Laced

“Who was that girl?” A

“I don’t know,” Bobby said. “It’s hard to make me laugh in the first place. I don’t find many things fu

“You were laughing like a hyena in the dentist’s chair today. If Dr. Sharkey is listening, we’re in trouble.”

“That’s why they call nitrous oxide laughing gas. Maybe we should get out of here. Let’s leave tomorrow for Los Angeles,” Bobby said. “We can forget the Claddagh rings. There will be other jobs.”

“Not like this!” A

“What about the dentist? You just said he could be trouble.”

“We didn’t give him our names. It’ll be all right. We’ll do this job and then leave for Los Angeles.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Now, let’s listen to what this guy Magillicuddy has to say.”

In the living room of the Sharkey household, the radio was also tuned to the Gerard Reilly show. Seamus was in his favorite chair, his feet propped up on an ottoman. Da

They were both snoring.

37

Jack’s office, under Keith’s direction, was doing everything possible to dig up information about A

“We all know that looking fabulous is the best revenge!” Rocco had told Keith. “And A

“I

“Sure, whatever. I joked with her that she’d better not start doing hair, or she’d put me out of business.”

“Did you spend much time with her?” Keith had asked.

“Not really. We worked together from time to time-fashion shows, weddings, that kind of thing. But we always sent business each other’s way, so we talked on the phone quite frequently.”

“Was she single?”

“Yes. She’d mentioned a few different boyfriends over the years, but I don’t think she was involved with anyone the last time I talked to her.”

“Do you know where she grew up?”

“Somewhere in upstate New York. I remember because she talked about her father having to stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown every summer when they drove to her grandparents’ house down south. The whole family was athletic and enjoyed sports, but one trip to that place is enough!”

“They didn’t live in Cooperstown?”

“No.”

“Were her parents still living in the same town when you knew A

“Her father had died, but her mother was still in the family home. A

“What about brothers and sisters?”

“Her brother lived out west. I can’t remember his name, but I remember A

It must run in the family, Keith thought. “Was there anything different about A

“I know she wasn’t happy about turning forty. Who is? I mean, please! I thought maybe she went off to find herself by studying with a guru on a mountaintop somewhere and would eventually come to her senses and return to New York. But I never heard from her again. No change of address card, nothing. I must say I was really ticked off.”

When Keith hung up, he told the staff to start looking for phone listings of families named Hager in New York State, starting in the area around Cooperstown.

Two hours and many phone calls later, none of the Hagers they’d contacted had been related to A

De

“I’d love a cup,” Keith said.

“How do you take it?”

“Black is fine.”

De

Keith laughed. “Me, too.”

When they stepped into the dingy conference room, the man and woman both stood to greet them. Though they were nothing alike in appearance, they were both quite formidable.

The security guard, a thickly built man who was probably in his early thirties, sported a buzz cut and several tattoos of skulls and crossbones on his muscled arms. The sixtyish woman was tall and commanding, with perfectly coiffed short hair, tasteful gold jewelry, and a stylish business suit. Neither one of them looked like someone you’d want to mess with.

De

So

Norma pounded the desk. “I should never have let them walk off with my jewelry!”

These two are chomping at the bit, Keith thought.

Together they viewed the grainy security tapes of the couple who had stolen the necklace. It was hard to make out their faces, but on a broad scale they fit the “average” description of Jane and John Doe.

“She had on one of my necklaces,” Norma said sternly, “when another customer accidentally knocked a tray of earrings on the floor, scattering jewelry all around my feet. I leaned down to collect the earrings, and when I stood up, those two beasts were gone. It was a nightmare!”

“I ran after them as soon as Norma started shouting,” Joh

“You knocked his teeth out?” Keith asked.

So

Keith nodded, turned toward Norma, and asked, “Did they talk about anything in particular?”

“I wrote down everything I could remember after it happened,” Norma said. “I don’t need my notes anymore because I’ve gone over them so many times. The man and woman were buying a necklace for her mother. The man joked that he had to buy his mother-in-law something nice because they hadn’t visited her enough.”

“Did he laugh?” Keith asked.

“No, and I didn’t, either. I told him he should always buy his mother-in-law something nice and suggested that they buy one of my gorgeous estate necklaces.”

“Did they talk about anything else?”

Norma looked embarrassed. “They did say one thing that I wouldn’t even mention, but I will because I really want to help you catch them. And then I want a few minutes with them to give them a piece of my mind.”