Angora Alibi Read Online Free PDF

success.
    As people headed to the entry hall to claim their items, Nell looked around for Birdie
     and Ben.
    Birdie waved from a table where she was claiming a cartload of items. “Ben is loading
     his art winnings into the car.”
    Nell laughed. “All we need is a few more walls in our house.”
    “They’re all Canary Cove artists. Ben couldn’t resist.”
    He appeared then, taking Birdie’s box and motioning toward the entryway. “If Izzy
     has to stand for one more minute, I think she’ll have that baby in the middle of the
     community center. She’s drained.”
    He nodded toward the jewelry table where Izzy and Sam stood talking quietly to Laura
     and Willow. Behind them, Janie Levin, along with several other volunteers, huddled
     together, listening intently to what Laura was saying.
    “Something’s wrong,” Nell said as they made their way toward the group.
    On the table was the black velvet stand that once held the sapphire and ruby diamond
     necklace.
    “It’s gone,” Laura mouthed, meeting Birdie’s eyes.
    Nell turned and looked at her.
    Birdie’s hand went to her throat. “Gone? As in . . . ”
    Laura nodded.
    “Oh, my,” she said, and moved to Laura’s side.
    “Tamara or Franklin didn’t claim it?” Nell asked.
    Willow shook her head. Her eyes were moist.
    Nell watched Birdie’s face, composed and in charge, as if it were her job now to calm
     the event organizers. Suddenly she remembered why the necklace looked familiar. She’d
     seen it before—in Birdie’s den, when they were looking for some papers in the safe
     behind Sonny Favazza’s portrait. “It was your necklace, wasn’t it?” she said quietly.
    Before Birdie could answer, Laura spoke up, her voice choked. “Birdie, I’m so sorry.
     I don’t know how this could have happened. The volunteers were watching the tables
     all night.” Her face was the color of her snowy white Versace dress.
    Birdie waved away the concern. “No worry. It isn’t really a problem—except maybe for
     your uncle Franklin’s wife. Tamara was determined to get that necklace.” She looked
     beyond Laura to the bar, where Tamara Danvers stood chatting with Ty Gibson and Kevin
     Sullivan, oblivious of the drama unfolding behind her.
    “I’m calling the police—”
    “No, dear, you won’t.” Birdie placed one blue-veined hand on Laura’s arm. Her voice
     allowed no room for arguing. “Perhaps it was misplaced. But either way, the jewelry
     is insured. Besides, my mother always said that when one lost something to theft—if
     that’s what this was—the thief most likely needed it more than you do. And in the
     best of worlds, one would find that person and give her something to go with it.”
    “So we should find a bracelet to match?” Izzy asked.
    Birdie chuckled. “That would definitely be the answer. But I doubt if such a thing
     exists. So instead, we’ll forgive and forget. As I’m sure dear Carl would have done.”
    “Carl?” Cass asked.
    “My second husband. He gave it to me. He was fond of such weighty and expensive embellishments,
     even though I wouldn’t have been able to stand up if I had tried to wear any of them.
     Somehow he thought bigger and brighter and more expensive was always a good thing.”
     She smiled brightly. “Now, let’s not ruin a wonderful party over a necklace that I
     never liked. There’s no need to talk about this with anyone.”
    She glanced across the room again, and then looked sadly at Laura. “Except perhaps
     with Tamara and Franklin Danvers. And I suspect you are the best person to handle
     that, my dear.”

Chapter 3
    “F ranklin Danvers was gracious about the whole messy incident Saturday night,” Birdie
     said. She sat on the patio at Coffee’s—Harbor Road’s always crowded coffeehouse. Her
     small hands cradled a steaming cup of dark roast.
    A blue sky and Coffee’s dark roast. Certainly a good way to begin another week, in
     Birdie’s opinion. All was right with the