“Don’t you understand? I want to tell you, but if you’re going to confiscate my wedding dresses, then I can’t. Lorea is trying to start a brand-new business alongside mine, and we can’t afford any more setbacks. We’re doing some high-profile weddings, and we can’t have a wedding without a gown.”
“Okay. I promise I won’t take any more of your wedding dresses, but you have to make me a promise.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “What?”
“That you won’t do any more sleuthing unless you call me first.”
“You say that like I’m out looking for trouble.”
Tony lifted an eyebrow.
“Fine. Whatever. I promise—no more sleuthing.” We shook hands, and I sat in the straight-backed chair next to the bed. I took a deep breath and told Tony how I had found the diamonds in the hem of Natalie’s dress.
Tony shook his head when I told him about hiding the diamonds in the quilt my mother made. “And where are they now?”
He was good. I hadn’t gotten to the part about the cemetery yet, but his police antenna had picked up on my anxiety. Letting my head fall to my chest, I murmured, “I moved them because someone searched my house and left me a note.”
“Someone searched your house, and you didn’t report it?” Tony ran his fingers through his hair.
“I tried to call you first, but when I couldn’t reach you, I was sure no one else would believe me.”
“They might if you showed them a bag of diamonds.”
“I know, but the smugglers had searched my house so carefully that if I wasn’t so particular, I wouldn’t even have noticed.” I unzipped my purse and pulled out the note the criminal had left on my entryway table. While Tony studied it, I told him about the pictures and my evening run to the cemetery. He was silent for a moment as he clenched the note tightly.
“You are in way over your head.” He paced across the room. “I’ll have to talk to the other detective—his name’s Hamilton—but I have an idea. So where are the diamonds now?”
I dragged my sandal against the nap of the carpet and whispered, “In a bird feeder.”
Tony frowned but listened intently as I explained the current hiding place of the smuggled gems and the delivery I had made early that morning. His frown deepened when I told him the specifics of my lunch bag being left behind the store, empty. I could see his jaw working as he processed the turn of events.
“Have you mentioned this to anyone else?”
“Of course not.”
“Let’s keep it that way. I’m going to see if I can find a way to have someone watch your place.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want whoever is after me to know I talked to you, remember?” The police station in Ketchum wasn’t large, so it would be relatively easy for someone with resources to find out who was on the force and keep a lookout for them, even if they were in unmarked vehicles.
“Your safety is my priority. Let me take care of the details.” Tony reached out his hand and helped me to my feet. “Those diamonds are worth a lot of money. So far these people have played nice, but I’m worried about what they’ll do now that you didn’t turn the gems over. Call me if anything happens or if you notice anything out of the ordinary.”
I swallowed and met Tony’s gaze. He appeared genuinely worried, and that made me even more uneasy because I had been trying to convince myself that things weren’t as bad as they seemed.
I was crazy busy for the rest of the day. I delayed cancelling Sylvia’s wedding plans. It could wait until tomorrow after Frankie had talked to Mrs. Rockfort. Lorea finished up the alterations to Natalie’s gown just before five o’clock.
She cleaned up the shop and looked through the back window before opening the door. “That cat is still outside. What are you going to do with him?”
I cracked open the door to peek at the kitten. He meowed and pushed his nose into the space. Opening the door wider, I swooped him into my arms and rubbed the soft black fur between his ears. His purr resonated against my chest. “Maybe I’ll take him home with me. I thought he belonged to someone, but I guess not.”
Lorea wrinkled her nose. “Black cat hair doesn’t mix well with white wedding dresses.”
“Don’t worry. He can stay in the garage.”
I’d have to do some reorganizing. I wondered if he would hang around my back patio if I fed him gourmet cat food. I found a cardboard box, questioning my decision a half second before the kitten rubbed against my legs, purring. My heart melted, and I picked him up again. The white patch of fur under his neck reminded me of a tuxedo. “I think I’ll call him Tux.” I patted his head and put him inside the box, where he commenced mewing loudly.
“Have fun with that,” Lorea said.
“If Sylvia is engaged again in the morning, you owe me dark chocolate.” I headed out the door with Lorea’s laughter trailing behind.
The air conditioner in the Mountaineer felt delicious on my tired body, and I switched it to full blast as I drove home. My heart rate accelerated as I approached my front door—I wished for the hundredth time that my garage weren’t so small.
There wasn’t anything taped to the door. I breathed a sigh of relief and unlocked it, balancing the box with Tux on my hip. Just inside the door, I set the box down and allowed Tux to jump out. My senses were on full alert as I walked through my house, the kitten following me. Once I had deemed my home safe, I rummaged through my cupboards and found some old containers that would work for cat food and water. I set them outside my patio door and put Tux just outside with the sliding glass door open a sliver so he
