Wes interrupted my disjointed thoughts. “Adri, you lost again? This must be a record for you.”
He was right. I decided I’d better call it quits. “I’m bushed.”
“Ah, it’s only ten o’clock,” Wes protested. “Plenty of time for more games.”
“I know, but my brain is struggling. It needs sleep.”
“Adri’s had a busy week, and so have you, Wes,” Mom said. “Let’s call it a night.”
“What time do you have to leave tomorrow?” Dad asked.
I bit my bottom lip. Originally I’d planned to leave right after dinner, but now I wondered if being here was putting my family in danger. “I want to go to church with you in the morning, but I’d better leave after lunch. If the police find out anything about Sylvia’s missing gown, I want to be there.”
“Well, I’m glad you could come, even for a short visit,” Mom said.
“Thanks for staying to play, brosky.” I gave Wes a hug. We all walked out to the front porch and stared up at the stars twinkling in the cloudless sky. I thought about Dallas naming constellations and smiled. He had texted earlier, wishing me a good weekend. I hoped I’d have time to see him in the next few days. Maybe I could give him a call.
After Wes left, I stayed outside and dialed Dallas.
“Hey, Adri. How are you?”
“I’m good. It’s nice to see my family, and it’s beautiful here in Rupert.” I could hear the sprinklers in the background and the crickets trying to compete with other night noises.
“Are you doing okay? You sound different,” Dallas asked.
I don’t know why but it made me happy that Dallas was intuitive enough to recognize the stress underlying my words. For a moment, I wished I could tell him about the diamonds, but I thought better of it. “I’m worried about Sylvia’s missing wedding gown.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could help you. Maybe I could check back at the pawn shops. Or do you think someone dumped her dress like they did the others?”
I sat on the front step. “I hope not, but it’s a definite possibility.”
“Have the police checked the thrift stores?”
“I’m not sure, but that’s a good idea. I’ll give Tony a call.”
“Adri, will you let me help you?” Dallas’s voice was soft, yet I could feel his strength through the phone.
He was so thoughtful and kind. It was evident he cared about me and could tell I was struggling. I cleared my throat. “Just knowing you care is a help to me. Thanks for worrying over me, Dallas.”
“My pleasure,” he replied.
I could hear his smile through the phone and also my mother’s approaching footsteps. “I’ve got to go now, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Sweet dreams. I’ll be thinking of you,” Dallas said.
I clicked end just as the front door opened. “Ready to call it a night?” Mom asked.
I stood and stretched. “Yep, I’m dead tired.”
Even though talking to Dallas had soothed some of my stress, my nerves were jittery as I got ready for bed. My mind wandered back to my question of who was supposed to receive, or maybe intercept, the wedding dresses carrying the rough diamonds.
The dresses were specially made for Lorea’s new business. It seemed unlikely the smugglers could make such a mistake.
Then a thought came that made my gut twist with anxiety. Walter Mayfield. He had approached Lorea with the idea of bringing in the dresses from China, and then he offered to lend her the money for the first order. His cousin Roland had been eager to help and waived part of the shipping fee.
I recalled the pages from Natalie’s wedding binder dumped in Walter’s trash. Tony and I had both figured they had been put there by the thief, but what if the thief was Walter? He had been sick the day the dresses were delivered. His store was closed when I went to tell him the good news about the shipment. Then the dresses were stolen, so he’d never even seen Sylvia’s gown. I racked my brain to recall just how much Walter knew about the dresses beforehand. Did he know that Sylvia had already put a deposit on hers? We had been expecting the shipment, so if the plan was to smuggle the diamonds in specific gowns, the person would have to know enough about the gowns to select the right ones and plan on robbing my store.
My head churned with conversations I’d had with Walter. He was well-spoken, kind, and genuinely seemed to love his business. A dull ache started behind my eyes. I massaged my temples, trying to relieve the stress. It couldn’t be Walter. But I had heard him mention how the price of diamonds continued to rise, making it difficult for him to be competitive with larger jewelry stores.
If Walter was involved, Roland surely had to be the mastermind behind the crime. His ties to the shipping industry and the actual dressmakers pointed to him as the more plausible criminal. But Roland lived somewhere on the east coast, so why would he ship the diamonds to Idaho? Unless Walter knew someone close by who could cut the stones and be discreet about it.
Even with my limited knowledge of diamonds, I had heard enough about jewelry in my training to know that there were few master craftsmen in the world qualified to cut and shape diamonds. Specialized equipment and years of training were needed to perform more than fifty cuts with precision for a brilliant, or round, diamond—my favorite cut.
There was also the coincidence of Walter moving up his trip to Belgium right after the
