Her voice sounded weak and thin, so she cleared her throat and tried again.
“Joel?”
A little stronger but not enough to reach him downstairs. She could hear dishes clattering in the sink and music going and she knew he was cleaning up. She stood and walked to the top of the staircase. Inhaling a deep breath, she could feel anger now starting to replace shock in her system, and her voice got stronger because of it.
“Joel?” she bellowed.
“Yeah?” he called back over the music.
“Come here right now. I need to talk to you.”
Her tone must have alerted him to the serious nature of it,because she heard the water turn off first, then the music. He walked to the stairs wiping his hands on a towel.
“Everything OK, honey?”
“No, everything is definitely not OK. Where is my jewelry?”
He looked genuinely puzzled.
“Your what?”
“My jewelry. Where is my jewelry? The good stuff from my mom and grandma.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Don’t you keep it in that jewelry box?”
“I do and I went to get some out for tonight and it’s not there, Joel. The entire box isempty.”
“Whaaatt?What the hell are you talking about? It’s empty?”
His face and voice registered shock, and she stared at him, trying to assess if he was doing an acting job worthy of an Oscar or not.
“Empty. Nothing there, not even one ring.” Her throat caught at the reality of those words, and tears came into her eyes.
Joel bolted up the stairs and rushed past her. She heard him gasp and say, “What the…?”
She followed him and stood in the doorframe.
“That’s exactly what I want to know,” she said icily. “Joel, just tell me the truth.”
He turned and his eyes were wild with confusion.
“Kell—I have no idea, you don’t think… Of course I have nothing to do with this. I would never touch your jewelry, you know that.”
But did she? How well do we know anyone in our lives? Was Joel a psychopath? Was he playing her even now? She felt herpalms go sweaty and the term “fight or flight” came into her head. Was Joel a threat to her safety even? If he stole the jewels he could be capable of anything. She took a step backward and the next words came out like daggers.
“How could you do this, Joel?”
“Kelly, are you kidding me? I swear on my grandmother’s grave that I would never touch your items, ever.”
He sounded genuine and looked stunned, so she was forced to reevaluate her hypothesis. Maybe it wasn’t him. But then who?
“No one comes to our bedroom or even upstairs, Joel. Guests always use the downstairs bathroom. Our place hasn’t been broken into. If someone had, they surely would have taken TVs and laptops and your crazy expensive guitar. Why would they beeline right to the jewelry? It just doesn’t make sense. It had to be you.”
“It’s not me.Let me think…”
She could see his mind whirring. He walked to the bed and sat, putting his head in his hands. He still had the dish towel in one hand but seemed to have forgotten it.
“When did you see the actual jewelry last?” he asked without looking up.
