Read Online The Jewels of Sofia Tate by Doris Etienne - Free Book Online

see if Reginald had any safe-deposit boxes that I couldn’t find the keys to, but everything has come up empty. I don’t need the jewels for money. I would only like to see them once before I die. And if they are hidden in this house, I don’t want them lost forever!”
    The phone gave a shrill ring in the kitchen. “Excuse me,” Elizabeth said. She reached for her cane and left Garnet alone.
    Garnet picked up the angel again. She ran her fingers over the delicate silver feathers, searching for any otherpotential clues she might have missed. Snippets of the telephone conversation drifted to Garnet’s ears as Elizabeth’s voice became louder and slightly unsteady.
    â€œFifty thousand dollars? I don’t know ...” There was a pause. “Give me a few days. I’ll help your friend, but this is the last time....” Another pause. “Goodbye, then.”
    Garnet looked up at Elizabeth as she returned to the living room, leaning heavily on her cane. Her face was flushed and beaded with moisture.
    â€œAre you okay?” Garnet asked.
    Elizabeth nodded but Garnet could see that she was not. She set the angel down on the mantel and rushed to Elizabeth’s side, the vision of her collapsing on the grass still fresh in her mind. “Come, sit down,” she said, guiding her to the sofa and easing her down. “Do you want a glass of water or something?”
    â€œI need my pills. My nitroglycerines,” Elizabeth answered weakly. “They’re in the kitchen on the countertop with all the other medicine.”
    Garnet bolted out of the room, then returned with the blue bottle and a glass of water, which she set down on the table. Elizabeth’s open palm shook as she held it out for Garnet to give her the pill. She slipped the pill under her tongue and leaned back, closing her eyes. Garnet sat down next to her and watched as Elizabeth’s colour returned to normal.
    That telephone call, whatever it had been about, had left her seriously agitated. Who had the caller been and what had been said to upset her so? Fifty thousand dollars? That was a lot of money. Surely nobody was asking Elizabeth to give them that much. Did this have anything to do with the money she had seen in Elizabeth’s purse the other day? She wanted to ask her about it but now wasn’t the time. Anyway, if Elizabeth wanted her to know, maybe she would tell her later.
    Garnet looked down at Elizabeth’s sapphire ring next to the gold wedding band and in a calm, soothing voice attempted to distract her. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth. I’m going to help you find those jewels, I promise. I’ll search the house from top to bottom, whatever it takes. But I’ll probably need your help. You might even have to answer some questions for me. Are you with me on this?”
    Elizabeth opened her eyes. Smiling weakly, she nodded, and Garnet could feel her relax as a plump, wrinkled hand, speckled with age spots, stretched out and patted the top of Garnet’s smooth, freckled one.
    Garnet only hoped she could live up to her promise.

4
Grand Delusions
    â€œI’ve decided to hire a private detective,” Garnet’s mother announced.
    It was Victoria Day. Garnet and her mother had walked over to Victoria Park and were listening to the strains of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as the daylight faded on the fresh spring evening. Cars were parked along the side streets and people were piling out with blankets and lawn chairs. Later, there were to be fireworks on the grassy plain near the clock tower that had once graced the top of the long-demolished former city hall.
    Garnet glanced over at her mother. “Wow, you really are getting serious about this now.”
    Her mother shrugged. “I know. And maybe this whole thing is rather silly. I mean, who needs him now? I’m fifty years old. But I guess it’s the curiosity getting the better of me. Why wasn’t