Chapter 49
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
HAPPY HOUR FOR LOSERS
Southern California can be indifferent and sometimes downright hostile to its old-school landmarks.
Scores of classic California spots like Turc’s, Beachbum Burt’s, and The Mermaid Lounge in Hermosa Beach had been unceremoniously shuttered only to be replaced by smash burger joints and frozen yogurt shops.
It was a travesty. But it was all merely a testament to the staying power of Old Tony’s Crow’s Nest, the dive bar that endured.
Located on the once grand and now dilapidated Redondo Beach pier, Old Tony’s had a shingled roof and a commanding panoramic view of the Pacific.
Its neon sign welcomed all who dared to climb the worn, wooden steps.
Once they did, they would be rewarded with the cozy ambience of a bar in the round, sailor-themed decor complete with colorful glass fishing floats hung from the ceiling by nets, while patrons sat on red leather barstools and ordered the famous Mai Tai in Tony’s signature glass.
The setting sun cast a glow over the convivial crowd.
Jamie’s Mai Tai had just arrived when she saw Shannon’s blond head grace the door.
She was on brand with bright pink lip gloss and fresh eyelashes, followed closely by Kyle, who had a spiffy new haircut and one hand around her waist. Jamie waved them over to the table.
A minute later they were joined by Rick, who was still short but looked dashing in a Travis Mathew golf shirt, with Holly in tow, sleek and polished in some expensive linen getup.
They were bickering but also holding hands.
“So, you two are together? Like, officially?” Jamie asked.
Holly blushed and Rick, the same guy who could not stop talking about himself, kissed her hand and said, “Turns out her kind of honesty is exactly what an advertising god needs.”
Jamie smiled and turned to Kyle and Shannon. “And you two?”
It was Kyle’s turn to blush. “I am as shocked as you are that a girl like this likes a nerd- boy gamer like me. She’s my unicorn.”
“You’re not just a gamer.” Shannon squeezed his cheek. She addressed Jamie. “He lets me lead the quests and be the warrior I want to be. It’s sexy. I need a Mai Tai.” Shannon summoned the waitress, who came over immediately.
Holly pulled Jamie aside and asked quietly, “How’s Cliff? Have you heard from him?”
Jamie cast her eyes downward and shook her head. “No. I tried to reach him at the MBPD jail, but no luck.”
Holly gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry.”
Jamie gave her a tight smile and tried not to show how disappointed she was. “Thank you. I think I blew it.”
Holly shrugged. “If a man can get over me telling him he lives like Peter Pan on steroids,” she discreetly pointed to Rick, “then maybe there’s hope for us all.”
Jamie felt momentarily buoyed by her comment. Maybe.
Drinks arrived along with a platter of coconut shrimp. Holly picked one up, but they were too hot to eat yet, so she got started on what they’d come to discuss first. She was all business.
Holly began, “So, I work at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Antiquities Division. My boss, Basil Grimsby, is a floundering idiot not deserving of the position of Antiquities Director, but that aside—he’s also a gambling addict.
There is this incredibly rare necklace that we’ve had in our possession since last summer called the Golden Cobra.
It is an exquisite piece in the shape of a snake, twenty-two karat gold, black onyx inlays, rubies down the spine, and two perfect three-carat diamonds for eyes.
It sat on the slender neck of Nefertiti when she reigned from 1353 to 1336, and it is by far the most priceless object we’ve ever had.
It was slated to be sent back to Egypt yesterday.
So, when I went to view it one last time, to my considerable shock, it was gone.
And I think my boss stole it. Or, at least arranged to have it stolen. ”
“What do you mean, gone?” Jamie asked.
“Vanished. Box and everything.”
“So, what makes you think your boss took it?” Jamie asked.
“I saw a text message that Grimsby received a week before our dinner. It didn’t make sense at the time, but he referenced the Cobra in an emoji—the Egyptians would be appalled—a sum of money, and an address. I followed up on the address yesterday, after Saturday’s theft. That address…”
Rick did a drumroll with his fingers on the table.
Holly continued, “Was Duncan Reeves’s mansion.”
Kyle whistled, then said to Shannon, “Babe, share what you found.”
Shannon munched the last bit of her coconut shrimp, wiped her mouth daintily with a napkin, and nodded.
“So, following Holly’s thread, I did a deep dive on Duncan Reeves.
Couldn’t be too hard to find whatever weird shit he’s into to figure out what he might have had in that safe, and lo and behold, I found something.
Sure, those blood diamonds were uncut, but they weren’t illegal.
Cocaine is on brand for Duncan. But what I found fits with Holly’s info. Turns out, Duncan is a bit of a rogue.”
“A lothario?” Holly inquired.
“Lothario? What, are we in eighteenth-century France? He’s a dog,” Rick countered.
“Libertine?” Holly suggested.
Shannon tilted her head and said, “I think man slut is more accurate. He dates a lot.” Shannon paused. “Well, not date, they’re more like conquests. His pattern is, he picks some unattainable, high-profile woman to approach and when she rebuffs him, he does whatever it takes to bed her.”
“How is this relevant?” Rick asked, with a concerned look on his face. “Because a lot of guys do that.”
Holly shook her head, grabbed his arm, and said, “Not anymore you don’t.”
Rick smiled goofily at her. “True.”
Shannon grinned and continued. “Well, it turns out Duncan Reeves was after this Egyptian heiress by the name of Chanel Emam. She has everything a woman could ever want: money, charisma, confidence, beauty, a powerful family. So, Duncan had to dig deep. And get this, she has a thing for Egyptian antiquities.”
Jamie gasped. “No way.”
Rick piped up. “So, you think Reeves bought the Golden Cobra from your gambling-addicted boss to impress and then bed an Egyptian heiress?”
“No, not bought,” Holly said, “borrowed.”
“Why borrowed?” Jamie asked.
Holly took a breath and then leaned in, motioning for all of them to join her.
She lowered her voice as their circle tightened.
“There is a group in Egypt, they go by the name the Brotherhood of Ahkenaten, who have taken a solemn vow to retrieve the treasures of their ancient empire from across the globe, at all costs. To get these pieces back to their homeland, they will use treaties, negotiations, large sums of money, whatever it takes. They are immune to prosecution, impossible to extradite, and no laws govern them. So, if Duncan Reeves has that necklace, my bet is, given his tendency to only keep women until he beds them, that he will return the necklace. Otherwise, the Brotherhood will track him down like a dog.”
“Could the Brotherhood have stolen it back from Duncan?” Rick asked.
“I’m sure they would have. But they didn’t know he had it. The last person to have possession of that necklace was Grimsby.”
“I feel like we’re in an Indiana Jones movie,” Shannon whispered excitedly.
“So, if Grimsby temporarily purloined the necklace from the museum with a view to loaning it to Duncan Reeves for a hefty sum, do you think Duncan Reeves will give up Grimsby?” Kyle asked.
Jamie pressed her lips into a line. She had read the man’s case file. “Duncan would betray his personal ethics for a jelly donut. So absolutely yes, no question.”
“So, following the breadcrumbs, the Brotherhood will come after Duncan.” Shannon took up the thread.
“If Duncan only had the necklace on loan, and was using it to impress Chanel Emam, with every intention of returning it before it went back to Egypt, then who would steal it out from underneath him? Who, beyond Grimsby, would even know he had it?”
“Someone who wanted a priceless ancient artifact?” Rick posed.
“No,” Jamie said. “Someone who wanted to hurt Duncan Reeves, I’d say,” She’d seen enough crime in her day to understand motives.
“How do we know Grimsby didn’t take it?” Kyle asked.
Holly shook her head. “He had an alibi the cops already tracked down. Cameras showed Grimsby went to Morongo Casino in the desert on the night in question and gambled away his ill-gotten gains. Besides, Grimsby wanted that necklace to return to Egypt. He thought it was cursed.”
Silence befell the group for a moment.
Shannon brought out her phone. “What about Duncan Reeves’s ex-wife? Usually, exes have an ax to grind, right?”
“I thought she was dead?” Holly cocked her head.
Shannon tapped quickly on her phone. “Let me go to the socials to see what I can find. They are a treasure trove of information and gossip.”
While she did, Kyle pondered aloud. “Someone could have hacked Duncan’s phone. It’s not that hard if you know how. All you need is a non-obvious way in.”
“Like what?” Rick asked.
“Like a Nest thermostat or a Find My app. If you have the passcodes to get in those apps, it doesn’t take a super genius to make the leap to text messages. Most people use the same passwords over and over again.”
“Guys,” Shannon said as she looked up. “His ex-wife’s name is Elizabeth Reeves.”
“Yeah,” said Rick. “So?”
“She’s suspiciously not online, anywhere. But I managed to find a driver’s license picture from twenty-five years ago. Take a look.” Shannon turned her phone around. Her hand shook slightly.
Rick, Holly, Kyle, and Jamie crowded around Shannon’s phone. A driver’s license picture showed a slightly chubby woman with glasses and short, spiked hair, with a guileless smile and a pierced eyebrow.
“Who am I looking at?” Rick asked with genuine confusion.
At first, Jamie didn’t see it, either, but then Shannon zoomed in. It was her smile, which had a small dark mole just above her right lip.
“Wait a minute…” Jamie squinted at the picture.
Holly was putting it together. “Duncan Reeves was married to Elizabeth Reeves.”
“What was her maiden name?” Kyle asked.
Shannon delivered the answer. “Born in Cayucos, California, to a plumber and a teacher, yadda yadda … here we go. Elizabeth L. Reeves, née Gray.” Shannon’s fingers busily tapped at her phone. And said, “The middle initial L stands for—”
“Lorna,” Jamie said. They all stared at Jamie and then at each other.
Lorna Gray.