But it’s not like Mother was trying to hide the safe’s contents!
My heart beat hard and fast as the safe door swung open. I looked and….
The ring box was there. Safe in the safe. And the small box was solitary in its occupation of that 12-inch square box.
“See,” Mother said. She waved a hand to the opened safe for emphasis. “It’s right here.”
“Open the box,” I urged.
This time there was no protesting tsk-tsk. She snapped open the box with a flick of the wrist. And before she opened her mouth to say the ring was there, I knew that it was. I could tell by the look on her face as she gazed lovingly at the gift that Peter Dodd, her husband/my father, had given her.
“You know, your Dad was so proud on the day he gave me this diamond. I guess I’m so used to having it there. Safely there. It’s like a part of Peter’s still with me, you know. I always felt … that nothing bad would truly happen to our little family as long as we had that diamond.” She gave half a mocking laugh. “I just don’t know what I’d have done if I’d opened that safe and that diamond had been missing.”
Nor did I. I sighed my relief.
“I knew it would be here,” Mother said. “Frankie would never take my lucky diamond. He’s crazy about me and he knows how much it means to me. Besides, Frankie Morrell knows damn well better than to come in here without wiping his feet, I mean his flippers … I guess.”
“Mother,” I said. “This insisting that you turned Frankie into a frog really isn’t helping.”
“Then how do you explain this?” She held her palm flat, and in the center of it lay was a little heart-shaped piece of green. Not quite grass, not quite a leaf…. It was more like —
“It’s a piece of lily pad,” Mother asserted. “And it’s a gift from Frankie.”
Okay, I’d heard of cats bringing dead vermin ‘gifts’ to their owners as a show of affection. When we were kids, Peaches Marie and I had a great big tabby that left field mice at the foot of our beds. Great fun to tiptoe to the bathroom in the dark at our house. My grandmother supposedly tamed a great big bobcat (she called him Bently) when she was a girl in Northern New Brunswick, and he used to bring her bunnies.
But a lily pad gift? As a show of affection from Frankie the frog? That would be assuming a lot, most particularly that Frankie really had become a frog.
This was just getting too weird.
“Let me see it,” I said.
She held her palm out, but didn’t hand over the little piece of greenery. It was kind of heart shaped. It could very well have been a lily pad. But one thing for sure — it was a clue.
“Hang on to that, Mother,” I said. “Put it … put it in the fridge to keep it fresh.”
She looked at me strangely, a look to which by this time I was immune.
The toilet flushed and a few seconds later, Mrs. Presley emerged from the bathroom.
“I don’t know, Katt,” Mrs. Presley was said as she tucked her flowered shirt into her Capri pants. “You’d think Frankie would be showing up with something a little more substantial. Like an apology for being an ass. An apology, flowers and dinner for two.”
Oh, God, dinner for two from the swamp.
Mother said, “Frankie’s not cheap. He is one for flowers and candlelit dinners, Jane. Oh, and did you see that watch he got me? It’s beautiful.” She pushed up her sleeves and touched her left wrist first before then touching her right. “I must have set it down somewhere. I love that watch,” she said worriedly. “I certainly hope I didn’t lose it.”
“That would be a shame, Katt,” Mrs. Presley said. “It’s a beautiful watch. I’ll help you look for it.”
“No!”
My head shot up as my mother raised her voice. It wasn’t an angry raising of voice so much as a panicked one.
“Sorry, Jane,” she said. “Didn’t mean to shout. I just … I just don’t want your visit to Florida to be all about my troubles and woes and looking for misplaced watches.” She rubbed her wrist again, as if willing the watch back on her arm. “You and Dix go out and get those things you wanted for the boys. See some sights. Play tourists. That watch will turn up somewhere.”
“If you’re sure, Katt….”
“Mother, why don’t you come with us?” I really did want her to come along now. If she were traveling along the malls with Mrs. P, I could check in with Dylan and see if he had any more information, maybe even check in again with the Deputy. If I could drop these two at the mall and do a little checking at the local pawn shops, it would save me from having to go back later. But moreover, I was worried about my mother. She looked tired to me. Worn and worried. God, for the first time in … ever … Katt Dodd looked old to me.
“Yes! Come with us, Katt. You know how stuffy and boring Dix can be. I’d love some real company.”
It wasn’t to be.
“Dix,” Mrs. Presley said when we were out the door, “you know we don’t have to go. I mean, your mom’s looking pretty miserable back there.”
I sighed. “She’ll want the time alone now, Mrs. P. She’ll sit for a bit, and think things through, and then, if I know my mother, she’ll be up doing the dishes and putting on her dancing shoes.”
“And looking for that watch,” Mrs. Presley added.
“Yeah.”
I was taking Mom’s BMW, of course. I’d opened the passenger door for Mrs. Presley, who’d adjusted the seat and belted herself in. I walked around the car and was just about to open my own door when I heard a, “Hey there, Dixie!”
“It’s not Dixie … just Dix.”
Big Eddie Baskin grinned from ear to ear. “Oh sorry, Dix. Me and my old brain … not what they used to be. I’m terrible with names.” The multiple charms/chains on his neck jingled as he raised an arm to point to his head (as if I needed a visual on where his brain was located). He was standing by the garden, making a half assed attempt at horticulture (half assed being there was a clump of lime at his feet and a overturned lily looking for attention.)
Mrs. P rolled her window down and called, “Hey, Eddie.”
“Well, hello, Jane. You’re looking lovely this morning.”
“As always,” she answered.
Big Eddie smiled back at me. “Just wanted to let you know that with all the troubles we’ve had, we’ve hired an extra security person. I’m telling all the folks I see out and about this morning. I’ll introduce him to everyone officially at the rec room later this morning, but he’s right here. Just give me a minute and I’ll introduce him.
I fidgeted with my keys. “We’re kind of in a hurry this morning.”
“Oh, it’ll just take a second.” He turned to face one of the other Wildoh buildings (Complex A, which from the outside was identical in every way to Mother’s B Complex). I looked at my watch and reminded myself I was posing as an erotica writer. Not a PI with a ‘tude against people who said ‘this will just take a second’ when clearly I was in a hurry. Grrrrrrrrr.
“Hey,” Big Eddie called. “Hey … hey, New Guy.”
He turned back to me and pointed to his brain again.
“Yeah, I get it. You forget names.”
I waited. I stomped my right foot a few times. I — I said “Holy shit!” as Dylan Foreman came jogging around the corner. So this was what he’d meant when he’d said he had an early day tomorrow. But … holy shit. I mean, I knew Dylan was smooth, but to land a job so fast?