The O'Connells Box Set

Chapter 29

“Get me a warrant for the Lowes surveillance footage. She was here. It appears she was going to get a tidy sum, and she was apparently advanced a thousand dollars.” He held up the plastic bag of jewelry to show Harold, who had his hand on the hood of the Kia as Suzanne tucked Arnie, whom he could hear fussing, into the car seat.

“You want me to take this and log it in as evidence?”

Suzanne closed the back door and headed toward him, conflicted, likely not wanting to believe Reine could have done it. “That makes absolutely no sense, Marcus. Are you sure it was her? You have to be wrong. There has to be another explanation.”

He dragged his gaze back to Harold, because it appeared his sister was one step from walking into the jewelry store he’d just walked out of. Taking no was not something she did well.

“Look, Suzanne, I get your frustration, but the evidence is right here, and you already heard the description from Randall in the pawn shop, and the same from the jewelry store. We only need to verify it with security footage. It’ll be the final nail, so to speak. Reine’s going back to prison for a long time, and she has no one to blame but herself. The food you bought for her is still in the suite, by the way. I’ll send Colby to pack it up for you and bring it back.”

Suzanne only shut her eyes, then did something he hadn’t expected. She walked over to Harold and kissed him, then pulled open the door to the Kia. He wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but he could see she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it.

“Call me later?” Suzanne said to Harold, who only nodded and said, “I will.”

She slid into the Kia and started it, and he looked back to Harold, who gestured to the plastic bag again.

“You heading back to the station?” he said.

Marcus took in the bag, knowing a lot of Ts still needed to be crossed. There were statements to take, paperwork to do. “Not yet. I’m going to head over to the Hirsts’. Therese should still be there. I’ll get her to identify the jewelry and get their reports filed. You get a warrant for that footage—and call Colby, too. When someone starts asking for a warrant, I just get a feeling the camera footage could disappear. So get him down here and inside the store until that warrant shows up. Then I want the footage. You know, I have half a mind to have another go at Reine, show her the jewelry, and get her confession. Sure would make it easier to wrap this up.”

Harold said nothing, pulling his solid arms, pure muscle, across his chest. “I’ll get the warrant and tell Colby to sit on this place,” he said. He headed to his police cruiser but stopped as he pulled open the door. “What about Better Way Homecare, the boss, and that nurse Reine was working with? You know, the thing that really bothers me about this, Marcus, is something Reine said. She was never supposed to be there alone. Now, I’m not saying it’s an excuse, but what does that say about the business, knowingly leaving an ex-con in a house with a vulnerable woman?”

He knew what Harold was saying and wondered if that was what bothered him most out of all of this. “It’s not a crime to be a shithead employer, but I do plan on speaking with the nurse she worked under. Better yet, I think I may have her come to the station, sit her down in the interrogation room, and find out if this sort of thing is common practice. It should never have happened.” He shook his head.

Harold said nothing else, just got behind the wheel and pulled out.

Marcus tucked the bag of jewelry onto the seat beside him and started his cruiser, staring at the front door of Lowes. He backed out just as his cell phone started ringing again, and he took in the caller ID, Karen Curtis, another sister he didn’t want to go a round with. His finger didn’t even hover over the green answer icon, instead going right to the red decline.

“Not talking to you right now, Karen,” he said to himself, but his phone rang again. This time it was the stationhouse. “Charlotte, what’s going on?”

“Your sister is here right now, and she’s furious, Marcus, because Manny Meskill has shown up with prison transport, barking orders. They’re trying to take Reine back to prison as we speak. I’ve never seen your sister so angry, and that parole officer… Marcus, I really don’t like him. He walked in here with prison transport guards, and they took right over. He handed me an order signed by a judge. Her parole is revoked. They ordered Colby to turn Reine over. Marcus, can they do this?”

He could hear the anxiety and worry in his wife’s voice, and he shook his head. He’d known this was coming, but not like this. And Karen was suddenly there? His family were shoving their noses in, which was likely why he wanted to fight them.

“Her parole being revoked is out of my hands, Charlotte. Turn her over. I may not like how Manny Meskill does things, but I can’t do anything about this. I don’t set the rules. Reine is going to have additional time now with the theft of the jewelry. I’m sorry, but it was likely going to happen at some point today or tomorrow, anyway…” He thought he could hear his sister yelling in the background. This was likely why she’d been calling him. “Put Karen on. I’ll talk to her, but she has to stand down and not interfere. What the hell is she doing there, anyway?”

“She said she’s Reine’s lawyer.”

He wanted to bang his head against the steering wheel as he pulled up to a stop light. But instead he shook it. “Of course she is,” he said, sarcasm dripping. “Put her on.”

He heard his wife say something, likely to Karen.

“So you don’t take my calls?” Karen said. There was the nastiness only she could give him.

“I’m working, Karen, investigating, doing my job. What the hell are you doing? Prison transport is there to take Reine back to prison. You’re a lawyer. I shouldn’t have to explain to you how it works when parole is revoked.” He knew he sounded short, but he couldn’t remember both his sisters ever fighting him and challenging him this way, butting heads with him, interfering with his job and position as sheriff. Worse, it felt as if his integrity were being questioned. Maybe that was what bothered him more than anything.

“Don’t be an asshole, Marcus. Did you know they were coming to pick her up and take her back?”

He shook his head, knowing she couldn’t see him, and let out a groan that sounded rough even to him, wanting to yell. Karen didn’t go quietly into the night about anything. “No, Karen, I didn’t know, but then, her parole officer doesn’t run anything past me, nor does he have to, although it would be a professional courtesy. Manny Meskill isn’t professional or courteous, but he is still her parole officer, who sets the rules she has to follow…”

“Marcus, she didn’t do this.” Karen could be a pit bull at times, and he could feel the punch coming right for him through the phone. “You have nothing but an accusation. If this were anyone else, she wouldn’t be sitting behind bars right now. You would actually be looking for evidence and building a case first, getting your facts instead of taking the word of some guy.”

“You’re right, which is why an investigation is in full swing. But you should know I found the jewelry she took on consignment in a jewelry store. She was given an advance of a thousand dollars. Karen, no matter what you all think, I didn’t want this to be true. But she did it. She stole the jewelry from a vulnerable old woman with dementia, and even though a bunch of people put her in a position she shouldn’t have been in, her choice to take it was one hundred percent on her. She is responsible for her actions. You’re her lawyer, so do your damn job. Get her to take responsibility for what she did, and then work some deal with the DA. That’s how you can help her. But she is going back to prison, and there is nothing you or I can do about that. She made the choice. Now she has to deal with the repercussions. How many years she gets tacked on to her sentence is in your hands.”

He heard the click of Karen hanging up on him as he pulled up in front of the Hirst house, where Therese’s police cruiser was parked. “Unbelievable,” he said in disbelief, feeling his tension rising. A blowout in his family was likely.

He turned off the engine and sat there for a second, seeing Eva’s innocent face, anticipating the questions she was going to ask as soon as he walked through the door tonight. He didn’t have a clue what to say that wouldn’t bring a world of hurt to her.

“Damn you, Reine,” he said as he gave his door a hard yank open, then reached for the plastic bag.

As he strode to the front steps, he took in the two-story house, the porch, and the garden bed, which was in bad need of weeding. Picturing Reine there just the day before, he lifted his hand and knocked on the white door. He could hear voices inside and footsteps as he turned around and took in the houses across the street, the quiet neighborhood.

The inside door opened, and there was his deputy, Therese. “Sheriff, Harold called, said you found the jewelry?”

He stepped inside the front entrance, with a small hall closet and a pony wall separating it from the kitchen. He heard voices as he closed the door, spotting the notepad she was holding.

“Yeah, right here. You get a photo and statement?” He held up the plastic bag of jewelry.

Therese nodded, holding up her notes. “Her daughter is digging out some old photos for me. She said she needed them for the insurance claim, anyway.”

He followed Therese into the living room, which had a beige carpet, two green loveseats, and an easy chair where a woman with gray hair was sitting. An old TV tray beside her held a mug of what could have been tea or coffee, along with a glass of water, a newspaper, and a brown wooden box. She was looking right at him.

“Sheriff, this is Mrs. Hirst.”

“Hi, Mrs. Hirst. I’m Sheriff Marcus O’Connell. How are you doing today?” He took in her light eyes, pale wrinkled skin, and confusion.

“Oh, hello, am I in trouble for something?”

“No, no, no, Mrs. Hirst, you’re not in trouble. You had some jewelry that went missing, a ring, some earrings, and a brooch.” He glanced over to Therese, who was looking right at him.

The old woman opened the wooden box on the TV stand, her hand shaking, revealing necklaces and rings crammed inside. “Could you help me put this on? My pearl necklace. My Herman gave it to me.” She lifted the necklace out.

“No, Mom, you’re not putting on the pearls again,” said the daughter as she hurried back into the room, wearing white capris and a light blue sleeveless shirt that buttoned up in front. “Deputy, these are the photos I was sending to the insurance company,” she said, handing them to Therese. Then she flicked her light blue eyes to him as she leaned down over the old woman, tucking her short dark hair behind her ears. She wasn’t very tall. She took the pearls from the old woman and put them back in the box before closing it up.

“So do you need anything else?” she said. “You said that woman who was here yesterday is being charged? I can’t believe they brought an ex-con right into my mother’s house to look after her. And she was here alone with her. How can something like that happen?”

“Yes, ma’am, she is,” Therese said. “Sheriff, this is Mrs. Hirst’s daughter, Valerie. She’s the one who called Better Way and reported the missing jewelry. She said when she came home yesterday, it was just Reine Colbert here with her mother…”

“As I said to Pete, who runs Better Way, it was because she’d never finished cleaning that I called to begin with. She was here for how many hours, and Ivy assured me the upstairs would be cleaned, the bathroom, my room, and the other rooms. She had plenty of time, but very little was done. I don’t have time to look after my mother, which is a full-time job, as well as pick up the slack of someone I’ve hired to do the work. Apparently, she spent her time going through everything instead. I mean, what else did she take? There are a lot of valuable things in this house. What should I do, Sheriff, call you and add to the list as I figure out what else is gone? Then what?”

Marcus was still holding the bag of jewelry. He could hear in her voice how worked up she was, and he looked around the fully furnished home, which seemed overfilled with trinkets, art, cabinets, and stuff he couldn’t imagine having. To him, it became clutter. He pulled in a breath. “Valerie Hirst, is it—or Donnelly?”

She made a face. “Donnelly is my married name. Well, I’m divorced.”

Marcus nodded and held up the plastic bag. “So are these by any chance the items that were taken? The brooch, the ring, the ruby earrings?”

Therese hadn’t shown him the photo, but he didn’t need to see it from the way Valerie gasped, pressed her hand to her chest, and reached for the bag. “Yes. Where in heaven did you find them?”

Marcus didn’t miss the outrage in her voice. “Unfortunately, I can’t return them to you as of yet, as this is evidence. But I would like to talk to you about Lowes, the jewelry store where I found them. Were you by any chance in the store yesterday?”

She stared at him, still standing beside the old woman, who looked up at her. Her hand was on her mother’s shoulder—protectively, it seemed.

“Valerie, what’s going on?” Mrs. Hirst asked. Her daughter said nothing, just stared at Marcus.

“Just curious, Valerie,” he continued, “considering that was where I found the items you said were stolen. The woman I spoke with at the jewelry store advanced someone by the name of Valerie Donnelly a thousand dollars on the consignment of this jewelry, which I understand is worth a lot of money. There’s a surveillance camera, which my deputy is getting a warrant for right now, and I’m wondering who we’re going to see on it: Reine Colbert, who was left here with your mother and accused of taking it, or you, Valerie? I have to say, description wise, you look similar to Reine—dark hair, same height, blue eyes.”

The old woman was looking confused, and Therese had an odd expression. Marcus was ready to reach for his cuffs, feeling sick over Reine. He’d believed with everything inside him that she was guilty. But now he had a different feeling, and he knew he was right about this.

Valerie gestured to her mother. “I’m caring for a woman who barely knows who I am. Going into a jewelry store is not a crime. When I get a chance to get out of the house, I go to a lot of stores. I didn’t realize I needed to report where I’ve been.”

Marcus was still holding the bag of jewelry. “You accused a woman of stealing from you, stealing this, yet I found it in a jewelry store. We’re getting the surveillance footage now, so are you telling me we’ll see Reine Colbert? It’s your name written in the consignment book.”

She said nothing at first, still standing over the old woman, dragging her gaze from Marcus over to Therese. She lifted her hands. “I’m not saying I’m not on the surveillance footage in the store. As I said, I go into a lot of stores. I have a lot on my plate right now and can’t remember everything I’ve done or everywhere I’ve been. It’s a lot to keep track of.”

She was nervous. He glanced once to Therese.

“Did you not tell me when I took your statement,” Therese cut in, reading from her notes, “that you suspected Reine Colbert had stolen more of your things because she was an ex-con left alone in your house, so you immediately went to your mother’s jewelry box because you had a feeling something was missing?”

Valerie was gripping her mother’s shoulder. Just what the hell was this woman up to? “You found the jewelry,” she said. “So if you return it, how about we just drop the charges? We have it back now. I would rather not pursue anything.”

People backed into a corner would lie, spinning stories that took on lives of their own. Marcus couldn’t shake the feeling that Valerie Donnelly was hiding a lot of stories.

“Doesn’t work that way,” he said. “A woman was arrested and her parole revoked because you accused her of stealing.”

“Sheriff, please. Misunderstandings happen. I’ve been known to overreact and forget I’ve done something. Again, I’m not pressing charges.”

He shook his head and felt sick, staring at this woman, wondering if she had any idea what she’d done. “Misunderstandings? Reine Colbert, from what I understand, was left here to care for your mother alone when she was never supposed to be, and you accused her of going through your things, possibly stealing something else, and taking jewelry, this jewelry.” He held up the bag again, because she was really pissing him off.

“Now, wait a second,” she said. “When I called the nursing home, I was angry with Pete because the house was supposed to have been cleaned, and sometimes when I’m angry I say things and lash out. It’s one of my faults. Again, I’m not pressing charges. I would like the jewelry back, please.”

He dug his heels into the carpet, holding the bag she was seriously demanding he return to her. His hands were on the cuffs, and he really wanted to slap them on her, maybe because he’d done that same thing to Reine. And he hadn’t believed her.

Valerie still hadn’t admitted anything, but he knew deep down what she’d done.

“Right now, a young woman who was just getting her life back together, who was on parole, is on her way back to prison with additional pending charges against her because of you. You’re saying it was the heat of the moment and you said things you didn’t mean. But, Valerie, tell me right now, am I going to see you on that video, taking this jewelry into Lowes yesterday and putting it on consignment?”

Therese pulled out her cell phone beside him, lifted it, and took Valerie’s photo. “We’ll also be showing the jewelry store owner your photo,” she said.

Valerie’s face paled, and he could see the panic. “You know what? I’m not saying another thing. I think any more talking will be done through our family lawyer. I’m feeling particularly vulnerable, as if my words are being twisted, so I’m going to ask you to leave now.”

He wanted to slap the cuffs on her and haul her down to the station, but he stared down at the old woman who looked to her daughter for everything. He knew Valerie wouldn’t admit to the lie she’d spun. He’d have to have the evidence before he could do anything.

He gestured to Therese and took a step toward the door, then looked back at Valerie and the house, trying to get a picture of what was really going on. The feeling sickened him. “Call your lawyer, then, and tell him I want you both down at the station to give a statement today. Find someone to look after your mother, because if you don’t, I’ll come personally and bring you down myself.”

His hand was on the door, and he pulled it open and walked out ahead of Therese, then pulled the door closed behind them.

“Sheriff, why are we not arresting her?” Therese said.

He pulled his hand over his face as he stood on the porch, then walked down the few steps, still carrying the bag of jewelry. “She didn’t confess to anything. All I have is a name and security footage I haven’t seen yet, which Harold better have a warrant for. But she’s already spinning it. She made a mistake, was confused, overtired, stressed… At best, it’s attempted insurance fraud, but it sounds as if it’s just a bunch of accusations and nothing has been filed yet. A lot of people were quick to point the finger at Reine and believe the worst, including me.

“We’ll talk to Pete, get his statement about what she said, exactly. But my gut tells me Valerie is likely selling off her mother’s things, then maybe cashing in by reporting them stolen so she can make an insurance claim. I’d really like to see what claims have been filed and paid out by her insurance already, and her bank account. Also see if Valerie Donnelly has filed any crime reports in the past. Maybe she’s done this before.”

Therese didn’t show much emotion, and he never knew what she was thinking, really. “So she gets away scot-free and Reine Colbert sits in jail.”

He glanced at Therese and shook his head. “I didn’t believe Reine. I arrested her based on an accusation from an employer and, yeah, on an assumption of guilt because she has a record and had an opportunity. Reine has had her parole revoked and is on her way back to prison. I would love to charge Ms. Donnelly in there instead. Then there’s Pete from the homecare service, with the way he went off, and the nurse she was working under. It seems as if Reine didn’t stand a chance. If anything, we’ll be charging a bunch of misdemeanors, and lawyers will sweep it under the rug, whereas it’s damn near impossible to un-ring the bell now that Reine has lost everything again. Dammit!”

“I’d have done the same as you, Sheriff, and arrested Reine,” Therese said. “She’s on parole. She doesn’t get to walk around with the same freedom and liberties we do, and she doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt.”

Marcus looked back to the house, where Valerie was looking at him from the window. She had a phone to her ear, the curtain parted. He knew she’d walk and this would get filed away as a misunderstanding. “That doesn’t make me feel any better about this situation, and it doesn’t make it right. You took a statement from Valerie?”

“Yeah. Just need her to sign it.” She held it up, her notes.

“Write it up, and then call in the nurse Reine worked with, the one who left her here alone. Call Pete too. I want to talk to each of them. Better yet, drive over to the Better Way office and pick up Pete and bring him in. I want a statement from everyone before they’ve had a chance to get their stories straight. I want them sitting in the same concrete room Reine sat in, getting a taste of how she felt.”

“You got it, Sheriff. And what about Reine?”

He pulled open the door to his cruiser, breathing deeply, feeling the hurdles ahead. “Find a way to get her out,” he said. Then he climbed into his car and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, dreading the next call he needed to make.