“Yeah,” Michael said, “and if it is theirs, why in tarnation didn’t they put it in that locked room?”

  “Good questions,” Holly said. “I don’t know Vickie all that well. Our kids play together and go to school together, but the Veranos don’t seem to be minglers; they kind of stay to themselves. They’re quiet people. I don’t know much about their belongings, except that they drive older-model cars and the kids don’t seem to wear designer clothes. They ride used bicycles instead of new ones…things like that.”

  Keith nodded. “As I understand it, he inherited the house from an uncle. There were no other living relatives, I guess, who wanted it. Dino and Vickie came from Salt Lake City about five years ago to take over the property. They go back to Utah fairly often. I think he’s involved in a second business there or something.”

  Holly added, “Our neighbor, Millicent—the one who babysits for us sometimes—says she sees Vickie and the kids shopping in secondhand stores. And the kids get free meals at school. So, I can’t imagine that the expensive jewelry actually belongs to them.”

  “Maybe the jewels aren’t real,” Keith suggested.

  “They’re real,” Gladys said. “At least those pieces I saw are real.”

  “Could be they don’t know about the jewelry,” Savannah said quietly. When the others looked at her, she explained, “The stuff’s showing up in strange places. The cats seem to be dragging it out from who knows where. Maybe someone else hid it in the house—you know, many years ago.” She became more animated. “And someone knows about the jewelry and they’re coming in and leaving threatening notes to try to scare us out of there so they can get their hands on it.”

  The others stared at Savannah for a moment, as if digesting what she’d said.

  Keith grinned at her. “You have it all figured out, don’t you, Jessica Fletcher?”

  “Who?” Holly asked.

  “You know, Angela Lansbury’s character on Murder, She Wrote.”

  Savannah was on a roll. “Yes, and like Jessica Fletcher, I think I know who the culprit is.” She lowered her brow. “Although I haven’t figured out his connection to the Veranos or the house.”

  Holly squinted. “Are you talking about Wayne Morrison? I mean, he’s the only one around here that you’ve met.”

  Savannah nodded. “Yeah, and I was thinking that maybe he went into the house and took the cats that day when I couldn’t find them—you know, to mess with us and scare us away.” When the others looked at her inquisitively, she continued, “After I confronted him, he got nervous and he waited for us to leave, then returned the cats while we were putting up the posters.”

  Keith stared at Savannah for a moment, then said, “Hmmm,” and continued eating his dinner.

  Holly was busy trying to digest Savannah’s theory. “If that’s the case, why didn’t he sneak in while we were all gone for those two weeks?”

  Savannah thought about that for a few minutes. “Could be that he just found out about the jewelry.” She peered across the table at her sister-in-law. “Have you guys told any of your neighbors about it?”

  Holly glanced at Keith, then down at her plate, and admitted, “Um, I might have said something about the tennis bracelet to Heidi Shook.” When Keith looked at her, she said, “Well, the subject kind of came up.” She glanced at Savannah. “And her housekeeper was there at the time and she overheard us talking. In fact, Sharon cleans house for Vickie too, so she was especially interested.” She chuckled. “Sharon said she’s sure never seen anything like that in Vickie Verano’s home when she’s cleaning.”

  “So there are people who know about the jewelry,” Savannah said quietly. “I wonder if they…”

  Holly shook her head. “They only know about the tennis bracelet. I haven’t talked to anyone since you found the other piece and the rings.”

  Keith leaned against the back of his chair. “And it’s not like any of these people are criminals. They’re just our neighbors and trusted employees. I can’t imagine any of them breaking into a neighbor’s home to leave threatening notes or to steal cats.”

  “No one’s broken in,” Michael corrected. “There’s been no sign of a break-in.”

  “Yeah,” Savannah said anxiously, “but someone could sure have a key.”

  ****

  After dinner as Savannah walked the floor with the baby, she saw the men examining the harness camera. She chuckled. “Even if the cats have found a secret hiding place, how’s Rags going to fit into it with that bulky thing on him?”

  Keith winked. “That could be a problem. But if they’ve actually found a hiding place, little Lucy can go in while Rags films her.”

  Savannah shuddered. “I’ll sure be glad to find that jewelry stash, if there is one; then maybe the threatening notes will stop.” Suddenly she yelped. “Oh look, there’s that guy.”

  “What guy?” Holly asked, joining her at the window.

  “Your weird neighbor who steals cats and talks mean to people,” she explained.

  Holly laughed. “Oh, Wayne? Yeah, what’s he up to?”

  When Keith peered out the window, he said, “We don’t see him outside his house much.”

  “So is he the one who threatened you?” Michael asked, also studying the man, who was walking up the street.

  Savannah nodded.

  “Where do you suppose he’s going?” Keith asked.

  “Looks like he’s going to our house,” Savannah hissed.

  “To pay us a visit?” Michael asked. “Naw. Why would he do that? I mean, we don’t even know the man.”

  “Who is that guy?” Gladys asked, joining the others.

  “Holly says he takes cats and other animals and even neighbors’ yard decorations,” Savannah explained.

  “Yes,” Cassie chirped, “he took our little porch bench and my doll buggy.”

  Holly smiled at her daughter. “Oh, honey, we’re not sure he took your buggy.” She turned to Gladys. “But we do know that he takes lawn and porch ornaments.”

  Intrigued now, Gladys suggested, “Well, let’s watch and see where he goes.” After a few moments, she said, “He does seem to be heading straight for the Verano place.”

  Savannah grabbed Michael’s arm. “Go see what he’s doing, Michael. What if he breaks in and takes the cats?” She grimaced. “I knew we shouldn’t leave them there. Michael go get them, will you?”

  “Oh, honey, he’s not going into the house.”

  “How do you know that for sure?” she complained. “Go watch him and see where he’s going.” When Michael balked, she added, “He’s acting suspiciously. I think we need to let him know we’re watching him—that he can’t get away with anything.”

  “All he’s doing so far is just walking up the street,” Michael said. When he realized that

  Savannah was staring at him, he sighed. “Okay, yeah, I’ll go check that guy out.” He turned to his brother. “Want to go with me?”

  Keith shrugged. “Might as well.”

  The two men returned shortly and Savannah rushed to greet them. “Well, what’s he doing? Why did he go to our house? What did he want?”

  “He didn’t actually go to the house,” Keith said.

  “So where did he go?” she asked.

  Michael spoke calmly. “The truth is, we don’t know. We lost him.”

  “Lost him?” Savannah yelped. “How could you lose him? He walked around to the back of our house and we didn’t see him come out on the other side. Michael, he must have gone inside.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Keith scratched his head. “The Veranos’ yard is a shortcut some of the neighbors take to that mini-mart out by the highway. That’s probably where he was headed—to get a soda pop or something.”

  Holly furrowed her brow. “Then why couldn’t you see him once you got around to the back of the property? He didn’t just disappear into thin air.”

  Keith hesitated before saying, “That’s what it seems like. He flat disappeared.” He raised his eyebrows. “Unless…”

  “Unless what?” Holly asked.

  Savannah was also interested in hearing his answer.

  Keith grinned. “Well, maybe he walked down into that gully to smoke some weed.”

  Michael looked at his brother. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah,” Keith said, “you saw that brush in a sort of gully-wash out behind the Verano place. Teenagers like to hide out down there and do their drugs or whatever. The cops are always shooing kids out of there.”

  Savannah took a few moments to digest what she’d heard, then said, “Oh, he’s too old to be hiding out to smoke.” She faced Michael. “He went inside the house; I’m sure of it. He’s the one taking stuff into the house and leaving it there to scare and confuse us.”

  He scratched his head. “He’s leaving priceless jewelry lying around in the house? I don’t think so.”

  Holly giggled. When they all looked at her, she said, “Maybe he stole the jewelry and the cops are after him.”

  “What?” Keith questioned.

  “Yeah, and he’s found a way into the Veranos’ home so he’s putting the stuff there to implicate them—or whoever’s living there at the time.” She pointed at Michael, then at Savannah. “Looks like it’s you guys.”

  Michael grinned at his sister-in-law. “Holly, you should be writing fiction.” He shook his head. “Where do you girls get this stuff?”

  “So what do you think is going on?” Savannah insisted.

  “I don’t know,” Michael said impatiently. “But when we lost sight of the guy, we went inside and looked everywhere—except, of course, in the locked room. The cats were calm. Nothing was out of place. No, Savannah. He did not go into the house.”

  “Then who, Michael?” she asked, tears in her eyes. “Who is trying to scare us to death?”

  ****

  Savannah was eager to see Michael and Keith the following morning and was surprised when the men arrived from the Verano house carrying Rags and Lucy. “What happened?” she asked when she greeted them. “Why do you have the cats?” She put her hand up to her mouth. “Oh my gosh, do you think they’re in danger?”

  “Is someone going to hurt Rags and Lucy, Mama?” Cassie asked, fright in her eyes.

  Savannah put her arm around Cassie and spoke softly, “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She motioned toward Rags and Lucy. “See, the cats are just fine. I’m sure we are too.” She looked at Holly and mouthed, I’m sorry.

  Holly smiled weakly and they all waited to hear what the men had to report. When it appeared they were stalling, Holly said, “Cassie, honey, why don’t you take Bethany and Lily into your room and see if they want to play dolls.” When the child protested, Holly said, “Be a good girl now and we’ll go out for an ice cream cone later, okay?”

  “Yay, ice cream!” Cassie shouted. “Come on, Bethany; come on, Lily. Let’s go play. Mommy said we can have an ice cream later. Come on,” she said, ushering the two little girls out of the room and into the hallway.

  “So?” Holly questioned.

  “So, we actually don’t know anything more than we knew yesterday,” Michael admitted.

  Savannah slumped down onto the sofa.

  “Didn’t the camera work?” Gladys asked.

  “Yeah, it worked. We have a lot of film showing walls, the banister posts, more walls, the cats’ water and food bowls…” Michael chuckled. “And each other.”

  “Yes, there’s a lot of fur,” Keith added. “Gray and white fur.”

  “So there’s really nothing new on the mystery front, huh?” Holly asked, shaking a rattle for Teddy.

  “Well…” Keith said, looking at Michael.

  “What?” Savannah asked impatiently.

  “Something did appear. We found something. But the camera didn’t show the cats with it.”

  Michael nodded. “That could have been because of the camera angle.”

  “You’re right,” Keith agreed.

  “What is it?” Savannah asked, not really sure she wanted to know.

  “A hatband,” Michael said.

  “Hatband?” Gladys asked.

  “Yes. The sweatband, actually. It goes inside a fedora or maybe a Stetson and…”

  “And what?” Savannah insisted

  Michael looked at Keith, who said, “It was stained with what looked like old, dried blood.” When Savannah gasped, he added, “I guess it could have been paint or a stain of some sort.”

  Michael held something up for the others to see. “We also found this. It’s a receipt for something purchased at a hardware store by someone named Clyde.” He studied it for a moment and said, “It’s dated. It looks like it says 1949.”

  When Holly noticed that Savannah had become quiet, she patted her arm and suggested, “Hey, how about we do a little research and see what we can find out about the Verano family and this person named Clyde? Like we told you, that house has been there for over a century and it could have quite an interesting history.” She nudged Savannah and added, “Want to see what we can find out on the Internet? And, hey, we could go to the library and look at old newspapers.”

  Savannah’s face lit up. “Yes, let’s do.” Frowning, she continued, “Although I’m not sure I want to know anything more. We keep digging for answers, hoping for a logical explanation, and the mystery just seems to become more and more complex.” She turned to Michael. “So what are you guys doing today?”

  Michael glanced at Keith. “I thought I’d rent a utility trailer and start packing for the trip home.”

  “Already?” Holly asked.

  Savannah tilted her head. “Yeah, we get our house back on Thursday, and it’ll probably take us three days to get there. We thought we’d leave day after tomorrow—that’s Tuesday, right?”

  Holly feigned a pout. “I’m sure going to miss you.”

  Savannah wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law. “Me too. It’s been such fun.” She grimaced. “Well mostly fun.”

  Holly squeezed Savannah’s arm. “Hey, let’s fix some breakfast so we can get on with our research.”

  “Yes, let’s,” Savannah said, looping her arm in Holly’s as they walked into the kitchen.

  ****

  “So what did you girls learn today?” Keith asked late that afternoon when he and Michael took a break from packing the rented trailer.

  “Quite a lot,” Holly said.

  “Yes,” Savannah agreed. She smiled at the children. “I learned that Cassie likes chocolate chip mint ice cream cones and Beth-Beth prefers strawberry.”

  Keith grinned at his daughters. He asked, “And what kind did Lily order?”

  “Rainbow,” Michael said. “Right, Savannah?”

  “Yes. You’d think she’s a Gemini the way she keeps changing her mind, so we’ve found we can placate her with rainbow sherbet; then she has all colors.”

  Keith laughed and leaned toward the toddler. “High five, Lily.”

  Lily slapped his hand and giggled.

  “Lily, Bethany, wanna play outside?” Cassie asked.

  “Yeah!” The three-year-old shouted, running toward the back door.

  “Yay!” Lily said, rushing after her.

  “Cassie, make sure the gate’s latched,” Holly called out.

  After watching the children disappear out the door, Michael asked, “What did you find out?”

  “Well,” Savannah said dramatically, “Keith, I’ll bet you didn’t know you moved into a hotbed of crime.” She gestured with one arm. “The aura around here must be heavily tarnished.”

  “Why?” Keith asked, frowning. “A hotbed of crime?”

  “Well, the Verano family was evidently not what you’d call law-abiding neighbors,” Holly said. “Although, they didn’t have any neighbors out here at that time.”

  “Criminals?” Michael asked.

  Holly nodded. “At least Dino Verano, Senior—the original Veranos’ son—seemed to be involved in some sort of sophisticated crimes—bribery, money-laundering, hiring a hit man—things like that, but it doesn’t appear that he spent much time in prison. I guess he had a good team of lawyers.”

  Savannah broke in. “Yeah, his father ran a legitimate farm here in the early 1900s. He must have been rolling over in his grave, if he knew what his only son had become.”

  “So Dino was a crook?” Keith asked.

  “Actually, a politician and a businessman. He held some local and state offices, but he was thought by many to be crooked in some of his dealings.” Savannah raised her eyebrows. “And get this—there was a jewelry heist way back in the forties and it seems the jewelry was never recovered. There was actually a story about it in the local newspaper in the early 1990s. Originally, authorities figured the crooks came in from out of town, did the robbery, and later removed the gems from the pieces and sold them separately so there would be less chance they’d be recognized.”

  “However,” Holly said, “they almost reopened the case when someone came forward and implicated Dino Verano, Senior in that old robbery.”

  Savannah bounced with excitement in her chair. “Yeah, he had died by then, but they figured he might have hidden the jewelry in the house, and they launched a search for it. When they didn’t find it, they closed the case again.”

  Holly nodded. “Yes, and they went back to their original theory that whoever took the stuff removed the stones, melted down the gold, and sold everything off to unsuspecting dealers.”

  “And now exquisite vintage jewelry is surfacing all around us,” Savannah said. “It looks as though we’ve been sitting on a fortune—a fortune that’s been hidden for seventy years.”

  “Until Rags came on the scene,” Holly said, laughing.

  “Leave it to Rags to solve the crime of the century,” Savannah added.

  Keith looked bewildered. “Why would someone walk away from a house full of valuable jewelry like that?”