The Beastly Island Murder. Carol W. HazelwoodЧитать онлайн книгу.
the woman could hang up, Jennifer asked, “Could you give me the name and contact information of the Jacobi heir in Israel?”
“Oh, I didn’t realize Mr. Arnett wanted you to have that as well. I’ll have to go to another file. Why don’t I fax it to you.”
“Of course.” Jennifer gave her the fax number and hung up just as Emma Mae came into the office.
“Mrs. Pickering is out front. She wants to know which of A. A Milne’s books would be best for her daughter.”
Jennifer smiled. “See if you can talk her into buying the complete collection. Dutton is the publisher. Her daughter’s the perfect age to appreciate it.”
Emma Mae frowned. “It’s expensive.”
“And beautiful.” Jennifer grinned. “If I recall it’s her daughter’s birthday. I hate to sound mercenary, but Mrs. Pickering can afford it.”
“Cheeky today, aren’t you,” Emma Mae said.
After Emma Mae went back to Mrs. Pickering to discuss her purchase, Jennifer phoned Miss Gardner. A firm voice came on the line. “Hello, who’s calling?”
Jennifer raised an eyebrow at the no nonsense attitude of the woman. “Miss Gardner. I’m Jennifer Frost. Mr. Arnett, the executor of Helen Jacobi’s estate, gave me your number.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember the books donated to the library from your former employer?”
“Of course, I remember. Is there a problem? Are you with the library?”
“There’s no problem and I’m not with the library. I’m a book dealer. I’m trying to determine the provenance of some of the books. Do you happen to know if Helen Jacobi was related to Lotti Jacobi the famous photographer?”
“Well, Miss Jacobi rambled from time to time that she knew someone connected to movie stars and famous people. I never found out if it was true.” There was a pause on the line, then the woman added, “Was she related to someone important?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying to find out. Since you were her confidante through the years, Mr. Arnett thought you might have information he didn’t have.”
“Ha. No way. The minute Miss Jacobi died, I called him; those were my orders. He took care of everything. I just bundled stuff up and sent it off to needy places. Thought the library was the best place for the books.”
“It certainly was,” Jennifer assured her. “You were very smart to have thought of that.”
“Miss Jacobi treated me well, but if those books are valuable, maybe I should take them back. I got to keep some of her other things. Nobody else gave a hoot about her.”
The woman’s comment about the value of the books rattled Jennifer. “You might check with the library if any of the books are still in the The Friends of the Library’s collection.”
“So why are you asking me about them if you don’t have them?” The woman was smart and shrewd.
“I have a client who bought some of the books,” Jennifer said, “and he’s interested in the prior owners.”
“Oh, that I wouldn’t know. Most of the books seemed old. She read a lot. Nothing else for her to do.”
“Let me give you my cell phone number, in case you think of anything that might help.”
After a few more niceties to assuage the woman’s curiosity, Jennifer hung up. For a moment she sat back to contemplate her next move.
She flipped on the computer and searched the web for Rick Carlson, but found nothing. He wasn’t listed in the phone book, and she couldn’t find his boat’s registration number even though she’d read on the boat’s transom that it was moored in Seattle.
After further futile searches, she returned to her work: shelved books, wrote invoices and paid bills. The day drew to a close with frustration riding her every move. As they closed the store for the night, Emma Mae came over to her and put her arm around Jennifer’s shoulder.
“You’ve been acting like a flea got in your britches. Are you thinking about that man who came asking for you?”
Jennifer almost laughed, since, in a way, she was. She was itching to confide in Emma Mae that she’d found Carla’s book. Although Emma Mae normally kept things to herself, this news might cross the line of her resistance. With Alex’s surprise return, she wanted no rumors to revolve around the past and Carla’s murder.
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