We sat around the table and talked between bites of delectable food. Nana recounted the events of the day to George. I didn’t feel comfortable with her sharing information, but didn’t know how to stop her without causing a scene.

The door to the kitchen opened and in scurried Captain Jack. Laura stood up and started toward the cat. “Oh Jack, what are you doing in here?” He scooted past her and ran under our table.

Dee Dee reached under the table and scooped him up. “Look! He has something in his mouth.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Dee Dee pulled out what appeared to be a piece of jewelry from Captain Jack’s mouth. As it was covered with sand it was hard to tell. She took a cloth napkin and dipped it in a water glass. Each swipe revealed a little more of the treasure.

“May I?” George grabbed the piece from Dee Dee. His eyes widened. “Cartier pink gold with diamonds.”

Those of us sitting around the table gaped. By this time the others in the room wondered what was happening. Laura voiced her query. “What is it?”

An animated Dee Dee spoke up. “It’s a bracelet. Captain Jack’s found a diamond bracelet.” Everyone rushed over to take a look.

Harold Daniels let out a long whistle. “Look at those diamonds.” He grabbed for the bracelet. “Finders keepers, right?” George drew his hand back a lot faster than I thought a man his age could move.

“Uh, I think this is something we need to call Detective Baker about. After all, Captain Jack was at the scene of the crime. This could be some kind of evidence. Does anyone recognize the bracelet?” Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Ellie leave the room. “I can hold onto it until the authorities arrive.”

“No.” Well, that was to the point. What was going on with him? “What I mean is, I will keep it safe until Detective Baker gets here.”

Not wanting to start a scene, I let it go. I called the detective and relayed his message to the others. “He’ll be here in about an hour and he wants everyone to be available when he arrives.”

“Why don’t I get Louise to make a fresh pot of coffee? We can leave the desserts out and you can help yourselves.” Laura walked over to where I stood. “Do you think this might be evidence from Grace’s murder?”

“I don’t know, Laura, but Captain Jack was digging around Grace when I found her body. I remember him running away.”

“I can’t picture her owning a Cartier bracelet. She’d squeeze a nickel until it screamed.” Laura lifted an eyebrow. “Why would she have it in her possession?”

“Good question. Maybe Detective Baker can check it out.”

“I think I’ll help Louise. Staying busy keeps my mind off things.” She shook her head and wrinkled her brow. “I don’t look forward to seeing him again.” She walked over, whispered in Mama’s ear, and then they headed for the kitchen.

I noticed Harold and Cassie Daniels sitting in the living room. This would be a good chance to talk with them. Dee Dee and Nana sampled the coffee and desserts. George had disappeared. I contemplated why he was so interested in the bracelet, but he wasn’t about to share the reason with me. I intended to find out, though.

I poured a cup of java and sat down across from the Daniels. “This has been an interesting evening.” I took a sip of the hot liquid and savored the flavor. It tasted delicious.

“Yeah. I told Cassie I didn’t want to come to Tybee Island. And I sure didn’t want to stay at a bed and breakfast.” He said ‘bed and breakfast’ like it was a dirty word. “It’s like staying with distant relatives that you hardly know. Now look what’s happened. We’re right smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation.”

Cassie’s face flushed. I’m sure her husband’s little tirade embarrassed her. “Daniel, you don’t have to be rude. I’m sure Trixie doesn’t want to hear you whine.” She took a sip and turned to me. “I’m sorry, dear. This has been hard on both of us. When Harold retired we thought we’d be able to find some peace and quiet through travel. It seems we’ve gotten just the opposite. It’s terrible what happened to Grace, and even worse Laura seems to be the main suspect.” She shook her head like she couldn’t believe they’d landed in the middle of this mess.

“I’m trying to help Laura by asking everyone where they were Monday evening. Do you remember what you were doing?” I crossed my fingers they’d be willing to talk.

“What do you want us to do? Incriminate ourselves to get Laura off the hook?”

Cassie sucked in a breath. “Harold! Why are you being so rude? Trixie’s just trying to help, and we don’t have anything to hide.” She turned toward me. “We went for a walk on the beach after we ate. Then we decided to go downtown and look around. We came home around ten and went to bed early. We were wiped out from the drive.”

“You can ask that girl, Ellie. She was downtown, too, with that Porter fellow. Both of them saw us.”

“Really? She was with John Porter?” This definitely put a twist on things. I felt stronger than ever she knew Porter before they arrived on Tybee Island. But why would they hide the fact they knew each other?

“That’s what I said.”

Cassie shrank into herself. I sensed her husband’s brusqueness often embarrassed her.

We sat silent for a while eating cookies and sipping our coffee. The doorbell interrupted our muse. Laura slowly walked toward the door as if she were walking to a firing squad.

“Good evening.” Detective Baker and his ever-present sidekick Detective Taylor entered the room. “I want to talk with everyone who was present when the bracelet was discovered.”

I volunteered my assistance. “I’ll be glad to round them up.” It took a few minutes to find Dee Dee and Nana, who’d stepped outside for some fresh air. Everyone else was in the house. Except for George.

“Uh, I can’t find George.”

“Did someone say my name?” George walked up, dapper as ever. Not a worry line etched on his mature face.

“Could I see the bracelet in question?”

George reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out the now sparkling clean tennis bracelet. Oh my goodness. What did he do to make it look brand new? I had a hunch Detective Baker wasn’t going to be happy with this. Why would George take the initiative to tamper with evidence? This brash decision added fuel to my suspicions of him.

The detective reached for the shiny bracelet. “Is this what it looked like when it was found?” He looked directly at me. “I thought you said it was covered with sand.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Detective, I take the blame for this.” George didn’t seem worried he’d destroyed evidence. “I’m somewhat of a jewelry connoisseur and when I saw this piece I couldn’t help it. I cleaned the bracelet up to see if it really was a Cartier. It is.”

Detective Baker stared at George as if he could see right through him. “Don’t you know not to tamper with evidence from a crime?”

“I’m sorry, sir. But we don’t really know it’s evidence from a crime, do we?” George had a point, but it was too much of a coincidence for Captain Jack to be running from the scene with something shiny in his mouth.

He exchanged an exasperated look with his partner. “It’s too late to do anything about your mistake now.” He looked around the room and made eye contact with everyone present. “If you find anything else, do not handle it. Put it in a plastic bag and call me immediately. Is there anything about those instructions you don’t understand?” Heads shook back and forth, accompanied by a chorus of “no.”

“Ms. Montgomery, I’d like to consult with you in my office in the morning. I want to go over your statement concerning the crime scene. For the rest of you, don’t leave the island. This is not over yet!” He turned so abruptly he almost bumped into Detective Taylor, who followed him like a baby duck following his mama.