Angels Fall

resist."
    "I only had to see them to think of you. Would you like them sent?"
    "Absolutely not. I have to take them with me."
    "Melony will take care of it for you. Enjoy."
    "I certainly will."
    The clerk in red burned over to scoop up the sparkles on black vel-vet. Delvechio turned to Reece and Brody. "A mother-of-pearl moon pendant on a gold chain, with diamond accents?"
    "Yes." Reece said, impressed he'd tollowed their conversation as well as his own. "Exactly."
    "Very specific."
    ''A woman named Deena Black had one. She's missing. Since she said it was a gift, we'd like to find the person who bought it for her. He may have information."
    "I see," he said in the same polite tone. "Are you with the police""
    "No, we're interested parties. All we want to know is who bought that necklace."
    "We had several pieces last year designed with moons, stars, suns, planets. Our Universe of Gems theme. They sold quite well for the holidays. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to give you client information, not unless you're with the police and in possession of a warrant. Even if you were and did, it would take time as all of those pieces were sold in the previous inventory year. And some certainly sold for cash, and there would be no client information in any case."
    "How about when it was sold, and for how much?"
    Delvechio raised his eyebrows at Brody's question. "I couldn't say when, with absolute certainty."
    "Best guess? Don't need a warrant for a guess on when and how much."
    "No. We ran that theme, with those pieces, from October of last year through January. A piece as you describe would have been priced at around three thousand."
    "Whoever gave it to her knows what happened to her." Reece insisted.
    "If that's so, you should contact the police. I can't tell you any more under the circumstances. It you'll excuse me."
    He left them to go into the back and closed the door firmly. After a moment's pause, he went to his computer, called up data. He nodded at the name and the transaction. His memory was excellent, and no less honed than his client loyalty. Picking up the phone, he made a call.

Chapter 29

    "THREE THOUSAND isn't chump change," Brody commented on the drive back. Reece continued to frown out the window. The shadows were long as the sun eased toward the far west with the mountains holding on to every drop of that fading light. "A man even goes into a store like that, he's decided on an important gift. And as you said, a man doesn't buy an important gift for someone when it's just sex."
    "So, they were serious."
    Reece shifted around to him. '"He wouldn't be seen with her, snuck around. How serious is that? I think  obsessed  or  infatuated  are better words. She was using him, he was using her."
    "Okay."
    "From what we know about Deena. she was a topless dancer at a dive, dissatisfied, bitchy. She brought a variety of men home, drove a motorcycle and wasn't above exchanging sexual favors for rent. And maybe not for cash, either."
    "Figuring she charged some of those men."
    "Seems likely. But this guy's different. He wants an exclusive, and she gives it to him. Maybe she wanted it, too, or maybe she saw it as an investment. If Delvechio was telling it straight—as much as he  would  tell— this was probably a Christmas gift. A man doesn't buy an important piece of jewelry as a Christmas present for someone he's just banging. Especially one who'd have probably been impressed with a titty-dollar pair of earrings."
    "You women are hard on each other." Brody commented after a minute.
    "She wasn't an innocent, nor by any accounts so far a particularly nice woman. She didn't deserve to be strangled for it. but she wasn't a passive participant, either. I'm just saving this man was involved. He was infatuated. He was seeing her on the side, or certainly the sly, but she mattered. At least for a while." She turned back. "So who on the list could spend three thousand dollars on a secret sex partner without it being noticed?"
    "I'd say any one of them. Some live alone, and their bank balance is their own concern. Guys who don't live alone often have a nice stash tucked away, just like women do."
    "Even a nice stash trickles away after a while. Maybe that was part of the problem."
    "She wanted more."
    "Isn't it likely? 'Why don't you take me anywhere nice? I'm tired of living in this dump. When can we go on a trip' and variations of the same. They'd been seeing each other for months. She'd want more."
    "And infatuation