Jewelry Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 6) by Cindy Bell Page A
Authors: Cindy Bell
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didn’t get a chance to finish my search.”
“That’s a shame.” Jo flicked her eyes from Roger to the house. She wondered if there was some way to warn Eddy.
“Now, I’m going to have to get rid of you.” Roger sighed.
“Listen, I was once one of the best thieves around. I promise you if that necklace is inside that house I will be able to find it. So, you can either wave that gun around like you’re going to hurt me and waste both of our time, or I can go in and have a look around before Tony gets back.”
“That sounds like an offer to work together.” Roger smiled.
“No, it’s not. It’s an offer to help you find out who murdered your wife. You only get one chance to accept it. If you don’t, then I will take that gun from you and make sure that you never see the outside of a prison cell again. It’s your choice, Roger.”
Roger lowered his gun. He stared hard at her. “You really think you’re tough don’t you?”
“I guess we’ll just have to find out. Won’t we?” She grabbed the edge of the window. Jo was very aware that at any moment Roger could choose to use the gun. She was fully exposed to him. But she didn’t think he would. She knew that he wanted the necklace more than he wanted her dead.
Jo jumped down through the window and found herself in the middle of a pile of trash. She scrunched up her nose at the smell in the house. It was clear that Tony hadn’t learned good hygiene while in prison. Still, she focused on the hunt for the necklace. There were two things weighing on her mind. One, she knew that Tony would be aware many thieves would be hunting the necklace, so he would hide it somewhere clever. Two, she didn’t have a lot of time before either Tony came home or Roger started shooting. She didn’t believe he was violent, but people had surprised her many times before.
Jo made her way from the living room into the back bedroom. After a quick glance around the room she ruled out several obvious places. There was a safe in the closet, a lockbox on the dresser, and the mattress was off kilter. All of these places were the first places a thief would look. However, the mattress being out of place brought her attention to the curtain rod that ran the length of the window above the bed. The house was messy, the bed wasn’t made, and Tony had paid absolutely no attention to design. However, the curtain rod was brand new, thick, without a trace of dust on it. When she climbed on top of the bed to reach it, the mattress shifted.
The rod was smudged with fingerprints. Jo smiled with triumph as she lifted the rod down. It wasn’t as heavy as she expected. She unscrewed the cap at one end and tipped up the other end. She held her hand out and waited for the necklace to slide down into her palm. After a few seconds she realized that wasn’t happening. She did her best to peer into the curtain rod. It was hard to see inside. With the curtain rod balanced in one hand she reached into her pocket for her keys with her other hand. On her key chain she had a penlight which she shone into the curtain rod. There was not a trace of the necklace, or anything else for that matter, inside the rod. Jo’s heart dropped. She was so certain that she had found the hiding spot, but she was wrong. Just like she had been wrong about being followed. Maybe her instincts were rusty, or completely broken.
She placed the curtain rod back on the hooks just as she heard a crash outside. It was followed by an assortment of very colorful language. Jo raced back to the window she had climbed in through. As she started to climb back through it, she caught sight of the front door. It wasn’t closed all the way. If Roger broke in the front door, why did she catch him climbing out the window? Maybe he saw her out front and decided to exit a different way.
Jo jumped down from the window and nearly landed on top of Eddy and Roger. The two men wrestled on the ground with grunts and curses.
“Eddy! Let go of
“That’s a shame.” Jo flicked her eyes from Roger to the house. She wondered if there was some way to warn Eddy.
“Now, I’m going to have to get rid of you.” Roger sighed.
“Listen, I was once one of the best thieves around. I promise you if that necklace is inside that house I will be able to find it. So, you can either wave that gun around like you’re going to hurt me and waste both of our time, or I can go in and have a look around before Tony gets back.”
“That sounds like an offer to work together.” Roger smiled.
“No, it’s not. It’s an offer to help you find out who murdered your wife. You only get one chance to accept it. If you don’t, then I will take that gun from you and make sure that you never see the outside of a prison cell again. It’s your choice, Roger.”
Roger lowered his gun. He stared hard at her. “You really think you’re tough don’t you?”
“I guess we’ll just have to find out. Won’t we?” She grabbed the edge of the window. Jo was very aware that at any moment Roger could choose to use the gun. She was fully exposed to him. But she didn’t think he would. She knew that he wanted the necklace more than he wanted her dead.
Jo jumped down through the window and found herself in the middle of a pile of trash. She scrunched up her nose at the smell in the house. It was clear that Tony hadn’t learned good hygiene while in prison. Still, she focused on the hunt for the necklace. There were two things weighing on her mind. One, she knew that Tony would be aware many thieves would be hunting the necklace, so he would hide it somewhere clever. Two, she didn’t have a lot of time before either Tony came home or Roger started shooting. She didn’t believe he was violent, but people had surprised her many times before.
Jo made her way from the living room into the back bedroom. After a quick glance around the room she ruled out several obvious places. There was a safe in the closet, a lockbox on the dresser, and the mattress was off kilter. All of these places were the first places a thief would look. However, the mattress being out of place brought her attention to the curtain rod that ran the length of the window above the bed. The house was messy, the bed wasn’t made, and Tony had paid absolutely no attention to design. However, the curtain rod was brand new, thick, without a trace of dust on it. When she climbed on top of the bed to reach it, the mattress shifted.
The rod was smudged with fingerprints. Jo smiled with triumph as she lifted the rod down. It wasn’t as heavy as she expected. She unscrewed the cap at one end and tipped up the other end. She held her hand out and waited for the necklace to slide down into her palm. After a few seconds she realized that wasn’t happening. She did her best to peer into the curtain rod. It was hard to see inside. With the curtain rod balanced in one hand she reached into her pocket for her keys with her other hand. On her key chain she had a penlight which she shone into the curtain rod. There was not a trace of the necklace, or anything else for that matter, inside the rod. Jo’s heart dropped. She was so certain that she had found the hiding spot, but she was wrong. Just like she had been wrong about being followed. Maybe her instincts were rusty, or completely broken.
She placed the curtain rod back on the hooks just as she heard a crash outside. It was followed by an assortment of very colorful language. Jo raced back to the window she had climbed in through. As she started to climb back through it, she caught sight of the front door. It wasn’t closed all the way. If Roger broke in the front door, why did she catch him climbing out the window? Maybe he saw her out front and decided to exit a different way.
Jo jumped down from the window and nearly landed on top of Eddy and Roger. The two men wrestled on the ground with grunts and curses.
“Eddy! Let go of
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