Chapter Eleven
Kelly
April
Kelly and Joel didn’t get dressed up very often. Too much work, Kelly always thought, and they were casual people. But one of Joel’s coworkers was getting married, and given that it was at a country club on a lake, Kelly decided to go all out.
She got a fresh mani-pedi and booked an appointment for her hair to be styled in an updo the morning of the event.
Her freshly pressed dress was a low-cut black cocktail gown that she had chosen so that some of her grandma’s rare jewelry would really stand out against it.
Joel was planning to wear his best suit.
It was an important night for Kelly. She kept hoping Joel would pop the question.
He hadn’t, which was starting to worry Kelly.
Was he bored with her? They had talked of possible marriage some time ago but he had been all quiet since then and she was afraid to bring it up.
If he said he didn’t want to marry her anymore, her heart would be broken.
She was getting older, was almost even into what they called “advanced maternal age” (over thirty-five), and she might want a child.
But she desired a husband first and Joel was her guy, there was no question about that.
Kelly was hoping that being at a wedding would jolt him to action, and she planned to look like a knockout for it to happen.
She fantasized about him not being able to take his eyes off her, sweeping her across the dance floor and whispering “We’re next” in her ear.
Or maybe she’d catch the bouquet and all of his friends would tease him and he’d blush and get down on one knee right then and there, surprising her with a sparkling ring he had hidden somewhere as the wedding guests cheered and cried.
Speaking of jewelry, Kelly couldn’t wait to wear some fancy items that night.
Her grandmother’s and mother’s jewelry was an eclectic mix of expensive brooches, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings, with rare stones and intricate metalwork.
She once had it all appraised, and the entire lot was worth over $100,000. Not that she would ever sell.
Kelly had her mind’s eye on a necklace and earring set from her grandma and a bracelet and oversized ring or two from her mom.
She kept all of the items in a velvet-lined wooden jewelry box on her dresser.
The tacky jewelry box Faith had given her at the overpriced restaurant was long gone, handed to Goodwill.
When Kelly got home from the hairdresser she went straight to the mirror in the bedroom and admired the updo; the bun looked like a flower, and thin wisps hung down the sides. She would work on her makeup last so that none of it smeared when she put on the black dress.
She laid the dress across the bed and pulled her best Jimmy Choo stiletto heels out from the closet and set those next to it.
Then she got out a pair of tummy-tightening underwear, some Spanx to really keep things firm, a push-up bra, and opaque black pantyhose.
Finally, she walked to the dresser for the jewelry.
Opening the lid, she was excited to see the jewels for the first time in a while, but instead her body went into a state of shock.
There was nothing in there, nothing. The red velvet sat empty; there were outlines of little imprints of rings, but that was it. Her hand flew to her mouth. She staggered backward.
Joel was downstairs and she wanted to call for him but her throat felt as if it wouldn’t function. It was like one of those dreams where you need to scream but can’t muster more than a whimper. Her mind began to race. Where could the jewelry be?
Her first thought was that maybe she was crazy.
Had she moved it somewhere and forgotten she did it?
No, that was definitely not it. Joel had been urging her to get a safe-deposit box at some point, but they hadn’t done it.
Although Kelly rarely looked at the jewelry in the box, it comforted her knowing it was there.
It was all she had left of her grandma and mom, both killed in the same car accident by a drunk driver when Kelly was in high school.
Seeing the jewelry gone, she thought she might throw up, and she swallowed down a rush of bile.
Her next thought, as much as she hated it to be, was Joel.
Her eyes narrowed. Had her boyfriend taken the jewelry?
Pawned it off? What could be happening? It felt as if the floor beneath her suddenly tilted, like one of those crazy carnival rides she loved as a kid.
Everything she thought she knew was a certainty in her life—most importantly that she was dating a moral human being—was now askew.
Spots began to dance in front of her eyes, and she realized in a sharp panic that she probably wasn’t breathing in enough air.
Steady, Kelly, steady. She made her way slowly to the bed and sat down next to her black cocktail dress. The thought of lying down came to mind, but she realized that would ruin the updo.
The wedding. Would they even go? How could she go anywhere with Joel? It had to be him who took the jewelry. No one else was ever in their bedroom.
Her mind flipped back to the last time she had opened the jewelry box.
It was the day after she met with Faith, the day after Joel suggested giving the Etsy box created by Emilio to Goodwill.
All of the talk about the jewelry made her want to see it again, to touch it, to feel close to her mom and grandma, so she had taken some time that afternoon to let her fingers gently wander over the stones and metals, the gems and patterns.
A brooch with a woman’s face intricately carved into it was one of her favorites, although brooches were so old-fashioned she rarely wore it.
Still, the details of the woman’s face, hair, and clothing were so carefully etched in ivory, it made her smile, thinking of her grandma wearing this, perhaps to some dance.
Maybe it was even the one where she met Grandpa.
But now everything was gone, 100 percent gone. She took a ragged breath and mustered the strength to call out, “Joel?”
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 is empty.”
“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 her palms 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.
She told him it had been a day after the ill-fated Faith lunch.
“OK, so in one month, who has been up here?” He was more asking himself, and he rocked back and forth with his head still in his hands as he spoke, the words coming out in a jumble.
“We had Becky and Stefan over for dinner but they were downstairs the whole time … My mom stopped by for lunch and dropped off some plants, but she never came upstairs, not that she would ever steal anything from us … We had an electrician one day but I was with him the whole time … I can’t think of anyone else … oh wait…”
His eyes grew big and he turned to Kelly. She felt a shiver go up her spine even though she had no idea what he was about to say.