Rear-View Murder: A Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery (8 page)

“W
e’re being watched,” Holly said, one hand on the gear shift.

Gemma followed her gaze to a dark, narrow alley that ran alongside the building where she’d been talking to Sadie. This had to be none other than Bobcat. He was dressed in a dark suit, shiny red shirt open at the neck with a dozen gold chains clearly visible in the gloom. Rings glittered across his knuckles. He was smoking, very casually, standing with one foot crossed over the other. And, to Gemma’s eye at least, he looked like pure evil.

“That’s why Sadie was too scared to talk any longer,” Gemma said. “I’ll bet that’s our culprit right there.”

“Culprit or not, we’re not going to confront him alone,” Holly said, rolling slowly away from the area.

In the mirror, Gemma watched him step out of the alley and then enter the door where Sadie had been standing. She closed her eyes and sent up a little wish for Sadie’s safety.

“Shouldn’t we call the cops?” Gemma asked.

“What? And tell them that a man went into a building?” Holly said.

“Why are you always so logical?” Gemma huffed and sank back into the leather seats, suddenly exhausted. Then she remembered what Sadie had said about a baby.

“Did you hear what she said about a baby?”

Holly nodded. “And something about a senator, too. That would explain the ring.”

“Would a senator buy an expensive ring like that for a hooker?” Gemma asked as she tapped the screen of her phone to pull up her contact list.

“If he was trying to shut her up, maybe,” Holly reasoned.

Nick’s cell number appeared and she tapped that as well. His voice mail kicked in and Gemma left a message for him to please call her.

“Let’s get to the hotel. I feel like I need a shower,” Holly said, selecting the address of their hotel on her GPS.

Their hotel room was clean but pretty basic. Neither of them required much in the way of amenities. It had two big beds, plenty of towels and plenty of hot water and that was all Gemma needed. She was drying her red-gold curls when Holly stepped into the steamy bathroom with her phone.

“It’s Nick.”

“Thank you,” Gemma whispered and then tapped the screen to accept the call.

“Hey, what’s going on in the big city?” Nick asked when she answered the phone.

“Lots of stuff going on but not the right stuff,” Gemma told him, wiping steam off of the big mirror in front of her.

“How so?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“The detective here isn’t any more interested in solving the case than the one in Gypsy Hill,” Gemma began.

“Is there a case to solve?”

“They don’t think so. They think it was an overdose or perhaps an accident,” Gemma paced around the bathroom. “They wouldn’t even take the ring I found. Told me to just keep it. They said we couldn’t even be sure it was hers, maybe it was just left in the car or in one of those old coats.”

But you do,” Nick guessed.

“I do.”

“How long I’ve waited to hear you say those words to me,” Nick teased.

The statement confused Gemma for a moment and then she rolled her eyes at her reflection in the mirror. “Nick, this is no time for joking.”

He laughed. “Okay. Go on and tell me about your theory.”

“Her name was Opal Sparrow. She had a mom and a dad and a little sister named Natalie. She also had an arrest record,” Gemma told him.

“Uh-oh?”

“Prostitution.”

“Okay,” Nick said.

“We went to visit her parents.”

“I’m sure that was hard,” Nick said quietly.

“They were somewhere between hurt and angry and in no mood to talk to us at all,” Gemma told him, running her fingers through her curls, trying to control them as they dried. “I felt especially bad for her sister.”

“That must have been tough.”

“And they said they’d never seen the ring before. It wasn’t an heirloom and they wanted nothing to do with it,” Gemma added.

“So you’ll be home tomorrow,” Nick said, sounding somewhat hopeful.

“Um, I guess,” Gemma had no intention of telling him where they’d been all afternoon or what they’d been doing. “We still have to check out some jewelry stores and maybe do a little shopping.”

“Sounds like fun,” Nick said.

Ignoring his sarcastic remark, Gemma said, “Nick, I was wondering if you would do me a favor.”

Back in the bedroom, with Nick still on the line, Gemma noticed that Holly was thumbing through a catalog of precious stones. Opal’s ring lay on the little table beside her. It glowed warmly in the lamp light. Every once in a while, Holly picked it up, studied it and then placed it back on the table. Gemma sat down on the side of her bed and picked up the ring, gazing at the exquisite piece of jewelry.

“Sure,” Nick said.

“Could you use your journalistic super powers to find out something about Opal for me?”

“I could probably do that,” Nick said and Gemma pictured him reaching for a pen and the little notebook he always kept at hand. “What do you need to know?”

Gemma wasn’t sure how long it took to get toxicology reports but surely something would tell them whether Opal was pregnant or not. “I need to know if Opal was pregnant.”

Nick was quiet for a moment. “I’m not even going to ask what put that in your head, but I’ll do my best to see what I can find out.”

“Thank you,” Gemma said, genuinely happy she didn’t have to explain. “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”

Nick laughed. It was a way Gemma had teased him all through their school years. She realized she hadn’t said that to him in a while. That reminded her they’d once been lovers, engaged to be married, and
that
reminded her of the emotional turmoil she’d experienced at the loss of her parents and her decision to break off their engagement. Could they get back there again, to a time before that awful night? She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to do that. Gemma was sure that even though they remained friends, there would one day be repercussions from her decision.

“I’ll call as soon as I know something. It might be in the morning before I can get through to anyone,” Nick told her. “But rest assured, Lucy, I’m on the case.”

Now it was Gemma’s turn to laugh.

“And, when you get back, Buddy has another car for you to look at.”

“No. Just...no,” Gemma protested. “I don’t even want to talk about that right now.”

Nick was laughing again.

“I’m hanging up now,” Gemma almost had to shout over his laughter and ended the call.

“Nick is a good man,” Holly reminded her when she dropped her phone onto the bed.

“I know,” Gemma said, lying back across the bed.

“Do you think you’ll ever get back together?” Holly asked, resting the catalog in her lap for a moment.

“I don’t know,” Gemma said. “Part of me wants to try again, but another part of me is so scared. What if something happens to him? What if we start a family and then something bad happens? You know how quickly it can be wiped out.”

“What if he meets someone else and you don’t have the choice any longer?” Holly asked, giving her a level look.

“I’ve thought of that, too,” Gemma said, toying with the edge of the comforter.

They were both quiet for a while and then Holly said, “Let’s order a pizza.”

Gemma shook off her melancholy and smiled, but her smile was weak. “Okay, sounds good.”

The pizza was delicious, hot and very cheesy and just the way Gemma liked it. The two sat side by side on Holly’s bed, the pizza box between them, pillows tucked in behind them.

“Been a long time since we did this, huh?” Gemma said.

“Too long,” Holly said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

And then she sat up and reached for one of her many books on stones she almost always carried with her. “I really haven’t studied opals all that much, but let me show you what I found.”

“It’s my birthstone,” Gemma announced.

“I know that. But listen to this. Opals are known as the eye stone. They’re like lightning in a rainbow,” Holly began.

Gemma turned the ring in her fingers watching the flash of fire even in the low light. “I can see that.”

“In the ancient world it was considered to be the most bewitching and mysterious of gems. They believed it was capable of providing great luck and was called the Queen of Gems for a while.” Holly paused and then read further. “Then it fell from grace and became linked with rumors, misfortunes and mysterious fatalities. Very bad luck.”

Holly stopped reading and looked up at Gemma. Gemma nodded slightly, the irony of that last sentence hitting home.

“In the metaphysical world, opal acts as a prism within the aura. It enkindles optimism, enthusiasm and creativity, and allows for the release of inhibitions inspiring love and passion.”

Holly read silently for a few moments while Gemma digested what she’d just heard.

“Green opals have the ability to filter information and reorient the mind, giving meaning to everyday life. Green opals activate the heart chakra, the energy of family and health, prosperity and abundance. It’s also a stone of protection for mothers to be and a seductive stone, evoking passion and eroticism.”

“Well, it didn’t protect this mother to be,” Gemma muttered, holding the ring in her palm.

“If she was a mother to be,” Holly reminded her. “And after seeing those women today, I don’t think anything could have protected her.”

“You’re probably right,” Gemma said and stifled a yawn.

“Let’s get some sleep and hit the jewelry stores in the morning,” Holly suggested. “A green opal with fire - those flashes of color - is incredibly rare. Most green opals are opaque.”

“Maybe they can tell us something about the ring, then,” Gemma said as she pulled the covers back and climbed into bed. “We might be able to find out where it was purchased.”

“Uh-huh,” Holly said, turning off the light.

“And who purchased it.”

“Maybe.”

“Which might lead us to who killed Opal Sparrow.”

“Go to sleep, Sherlock Holmes,” Holly said.

G
emma was dreaming. She was in the forest again, running as fast as she could on slippery wet leaves and undergrowth. She dodged low hanging branches, glancing over her shoulder from time to time. The dark, shadowy figure was back there. She could hear him grunting and moaning in the darkness. She couldn’t tell if he was gaining on her or not, but he was relentless.

The blue Honda appeared, bringing Gemma to a skidding stop. The trunk was open again and this time Opal’s face appeared in the back window. Not a skeleton face but the pretty face framed by golden curls in the photograph. And then her hand appeared, half skeleton, half rotting flesh and she pointed at something behind Gemma.

Gemma turned.

The squawking alarm on her cell brought her wide awake and she reached over to shut it off.

In the next bed, Holly groaned and covered her head with her pillows.

“Sorry,” Gemma whispered and settled back into the covers. Gray dawn was just lightening the window and she lay there wondering about the dream. Did it have some meaning or was it just her subconscious working over time?

Her gaze landed on Opal’s ring lying on the night stand. Every time she spotted it she looked for the fire and it was always there, no matter what the light. She picked it up and cradled it in her hand, wishing the ring could talk. She wondered about Opal’s family and hoped they were starting to heal. She wondered about the women on the streets they had talked to the day before. Gemma certainly hoped they were safe, at least temporarily. And what about Opal’s killer? He was out there somewhere and she hoped and prayed he wasn’t stalking another victim.

Unable to sit still any longer, Gemma tiptoed to the bathroom. After her shower, she dressed in one of her favorite outfits, a brightly colored knee length skirt and a soft, sleeveless V-neck sweater that complimented the colors in the skirt. She did what she could to tame her wild curls and then dabbed on a bit of make-up.

“Do you ever sleep?” Holly asked when she came back into the bedroom.

“I had a bad dream,” Gemma said.

“I’m sorry,” Holly said, giving her a quick hug. “Want to talk about it?”

Gemma shook her head and watched her best friend stand up and stretch. “I’m going after coffee.”

Traffic was already filling the street when Gemma stepped outside. There was a lot of pedestrians as well, men and women dressed in business attire carrying briefcases. They were pretty close to the capitol building and, as she walked along the busy sidewalk, she wondered how many of them worked there. Could one of them be a senator? Did they just walk up and down the street? She had no idea.

After waiting in line for too long at the coffee shop, Gemma made her way back to the hotel. Holly was just getting off the phone with Mitch. She was dressed in business casual, as she liked to call it. Gemma handed her the coffee and sat down on the opposite bed.

“How do you always look so perfect?”

“What?”

“Your skin is flawless and your hair looks like black silk,” Gemma said.

Holly simply stared at her as if she was speaking a foreign language and changed the subject. “I made a list of some jewelry stores here in town that might sell a ring like the one you found.”

“Okay, let’s get started,” Gemma said, grabbing her purse.

The GPS in Holly’s SUV took them to a jewelry store not far from the capitol. In fact, Gemma realized they could have walked. The jeweler looked at the ring carefully and guessed it to be worth about three thousand dollars. He spoke of clarity and design and many other things that Holly seemed to understand perfectly.

“Would that ring have been purchased here?” Gemma asked.

“No, we rarely sell green opal. I would have remembered this ring,” he told them.

The next jeweler had about the same reaction, only she priced the ring much higher.

Traffic was horrendous and Gemma thought they would never make it to the third jeweler on Holly’s list. It was in a mall, blessedly cool there and mostly empty. The jewelry store they entered was filled with glittering diamonds in display cases which were mounted under a glass, U-shaped counter. A bell chimed when they crossed the threshold and an older woman came out to greet them right away