The Heirloom Murders - Kathleen Ernst [61]
I’m going to crash, Roelke thought. Should he shield his face, or keep both hands on the wheel? Shield his head. And lean away from the steering column. He’d seen what they could do to a driver.
Roelke let go of the wheel when the pickup lurched sideways.
It slammed on its side. Continued to roll. I’m upside down, he thought with wonder, as the truck cab flipped on its roof. He had the sense that the truck was going to keep rolling, over and over and over.
Then the driver’ side of the truck struck earth, and Roelke’s head struck glass.
To Chloe’s amazement, the evening was not a total train wreck. Valerie proved herself a skillful critiquer, stressing positives and presenting suggestions for improvement that left each author feeling energized instead of beaten down. No mean feat.
“Stay a few minutes, will you?” Chloe asked Valerie, as the others began tucking notepads and folders into tote bags.
Valerie slipped the file folder holding her poems into the leather briefcase she’d brought. “Thanks for inviting me,” she said, when she and Chloe were alone. “Your call came as a total surprise.”
Chloe began carrying glasses into the kitchen. “Well, like I told you on the phone, Dellyn Burke gave me your number. She showed me the article you wrote about the Eagle Diamond.”
“Oh. That one.” Valerie picked up the snack plates and followed her.
“I liked it!” Chloe assured her.
Valerie twisted her mouth in distaste. “Local history fluff pieces for Wisconsin Byways wasn’t quite the direction I expected my career to take.”
“Stuff happens.”
“Yeah.” Valerie picked up the last cheese straw and nibbled at one end.
Chloe hesitated. She didn’t want to set Valerie off again. She also did not want to let the evening pass without trying for more insight into the Eagle Diamond stuff. “You knew about the diamond story because you grew up in Eagle, I assume?”
“Right. I was looking for something quick and easy. I pitched over the phone, and the editor jumped at it.”
Olympia bounded into the kitchen and sniffed at a golden crumb of cheddar cheese on the floor before happily gobbling it down. Chloe hoped that the kitten would at least wait until Valerie left before she decided that tidbit didn’t suit her delicate digestion. “I’d never heard of the diamond until Dellyn mentioned it. Did you find anything in your research to suggest that it might have somehow made its way back to Eagle?”
Valerie crouched on her red spike heels and let Olympia sniff her fingers. “Heavens, no. I did some legwork at the state historical society, but didn’t turn up anything to suggest that. I don’t think anyone has a clue what happened to the Eagle Diamond after it was stolen. Cut into smaller pieces and sold, almost certainly.”
“What did you learn about the guy who found it? Any handy memoirs left behind?”
“Hardly. There’s little to go on except newspaper accounts, and a photocopy of an appraisal.”
Dellyn’s parents must have provided the photocopy of Kunz’s appraisal to the state historical society, Chloe thought. Good for them.
“No one interviewed Charles Wood about it,” Valerie added. “Or the hired hand, either.”
“Um … what?” Chloe turned around and leaned against the sink. “There was a hired man? That wasn’t in your article.”
“I had a word limit, and the hired man wasn’t important,” Valerie said. She looked at Chloe with narrowed eyes. “Why all the questions?”
“Just curious.” Chloe gave her a bright smile. “I love that kind of stuff. And since Dellyn’s parents were so involved in the Eagle Historical Society, and I’m helping Dellyn sort through their things … The story caught my attention. Must be my novelist brain, leaping into overdrive.”
Olympia wandered away, and Valerie straightened again. “It was a shame about Mr. and Mrs. Burke. Dellyn’s going through their stuff ?”
“Yeah. In her spare time. It’s slow going, I’m afraid.” Chloe began rinsing plates. “So, what happened in Eagle after they learned the stone the guy found was actually a diamond?”