‘He …’ Holly stammered, again perplexed.
‘Yes, you are looking for him and he is looking for you – wonderful! Come,’ he said, reaching for her hand. ‘We must find him, my friend. He will be so happy to see you.’
She looked at Gennaro expectantly, hardly unable to believe it. She was right. Her hunch about theSame Time, Same Placecharm was right. She had followed the breadcrumbs correctly and they had led her here to this place, on this night.
The owner of the bracelet – or at least someone who knew her - was here. Now all Holly had to do was get it back to her.
71
Greg turned around to see the Marilyn Monroe look-alike in the six-inch heels from the door approaching. She was carrying a clipboard, the guest list.
‘Ms Mead?’ Jessica said, nearing her employer. ‘You were looking for me?’
‘Yes,’ Margot placed a hand on her employee’s arm. ‘Jessica, may I introduce to you Greg Matthews, and his father Jeff.’ Jessica nodded and smiled politely, as if fully expecting to have to do their bidding as well as Margot’s.
Impatiently, he smiled a greeting in return, wishing they could quickly get through the formalities and get on with it.
‘Jessica, I believe that you might be able to help us. Do you recall anyone enquiring about a charm bracelet recently?’ her boss continued. ‘Or perhaps an enquiry related to an individual charm, more specifically one of the jewelled eggs we used as a prize at the breast cancer benefit at the Met last year?’
Was it Greg’s imagination or did the assistant’s eyes grow twice the size?
‘You mean Holly?’ she gasped, and he breathed an internal sigh of relief.
‘Yes, my mother’s charm bracelet went missing recently and it seems that this woman, Holly, might have happened across it.’
‘Yes, she did,’ Jessica confirmed excitedly, abandoning her earlier decorum. ‘And she’s been searching high and low for you this last few weeks.’
‘Would you happen to have a contact number for her?’ Greg asked, hoping that she might have something other than the store number, as this had already proved to be a dead end.
Jessica looked as though she was stifling a smile. ‘I can do one better than that, Mr Matthews,’ she said, grinning. ‘She’s here.’
Greg looked at Jeff in disbelief. ‘Here tonight?’
‘Yes, she offered to help out in return for my helping her with the charm. I can take you to her right now if you’d like.’
‘That would be fantastic.’ Greg couldn’t believe his luck. He stole a delighted glance at his father who was looking at his watch. Greg did the same as he followed Jessica through the crowds out towards the corridor. It was 11.15 –forty-five minutes until the clock struck twelve.
As they walked, Jessica told him all about Holly and her repeated attempts to track his mother down.
‘She was very determined. Worked me even harder than Ms Mead trying to put the pieces together,’ Jessica told him. ‘Hey, you guys don’t happen to live on Park Avenue, do you?’
‘My parents do,’ Greg confirmed. Then he thought of something. ‘The building, she identified the building from the charm?’
‘I did actually,’ Jessica said proudly. ‘But I think Holly was about ready to stand outside every building on the park hoping to find the right one.’
‘I can’t believe she was so committed. I’m very grateful.’ He was also really looking forward to meeting Holly properly. She did sound like a good person.
‘I went to the store in Greenwich. Apparently she doesn’t work there.’
‘No, that’s not it. She’s just been out for a couple days. Her son had an accident just before Christmas and she was at home with him.’
Greg nodded. A son. And probably a husband, too.
As if Jessica could read his mind, she quickly provided, ‘She’s single – really great. You’ll like her I think.’
Greg wasn’t entirely sure why she’d felt the need to offer this piece of information, but from what he could remember of Holly from the gallery, he was surprised that she wasn’t attached. She was very attractive.
‘So it’s true then, she definitely has the bracelet - you’ve seen it?’
