The Stranger's Sin by Darlene Gardner

If we had an address, we could check with neighbors to see if she reached out to them.”
    Heffinger extended a hand, wordlessly asking for a second look at the sketch. “What’s her name?”
    “Mandy Smith,” Kelly answered. “But she might be going by Amanda. She might even be using a different last name.”
    Chase remained silent, watching Kelly in action, his doubts about her resurrecting. She was now telling the truth, but seemed no less sincere than she had when she lied.
    “Why do you think she’s one of my customers?” Heffinger asked.
    Kelly produced the necklace. “This was hers.”
    Heffinger fingered the jewelry, turning the necklace over and scowling at the broken clasp before handing it back. “I guarantee my work. She should have brought it back for a refund.”
    “Then you do remember her?” Kelly asked, audible hope in her voice.
    “A woman didn’t buy this from me. A man did. I remember because he gave me a drawing of a necklace and talked me into making something that looked like it.”
    Chase figured he’d kept silent long enough. “How long ago was this?”
    “At least a year and a half,” Heffinger said. “Maybe more.”
    “Do you remember his name?”
    “What do I look like? An elephant?” She huffed. “Like I said, lots of people buy jewelry from me.”
    “Do you keep copies of your receipts?”
    “’Course I do.” Heffinger sounded affronted. “But I only take cash.”
    “So there’s no way to know who bought this necklace from you,” Chase finished.
    “Not unless I wrote down his name and phone number on the receipt so I could call and tell him when the necklace was finished.”
    That sounded like a distinct possibility to Chase. He dug in the pocket of his khaki shorts and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my cell number and e-mail address. If you come across that phone number, would you contact us?”
    “I can’t promise nothing,” she said, but took the card. “It’d take a while to go through my records.”
    “One more thing,” Chase said, continuing before Heffinger could get even testier. “Could you help me pick out a piece of jewelry for my babysitter?”
    Heffinger suggested a bracelet of colored stones that cost well more than Chase wanted to spend, but to increase the chances that she’d contact them he took her recommendation.
    “It’d mean a lot if you checked your records, Ms. Heffinger,” Kelly said after Chase paid for the bracelet. “If we can find that man, maybe we can find Mandy. Like I said, we just want to make sure she’s okay.”
    Kelly sounded earnest, the way she had when she told her original story about wanting to return the broken necklace and then again when relating how Mandy had stolen her ATM card.
    Since she’d easily twisted the truth to bend Helene Heffinger to her will, the question remained whether Chase could believe anything she said.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    K ELLY TRIED NOT TO GET discouraged as she and Chase walked away from Helene Heffinger. The jeweler had said she’d check her records, not that she wouldn’t help. But the reality was that, even if Heffinger had information about the man who’d bought the necklace on file, it might not help them find Mandy.
    In retrospect, Kelly acknowledged that the lead had been a long shot. She’d been emotionally and physically spent after talking to the bartender at the Blue Haven and had let herself hope that Heffinger would recognize Mandy and provide her new address. A pipe dream.
    She wished now that she’d spent the latter part of yesterday searching for fresh clues instead of succumbing to exhaustion. So far she was getting nowhere while her preliminary hearing got closer with each passing day.
    “You’re a very good liar,” Chase said.
    Her step faltered, her defenses going up like a brick wall. She’d felt so comfortable with Chase during the drive to the craft fair that she’d let herself forget he was in law enforcement.
    She’d let herself become