Murderous Muffins by Lois Lavrisa Page B

necklace.
    “You’re not great. A guy died in your house, the police may think it’s you who killed him, and to top that off, you’re going to give up something valuable.” Cat pointed behind her toward the pawnshop.
    I glared at Cat. “Everything is fine.”
    Xavier ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Good.”
    “By the way, in light of all that has happened, Xavier, you don’t have to move out. But if you’d like to, I certainly understand, and I will refund your rent,” I said.
    A walk signal lit up on the streetlight.
    “Okay. I’ll be back to the house later on. We can talk about it then,” Xavier said.
    “Why, of course,” I said.
    Before crossing the street, Xavier added, “Just know that if you need to keep my rent money, you can hold off refunding me for a while. Until you get things in order.”
    “Thank you for the kind gesture, but I’ll give you what is owed to you.” Something about him seemed more refined and sophisticated than I remembered. Yet he still seemed cagey, like a trapped bird.
    “Good day, ladies. I’ll see you later.” Xavier jogged across the street.
    Cat pointed toward him. “He’s really cute.”
    “That he is,” I said.
    “But he acts kind of odd, almost like he’s two different people. At times he’s gruff and rather bold like a tough guy; other times he’s very kind and refined like an aristocrat,” Cat said.
    “You just summed up exactly what I think about him.”
    A moment later, we entered the pawnshop.
     
    ***
     
    “Where did you get this?” An elderly man with a wisp of white hair and kind blue eyes looked through a piece of equipment that resembled a mini telescope.
    I had just introduced myself, then handed him the pearls. His name badge said Jack.
    “I inherited it.” I took in a deep breath looking at my pearls, which lay on a large square of black velvet. The shop smelled like ammonia and mothballs.
    “Do you know how old they are?” Jack asked.
    “I think maybe the early 1900s or so.”
    “You said your name is Barbara Elizabeth Susan Gordon, right?”
    “Yes, you’re welcome to call me Bezu. And you’re Jack?”
    He nodded. “I’ve been around a long time. And I have to say, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
    My eyebrows rose. Was that good or bad?
    “You’ve been wearing these?” Jack looked back into the telescope on the glass display case.
    Habitually, I touched my collarbone, my fingers searching for the familiar and comforting feel of the string of pearls. Nothing sat along my neck. “Yes. All the time.”
    He squinted. “You have any idea of its worth?”
    Uh oh. Maybe it was worthless. Now I was slightly embarrassed. Perhaps it was just a sentimental piece of inexpensive costume jewelry, and I was wasting his time. “No. Just that it’s very old.”
    He cradled the pearls in his hand as though they were breakable glass beads. “I think I know what these are. But, to make sure, let me do a little research. Do you have a few minutes?”
    I nodded.
    “May I take your pearls to the back room?” Jack asked.
    I shrugged my shoulders. “Yes.”
    He went behind a door.
    Cat looked into a glass display case. “Hey, come look here, Bezu.”
    I bent over the case.
    Cat pointed. “Does that look familiar?”
    As soon as I saw it, I sucked in a breath—a man’s gold ring set with a ruby and diamonds. “My gracious. That looks just like Mr. Phong’s ring.”
    “Yes. I thought so, too.”
    My thoughts spun. “What’s it doing here?”
    “I have no idea.” Cat twisted her mouth.
    “Cat, I see your wheels spinning. What are you thinking?” I asked.
    “Mr. Phong is dead. And his ring is here. And we know that Joseph was trying to get his money back from him and also to get something else back, too. This may be the something else. And we just saw Xavier outside of here.”
    “Are you saying that there’s a connection in all of that?”
    Cat narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure. But there might be at least