Deadly Diamond

“There’s no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.”

––Wesley Bates

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: The Problem That Wasn’t a Problem

Alyx was on the phone when I ventured into the workroom the next day.

“Maggie, where are you calling from? Is everything all right?”

“I’m home and I’m fine,” Maggie said.

“Home? What happened, sweetie? I told you I was taking care of everything. I hope you didn’t come home just because of what happened.”

“No, that’s not why I’m back,” I heard Maggie say from the receiver. “Do you have time to talk? I’ll bring lunch.”

“I’ll make the time.”

Maggie lived in a one-bedroom condominium on the ocean. Her attractive seventh-floor condominium, decorated in a sleek modern style was second only to the ocean view from the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors across the width of the living room. Traffic was usually heavy around lunchtime, and the ten-minute trip took us twenty minutes plus the time it took to pick up the lunch order at the Cuban Sandwich Shop.

After greeting each other with hugs, Alyx didn’t waste any time getting to the point.

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

“George’s son, Erik, is thinking about enrolling in college here in Florida and asked if he could stay with him for a year or two, so he can save money to pay for the next two years of school, and George told him that he can stay for as long as he wants.”

“I don’t understand. Why are you so upset about that? Granted, you won’t have the same privacy you have now, but you can work it out, can’t you?” Alyx took a sip of lemonade and set it down.

Maggie did the same, except she held on to hers and paced to the door and back.

“That’s not it. It’s that I don’t know how to behave around a nineteen-year-old. I’ve never had any kids, and I don’t really know him; I’ve only spent a few days with him. I don’t know how to be a mother; I don’t even know how to cook. What if he hates me?”

“Maggie, he’s not going to hate you. To begin with, you don’t have to mother him; he has a mother already, and, secondly, George loves you. Did he say anything that sounded like he’s changing his mind?”

She shook her head, drained her plastic cup, and dropped it in the wastebasket. “He has no idea why I wanted to come home. Since I’m the one who suggested going in the first place, he had no problem with me changing my mind.” She smiled. “Sometimes I think he’s too good to be true.”

“The old Maggie would have said he was ‘too good for her,’ and that’s why I can say I think you’re experiencing commitment jitters.”

“I should have stayed here and helped you instead of running away.”

Alyx waved away the sentiment and suggested they eat lunch. Maggie took a bite of the crunchy lunchmeat sandwich and asked if there was any new information about the break-in or the estate sale.

“The sale went fine. Nelda did a great job. Almost everything sold for the price marked.” Then, she hesitated, “Something odd did happen though.” She pulled the note from her purse and handed it to Maggie to read.

Maggie read the short note out loud: “SHE’S GONE AND SO ARE HER THINGS––LEAVE IT ALONE OR ELSE … Oh, my! Alyx! You did tell Detective Smarts about this, right?”

“Well, I tried. I left him a message but I haven’t heard back from him yet.”

She picked up her cell phone and handed it to her. “Call him again, Alyx.”

“All right, Maggie, I’ll give him a call if you promise to call George and talk to him about the changes you’ll have to make with his son coming––and be sure to tell him you’ll be joining him more often on his picking jaunts.”

Alyx made the call, and this time her message said it was urgent.