Woods, Stuart - Stone Barrington 37 - Family Jewels by Woods Stuart

Author:Woods, Stuart [Woods, Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-04-05T05:00:00+00:00

32

Stone and Gala had breakfast in bed the following morning.

“I’m going up to Carrie Fiske’s apartment this morning to look it over,” Stone said “Would you like to come along?”

“Yes. Do you have a key?”

“Sheriff Martinez sent her luggage from the Ghost Ranch house,” Stone said. “Her handbag was among her effects, and there were keys to her properties.”

“I’d love to see it.”

—

They arrived at the Park Avenue building at mid-morning; Stone identified himself to the building’s superintendent, and they were allowed to enter the apartment.

“How long did Ms. Fiske own the apartment?” Stone asked the man.

“Her grandfather was the original owner,” he replied. “Her parents lived here, too, part of the time, and she owned it since their deaths a few years ago. I’ll leave you to look around, Mr. Barrington.”

Stone and Gala wandered around the rooms, Gala pointing out various pieces of furniture and art. They went upstairs to where the four bedrooms were and went into the master. “That’s a Klimt, I believe,” Gala said, indicating a large painting on the wall over a dressing table. She opened a large art book on the dressing table and found the picture. “There you are. A pity it’s not The Woman in Gold.”

They went into Carrie’s dressing room, which was very large. “Goodness, what a wardrobe!” Gala said, looking through the dresses. “I believe some of these things must have belonged to her grandmother and mother.”

Stone leaned against a panel, and it gave a little, then sprang open, revealing a large safe with an electronic keypad lock. “This looks custom-made,” he said. He dug into his pocket and found the key to the apartment. On the same ring was a gold tag with a number engraved on it.

“Is that the combination?” Gala asked.

“Two-two-seven-seven-four-three,” Stone read from the tag. “Those numbers, converted to letters, spell ‘Carrie.’” He tapped the numbers into the keypad and spun the safe’s wheel: the door opened. “It’s just a large jewelry box,” Stone said. He pulled out a couple of trays to reveal pairs of earrings and some rings.

“I think you should auction these pieces individually,” Gala said. She pulled out the bottom tray and gasped.

“What is it?”

Gala picked up the piece: it was a high choker made of diamonds and rubies. “I don’t believe it.”

“What don’t you believe?”

Carrie took him by the hand and led him back into the bedroom, where she flipped through the pages of the Klimt book until she found the portrait she was looking for.

“The Woman in Gold,” Stone said. “I’ve seen it at the Neue Galerie.”

Gala pointed at the necklace in the portrait. “Look at this,” she said, holding up the choker next to the portrait. “Did you see the film about the painting?”

“No.”

“Along with this portrait and other Klimts, the Nazis stole this choker from the family, and it ended up on the neck of Mrs. Hermann Goering.”

“You think it’s the real thing?”

“Let’s go back to the safe.” She led him back to the dressing room and opened a small door inside the safe.

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