Page 40 of A Murderous Crow
I rolled my eyes, snapped a picture of my salad, and sent it to him.
Corbett Prescott: That’s not breakfast, and that’s not my place.
I giggled and shot back…What? You going to punish me?
I watched the dots bounce.
Corbett Prescott: Since you asked so nicely, I think I will. Be at the following address tonight at eight-thirty.
The address he sent wasn’t one I was familiar with, and so I looked it up.
It was outside Bonaventure Cemetery, down the road from the funeral home, across the street, and down some from the cemetery’s gift shop.
I sent back,I’ll see what I can do about that.
He sent back the grinning purple demon emoji, and I had to laugh.
I finished my salad, turned on some music, and spent the rest of my time getting ready with full hair and makeup, and an outfit for the day.
I decided to wear what had been professionally cleaned and got into the bag I’d brought in that Corbett had given me the night before.
There was one box too many, I realized, even counting the one my grandmother’s watch had been in.
I opened it and gasped.
Inside was a necklace I’d never seen before. It was gold and had a beautiful oval-shaped stone that was a blue that matched my eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was a sapphire, topaz, or something else, but it was certainly made all the more vivid by the pure white surrounding diamonds.
I swallowed hard, took a picture of it, and sent it to Corbett with just one piece of punctuation…
?
My phone remained maddeningly silent, and I got no return text.
I looked down at what I was wearing, which happened to be a thrifted Neiman Marcus linen dress. I put on the necklace and looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink.
God, it was probably the most expensive thing in this shabby, rundown joint.
I swallowed hard and stared at myself for a long time in the mirror.
It definitely helped sell the illusion that I was meant to be among the elite, but the cognitive dissonance was real, staring at the expensive bauble around my neck in the mirror that was rusting and the backing was blackened and peeling from around its edges.
It was beautiful, though, and the way it matched my eyes near perfectly did something to draw the gaze to them and to it, just making everything about looking at me… I didn’t know. It made me look cohesive, and as the Lady Chablis would say, “stinkin’ motherfuckin’ rich” –whichwaswhat I was going for, so I definitely couldn’t complain.
I heaved a sigh and said to my reflection, another thing the Lady Chablis would say, “Two tears in a bucket – motherfuckit.”
I gathered the things I would need for the day out in my living room – laptop, expensive leather briefcase to hold it, and my purse, phone, and keys.
The briefcase had been a gift from my younger brother when I’d graduated from college. He had worked hard, all summer long, doing odd jobs for two summers to make sure he had enough to afford it and the shipping. It was Italian, handcrafted. Justbeautifulworkmanship with a lifetime guarantee. If anything broke, any seam came unraveled, or anything like that when it came to the manufacture of it, I could send it back to them at no charge, and it would be repaired or replaced for free.
I felt a pang of longing to go home and see my family as I slung it up onto my shoulder before picking up my Coach bag I’d thrifted and paid more than I’d paid for the bag itself to have it cleaned and repaired – butworth it.
Still far cheaper than it would have been to buy new.
I left my little rental, went to the garage to get my Jag out, and headed into Savannah and the office to meet with my client to get a better idea of what they were looking for.
It was a good meeting, and as I’d been instructed by Corbett, I put in another call to the Swede who shall not be named and acted like I was valiantly trying to reach him for the property he’d wanted, warning that it was apt to go quickly if he didn’t act.
It was a dark storm cloud that hung over my head – the knowing, the waiting, the hoping and praying I could pull it offwith whoever came looking for him, that the lie wouldn’t show on my face or in my eyes.
