Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [89]
Monica was wearing the ruby necklace. The kicker, though, was the time and date stamp on the photo. It was taken the day after the sisters had reported the necklace stolen.
“Holy crap,” I whispered, suppressing all sorts of colorful curses. The Levert sisters had committed insurance fraud. Big-time. So big that the idea turned my knees to Jell-O. I sank into a straight back chair the bank thoughtfully provided in the room, reminding myself to calm down. This must have been the straw that finally broke Jerome’s back. He couldn’t support the sisters in this fraud, so he left.
My impulse was to call Tinkie, but I stopped. I had to think through my next actions very carefully. If I alerted the cops, Eleanor would be arrested, leaving Monica hanging in the breeze, a nice euphemism for facing death. Bringing Tinkie into this now would involve her in insurance fraud. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her—literally.
There was no way around it. I had to keep this information to myself until Monica was safe. To divulge it now would put her in tremendous jeopardy. No one could know what I’d found out, especially not Barclay.
And no wonder Millicent told Barclay she had the key to the kingdom. With Monica and Eleanor behind bars for insurance fraud, Barclay would take over all of the Levert holdings. His DNA gave him the claim he needed.
I now had a very good motive for someone to murder Millicent. Someone at Briarcliff. Someone who wasn’t accounted for last night. While I was running around the grounds and Tinkie was helping me, no one had paid the least attention to Eleanor’s whereabouts.
* * *
Briarcliff crowned the high bluffs of Natchez, a dark presence in the August sunlight. As I drove down the winding shell road toward the mansion, I had the sense that the house drank the sunlight. No matter how bright the day, Briarcliff brooded in gloom.
Or maybe it was the fact one person was dead, another attacked, my dog whacked in the head, and Monica was still missing. Not to mention the horseman and the object thrown from the cliff. All had happened on the estate, and if I told these circumstances to Sunflower County Sheriff Coleman Peters, he would insist I was tricking him with a gothic tale of murder.
The door leading from the portico opened as I parked. Sweetie and Roscoe rushed out to meet me. Eleanor, looking drawn and upset, stood in the doorway. “I’m glad you’re back,” she said.
“We need to talk.” I sounded harsh and meant to. Now was the best opportunity because Tinkie hadn’t returned yet.
She arched her eyebrows. “Is something wrong?”
“You could say that.” From my back pocket I pulled out one of the photos showing Monica wearing the necklace.
She studied the photo for a moment before she slowly lowered it. “So you know.”
“Yes. I do. And so did Millicent. Now Millicent is dead. Very convenient for you.”
“What do you intend to do?” Her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“I’m calling the police. And the insurance company.”
She steadied herself on the doorframe. “I can’t fight this anymore. My sister may die today. The prospect of jail for insurance fraud doesn’t even faze me, Sarah Booth. Do what you have to do.”
“Insurance fraud is the least of it. Murder is what I’m talking about.”
“Me? Kill Millicent? If you truly believe that of me, there’s little point in continuing.” She turned to go inside.
I followed her, feeling a pang of sympathy, which I rooted out and squashed. She and her sister had involved Tinkie and me in a four-million-dollar scam. Delaney Detective Agency’s reputation could have been ruined. Eleanor and Monica had acted with selfishness, not to mention criminal intent. It was staggering.
“Where’s the necklace?” I asked.
“In the vault in the basement. I returned it after you photographed the vault for your report.” She tossed the photo on the kitchen counter. “Where did you get this picture?”
“Millicent intended to give it to Barclay.”
Eleanor indicated we should go to the parlor. “I know