Read Online The Cakes of Monte Cristo by Jacklyn Brady - Free Book Online Page B

was still displayed out on the tablecloth. She momentarily fell silent. I hastily retrieved the necklace, wrapped itin the velvet, and slipped the box back into my bag, which had the effect of snapping Corinne out of her stupor.
    Simone resumed her seat and Corinne sat sullenly, propping her chin in her hand. “Natalie can’t get me fired, can she?”
    Simone put a hand on Corinne’s arm. “She can ask the board, of course, but there’s no reason they would fire you. You’re one of the best staff members we have. I haven’t heard any complaints about your work, so even if Natalie brought a request like that to the board, I’m sure nothing would come of it.”
    Corinne relaxed slightly and offered me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I barged in on the two of you. Some of our members make me crazy sometimes. Honestly, I don’t know who Natalie thinks she is. I’ve had calls from half a dozen members this morning complaining that she’s been trying to bulldoze them into giving up their display space.” She shook her head and sighed heavily. “Nobody’s going to just hand her a space they paid a thousand dollars for.”
    A thousand . . .
I was growing more used to living in the land of milk and honey, but for a poor Hispanic girl from the wrong side of the tracks, hearing about people paying that much money for a chance to display a few baubles still scrambled my brain.
    â€œTry not to let Natalie bother you. We’ll get her calmed down again,” Simone said reassuringly. “Rita and I were just having coffee. Would you like to join us? We could figure out the best way to deal with this mess.” She looked at me over the top of Corinne’s mousy brown hair. “Would you mind, Rita?”
    We’d handled all of our business and I couldn’t do anything about the necklace until I talked to Miss Frankie, so I assured them both that I didn’t mind at all. I finished my coffee while Simone pulled out the notes we’d made earlier and showed Corinne how all the display tables would fit fine.
    I listened with half an ear in case they made a decision that would impact Zydeco, but that left my mind free to skitter back to the necklace. I wondered if Simone was right. If the necklace was old and valuable, if the stones were genuine, it could be worth a
lot
of money. But I was more intrigued by the story behind it. Somebody had hidden the necklace inside the staircase, and I wanted to know who . . . and why.

Six

    I went back to Zydeco after lunch and spent the afternoon working with Zoey, who peppered me with questions about the computer system and our calendar program, tossing in a question or comment about the necklace every so often. By the time Estelle was ready to leave and came to collect her niece, I was completely worn out and I still had to finish payroll.
    Luckily, with everyone else gone, I was able to finish my own work quickly. I zapped the figures to the payroll company and locked up around seven. After twelve long hours, I was ready to curl up with a good book and some Cherry Garcia ice cream, but I didn’t want to put off showing Miss Frankie what we’d found. She had friends everyone and I didn’t want her to hear about the necklace before I could tell her.
    Fog had settled in, so the drive across town took a bit longer than usual. My mother-in-law lives in an upscale neighborhood filled with lots of money and people who don’tlike to talk about it. Even shrouded in fog, the neighborhood managed to look elite.
    I found Miss Frankie standing at the end of her driveway, shining a flashlight on a misshapen cluster of pampas grass. Last time I’d visited, the grass had been roughly eight feet tall and crowned with huge white plumes that fluttered gently whenever there was a breeze. Tonight the bush had shrunk by at least half, and only a couple of white plumes remained.
    I parked and