Chapter 19
“So they’re not yours,” Tom said. “What good will a handful of pearls do you? Scratch that. What good will pearls do the investigation?”
“It depends on what kind of pearls they are. Pearls from the Persian Gulf aren’t cultured. Cultured pearls, which are the great majority of the pearls sold in this country, usually come from Japan.”
“And you’re going to tell me how you know this, right?”
I gave him a sheepish smile. “I grew up as a middle-class girl in New Jersey, and then went to a girls’ boarding school. You don’t think I know from pearls? On the way home, we can drop some of them at Front Range Jewelry, leave the owner a note.”
“Humor me. Your theory is that if Courtney’s the killer, they would be … what?”
“Cultured. But if we’re looking at, say, Ginger Vikarios, it co
