Suzette nodded. She started to help Mrs. Harold toward an antique sofa, when the woman stopped. “Wait,” she said, “I want to look at those teaspoons. My friend collects them.”

Suzette smiled and went to work wrapping the plates.

Gail was talking to a couple who seemed interested in Gordon Randall’s old ashtray stand and Laura had just walked into the room carrying an ornate table lamp with a pleated shade.

“Whatcha got there?” Suzette asked when she saw Savannah appear with her hands full.

“You’re not going to believe it,” Savannah said quietly.

Suzette turned away from her task and stared into Savannah’s hands. She knit her brow and whispered, “Where did you find these?”

“Arthur dug them up in that hole out there.”

Suzette ran one finger over the cameo brooch. “This is amazing. Stunning.”

“Oh—jewelry! Is it for sale?” Mrs. Harold asked, moving closer.

Savannah looked at the woman and stammered. “Uh… I don’t actually know… I don’t think...we just… ”

“My God!” the woman almost shouted, clutching her chest. “That cameo… let me see that brooch.”

Surprised, Savannah handed it to the woman. “It is lovely, isn’t it? We found it… ” she started to say.

“This is… it’s a miracle,” the woman said, swooning a little.

“Oh?” Savannah said. “How’s that?”

Again Mrs. Harold clutched her chest. “I must sit down,” she said, breathlessly.

Savannah dropped the remaining pieces of jewelry into the pocket of her windbreaker and helped Suzette guide the woman to the nearest sofa. “What is it?” Savannah asked, kneeling in front of Mrs. Harold. “Can I get you a glass of water?”

“Yes, please,” the woman said, fanning herself with one hand. “I’m afraid I’m having a spell.”

“I’ll get it,” Suzette said, hurrying toward a table across the room that was set with a large dispenser of water and lemons. A coffee urn and a plate of cookies sat nearby.

“Would you like to lie down?” Savannah asked, concern in her voice.

“No,” the woman said, looking at the cameo pin again. She turned it over, gasped, and handed it to Savannah. “What do you see there—you have young eyes. Is that an L and an E?”

Savannah took the brooch and peered at the back of it. She looked at the woman and down at the brooch again, saying, “Yes, it is.”

Mrs. Harold took the glass of water from Suzette and drank a few sips. She handed it back and said weakly, “That’s mine!”

“What do you mean?” Savannah asked, flashing a puzzled look at Suzette.

“I’m Elizabeth. This was my grandmother’s cameo. Her name was Louise. She had the L engraved when she bought it and I had the E put on there when she gave it to me.”

“But how did it end up here?” Suzette asked, now sitting next to the woman.

Mrs. Harold took a deep breath, looked each of the younger women in the eyes and said in a near whisper, “She took it one night.”

“Who?” Savannah asked, still kneeling in front of Elizabeth Harold.

“Well, you see, I used to come here for… readings. I wanted to reach my grandmother. If you wished to communicate with someone on the other side, you were required to bring something that would be meaningful to that person—preferably something valuable, you see. I brought this brooch Grandmother had given to me. Madam Randall told each of us to put our valuables under our chairs and, if it was gone after the session, that was a sign that our message had, indeed, reached our loved ones. When the lights came on that night, my brooch was gone.” She began to weep. “I knew then that I had reached my dear, sweet Grandmother Louise.”

Elizabeth pulled a hanky from the sleeve of her dress and wept into it for a few moments. She then looked up and asked, “But how did it get here? Did Grandmother send it back to me?” She sat up straighter. “Oh, dear God!” she shouted. “This is a message from Grandmother!” She clutched the brooch and held it to her. “Grandmother is coming for me.” She looked up into the cathedral ceiling. “I think I hear her calling.”

Suzette and Savannah exchanged looks. Then Suzette held the glass of water toward the woman, saying, “Here, maybe you should take another sip,” but she waved her off.

Elizabeth Harold stood and walked toward the door, the cameo brooch still clutched in one hand. Now smiling, she said, “I must go and prepare for my journey.”

“Uh, wait,” Savannah said. “I think you’d better leave the brooch here; it could be evidence.”

The woman stopped and turned. “Evidence?” she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

“If it was stolen… ”

“Pshaw, stolen?” Mrs. Harold laughed. “It has been returned from the other side.” She held it to her and looked at Savannah. “I get signs now and again, but never anything this… powerful.” She glanced at Savannah and headed out the door. “I must get ready. The time has come for me to be with my grandmother again.” She shivered a little, saying, “I am so excited.”

Savannah and Suzette stood stunned, watching as the woman stepped into a classic Cadillac and drove away. “What should we do?” Suzette whispered rather frantically.

Savannah shook her head. “I don’t have a clue. I guess we let her take it. It sounds like it’s hers.”

“Or she’s a bigger scammer than old lady Randall,” Suzette said, scowling.

“What’s going on?” Laura asked when she noticed Savannah and Suzette standing at the open front door, looking confused.

Savannah faced her. “We’re not sure.”

“Yeah,” Suzette said, “she ran off without the dishes she bought.”

“She paid for them?”

“Yes—cash.”

Laura scratched her head. “Well, that’s odd. What happened, did she get ill?”

“I think she’s going home to die,” Suzette said, her voice thready.

“What?” Laura asked.

“Who’s going to die?” Gail asked upon joining the group.

Savannah cleared her throat. “Well, Arthur and Michael found some jewelry out in the pit and that woman, Elizabeth—if that’s her real name—said one piece was hers. She thinks it’s an omen from her dead grandmother that she’s going to join her… in heaven… ” She made eye contact with Laura, then Gail, “… soon.”

“So she rushed home to get ready,” Suzette said, cringing a little.

“Mama mia,” Gail said. “We’ve had some strange ones come through here, but that takes the cake.”

Savannah faced Gail and Laura. “Tell me, has anyone else talked about coming here for readings years ago?”

“This would probably be someone elderly,” Suzette added.

“Well, I’ve heard some wild stories about happenings here—parties, ghost hunts, disappearing people… ” Gail said.

“Disappearing people?” Savannah said.

Just then the couple that had been browsing came up to the women. He said, “I think we’ve decided on the Oriental lamp.”

“Oh yes,” Laura said, “I can help you with that.”

Savannah took Gail’s arm and led her toward the dining room. Suzette followed. “We want to hear more about the disappearing people.”

Once the trio was alone, Gail said, “Well it happened today, so I haven’t had a chance to tell any of you about it.” She sucked in a breath. “This elderly man came in. He looked around for a while, but didn’t seem as interested in the items as he was in the place. He tapped on walls with his cane, peered behind the furniture. I thought it was rather strange behavior. When I offered to help him, he asked if we’d found any missing people. I just figured he was another crazy and I went on to help someone who was ready to buy a piece of furniture.”

“Did he say anything else?” Suzette asked.

“Well, I was curious, so when I finished with the customer, I asked him who he was looking for and he said, ‘Abe.’ He said that Abe was his best friend and next-door neighbor. He had no one in the world but Abe—I think he said his name was Henry or Harvey—Henderson—that was it. Well, Henderson said that Abe came out here a few times for readings. He’d wanted to get in touch with his deceased father and find out why he had treated him badly. Evidently, Abe had an older brother who was, by then, deceased. It seems that the brother was treated well as a child, but their father frequently abused Abe and he wanted to know why. Henderson said he came out with Abe once to a reading and he thought it was a lot of hocus-pocus.” She chuckled.

“So what happened?” Savannah asked.

“Well, Henderson said Abe came one last time—he was sure he would be able to communicate with his father. That’s when Madam Randall told him he had to bring something of value and anything he could think of for identification.”

Identification?” Suzette questioned.

Gail nodded. “Yeah. You know, I thought this guy was just making things up. I was busy; didn’t really want to hear a long story. But I was stuck with him, so I let him talk. Henderson said, his friend took most of his meager supply of personal papers in an envelope and headed out here for a confrontation with his dead father. He also took his dad’s pocket watch, which he’d acquired a few years earlier when his brother passed away. Henderson said it was Abe’s most prized possession.”

Gail looked at the other two women. “Henderson never saw his friend again. Of course he called the police, but they said there was no evidence of any foul play and no one else had reported a missing person. He said the authorities pretty much ignored him. They did come out here and talked to someone, but never launched an investigation, as far as he knows.”

“So he just forgot about it?” Savannah asked.

“Yeah, he said there was nothing he could do. He just waited in hopes that Abe would someday return. He never did, of course. When Henderson saw the estate sale advertised in the newspaper, he came out here to look for himself. To this day, he believes that his friend was burned at the stake as a ritualistic sacrifice or something right here on this property, or kept against his will as a slave, maybe.”

Savannah looked at Suzette and said, tongue in cheek, “Maybe that’s why they have such a large incinerator—for burning their victims.”

“Why would they do that?” Suzette asked.

“Like Gail said, as a sacrifice to the witch gods.” She shook her head slowly. “Who knows what goes on in that world?” She then asked Gail, “Did he say when he last saw his friend? What time period are we talking about?”

Gail took a deep breath and pursed her lips. “Let’s see, the guy said he and Abe were about the same age—early thirties. They were new in town—actually immigrants who didn’t know anyone. That’s why the friendship was so important to Henderson. I’m guessing this man is close to seventy now, so probably sometime in the 1980s.” Suddenly something caught Gail’s eye. “What’s all this?” she asked when she noticed the jewelry Savannah had spread across a placemat on the table.

“The guys found it buried out in the pit,” Savannah explained.

Gail stared down at the items. She was silent. Finally, she picked up a large pocket watch

and ran her fingers over it, saying quietly, “An engraving of an old oak.” She quickly turned it over and gasped. “My God,” she said, lowering herself into a dining room chair. She looked up at Savannah and Suzette. “I think this is Abe’s watch.”

“What?” Suzette and Savannah said in unison.

“Why? What makes you think so?” Savannah asked.

“If I remember right, Abe’s father’s name was Leonardo Potello or something like that.” Gail pointed. “Look, this has the initials, LP.”

“Wait,” Savannah said, grabbing Suzette’s arm. “Abe—Abel Portelli,” she said slowly.

Suzette placed her hands over her mouth. “O. M. G.,” she said, in colloquial fashion.

“What?” Gail asked, her eyes wide.

“That’s the name on some of the papers we found in the pit.”

Later that afternoon while Savannah fed Lily an early supper in the atrium, her phone rang. “It’s Rochelle,” she said, looking up at the others.

“Here, I’ll finish feeding her,” Arthur offered, taking the jar of food from Savannah.

“Hi, girlfriend,” Savannah said into the phone as she walked through the dining room and kitchen and out the side door. “How are you two?”

“Good, and you? How’s it going at the mansion?”