Mayhem and Matrimony by Winnie Reed

Author:Winnie Reed [Reed, Winne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WinReed

“I know this is a terrible rendering, but I was wondering if anybody had ordered or purchased a ring like this from your store.” I slid my sketch across the display case, hopeful.

Oliver, the store’s owner—a casual friend of Mom’s so we were on a first-name basis—tipped his head to one side, then the other as he studied what honestly didn’t need to be studied. At least, not as far as I was concerned. I hadn’t exactly included a ton of detail. “Yes, that would be the person’s initials. We would send a blank ring to the engraver and have them personalize it for the customer. I could go through our records to see whether anyone ordered this particular set of initials.”

“That would be wonderful, but only if it doesn’t take up too much of your time.”

“Are you kidding?” He winked, waving me back to his office. “You were the one who encouraged me to go entirely electronic with my records. You’ve saved me countless hours over the years. It’s the least I can do.”

I had forgotten about that conversation. “That was around the time I was opening the bookstore, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. Oh, your mother was so proud of you. She still brags on you every time we run into each other at association meetings.” He glanced up at me after sitting down to access the files. “Will you be at the meeting Sunday evening?”

“Sure.” I had forgotten all about the monthly meeting and wondered if Mom still wanted to propose a restaurant week event. Since she hadn’t asked me for help with her presentation I guessed not.

Though it wasn’t like she had never waited until the last minute to ask for help, either. I’d have to prod her just in case she planned on surprising me.

“Here we are. Signet rings. You said it was black enamel?” Oliver’s database was pretty impressive. He sorted on the enamel color, then the initials. It didn’t come as a huge surprise that there weren’t that many on the list. I had only ever seen older men wearing rings like the one my attacker had worn.

“Sorry. No S.R. here. At least, not in the last ten years or so. That’s as far back as my records go.”

I knew it was a long shot but figured I had to try. “No worries. I appreciate you looking into it.”

“I could reach out to the engraver and see how many sets of those initials they’ve engraved. Where the pieces went to.”

While it was a tempting idea, something told me this could end up being a case of looking for a needle in a haystack. How many jewelers could the engraving business work with? How far away were they? Besides, it would’ve been one thing for Oliver to have a lead for me. I might’ve been able to get a name out of him if I explained what this was all about. A favor to a friend who’d been instrumental in streamlining his business, that sort of thing.

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