A Diamond Choker for Christmas Read online

  “And no snowflakes or reindeer or anything embarrassing.”

  “Honey, it's your manicure. You can have anything you want.”

  “Black? All I want is black.”

  Toni tried to be the kind of mother who never got into fights with her kid over stupid things. But there were limits to her patience. “No, not black. A color!”

  Tiffany heaved a long sigh as though she had been asked to plow the family turnip field with her bare hands. “Fine.”

  In fact, they ended up having a lot of fun. She always liked to get her sales associates small gifts for the holiday season and being in a busy mall with Christmas carols playing and everybody bustling around buying each other presents made her happy. She even managed to strike up conversations with about half a dozen women and pass out her free makeover cards before Tiffany told her that if she did that one more time she would leave the mall and get the bus home. Since Toni knew her daughter was perfectly capable of doing just that, she tucked her cards away. “I can't help it. Something your grandmother said really got me excited again. You know, she's loving this positive thinking, and I really think it's making a difference to her business.”

  While Toni had her broken nail repaired properly, Tiffany condescended to have a manicure. Toni realized she’d been conned when her daughter chose a pretty Christmas red for her nails and chatted away to the manicurist all during the procedure.

  With their fresh smooth nails and pampered hands, mother and daughter treated themselves to lunch out before heading home to get ready for the party. Tiffany wore a blue dress and heels without being begged. While she refused to let her mother do her makeup, she did at least improve on her usual routine of a swipe of lip-gloss. When she came out of her bedroom, Toni could see that she had applied eyeliner and blue eye shadow that brought out the pretty color in her eyes. Her lipstick was a muted pink. She might pretend to have zero interest in makeup, but she’d either been listening to her mother, or she’d picked up one of the Lady Bianca instruction cards on how to apply cosmetics. Naturally, Toni didn't mention any of this, she merely said, “You look so pretty, honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom. So do you.”

  Toni had chosen a red cocktail dress, which she wore with matching red heels that had just a delicate spray of diamonds across the toe.

  The party was to start at four, but Toni and Tiffany had decided to arrive at three in order to help Linda with any last-minute details.

  When they arrived, a strange van was parked in the driveway. Katie's Catering lettered the side so Toni's mild fear that the caterer might flake on them disappeared.

  Even though it was still full daylight, Linda had all the lights on, and it was quite a show. From the nativity scene still thankfully attached to the roof, to the icicles blinking on and off as they played Here Comes Santa Claus, to the snowmen and reindeer in the front yard, every bit of decoration lit up.

  Mrs. Schwartz might have cornered the gigantic Christmas sweater market, but Linda was holding her own in the over-the-top lighting department.

  Tiffany stared from one house to the other and shook her head. “Have these people not heard of global warming?”

  Linda opened the door before they could open it themselves. She was a sight to behold. She wore a blue satin dress exactly the color of the sapphires in her necklace, high-heeled silver shoes even more sparkly than Toni's, and she’d piled her hair on top of her head. Naturally, she’d also done her makeup using the Holiday Glitter Palette from Lady Bianca.

  “Mama, you look as glamorous as a movie star.”

  “Why thank you, sweetheart. And don't you both look lovely.” Toni stepped into the house and smelled delicious smells coming from the oven. Two women bustled about, one setting up the bar and the other at the oven. Linda said, “Girls, this is Katie. We had the best time at her place the other night. Her friends all bought Lady Bianca products, and Katie’s very interested in becoming a sales consultant for us.”

  Katie was in her thirties, with dark hair pulled into a ponytail. She had soft, pretty features and wore square eyeglasses with red frames. Toni could tell that she’d used the glitter pack to do her makeup today. It seemed like a good omen. She wore a red apron that said Katie’s Catering over a black blouse and slacks, and she sent them a big smile when Linda introduced them both. “And that’s my assistant, Theresa. She’s also my little sister.” Theresa looked to be about Tiffany’s age and blushed with shyness when she was introduced. Tiffany walked over and asked if she could help and was soon chatting to her new acquaintance while she helped set up glasses and sliced lemons and limes.

  Toni sent her mom a thumbs-up. Katie looked like she’d be a definite asset to the Lady Bianca team.

  Katie was putting tiny sausage rolls on a large Christmas platter. Dolly Parton was singing about the holidays on the sound system, and every inch of the mobile home glistened, sparkled, twinkled, or glowed.

  There wasn't much to do with the catering staff, but she and Tiff kept busy getting the furniture out of the way and putting some of the more breakable ornaments in cupboards.

  “How many people are you expecting, Mama?”

  Linda shrugged looking vague. “There were about fifty on my e-vite list but not all of them will come. I hand-delivered invitations to all the residents of Pecan Heights, of course, and there were people at the parties I’ve been giving who I thought might enjoy coming.”

  Tiffany stared at her. “So, basically, you have no idea how many people are coming today?”

  “No. Isn’t it exciting?”

  The weather wasn't warm, but it was fair enough that people could congregate outside if they needed to, if they could find room among all the lit up Christmas decorations.

  Soon Linda’s guests began to arrive. The Schwartzes from across the street arrived first. Mrs. Schwartz had hand-knit a jolly-looking Santa to hang on the Christmas tree. Linda was delighted with it and removed one of the Lady Bianca glitter packs from the tree and replaced it with the Santa and then handed the glitter pack to Mrs. Schwartz. “I know you always say you don't want to host a Lady Bianca cosmetics party, but wait until you see these colors. Or, if you just want a nice treat for yourself you can have a Christmas makeover and you know it's complimentary.”

  As her guests continued to arrive, Linda received small gifts of jam, chocolates, homemade brownies, and pralines. In turn, she pressed on each of her guests a Lady Bianca Christmas glitter pack, each containing a card offering the recipient a free makeover. Soon the sounds of chatter and merriment drowned out the country Christmas music.

  Linda loved parties, and her eyes glowed like the sapphires around her neck as she mingled among her guests, often stopping to introduce her daughter and granddaughter to people they didn't already know. The miserable woman from next door arrived with her daughter in tow in spite of the fact that the daughter had not been invited. In honor of the season, Esther Kilpatrick wore a green velour jogging suit. Her green velour-covered behind was so massive that it looked like a putting green.

  Linda, gracious as always, gave her unwelcome guests the glitter packs. “It’s so nice to see you, Esther. And it’s Cindy, isn’t it?” she asked the daughter, who was growing to look more like her mother every day.

  When Linda turned to greet her next guests, Esther made an expression of disgust before tossing the glitter pack into her capacious bag. Her daughter ran her gaze greedily around the mobile home as though imagining her own furniture inside and her own curtains on the windows. Toni tried to think well of everybody, but it was hard to like these two. It didn't seem like anyone else in the mobile home much cared for them either, so they stood in a corner drinking eggnog and talking to each other.

  Linda squealed with excitement when a balding man with a big belly and a big smile arrived and pulled her into a hearty embrace. He wore designer jeans and a buttery soft leather jacket. With him was a tall man in his fifties with silver hair and a well-trimmed moustache. He wore a gray suit and shiny
loafers. Linda grabbed Toni's hand and pulled her forward. “I'm so happy to see you both. Toni’s my daughter, I’ve told you all about her, and this is William Young and Henry Castillo. They’re both in my success circle. William’s a very wealthy real estate investor, and Henry is an extremely successful lawyer. Toni is the top sales director for Lady Bianca in all of Texas and one of the top sales people in the country,” her mother said proudly.

  Henry Castillo shook her hand politely, but William Young pulled her into a bear hug. He said, with a twinkle in his blue eyes, “I think you’d better watch out, young lady. The way your mother is going she’ll be taking that number one spot right from under your pretty feet.”

  They all laughed, but she could see how proud her mother was to be part of a group of successful people. It hadn’t been easy, but she and Linda had come a long way from the trailer park where she’d grown up.

  Linda loved people, and she never worried whether they were rich or poor, important or nobody. Toni watched as Jim Tucker, the handyman, chatted with the wealthy real estate investor, as Linda had termed him, in the corner. As she walked by, it sounded like they were talking about termites.

  Linda’s clients ranged from her hairdresser to rich housewives to a budding country and western singer. They mingled with the mostly senior residents of Pecan Heights and munched coconut shrimp and pork sliders while sipping margaritas or glasses of wine.

  The success circle’s jeweler, Bert Green, arrived wearing a cowboy hat and a gorgeous pair of snakeskin boots with well-worn jeans and a denim shirt with a bolo tie. He wore his brown hair a little on the shaggy side, and when he shook Toni's hand, she noticed several rings studded with some pretty impressive stones.

  When Linda greeted him, he gave her a broad smile that showed even white teeth. “I've never seen one of my jewelry pieces look so perfect on anybody.”

  Linda's fingers fluttered up to touch the sapphire and diamond necklace. “Well, get used to it, you'll be seeing it around my neck quite a lot in the future.”

  He chuckled. “I believe it with all my heart,” he said.

  When Linda stepped away to greet more guests, Toni said, “I guess you'll be taking that necklace back home with you, when you leave.” She felt nervous every second that expensive piece of jewelry was hanging around her mother's neck. But he didn't seem to share her concern.

  “Oh, there's no hurry. She can keep it for a few more days if she wants to.”

  “I’ll just feel so much better when that jewelry is safely locked away.”

  He stared at her in surprise. “Toni, you can’t think negative thoughts, or you’ll bring negative consequences.” He patted her shoulder. “Remember: what you think, you manifest.”

  The mobile home was bursting at the seams with laughing, chatting people who didn't seem to mind that they had about as much personal space as passengers at rush hour on the New York subway. Toni walked over to rescue Tiffany from an older man who'd had too much to drink and seemed to be getting a little too affectionate. “Mr. Beasley. How are your grandchildren?” she asked in a loud voice.

  “A real disappointment,” he bellowed back. “Not like your pretty little girl here.”

  “I need to borrow Tiffany for a second so she can help in the kitchen,” she said.

  “Thanks, Mom,” her daughter said. “I’ve never been hit on by anyone that old before. I didn’t know what to do.”

  She was trying to think of a good answer when suddenly all the lights went out.

  The living room was plunged not into pitch darkness but into a kind of dusk. With the sudden glitter of thousands and thousands of twinkling lights gone, her eyes were so dazzled that it took a moment for them to clear. In that moment when conversation suddenly stopped, she heard the awful sound of a choking scream. She knew that voice.

  “Mama? Mama!” She rushed forward, pushing people out of her way to the source of that scream. The lights went back on as suddenly as they’d gone off. She found her mother pale and wide-eyed with her hand against her throat.

  The necklace was gone.

  Chapter 5

  In seconds the cry of, “The necklace is gone!” made its way through the crowded room and outside to where some of the guests had gone for a breath of fresh air or a cigarette. In the general chaos, one voice boomed out. It was the lawyer, Henry Castillo. His presence was commanding, his voice booming. He stepped into the center of the room and said, “Nobody leave!”

  “Mama, what happened?”

  Linda blinked in shock. “I honestly don't know. I was standing talking to Cheryl, you remember Cheryl, don’t you? She’s my hairdresser, and one of my best clients. We were talking about hair extensions. When the lights went out. I felt the tiniest tickle, hardly anything at all, and when I put a hand to my chest the necklace was gone!” Her voice was rising.

  Toni hastened to calm her down. “It's okay, Mama. We’ll find it. Were you standing exactly here?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  Linda was standing near the wall, halfway between the impromptu bar and the electric fireplace, now merrily flashing fake flames again with the power back on.

  Cheryl, whose long blond hair probably owed a lot of its fullness to hair extensions, glanced down at the floor.

  “Maybe the catch was faulty, and the necklace slipped to the ground?”

  She dropped to her knees, and several other guests followed suit until half a dozen people crawled on the floor searching for a heap of glittery stones.

  Meanwhile, a frozen sense of shock seemed to have afflicted the guests at Toni's mother's party. They were so quiet she could actually hear the plaintive melody of a country and western Christmas song. Somebody was begging their daddy not to get drunk this Christmas.

  Then the shock began to wear off. She heard voices. One said, “I don't understand, what happened?” This voice was answered by another voice. “Linda lost her necklace. It's worth like a million bucks.”

  “Not a million,” another voice chimed in. “More like a hundred grand.”

  “Well, she lost it!”

  Suddenly, Linda spoke in a clear loud voice. “I did not lose that necklace. Somebody stole it.”

  The jeweler stood in the middle of the room and looked as stunned as Linda. Rapidly, Toni tried to re-create the scene as she had witnessed it moments before the lights went out. She headed back to Tiffany, who not only had youthful eyes but a fantastic visual memory. She took her daughter’s arm. “Who was standing near Grandma right before the lights went out?”

  Tiffany closed her eyes, and Toni could see her pulling the scene into her mind the way she’d pull a computer file up on her desktop.

  Bert Green said, in a firm tone, “I'm sorry to do this, but everybody's going to have to empty their pockets, purses, briefcases, shopping bags. Every person here will have to be searched before they head out.” Now that his initial shock had worn off, he seemed like a man accustomed to command.

  “Excellent plan, Bert,” Henry Castillo said.

  “But that's ridiculous!” The complaining voice rose. Toni recognized it as belonging to Esther Kilpatrick, the next-door neighbor. “You can't treat us like a bunch of common criminals. I came here for a nice visit with my neighbors. I am not going to be searched.” She was red in the face and seemed even bigger in her anger. As she headed for the sliding door, the jeweler stepped in front of her. “I'm sorry, ma'am. We can search you now, and I'm sure we can get a couple of ladies to volunteer to help. Or, you can wait for the police to get here.”

  “Tiffany?”

  Her daughter tried to ignore the confusion and focus. “I turned away from Mr. Beasley. Ugh. And looked over toward the kitchen.” She blew out a breath. “I don’t know, Mom. It was so crowded.”

  “Did you see Grandma?”

  “I could see her hair and a bit of her dress. She was talking to Cheryl, her hairdresser. I could see Cheryl’s back.”

  “Think about it. Who was behind Grandma?”

&nbs
p; “A bunch of people.”

  “Okay, let’s try this. Where was Bert Green, the jeweler in the cowboy hat?”

  Tiff closed her eyes. “Cowboy hat. Over by the window. Beside a woman I didn’t know.”

  “Jim Tucker? He’s tall, did you see him?”

  Tiffany’s eyes were still closed. She took a moment. “No. I didn’t see him.”

  “What about the rest of the success circle? Where were they?”

  “I saw the investor guy go out with a cigar a couple minutes ago. I think the lawyer was at the bar getting a drink. Katie’s too short. I couldn't see her at all.”

  The whole time she and Tiffany had been talking, Esther Kilpatrick and Bert Green had continued their argument. Esther sputtered with annoyance. “Just because that no-good tramp chose to wear a priceless necklace to a Christmas party in a mobile home park, you expect me to subject myself to a strip search? What is this, a budget airline flying to Cancun?”

  “Somebody call the cops,” Bert said, his voice rising too.

  At that moment, Luke Marciano stepped in through the sliding doors. His cop’s gaze rapidly scanned the crowd, and then he walked forward to where Toni was standing. “Did I just hear somebody say call the cops?” he asked.

  “Luke, I have never been so glad to see you in all my life. Linda just got robbed. Somebody knocked out the power for a couple of minutes and stole that necklace right off her neck.”

  He nodded grimly. “I should have got here earlier.”

  Just then, she saw a sudden movement through the sliding door. Somebody was striding away from Linda’s mobile home, from the direction of the kitchen door. Luke’s gaze connected with hers briefly and without a word being spoken, he pushed back through the crowd and out into the night.