“Anything else? I’m off in ten,” the guard said.
“You don’t need to watch me go in there?” Ivy said.
The guard gave her eyebrows. “Watch you look at a bunch of plastic gold coins and painted sharks? I’m outta here.”
When she was young, the exhibits here were thrilling stuff. With plain overhead lights on and no glass separating, the sunken treasure guarded by a skeleton looked cheap. Light House put up better displays for Halloween trick-or-treaters. Ivy wasn’t here to judge. She stepped inside the display.
The treasure chest was actually a cardboard box, only decorated on the front and sides. The skeleton was of the plastic variety Ivy wouldn’t even hang on her door in the fall. Even the sandy bottom was just lumpy cardboard covered in glittery stuff.
Just like in her dream, she jammed her hands into the pile of gold. Well, plastic and cardboard, but it looked like a bunch of doubloons. A few gumball machine rings and pearls fell out. Many of the coins were just aluminum foil discs. But her fingers touched something solid and heavy.
She pulled it out, spilling the remaining prop treasure all over the place. It looked a lot like the object she and Blanche recovered from the ocean floor. The filigree was much less delicate, the rim of it bore the marks of a goldsmith’s hammer. Ivy thought it looked like the work of an artisan stuck in a steaming backwater of a colony and tasked with making something beautiful. It was, she thought, it in its own way.
“Here,” she handed it out the door to Everett. “Let me put this junk back in the trunk.”
She did her best to re-pile the fake coins and gems in an attractive way. Then she walked out and closed the door. Everett stood, transfixed by the Queen’s Dowry Tiara.
“Hidden in plain sight,” she said.
“Purloined Letter.” Everett didn’t take his eyes off it. “I don’t get how you knew it was here.”
“Intuition,” Ivy said. “Because the daughters stand to inherit everything, and Tanner said only Mrs. Beranger ever showed any interest, and the divorce was contentious around twenty years ago, and Lola is best buds with a woman who broke up her marriage.”
“You need more coffee,” Everett said. “You’re not making any sense this morning.”
“Yes, I need coffee, but I am making sense. Let’s go.”
She walked out of the exhibit hall, Everett on her heels.
“To the Berangers,” he said.
“To show some crosses to some vampires.”
***
It was more of a fight to get back out of St. Augustine proper, and beach traffic was even more of a nightmare, even so early in the day. Though it was only late spring, apparently the tourist season was upon them. Finally, Everett fought his way off of A1A and headed west toward Wahoo Drive. The trip was a long one, but Everett was too focused on defensive driving to talk much.
Once in the neighborhood, he glanced at her. “Low hanging fruit first.”
Ivy agreed. “We have Susan dead to rights. She may not have stolen the real tiara, but stealing is stealing.”
He turned the car down Wahoo Drive, and then down the street marked Private. “Employees generally announce themselves at the east wing door.” Everett did a pretty good impression of the snooty butler’s English accent.
They parked the Viper near the loading dock. Everett hauled the strong box out of the trunk. When they reached the building, the guard stood up. “Hang on, there.”
“Klein. I’m expected.”
“I know who you are, Detective, but I have to inspect that package. Rules of the house.”
Everett set it down next to the security booth. “That’s fine. When you’re done, bring it to Susan Miller-Day’s office.”
“Please,” Ivy added.
They got buzzed through the loading dock main door and headed toward the office. Ivy almost had to trot to keep up with Everett. As per usual, he strode through the outer office, nodding to the women on their phones, and opened Susan’s door. The woman scowled at the intrusion.
“Don’t get up,” Everett said. “I’m just giving you the heads up.”
“You need an appointment to give me a heads up, Mr. Klein.”
“Fine. I’ll let Gus discuss this with you.”
Susan stood up anyway. “Discuss what?”
“Your theft of the Queen’s Dowry Tiara.” Everett shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe you’ll have to discuss it with the police instead.”
She moved quickly around her desk, her eyes venomous, her finger like a weapon. She aimed at Everett. “This is preposterous. I am going to have Gus yank his contract with you, and have the state revoke your investigator’s license. I have nothing, nothing to do with that museum and its collection of junk.”
“You do have influence on the guards who get hired,” Ivy said.
Everett nodded. “Makes it conspiracy, as well as grand theft.”
“I don’t know if Linda-Lou will corroborate, but her bank statements will,” Ivy said.
“Get out of my office. Get out of this house. You are fired,” Susan said.
Everett shrugged. “We were hired by Gus Beranger.”
“As you said, I have influence over the security hires. That includes you. Go, or I call the guards to drag you out.”
“Ma’am?”
“What?” Susan spat and whirled toward the door.
The guard’s mouth fell open. He shuffled his feet. “Um, you wanted security. Anyway, this is for you.”
He held up the strong box. Susan took a step away from it. Ivy thought it looked like the woman shrank a few inches, but her hair seemed to stand straight up. “Let’s open it,” Ivy said.
“No!” Susan took another step away, eyes locked on the box.
“Looks like you’re busted,” Everett said.
Ivy added, “Maybe cursed.”
“Johnny Starling didn’t last long after he grabbed this for you,” Everett mused.
The guard blinked, not knowing what to make of the situation. He said, “there’s a… a gold crown in here.”
As if the words were the firing of a starting gun, Susan sprinted from her office. She was gone before anyone could move. The guard looked after her. “Should I stop her?”
Everett raised his eyebrows at Ivy. “Vampire with a cross. I get it now.”
“You want me to call the cops?” The guard looked down at the burden in his hand.
“Put it on her desk,” Everett said. “We’ll let Gus decide what he wants to do.”
“I don’t know. This is really out of the ordinary.” The guard hesitated.
Everett nodded. “I agree. Do you know if Gus Beranger is in the house?”
“Having breakfast by the pool.”
“Thanks.” Everett headed out, Ivy following.
“I really think I should call my supervisor,” the guard called out.
Everett raised a hand. “Whatever your procedure is.” They headed toward the pool.
Chapter 14
“I explicitly remember uninviting you.” Tanner stopped them in the room near the pool, blocking them with a tray loaded with covered plates, coffee cups and juice glasses. Ivy’s stomach rumbled, embarrassingly. She hadn’t eaten yet today.