“So you’re saying that in 2001 the actual winner disappeared, and all these years later her crown went missing from the display case?” Summer asked.
“Mr. Finch’s note suggests that whoever stole that crown is enacting some kind of revenge on him for the disappearance of the original winner,” the sheriff said.
“I love that you’re relying on a letter Mrs. Finch could’ve written herself.” A snort of derision escaped from me. “If he did write it, he could be saying that whoever originally took the crown from Miss 2001 is out to get him. That would be his wife.”
Summer blinked and one of her eyelashes stuck to her cheek before coming off entirely. She yanked at the extension and stood there with one eye suddenly appearing smaller than the other as she considered the situation. “So, Sheriff, you believe DeeDee is involved because of that letter… and because the crown was in her room?”
“That seems circumstantial at best,” I added.
The sheriff’s expression was blank, which was maddening. “We are still gathering information at present, but from witness statements we do have probable cause to?—”
“—to take my aunt into custody?” I met him eye to eye as much as his six inches on me would allow. We stared at one another for a beat too long, and my hands began to sweat again. I noticed the stubble running along his jawline, his matter-of-fact stoicism.
“For now, we’re holding Deanna Green for the theft of the crown, but we’ll be questioning all suspects as we search for Fred Finch.” The sheriff took a deep breath as if weighing how best to proceed with three misbehaving women. When he began speaking again, his words slowed, as if we were children. I was not amused. “We had a tip from someone who said they saw a woman who looked like Deanna Green carrying a black bag and hurrying away from one of the ballrooms.”
“Was it Jemma Jenkins?” I asked. “Or Dr. Bellingham?”
He paused and studied me. “Would you like to list everyone here this week?”
I did not appreciate his tone or the fact that he knew more than me. I would need to remedy that.
“Every woman here could look like Aunt DeeDee from a distance,” I said. “What about Mrs. Finch?”
“The intel we received about DeeDee seems to check out. Your aunt has been in this world for decades; you have no idea what she’s seen or done.”
“She would never take something that didn’t belong to her.” I answered without hesitation.
“If your aunt knows something, I hope she’ll talk.”
She wouldn’t talk because she had nothing to say. That’s what I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to shout,There is no crime. There can’t be! And you know how I know?Because that was the woman who forced me to go to church, who taught Sunday School to obnoxious fourth graders every week, who tried to keep me from listening to anything other than gospel music for most of my childhood. More than that, she was the woman who returned to the register at a restaurant if she thought they hadn’t charged her for a fountain drink. She was the woman who lived “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and up until this moment, I hadn’t appreciated that moral compass like I should have.
TWELVE
When the sheriff didn’t make a move to leave my aunt’s room, I let him inspect the garment bag before I took Summer by the arm and carried my dress away. The two of us, heads held high like the queens we could become, made our grand exit into the darkly wallpapered hallway while Katie scurried back to the Finch residence.
The thing was, I had no idea where to start in order to prove my aunt’s innocence or find Mr. Finch. I didn’t know the extensive palace layout, much less where an old millionaire who’d left a cryptic note and then disappeared liked to spend his time on the estate.
“I’ll see what Savilla and her stepmother are up to,” I told Summer, pretending to know what I was doing.
“They may be getting ready for the party tonight.”
I was taken aback by the suggestion. “But… Mr. Finch is… missing. You think they’ll still attend the party tonight?”
Summer shrugged. “Mrs. Finch herself said that the show will go on, at least for now.” She checked her watch. “And it starts in an hour and a half.” She removed the eyelash extension from her other eye and wiped away streaks of mascara as if parts of her face falling off was all in a day’s work. She looked downat the makeup and the wig that the sheriff had inspected before allowing her to remove it from my aunt’s room. “I guess I should actually get these to DeeDee somehow?”
“If they’ll let you.” I wanted to be the one to go, but more than that I needed to stay here to clear her name.
“I’ll at least try. It’ll make her feel more like herself during… during all of this nonsense,” Summer said. A rush of gratitude to have someone besides Lacy in my aunt’s corner washed over me. “Then I’ll hurry back and fix my face and change. I have some milk of magnesia if you want.”
“For…?” I patted my stomach, assuming that she might be feeling queasy after all of this drama.
“Oh… sorry. No, although I do drink it after a long day with my students…” Summer laughed. “Milk of magnesia makes the best primer. Aftershave also works. Your skin will look like porcelain.”
“Thanks,” I said, more like a question.
“Seriously, I have everything in my cottage. I’m in number nine. I’ll be there as soon as I figure out how to get these to DeeDee.” Summer’s earnestness was clear as she touched me on the arm one last time before gliding away to find an officer who might pass along the treasures she’d filched from Aunt DeeDee’s room.
At that moment my phone rang with an unknown number, which meant it could have been another debt collector—but it could also have something to do with my aunt. Just in case, I pressed the green button.
