McNally's Caper by Lawrence Sanders

Author:Lawrence Sanders [Sanders, Lawrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense
ISBN: 0425145301
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 1994-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

16

SHE CAME FOR ME in an oldish Buick sedan I presumed was her personal car. It was, in fact, so old that it had a bench seat up front with an armrest that could be lowered from the middle of the back to form two quasi bucket seats. When I climbed into the passenger side Geraldine flipped up the armrest so there was no divider between us. It was, well, um, uh, cozy.

We exchanged brief greetings and without another word she headed out of the McNally driveway and turned south on Ocean Boulevard. She made no mention of our destination.

“Miami?” I inquired pleasantly.

“Anywhere,” she said. “I have to talk to you privately and this seemed the best way. Have you done anything about my missing jewelry?”

“No significant progress,” I reported. “Your father’s death has complicated things. I am sure you and everyone else in your household has been questioned by the police.”

“Endlessly,” she said gloomily.

“Of course. Which temporarily puts your personal problem on the back burner.”

“But you’re not forgetting about it, are you, Archy?” She sounded desperate.

“No way,” I assured her. “I promised you I’d do what I can and so I shall.”

“Good,” she said. “Because another of my lovely things has been stolen. A necklace of gold rose petals. I wanted to wear it last night and it was gone.”

“Expensive?” I asked.

“About five thousand. But it meant a great deal more than that to me. It was a birthday gift from my father years and years ago, and now it’s gone.”

“What a shame,” I said. “Where was it kept?”

“In its original velvet case hidden under lingerie in the top drawer of my dresser. The case was still there but it was empty.”

“Not a very secure place to keep a five-thousand-dollar necklace,” I remarked.

“What do you expect me to do?” she said angrily. “Put all my jewelry in a safe deposit box?”

I swung sideways to look at her. She was wearing a black silk jumpsuit, zippered to the chin, and she appeared to be under considerable tension. She was gripping the wheel tightly, leaning forward, her formidable jaw clenched. If she was gritting her teeth I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised.

We drove in silence until we were south of Manalapan. Traffic was light, the night cloudy. A hard onshore wind was kicking up whitecaps on the sea, and far out I could see the twinkling lights of fishing boats and the blaze of a cruise ship. Nothing seriously amiss with that scene but I would have much preferred being home, enjoying a small marc and listing to Sarah Vaughan singing “Lost in the Stars.”

Gerry abruptly made a wild and totally unexpected U-turn, pulled into a parking space on the corniche, and braked so violently that I was thrown forward against my seat belt.

“Hey,” I said in mild protest.

She killed the engine and snapped off the lights. Then she grabbed my arm. “It’s my sister-in-law,” she said fiercely. “I know it is. You believe me, don’t you, Archy? She’s giving that bum all my lovely jewelry.

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