Stan threw Sue a dirty look. She, in turn, eyed Jayden up and down, suspicion evident in every line of her face. “I’ll bet you couldn’t.”
Jayden gave her his most winning and humble smile, dipping his head in apology again. “I heard my friend’s name and wondered—”
“You’re friends with Miranda?” interrupted Sue, all her suspicion vanishing, replaced with a raging curiosity.
Jay let his eyes widen a bit and shook his head quickly. “No, with Ms. Haraby.” He pulled out a photo of them together, taken just before his arrest. The woman perused it with great interest, while the man discreetly looked at a ledger. Jay’s quick mind made the jump, and he spoke again. “She said she had come here and—”
“She spent hours here,” Sue handed back the photo and sighing as if Stella’s interest had been annoying. “She wouldn’t even chat with us. How does a friendly man like you end up friends with the likes of her?”
Jayden bit back a laugh. Stella wouldn’t gossip with you, you mean.
“We’ve known each other for many years.”
Stan interrupted, clearly not liking the speculative look on Sue’s face. “If you’re here for the box she asked me to keep, then you can give me your name and number, sign the ledger, and pay the balance.”
Jay hid his surprise behind a bright smile. “Yes, that’s it, thank you.”
The man nodded and handed over the ledger so Jay could sign it. His eyes darted immediately to Stella’s signature and glanced at the corresponding date. It correlated with the meeting Elliot and Joe had heard about. So she had arrived here, early apparently, to have time to wander around the store. But then what?
He turned back to Sue after signing his name, and Stan brought out a carefully wrapped package. “I heard you wonder at Stella’s safety. Why is that?” Jay questioned.
She took in his tactful question with a look of glee, and Stan whispered a curse under his breath. “Well, I was here when she was, you see. I saw her leave, and I also saw her get a cab to Ms. Williams' house.”
Jay let his eyebrows scrunch together. “I fail to see why that would be a concern.”
“She hasn’t been seen since,” Sue said with the air of one telling a ghost story.
Jayden chuckled, shattering the tense atmosphere she’d been trying to create. “That sounds like Stella. She tends to get super into her work, totally buries herself in it.”
Stan huffed a satisfied laugh and threw Sue an I-told-you-so look, before handing over the package and taking Jay’s card.
Jay left the store and took a cab straight back to the inn. Dave wasn’t back yet, but that was expected. Instead, he unwrapped the parcel and gently opened the fine antique jewelry box. He had expected it to be empty, but inside lay a delicate, gold bracelet. He felt his blood turn to ice as he stared down at the gift he had given her, about a year after his arrest. He hadn’t seen her without it since.
CHAPTER NINE
By the time Dave returned, Jay had gotten past the horror seeing the bracelet had given him. Instead, he had thought long and hard about who he could enlist to help test the bracelet for forensic details. The most obvious choice would be to return to Natchitoches and get Natalie to do it, but he felt a wave of foreboding at the idea of getting the police involved. Besides, Hector would probably tell him to take it to the authorities here, as this was their turf if there had been any foul play.
“You alright, man?” he asked, shutting the door and watching Jay pace. “Did you find something?”
Jay looked up in time to see his eyes glance away from the jewelry box. He measured the man for a minute then said, “You first, rookie. What did you get?” and resumed his pacing.
Dave smiled, though it didn’t dim the speculation in his green-blue eyes. “Not much, I’m afraid. I went to the airport and managed to find a taxi driver who remembered Ms. Haraby. He said he’d taken her from the airport to the Hampton Inn, just beyond Tonytank Pond,” Dave said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed nearest the window. “I hadn’t been having any other luck, so I spent the rest of the day going about the place by taxi. Must’ve spoken to at least two dozen different drivers.”
Jay perked up and stopped pacing, turning to face Dave. The other man seemed taken aback by his sudden intensity but continued his recitation in the same, calm tone.
“I got lucky on the last one. He remembered Ms. Haraby too. Drove her into town three times, on three separate days.”
“Wait,” said Jay, realizing what his words meant. “So Stella arrived here at least three days before she was due to meet with Miranda?”
Dave’s eyes widened fractionally. “You found something that shows she went to the meeting as planned?”
Jay sat on the other bed, his mind ticking over quickly. “What else did this driver say?”
Dave shrugged, faint color rising in his cheeks. “Similar to my first words to you about her. He said that the last time he saw her, she asked him to recommend a good antiques store in the area. He told her to go to the—”
“—the Bronze Rose,” Jay said, his breath leaving him in a big puff.
Dave’s eyebrows climbed under the fringe of light hair that always seemed in danger of flopping into his eyes. “I think you’d better bring me up to speed on your findings. Who told you about the shop?”
Jay sighed. “No one. I went there because it’s exactly the sort of place Stella would spend hours in.”
Dave whistled, impressed. “I suppose it helps to have personal knowledge of
