Other People's Baggage (17 page)

FOOL'S GOLD: SEVEN

  

In spite of the fact that Sanjay's show premiered that night, he left his theater to meet us outside the hotel.

“A locked room,” Sanjay said after he greeted us, already wearing his tuxedo. “How could I resist?”

“That's all you care about?” Daniella said. “The puzzle? This is my life.”

Sanjay frowned.

“Finally,” Astrid said. “Someone who says what they really mean.” She smiled seductively at Sanjay.

“Of course that's not all I care about,” Sanjay said. He gave me a quick glance with wide eyes.

“Sanjay's magic show opens tonight,” I said. “Shall we get down to business?”

“Which is what, exactly?” Daniella asked.

“Let's go over everything you two know,” Sanjay said.

“What, you're like one of those fake psychic detectives on television?” Astrid asked. “You can pick out some minuscule detail the police missed?”

Sanjay's shoulders visibly tensed and his eyes narrowed.

“I make my living as an escape artist,” he said slowly. “I have never failed in any escape I've attempted, and I have come up with challenges even Houdini never dreamed of. I can free myself from anything anyone can construct. You seem to have an impossible escape. Do you want my help or not?”

Sanjay isn't known for his modesty.

“We do,” Daniella said quickly.

Astrid shrugged.

I went over the basics of who was involved with
Fool's Gold
and the chess set.

“None of us were here at the hotel when the theft took place,” Daniella added, “so I'm not sure what more we can tell you.”

“Where were you?” Sanjay asked.

“Astrid and I were together,” Daniella said. “Jaya was there, too.”

“I suppose the police have the hotel room roped off as a crime scene,” Sanjay said. “Whose room is it?”

“It's a suite we're sharing,” Daniella said. “Feisal and Izzy are sharing one of the bedrooms, and Astrid and I are in the second bedroom of the suite. I suppose we'll all need new rooms tonight.” She paused and shook her head. “All these rooms have high-end safes in them, that's why Feisal selected this hotel. It was supposed to be the safest place to keep the chess set when we weren't using it on stage for a performance. We rehearsed with a regular chess set painted gold and silver.”

“Who knew the chess set would be in the hotel room safe?” Sanjay asked.

“Only the four of us,” Daniella said. “Me, Astrid, Feisal, and Izzy. That must be why the police think it was one of us.”

Astrid gave a short laugh. “It wouldn't have been difficult to figure out, would it? Anyone who saw the advertisements about the famous chess set appearing in our show would have known the set had to be locked up somewhere. It's not like we're in disguise when we return to the hotel. We've been here for days. And we used our real names to register.”

“That's not true,” Daniella said. “I mean, it's true we've been here for days and used our real names, but nobody would have guessed the set was in the hotel room. Feisal made a big deal about pretending to give it to the hotel staff to put it in the hotel's bigger main safe. Anyone paying attention to us would have thought the set was in that safe, not the room safe.”

“You mean there's a duplicate fake chess set in the hotel's safe?” Sanjay asked.

“Exactly.” Daniella rubbed her eyes, smearing her eye makeup even more. “I'm making this worse, aren't I? Making it seem like it has to be one of us. Feisal gave the front desk a spray-painted fake set, just like the one we're using in our rehearsals. The set's in a box, so unless someone tried to steal it they wouldn't even get a close enough look to know it was fake.”

“Interesting,” Sanjay said. He placed his fingertips together in an overstated show of thoughtfulness, as if he were performing. “I need to get back to the theater to get ready for my show. Don't you want to walk me out, Jaya?”

“What are you talking about?” I said. “We're already outside.”

“Don't be dense,” Astrid said. “He wants to talk with you in private. We'll be inside.” She stubbed out her cigarette.

“You gotta love the French,” Sanjay said after they'd gone inside.

“What couldn't you say in front of them?” I asked. “They didn't steal the set. They have alibis. You heard them. They were together.”

“Do you want my cape?” Sanjay asked, pulling a thin red cape from an inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket. “You look like you're freezing to death.”

“I wouldn't say no to the jacket.”

Sanjay hesitated.

“What?” I said. “You don't trust me with one of your custom magic act jackets?”

“It's not that I don't
trust
you….”

“Never mind,” I said, ignoring the goose bumps I felt under my sweater. This was what passed as summertime in Scotland? “I'm fine.”

“Anyway,” Sanjay said, tucking the thin cape back into his pocket, “all their alibis prove is that they didn't act alone. They could be in on it together. But I tend to believe her. Not because of her alibi, which I'm sure the police will check out. Even if it checks out, they could have hired someone to steal the set for them.”

“Someone who can disappear into thin air,” I cut in.

“We'll get to that,” Sanjay said. “Daniella seems genuinely upset. She's a wreck.”

“She
is
an actress,” I said. “But I don't think she's acting. Why would she ask for our help if she's guilty?”

“Agreed,” Sanjay said.

“Why didn't you ask more questions?” I said. “I thought you were all about the details?”

“I am,” Sanjay said. “But I can't get into that room right now, and I'm not the one who's going to be able to get any useful details from Daniella. You are. She trusts you. You should stay with her.”

“She's going to a festival gala tonight.”

“Can you go to with her?”

“I have an invitation, but I'm coming to your show tonight.”

“I've got nine more performances after tonight,” he said. “It's more important that you find out everything you can about what Daniella knows. She'll feel more comfortable with you, especially once she's out drinking.”

“You're saying you want me to take my friend out to a gala at a castle and get her drunk.”

“You've got a rough life, Jaya, but somebody has to do it.”

FOOL'S GOLD: EIGHT

  

Sanjay left and I went back inside. I maneuvered through the still-crowded lobby. A man with a shiny bald head was talking with Daniella and Astrid. I knew at once this was Izzy. He wasn't tall or fat, but the descriptions of the man had been correct. He was muscular, though not quite like a body builder. It looked like his natural frame was to be a big guy, which he'd supplemented with muscle. His shiny head had been shaved completely bald, and he looked to be a few years older than Daniella and Astrid.

“I didn't do this,” he was saying to Daniella. He put an awkward hand on her shoulder, hesitating for a moment as if unsure if he should follow through and give her a hug. “I swear to you.”

“I know,” she said.

Izzy squeezed her shoulder, then dropped his arm. Daniella's face fell. She smiled a moment later when she saw me.

“This is Jaya,” Daniella said, introducing me to Izzy. “A friend who's in town for my show. She's staying here at the same hotel. Thought we'd have more time to hang out together that way.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I suppose that worked out, though not as I imagined.”

Izzy gave me a vigorous handshake and looked at me squarely with bright blue eyes. “Good to meet you,” he said.

“Why don't you tell her the truth, Izzy?” Astrid said. “That it's
not
nice to meet her, because you'd rather be anywhere but here.”

I tried to stop myself from smiling. Astrid was brash, but she was right. All of these English guys were so proper they'd be sure to pop at some point if they didn't let out their frustrations.

“Leave it to you, Astrid,” Izzy said, “to make a bad situation even more uncomfortable.”

“I'm going back outside to have another cigarette,” Astrid said. “The three of you can stand around exchanging fake pleasantries for the rest of the afternoon. Jaya, it's been real. Really awful.”

As Astrid turned and walked out, several male heads turned and watched her.

“She's not normally like that,” Daniella said once Astrid was gone. “It's the stress of what's happened.”

“Yes, she is,” Izzy said. He sighed, his large shoulders swaying close to Daniella. I could have sworn I saw her give him a longing glance, but it only lasted a second.

“Don't worry about me,” I said.

I felt like a third wheel, but I knew I couldn't leave. Sanjay was right that I should stay with Daniella if I wanted to help her and Feisal. The two shy lovebirds could figure things out once the theft of the chess set was resolved.

Besides, I wasn't feeling especially generous when it came to other people's romances, since my own recent year-long relationship had ended only a couple months before. I wouldn't exactly say I was bitter. Well…Who was I kidding? I was bitter. This was the start of a new phase of my life. It wasn't being alone that bothered me; I'm used to being on my own. It wasn't even worrying about whether I could pull it off; I'm a damn good historian. No, what left me apprehensive was that
everything
in my life was new. A new home, a new career as a professor of history, the start of a new life.

“What did the police tell you, Izzy?” I asked, bringing myself back to the present.

“Not much. They were awfully keen on me at first, but then they found out something else that made them think I didn't do it.”

“You mean the fact that you couldn't have gotten out through the window,” I said.

“You two have already been going over this, then.”

“It's all I can think about,” Daniella said. “How can they think one of us did this?”

“There was no forced entry into the room,” Izzy said.

“Surely that's a mistake.” Daniella's voice grew agitated as she spoke.

“I suppose someone could have gotten in through the window, too,” Izzy said. “A really tiny person.” He glanced in my direction. “But it doesn't make sense. We were the only ones who knew the chess set was there in our suite.”

“You remember how tiny those windows were,” Daniella said. “See, it's got to be someone else. Maybe it was one of the acrobats from one of the other performances.” Her face lit up at the idea.

Izzy's gaze lingered on Daniella's with fondness. “I wish it was,” he said. “But there's no way around it. It was one of us.”

FOOL'S GOLD: NINE

  

I didn't have time to go shopping for a dress. I didn't think my jeans and black sweater, or my new leggings and florescent pink t-shirt, would be appropriate attire for a fundraising gala for the arts.

It was less than thirty minutes before Daniella said we had to leave. Daniella hadn't been allowed back into her suite, but her luggage was cleared and returned to her, so she had moved into the room of a performer she knew with an extra bed in a different hotel. I hadn't thought about asking her to borrow a dress until she was already gone.

Twenty-five minutes.

I eyed the stranger's suitcase. It couldn't hurt to take a closer look inside. The woman who owned this vintage suitcase had taken good care of it, and she'd taken good care of the contents of the suitcase as well. At least ten carefully folded 1960s-style dresses lay before me. I didn't recognize any of the names on the labels, but these were stylish clothes. A polka-dot polyester dress, a gingham dress suit, a tennis outfit…. I could never pull off any of these.

But what about this one? I pulled out a gorgeous black dress with embroidered white details. It was a little big for me, but not too bad. It came with a dainty white belt that cinched the waist. This might just work.

I had black high heels with me. At my height, they're my standard shoes, so I'd worn these stilettos on the flight. I slipped into the dress and stepped into my shoes. I glanced at my scruffy messenger bag lying on the bed. It wouldn't do. The open suitcase lay next to my bag. A shiny white clutch made of vinyl was tucked into the side of the suitcase.

A knock sounded at my door.

“Jaya,” Daniella's voice called through the door. “Clayton felt bad for us with the theft so he's sent a car to take us to the party. It's waiting.”

No time to worry about taking the clutch. I grabbed it with my wallet and phone, and was out the door.

Downstairs, a gold Bentley waited to escort us to the castle. Astrid was already in the back when Daniella and I climbed inside the plush seats. She wore a strapless red dress that went down to her ankles with a slit that went up to her thigh. Her long blond hair fell over her bare shoulders with a hint of curl.

“Your dress is the wrong size,” Astrid said to me.

“Long story,” I said.

“Astrid is a model,” Daniella said. Aside from redness of her eyes giving away she'd been crying, Daniella looked like she could have been a model that night as well. I'd never known her to dress up more formally than jeans and a t-shirt when she wasn't on stage, but tonight she wore a form-fitting silver dress with gold ankle boots. Her short brown hair was spiked stylishly.

“Used to be,” Astrid corrected Daniella. “I used to be a model.”

“Your outfit,” I said to Daniella. “Publicity for your play?”

“Do you like it?” she asked.

Before I could answer, Astrid cut in, “Nobody will notice you're wearing gold and silver because of the play, because nobody cares about the play. There are too many performances at the festival. We should have stayed in London.”

  

With that start to the evening, I was relieved the drive to Clayton's castle took only fifteen minutes. It took longer to drive from my apartment to my university in San Francisco. The castle was just outside of Edinburgh, right off the A7 freeway.

Edinburgh was a northern enough city that the sun was still high in the sky late into the evening, so for the whole drive I had a perfect view of my surroundings from the window of the luxurious back seat. As soon as the chauffer pulled off the freeway, all evidence of the twenty-first century disappeared. We were swallowed up by a grove of evergreen trees. A bright blue river ran along the side of the winding road. The car slowed as the road and river curved. In a clearing of trees, the turret of a castle overlooked the river.

The Bentley turned off the road and drove up a circular drive; the red stone castle came into full view. I relaxed a little. Though it was a castle, it was mansion-sized rather than football-stadium-sized. I gripped the white clutch in my hand and took a deep breath. I might not be able to handle a gala at a castle, but I could handle a party at a mansion.

I couldn't help shivering while I walked from the car to the castle. It wasn't my nerves. The fickle Scottish weather had turned the crisp breeze from earlier in the day into a full-blown arctic wind.

Champagne flowed freely as guests milled around the grand room of the castle. Tapestries filled with birds lined two walls. One tapestry featured a phoenix rising out of the flames, the other was a black dragon surrounded by flying pelicans and other winged creatures.

Two winding staircases led from the grand ballroom up to a balcony overlooking the party. In the balcony, a single framed painting stood on an easel. It was this painting that was being used to raise money that evening. A modern painter who critics were praising had painted a scene of Edinburgh Fringe Festival street performers. It was being given away as part of a charity raffle that evening. The cost to enter the raffle was £5,000 per ticket.

I spotted Clayton shortly after arriving. He wore a black tuxedo with gold-colored wingtips and a top hat made of gold cloth. When he saw me, he came over and asked if I was doing a good job forgetting about the theft and distracting Daniella from her anxiety about Izzy. I assured him his party was doing a good job helping us both forget our worries.

Astrid had been swept away by a balding man claiming to be a duke of some sort, and Daniella and I were talking with an elderly couple who'd heard about Daniella's play and were intrigued. Astrid's gloomy prediction hadn't come to pass. They weren't the first people who had come up to Daniella to ask about her show.

“The chess set in
Fool's Gold
is both literal and figurative,” Daniella was telling them. “The play is set in the neighborhood I grew up in. The wrong side of the tracks, as my American friend Jaya here would say. The characters Catriona and Alexis were best friends as kids. Catriona's father taught her how to play chess when she was a little girl, before he was killed in an industrial accident. Catriona taught Alex how to play, and the two of them grew up with chess as their escape. Even though chess meant the most to Catriona, it was Alex who had the real aptitude for it. She's the one who was able to make it out of there. She got a scholarship to university, leaving Catriona behind. The title
Fool's Gold
is based on the chess term ‘fool's mate,' and the gold represents both their friendship and a special chess set they use.”

“That's nice, dear,” the elderly woman said with a thick brogue. “But what about the
theft
?”

Daniella's face fell. News had leaked that the chess set had been stolen, which was turning out to be even better publicity than showing the gold and silver chess set at the Scottish festival in the first place. She smiled and told them the investigation was ongoing. but she hoped they'd enjoy the show.

“Doesn't anyone care about my play?” she said to me once they'd moved on, downing the last of her third champagne.

“If the news stories get them to come to your play,” I said, “then who cares if that's the thing that gets them in the door?”

“Oh God,” she said, picking up another champagne from a passing waiter. “What if the police think one of us did this for
publicity
?”

It wasn't a crazy idea. But I didn't have time to respond before Astrid joined us.

“He wasn't a real duke,” Astrid said. “Can you believe it? He's only distantly related to one.”

“What about that new guy you said you were seeing?” Daniella asked her.

“What guy?”

“You took a break from rehearsal yesterday morning to call him.”

Astrid stared blankly at Daniella for a few seconds. “Oh yes,” she said. “Him.”

But it was a moment too late. She was lying.