Dead Ringer Page 2

  Fern frowned at me. “Don’t ruin this moment for me, Annabelle.”

  I mouthed the words “I’m sorry” to Lorinda, but she only smiled.

  “I feel like he could be a very good customer,” she said.

  Fern winked at her. “And I feel like you and I are going to become best friends.”

  I looked past Fern and Kate and the jewelry case as a collective wave of whispers passed through the room. A tall broad-shouldered man had walked in, and it seemed like every woman had sensed his presence and now stared in his direction. He had wavy brown hair that curled around the nape of his neck and dark eyes that, even from where I stood, drew me in with their intensity. This man belonged on a movie set, not at a bridal show. For a moment I wondered if he was a groom trying to sneak in early before I saw a hairbrush in his hand and a model with her hair done up in a jet-black beehive standing next to him. If this was Christopher I could understand why Fern hated him. He was stunning. I almost hated him and I was a woman.

  “Is that Christopher?” I asked.

  Fern followed my gaze and sucked in air. “What is he doing down here?”

  “That’s the other hairdresser?” Kate’s face registered surprise, then admiration. The only thing that could pry her away from a case filled with diamonds was a man as beautiful as Christopher.

  “You didn’t tell us that the models were wearing beehives,” I said. “How retro.”

  “Don’t look at me.” Fern made a face of disgust as he ran his eyes over the bouffant hairdo. “That’s all Christopher. I wanted to do beachy waves.”

  “You’ve been known to do big hair before,” Kate said.

  Fern held up a finger. “There’s big and then there’s hive. I only do hive if I’ve had too many cocktails.”

  Christopher and his model walked to the far side of the room, and then our line of vision became blocked by the drape walls. Kate craned her neck until she stumbled a few feet.

  Fern sniffed. “The worst part? He’s actually a ladies’ man. I can’t compete with that.”

  “Really?” Kate smoothed her hair as her eyes scanned the room, presumably to find out where the hunky hairdresser had gone.

  “Why do you think he’s getting his way with all the women who run this show?” Fern threw back his shoulders and fluffed his colorful ascot with both hands. “But if that’s the way it’s going to be around here, maybe I’ll leave. They won’t have Fern to push around any longer.”

  He strode out of the ballroom, one hand on his hip, without a backward glance.

  “Is your friend always so dramatic?” Lorinda asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “Always.”

  “Do you think he’ll bring back my ring?” she asked.

  Great. Fern had been wearing her three-carat cushion cut when he flounced out. “I’ll get it back for you.”

  “I’ll come,” Kate said. “It may take both of us to pry it off his finger.”

  We’d only made it a few feet away from the jewelry display when the lights in the ballroom went out and the entire room was engulfed in darkness.

  Strike one for the bridal show.

  Chapter 3

  A few screams then low murmuring followed the plunge into darkness.

  I reached out for Kate and grabbed her arm. She yelped and tried to pull her arm away.

  “It’s just me,” I told her.

  Her arm relaxed. “Warn me next time you grab me in the dark.”

  “Who else would it be?” I asked. “I’m the only person standing next to you.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “What do we do now?”

  My eyes searched in the dark for the emergency exit signs, but since we were in the middle of the room with fabric walls down the sides, we couldn’t see any doors. Even the main doors were blocked by fabric that was still being hung.

  So this was why the fire marshal had a fit about us blocking exit signs with décor, I thought.

  “Do you think the whole hotel lost power or did we blow out a fuse down here?” Kate asked, now clutching onto my arm.

  “No clue.” Chances were good that the musicians, caterers, lighting crew, and sound engineers had plugged in enough equipment to short out the city not to mention a renovated hundred-year-old hotel.

  I could hear people fumbling and bumping around and a few yells on the other side of the room about a fuse box. The closest person to us was the jeweler, but she hadn’t made any noise since the lights had gone out. “Lorinda?”

  “I’m over here.” Her voice came from where I guessed the jewelry case stood a few feet away from me. “Hey!” she yelped, and I heard a thump followed by some clattering and scuffling.

  “Are you okay?” Kate asked.

  “Someone knocked me over,” Lorinda said.

  Who was walking around pushing people in the dark? “Hold on. We’re coming.” I shuffled my way toward her voice in the dark, pulling Kate along with me. “Where are you?”

  “Here, but I’m already up.”

  I groped a few feet in front of me and found her arm. The lights came on, and I blinked at the brightness. Kate, Lorinda, and I stood together in a tight circle holding each other’s arms. We all took a step back, then joined the rest of the vendors in the room in clapping.

  “Well, that was a little scary,” Kate said.

  “I’m sure this building wasn’t wired to handle an over-the-top bridal show,” I said. “At least they came back on.”

  “Can you believe that?” Buster walked up and dropped an armload of leafy gold branches next to us, making the pile nearly waist high. His partner, Mack, came behind him with a tall gilded vase filled with a cascade of white orchids.

  Mack placed the arrangement on our gold bar. “We were in the hallway from the loading dock when the power went out, if you can imagine that.”

  Buster, the taller and wider of the two floral designers, adjusted the motorcycle goggles on top of his bald head and brushed some flower pollen off his black leather vest. “It was terrifying. We only had the exit sign for light. Not that I could see over those branches anyway.”

  Mack came up and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, his goatee tickling me and the chains on his leather motorcycle pants jingling as he moved. Aside from owning one of the city’s top floral-design shops, Buster and Mack belonged to a Christian motorcycle gang. This meant they rode top of the line Harley-Davidson bikes, wore lots of black leather, and did not approve of swearing.

  “At least you didn’t drop the flowers.” Kate motioned to the arrangement they’d made for us.

  Mack’s sucked in air. “Of course not. Do you know the street value of all these phalaenopsis orchids?”

  “I can’t thank you enough for doing our space for us,” I said. Lush was providing all of our flowers for the show as well as the gold branches that would hang over our two spaces.

  Buster waved off my thanks. “We’re happy to do it. As long as you keep bringing us more brides wearing huge rocks.”

  “That reminds me.” I turned to Lorinda, who still stood next to her glass case. “This is Lorinda Goodman from Goodman & Sons Jewelers.”

  Buster and Mack both stepped over to shake her hand, but Lorinda stood staring down at her case without looking up.

  “Lorinda?” I said. “Are you okay?”

  When she raised her head, her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open. I wondered if maybe she’d hit her head when she’d fallen.

  “My diamond rings,” she said, her voice hollow. “They’re gone.”

  Chapter 4

  Kate and I rushed over to where Lorinda stood, staring down at her jewelry case. She was right. It was empty. The black velvet trays no longer held rows of glittering rings. The back of the case stood open and the trays were askew, as if they’d been emptied and tossed back in. The business cards on top of the case were scattered and some were wet from where water from the flower vase had spilled out.

  “But, how?” Kate asked.

  Lorinda rubbed her head, seeming dazed. “Whoever pushed me down must have taken them.”

  “But wasn’t the case locked?” I asked. “I thought you had to open it with a key.”

  Lorinda shook her head. “I unlocked it to take the ring out for your friend to try on. I didn’t close it back before the lights went out.”

  I glared at Kate who made a point to ignore my gaze. This was all because she and Fern had to try on rings. Then I remembered that Fern still had one of Lorinda’s rings. Maybe the only ring that hadn’t been stolen.

  “Should we call hotel security?” Buster asked.

  I nodded. “The thief couldn’t have gotten far. If we can have the hotel lock this place down, maybe there’s a chance of finding them.”

  Buster hurried off while Mack came over and put an arm around Lorinda. “Why don’t you sit down?” He led her to one of our bar stools.

  “This has never happened to me before.” She perched on the edge of the stool, her shoulders slumped. “And I know it never happened to my father. What is he going to say when he finds out?”

  “Maybe he doesn’t have to find out.” Kate slid onto the stool next to Lorinda.

  “I don’t think I can hide the fact that I lost a quarter of a million dollars in diamond rings.”

  Mack mouthed over Lorinda’s bent head, “A quarter of a million dollars?”

  “I know,” I mouthed back. I couldn’t imagine walking around with that much worth of anything. I could only hope she had good insurance.

  “I think what Kate means is that he won’t need to hear about it if the diamonds can be recovered.” I glanced at my assistant. “Right?”

  “Exactly,” Kate said. “Solving crimes is kind of a hobby of ours.”

  “Well,” I started to correct Kate. I didn’t want anyone to think that we enjoyed getting caught up in criminal cases. It was purely bad luck that had caused us to be involved in the past. I didn’t need to get involved anymore. Weddings were challenging enough without throwing murder and theft into the mix.

  Lorinda sat up. “So you could get my diamonds back?”

  I gave Kate a pointed look that said I would kill her later for offering us up as makeshift detectives. “We might have been involved in a few cases . . .”

  “You have to help me.” Lorinda clutched my hands. “If my father finds out that inventory was stolen under my watch, I don’t know what he’ll do. He still owns the company, and he’s not very pleased with me right now as it is. Sales are down. That’s why I’m doing the show. I have to get the business back in the black and prove to him that I can run the store as well as any son would.”

  No one spoke for a moment, and I wondered if Lorinda regretted confessing so much to people she barely knew.

  Buster ran back up, breathing heavily. “Okay, the hotel is locked down, and security is right behind me.”

  “Security will know what to do,” I told Lorinda as I spotted two tall men approaching us in black suits and carrying hand-held radios.

  As long as we didn’t have to involve the police. I did not want my name mentioned alongside another crime. With my bad luck, Detective Reese would hear about it and show up. I wasn’t sure if I was up to seeing him again. Things with the handsome detective were always too confusing.

  Chapter 5

  “So tell me what happened when the lights went out,” the taller and darker of the two security guards asked Lorinda. His partner, who had hair so pale I wondered if he was part albino, inspected the jewelry case without touching it while we sat on bar stools at the gold bar. Mack and Buster had returned to designing their space while we were being questioned.

  Lorinda took a shaky breath. “I was behind the case when everything went black. Annabelle and her assistant were on the other side a few feet away. Then I got pushed to the ground, and I heard some noises. That must have been when they took the rings. Then the person must have run off because by the time I stood up and felt around, no one was there.”

  The guard questioning us looked to Kate and me. “Is this what you heard, too?”

  “It all happened pretty fast, but I definitely heard some scuffling and clattering, which I now know must have been someone messing with the case,” I said.

  “There was a lot of bumping around all over the room. It was hard to know what was going on or where the noises came from,” Kate added. “But I heard noises near the jewelry case, too.”

  “And your case was unlocked?” The other security officer called from where he hunched over the jewelry case.

  Lorinda flushed. “I’d opened it to show a ring and hadn’t closed it again before the lights went off.”

  “So anyone could have taken the rings,” the pale guard said, more of a statement than a question.

  “I suppose so,” Lorinda admitted. “The sliding door to the back of the case was wide open.”

  “But you could only see that if you were standing close enough,” Kate said.

  The guard doing the questioning nodded. “And how many people were close enough to see that?”

  Kate glanced around her. “Fern had walked off, Buster and Mack were still in the back, and Richard had returned to his booth. So at that point it would have been the three of us.”

  I glared at her. She’d just implicated us as possible suspects in the burglary. She cringed as she realized what she’d done.

  “But we don’t have any motive to steal the rings.” Kate jerked her head in my direction. “Annabelle barely wears jewelry and can’t accessorize to save her life.”

  “Thanks, Kate,” I said. “Very helpful.”

  “Do you mind if we search your bags?” The pale security officer joined us.

  “Be my guest.” I waved toward the canvas bags sitting on the floor.

  Kate walked behind the bar and handed over her black Longchamp bag. “Knock yourselves out.”

  “What’s going on?” Richard asked as he walked up.

  “Lorinda’s diamond rings were stolen when the lights went out,” Kate said, coming out from behind the bar.

  Richard’s eyes widened. “What? Who?”

  “Richard, this is Lorinda Goodman of Goodman & Sons Jewelers.” I touched Lorinda’s shoulder. “Lorinda, this is Richard Gerard. He’s a caterer.”

  Richard gave me a cutting glance, which told me I’d given him too perfunctory an introduction. “We’ve actually met before.”

  She shook his hand, her face puzzled.

  “I catered your father’s retirement party two years ago,” Richard said. “You probably don’t remember.”

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t very involved in planning the party. My mother handled that,” Lorinda said. “But I’m surprised you remember a small party from over a year ago.”

  Richard seemed pleased with himself. “I never forget a client’s name or face. Considering some of my clients, it’s both a blessing and a curse.”

  “All right, ladies.” The taller security guard passed Kate her bag. “We’ve searched all your bags and didn’t find anything.”

  Richard raised an eyebrow. “They think you took the rings?”

  I shrugged. “We were closest to the case when the lights went off.”

  “I mean maybe Kate,” Richard said. “But you’ve never known how to wear jewelry, Annabelle.”

  Kate grinned. “That’s what I told them.”

  I folded my arms over my chest. “Very funny, you two.”

  “We’re going to search all the booths and bags in case the thief is still in the ballroom,” the other security guard said. “And no one is stepping foot out of the hotel without being searched.”

  “What about the show?” Mack asked. He’d sidled over from the Lush display, where Buster stood on a ladder attaching branches to a metal arch.

  One of the guards glanced at his watch. “It doesn’t start for another three hours. That should give us enough time to do a thorough search.”

  “So there’s no chance you’ll cancel it, is there?” Mack asked, his eyes darting to the piles of gilded branches being suspended overhead and the massive orchid cascade on the bar. I knew he was mentally calculating how much money they’d lose if the show was rescheduled and they had to order all new flowers.

  “I can’t make any promises,” the blond guard told him. “Once three hundred brides come in here, the chance of finding those rings goes right out the window.”

  Lorinda put her elbows on the bar and let her head drop. “My father is going to fire me for sure.”

  “Don’t worry.” Kate rubbed her back. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”

  “Please don’t call the police yet,” Lorinda said to the security guards. “I don’t want to have to file a report if I don’t have to.”

  The guards both eyed her. “Why not?”

  She lowered her eyes. “My father. I’d rather he not find out unless he absolutely must.”

  “It’s our policy to call the police for something of this magnitude,” the dark-haired guard said. “But we can postpone calling them until after we’ve made our preliminary search and investigation.”

  Lorinda beamed at him. “Thank you.”

  “But that won’t take long so if you don’t want to file a police report or have the show canceled, you’d better hope those rings turn up sooner rather than later.”

  With that, the security guards walked away from us and started talking to the photographers who were two booths down.

  Mack’s face fell and a branch crashed to the floor behind us. We looked over to where Buster stood on the ladder.

  “Canceled?” Buster looked like he’d been punched in the gut. “Impossible. Not after all the work we’ve done, all the money we’ve put into this.”

  “I have several hundred profiteroles in spun sugar cages,” Richard said, his face turning pink. “And don’t get me started on the brownie meringue pops that took me forever to arrange standing up in a bed of colored sugar.”

  Mack hurried over to the base of Buster’s ladder and retrieved the fallen branch. “That’s only a worst-case scenario. That’s not going to happen, right?” He stared at me, his face begging me to back him up.