The Bracelet Read online

  Piper knelt next to the motionless body.

  “Wake up, Mr. Enright!” she cried. “Wake up!”

  Piper felt for a pulse and was relieved when she detected a faint but rhythmic beat. She pulled out her phone and called 911. After requesting an ambulance, she looked around for something to prop Poppy’s feet and legs up higher than his heart. She dragged over the ottoman that sat in front of the faded armchair facing the television set. She pulled an afghan from the back of the chair and covered the old man.

  As she continued to talk to Poppy, Piper reached out and gently turned his head from side to side, trying to rouse him. When she took her hand away, she saw it was covered with warm, sticky blood.

  “He has a head wound,” Piper shouted when the EMTs arrived. She backed away from Poppy and stood at the side of the room while emergency personnel checked his breathing and examined him. She watched as one tech carefully removed the wad of paper towels she had pressed behind the old man’s head.

  “That’s quite a gash he’s got there,” said the EMT. He turned to Piper. “What happened?”

  “I came in and found him this way,” she answered. “But I noticed some blood on the corner of the desk. Maybe he fell against it.”

  The EMT bent over the still body. “Mr. Enright. Mr. Enright. Wake up, sir.”

  Poppy didn’t respond.

  After securing an oxygen mask over the old man’s face, the EMTs transferred him to a stretcher. As they wheeled Poppy out of the apartment, Piper caught sight of a familiar red-velvet box sitting on the end table. The box was open but there was nothing in it.

  Piper’s face grew hot.

  What had happened to the bracelet? Had somebody stolen it? Had Poppy been a victim of a home invasion? Had she actually bumped into the thief?

  The memory of the person rushing down the stairs as she was coming up flashed through Piper’s mind. That ski jacket looked a lot like the one her parents had given Zara for Christmas. Piper had been there when her sister-in-law opened the present and had seen her wearing the jacket in the bakery Sunday morning. But the thought was preposterous. Wasn’t it?

  “Piper? Piper? Are you all right?”

  Piper heard the footsteps on the stairs and her mother calling her name. She went out onto the landing. “I’m fine, Mom,” she said, looking down. “But Poppy—” Her mother didn’t let Piper finish the sentence.

  “I know,” Terri said breathlessly as she reached her daughter and hugged her. “I saw him as they put him in the back of the ambulance. What happened?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Piper. “He was lying on the floor with his head bleeding when I got up here.”

  “We have to get in touch with Poppy’s son,” Terri said as they went into the apartment. “Let’s look around and see if we can find his contact information. It must be here somewhere.”

  Picking up the bloodstained paper towels from the floor, Piper walked to the kitchen. A single dinner plate and glass were in the dish rack on the counter. There were a few pictures and a couple of coupons attached to the refrigerator with magnets. A calendar for the approaching year was already hanging. Piper hoped Poppy was going to be able to use it.

  A stainless steel trash canister was in the corner. Piper pressed down on the pedal to open it. As she was about to deposit the soiled paper towels, Piper noticed the familiar pink gum wrapper lying on top of the trash.

  Teaberry. Zara’s favorite.

  “I found it,” Terri called from the living room. “It’s here in his address book. Philip Enright in Upper Saddle River.”

  “Yeah but, Mom, I just remembered something,” said Piper.

  “What?”

  “Poppy said his son and his family went to Florida for the week.”

  Terri squinted down at the address book again. “Here,” she said, shaking her head and handing it to Piper. “I can’t see it well enough but I think there are two numbers there. Maybe one is the son’s cell phone.”

  Philip Enright was appreciative of Terri’s call. He assured her that he would contact the emergency room and check on the situation. He gave no indication that he would cut his family trip short and come home to be with his father.

  “Let’s go over to the hospital,” said Terri when she finished the call. “Poppy should have somebody there for him. He shouldn’t be all alone.”

  The whole time they were in the apartment together, Piper had waited for her mother to see the empty jewelry box. But Terri never noticed it. Piper didn’t point it out either.

  Piper wasn’t sure what to do. If she told her parents about her suspicions that the bracelet had been stolen, they would insist that she tell the police. Once the police were involved there would be an investigation. What if that investigation led to Zara?

  Her sister-in-law was far from her favorite person. In fact, Piper regularly dreaded having to be in the same room with her. But she certainly didn’t want to believe Zara was capable of hurting an old man. Attacking Piper’s sanity? Yes. Attacking a sweet octogenarian with Velcro sneakers? No.

  Yet she couldn’t stop thinking about the way Zara had drooled over the bracelet in the bakery. Piper felt her throat tighten as she recalled seeing her sister-in-law’s car parked on the street near the apartment, the purple ski jacket and the Teaberry gum.

  The desk nurse at the emergency room was not quick to give out information to non-relatives.

  “Please,” said Terri. “His son is out of state, and he has no else, as far as I know, nearby.”

  “All I can say is that his condition is serious,” said the nurse.

  “Can we see him?” asked Piper.

  The nurse shook her head as she checked the computer screen. “No, not yet,” she said. “He hasn’t been cleared for visitors.”

  Serious? Poppy’s condition was serious?

  Piper’s mind raced as she steered the car toward home. Poppy was elderly and old people didn’t bounce back so easily. What if he didn’t get better? What if complications set in? What if this was the beginning of the end?

  “Don’t worry, honey,” said Terri, seeing the expression on Piper’s face. “He’ll be all right.”

  “I hope so, Mom,” she murmured glumly. “I really hope so.”

  When they pulled up in front of the Donovans’ house, Piper left the car running.

  “Aren’t you coming in?” asked her mother.

  “I have an errand I need to run,” said Piper.

  “Can’t it wait?” asked Terri. “Why don’t you stop and have something to eat? Your father will have dinner all ready.”

  Though her stomach was grumbling, Piper didn’t want to go in and face her father or his inevitable drilling. She knew the retired police officer would ask too many questions, wanting to know every detail of what she had seen at Poppy’s apartment. She didn’t want to tell him what she was worried about.

  As she considered the possibility that Zara was involved, Piper understood that the repercussions would affect her whole family. Her brother would be devastated. Robert had fallen hard for Zara. To find out that the woman he loved was a thief and perhaps responsible for an old man’s death would absolutely destroy him. Her parents would be shocked and overwhelmed too. Of course, they’d be there for Robert as he tried to rebuild his life, but they didn’t need the stress of watching their son’s heartbreak. They had worked hard and deserved the chance to enjoy life rather than be involved in this drama.

  Piper didn’t want to see her family struggling to put their world back together. But for herself, the thought of a world without Zara wasn’t all that hard to take. Still, she would never, ever wish for something like this.

  “Thanks, Mom,” said Piper as she kept her gloved hands on the steering wheel. “I’ll just heat up the leftovers when I get back.”

  She knew she had to tell the police about finding Poppy’s door open and the empty red-velvet box. She had to describe what she had seen and the person she had observed running down the stairs moments before sh
e had found the old man, unconscious and bleeding. When a crime was committed, the police had to know. That’s what her parents and after-school TV specials had always taught her. But by going to the authorities with her suspicions, she could be opening a Pandora’s box, unleashing a chain of events that would wreak havoc on her family.

  Piper could hear the rock music playing behind the door of apartment 2A. She knocked once and then again, harder. The third time, she actually pounded.

  The music was turned down and a moment later the door opened. A thin blonde woman peered out, her eyes like slits. The air behind her was cloudy and Piper detected the pungent, earthy smell of marijuana.

  “Hi, I’m Piper Donovan. My mother owns the Icing on the Cupcake bakery downstairs.”

  The woman smiled. “I wish I had a cupcake right now.”

  Piper couldn’t help but smile back. “I’ll bet. But I was wondering if I could talk to you about your neighbor,” she said.

  “Mr. Enright? Sure. He’s such a sweet old guy.”

  “Did you know he was taken to the hospital today?” asked Piper.

  The woman straightened and her eyes widened. “No, I didn’t know. Is he all right? What happened?”

  “Nobody is sure what happened, but it looks like he fell and cut his head open. As far as I know, he’s still unconscious,” said Piper. “I was wondering if you saw or heard anything unusual.”

  The woman shook her head. “Nothing I can think of,” she said with a sheepish expression on her face. “But then again, my mind isn’t the clearest right now.”

  Before things went any further, Piper wanted to talk to her brother. Only Robert’s jeep was in the driveway when she arrived at the brick Cape Cod-style house. Piper got out of the car and walked up to the door. She hesitated before ringing the bell.

  She was glad that Zara wasn’t home. It would be better to talk to Robert alone. But how was she going to tell him what she suspected? What exactly would she say?

  Piper took a deep breath and pushed the button. She could hear the bell ring inside.

  Robert looked pleasantly surprised when he saw her. His hair was tousled, his flannel shirt was hanging out of his jeans and heavy socks covered his feet. He smiled sleepily as he held back the storm door.

  “Come on in.” He welcomed her directly into the living room, nodding at the blaring television. “I guess I fell asleep while I was watching the game.”

  “Zara’s not home?” asked Piper, just to be sure.

  “No. She and her sister went out to do some shopping, if you can imagine that,” said Robert, shaking his head. “Actually, don’t tell Mom and Dad, but Zara’s returning the ski jacket they gave her for Christmas.”

  “But she’s worn it,” protested Piper. “I saw her wearing it Sunday morning at the bakery.”

  “I know,” said Robert. “But she wore it just once to let Mom see her in it and let her think she liked it.”

  “That’s kinda dishonest, isn’t it?” asked Piper. “And a little ridiculous. Mom could take it if Zara wanted to return the jacket. Why go through all the subterfuge?”

  “You know, Zara,” said Robert, smiling at the thought. “She doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

  “Yeah,” said Piper. “I know Zara.”

  The nurse in the emergency room carefully listed the items onto the inventory sheet before depositing them in a thick white plastic bag. Khaki trousers, a plaid flannel shirt, black sneakers with Velcro closures, a Timex wristwatch. She emptied the trouser pockets and made note of the contents before adding them to the bag as well.

  She opened the worn brown leather wallet, her eyes widening as she saw the cash inside. Hundred-dollar bills. Lots and lots of them.

  “Want something to drink?” asked Robert. “A beer? Some wine?”

  “Have any club soda?” Piper asked as she sat at the kitchen table.

  “I think so,” he answered. Robert opened the refrigerator and scanned the shelves. He pulled out a liter bottle. “Ice, right?” he asked.

  Piper nodded. She listened as the cubes clinked and watched as the clear, sparkling liquid filled the glass. Robert pulled out a bag of pretzels and offered her some. She grabbed a couple, trying to get up the nerve to say something, after which she knew nothing would be the same.

  “Anyway, to what do I owe this honor?” asked Robert as he popped the cap off a bottle of Rolling Rock beer and took a seat across from her.

  Piper squirmed in her chair. She looked away, unable to meet Robert’s eyes. Her gaze settled on a pack of antacid tablets lying on the table.

  “Are those yours?” she asked, gesturing to the package. “Since when do you have heartburn?”

  Robert shook his head. “No, those are Zara’s. Her stomach has been bothering her. But she says they don’t help. She went out to the drugstore before dinner to see if they had anything better.”

  Piper sat up straight. So, it had been Zara’s car in front of CVS. But that didn’t mean the drugstore was the only place Zara had gone.

  “You still haven’t told me yet. Was there a reason why you stopped over?” asked Robert.

  Piper felt an ache in her chest as she watched her brother enjoy his beer. He seemed so happy, so oblivious to anything being wrong. How could she tell him her suspicions about his wife without wounding him?

  She couldn’t.

  “Can’t a girl visit her brother just because she feels like it?” she asked.

  Piper drove home, agonizing about what she should tell the police. No matter what, she had to report her suspicions about the theft tomorrow morning. If Poppy had been attacked and robbed, that was the only thing she could do. But she didn’t have to tell the cops about Zara. She decided she would describe what she actually saw and nothing else.

  She would tell them about the person rushing down the stairs. They would surely ask for a description. She could truthfully say she hadn’t seen the person’s face. And if they asked what the person was wearing, she would tell the truth. But there were lots of purple ski jackets out there, weren’t there?

  As for the Teaberry gum wrapper in the wastebasket, the police could find that for themselves if they searched Poppy’s apartment. Piper wasn’t going to volunteer the information. And she certainly wasn’t going to tell them about Zara’s fondness for the flavor or her fondness for nice jewelry.

  The police would have to conduct their own investigation. At the end of the day, Piper just couldn’t rat on her sister-in-law.

  When she walked into the front hallway, she met her parents. They were putting on their coats. Her mother was smiling.

  “I just called the hospital and Poppy is conscious,” she said. “They’ve upgraded him to stable. He can have visitors. Your father and I are going over. Do you want to come with us?”

  When they entered the hospital room, Poppy was sitting up in bed. His body was covered with a green cotton blanket, his white hair fanned across the pillow. He looked wan but his blue eyes shone brightly beneath the bandage wrapped around his brow and head.

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Terri said as she placed a box of lemon and poppy seed mini-muffins on the bedside table. She took the old man’s hand. “Do you remember what happened?”

  “It was my own fault,” said Poppy. “I haven’t been taking my blood pressure medicine the way I should. I remember feeling woozy and then . . . nothing. I must have passed out and hit my head on the desk as I fell backward.”

  Piper explained how she had come to deliver the cookies and found him lying on the apartment floor. “You know, your front door was unlocked,” she said gently. “It opened right up when I knocked on it.”

  Poppy shook his head. “I must get the landlord to fix that latch. It doesn’t catch right. And I have to pay more attention to making sure I remember to lock the door.”

  “Do you need anything? Is there anything you’d like us to get from your apartment?” asked Piper’s father.

  “My glasses,” said Poppy. “But m
y next-door neighbor is coming with them. She had the landlord let her into my apartment. She’s a nice girl but, between us, she puzzles me. Sometimes she seems so relaxed and calm while, other times, she’s all wound up and rushing around like a whirling dervish. I don’t understand it.” He looked at Piper. “She called to see how I was and said you came over to tell her what happened. That was very nice of you, Piper.”

  Poppy reached over and pulled at the panel on the front of the bed table, extracting a white plastic bag and riffling through it.

  “Gum, anyone?” asked the old man as he held up a small package. “Teaberry. I used to love it but I hadn’t had any in years; in fact, I didn’t even know they still made it. But after I smelled it again when your daughter-in-law was chewing it in the bakery the other morning, Terri, I made it a point to get a pack.”

  Piper felt like she could breathe again. Zara hadn’t left the chewing gum wrapper in Poppy’s trash can. Poppy had put it there himself. Zara hadn’t attacked Poppy to get the bracelet before rushing out of the apartment and leaving the door open behind her. Poppy hadn’t been attacked at all and he had left the door ajar himself. But where was the bracelet?

  “I do have a favor to ask,” said Poppy.

  “Of course,” said Terri. “What is it?”

  “Will you hold on to this for me?” he asked as he fished the brown leather wallet from the plastic bag and handed it to Terri. He leaned over and whispered, “I don’t want to leave it lying around here. There’s a lot of money in there. I took your advice, went to the jewelry store this morning and sold the bracelet. The jeweler gave me several thousand dollars for it.”

  Walking down the hospital hallway with her parents, Piper mentally berated herself for being so quick to think the worst of her sister-in-law. It wasn’t anything to be proud of.