Chapter 3
The case they were working on had its origins as a favor to Mildred. One of her forever friends had finally decided, after a whole life working as a music teacher in California, to travel to New York and spend a season there enjoying theatre and opera. She started her adventure of renting a comfortable but austere apartment for two months and explored the city during that period without missing even one exciting spot. By the end of her stay, she discovered Atlantic City almost by accident. She tested her luck playing Black Jack for a couple of times, and surprisingly, left the table with a considerable amount of money in her hands. She phoned her friends in California to share the exciting news and to warn them that she would be staying in New York for some extra time thanks to her unexpected good luck. But after that call, nobody knew anything else about her. She wasn't answering their phone calls since a week ago, and Mildred, her closest friends, and other work colleagues were worried about her.
After the twisty subway tour with Mr. Steele never able to acknowledge their current location underground, they finally arrived at their destination.
"Try again, Mr. Steele."
"We've been ringing the bell for half an hour Laura, and nobody answered. There's nobody inside. If we want to get in, we need to trust in our abilities."
"I'm not sure it is a good idea to pick the lock, Mr. Steele. We are in plain sight, and there's that man at the shop next-door who didn't take his eyes from us since we arrived."
"In that case, the best we can do is to ask him."
They walked towards the man, and once Laura opened her mouth to start a conversation, the man turned and ran away as fast as possible. Mr. Steele followed him closely while Laura tried to keep the distance short, with not much luck. One block after, both men were out of her reach, so she decided to go back to Ann's building. She was not more than half a block away when she noticed a young lady dressed like a businesswoman carrying a bag full of groceries and struggling to put her key in the lock.
"Excuse me, do you live here? Can I ask you something?" asked Laura once she was close enough for the woman to hear.
Right at this moment, the key turned. Leaning on the door to keep it open the woman turned on her heels, "Sure." She left the bag on the floor and put the keys back in her purse.
"I'm looking for Ann Jenkins. She is renting a small apartment in this building for a while. Do you know her?"
"Ann Jenkins… It doesn't sound familiar. Perhaps you can ask Mrs. Parker. She is in charge of the building's maintenance and the mail delivery. If anybody knew the woman you're looking for, that would be Mrs. Parker. You'd probably have better luck asking her."
"Does Mrs. Parker live here?" asked Laura.
"She lives here, but she takes care of her grandchildren during the daytime and returns back home in the late afternoon," answered the young lady grabbing her groceries from the floor and, in a subtle way, ending their conversation. "Excuse me, but I'm in a hurry. I have to leave these groceries and run to work."
"Sure. Thank you for your time," answered Laura.
At that very moment, Laura felt someone on her back pushing her slightly to the side and coming into the dark foyer of the building in a rush. The young woman, who was still resting her back on the door, gave a look to the man and opened it wide offering no resistance, allowing him to come inside. Laura remained there until the woman came inside too and closed the door. A moment later, Mr. Steele came back from inside and opened the door for her.
"Subtle way to get inside…" Laura told him.
"How did you know the lady was going to let you in?"
"As a matter of fact Laura, I didn't know it for sure. But as you were distracting her enough with that professional style of yours, I took the chance."
"Good move, Mr. Steele," added Laura, rewarding him with a crooked smile, "What happened with the man?" she asked.
"He ran away towards Central Park. He was dressed better for speed, Laura. Maybe next time we'll have better luck."
"It's okay; we're inside the building after all. Let's look for Ann's place."
They climbed the stairs and found themselves in front of a corridor full of doors. Checking they were at the apartment they were looking for, they knocked on door number 24. After being there for a respectable amount of time without receiving an answer, Laura handed Mr. Steele the lock pick tools, and he opened the door. It was a tiny room, not luxury at all, but absolutely adorable. There was a table with some chairs on their left, an armchair with a reading light and a comfortable sofa on the right. The door to the bedroom was opened. Laura started looking for clues in Ann's closet. Everything seemed to be in order. All her clothes were hanging neatly. The shoes were in order too. In the meantime, while Laura remained in her area, Mr. Steele examined the books on the nightstand and opened its drawers. Nothing grabbed his attention.
"Everything seems to be in place in here, Laura," said Mr. Steele.
"All her things are here, and there's no trace of violence anywhere," added Laura.
She turned to the dresser at the foot of the bed. The only things there were some makeup items and a wooden box. She lifted the lid. It was a jewelry box, all lined in blue velvet; several pieces of jewelry inside … a pearl necklace, a small gold ring, and a diamond brooch.
"It seems Ann keeps her most valuable possessions here. This brooch looks like something taken off of a treasure box. Take a look," said Laura, showing the jewelry piece to Mr. Steele.
Mr. Steele grabbed the brooch in his hands and took his time to examine it. "It's a Cartier. Navette shaped outline, centered by a carved rock crystal circular panel, inset with a principal round brilliant cut diamond, to a pierced and mille grain set foliate cluster frame formed by a cartouche with elongated anthemion either side, set throughout with round cut diamonds. There's a serial number, possibly 725. It seems to be an original piece."
"And I thought it was a brooch… It must be a costly one," said Laura.
"Very, very expensive, Laura. If my experience is not failing me, we are talking about $50,000."
"What? That's not just expensive. That`s a fortune! What's Ann doing with this in her jewelry box?"
"That's not the question, Laura. The question is how this exquisite piece landed in her hands."
"Care to elaborate?"
"If my memory is not betraying me, this piece is part of The Bressan Collection."
"What's The Bressan Collection?"
"Paul Bressan was a man who made a fortune with auto parts. He worked beside Henry Ford at the very start, but at some point along the way, he decided to create his own business, and he built an empire selling auto parts to Chrysler. Even if his fortune was very well and discreetly invested inside and beyond the US, Bressan was better known for his love for art; jewelry art, to be precise. He owned one of the most valuable 1920's Cartier Jewelry Collections, worldwide. This piece seems to be a part of that collection."
"I see."
"I'm not sure it would be safe to leave it here if Ann is missing, Laura. Even if the apartment looks safe, this piece deserves to be treasured in a secure place. Let's take it with us and put it in the hotel safe." He put the brooch inside the box and grabbed it. Once he was ready to leave, Laura stopped him.
"You are right about taking it with us. But what if Ann comes back? She will think someone stole her jewelry box. Let's at least write her a note. If she comes back, she can get in touch." She wrote a note with the stationery she found inside the nightstand drawer and put it on the dresser, right in the place the box was resting barely minutes ago. The office phone number and Mildred's name were written on it for reassurance.
