Digging Up the Dead by Jill Amadio Read Free Book Online Page A

she’ll need this at the hospital,” Arlene said, picking up a slender beige leather wallet and giving it to Karma. “They always want to see insurance cards before they even start trying to save your life these days.”
    After the ambulance, the fire truck, the police and their hostess left, most of the guests lingered for a while, then said their goodbyes to each other. Among those who remained there was muted talk, and several had already encircled the oak table to refill their glasses. Charmaine, an elderly woman who had been introduced to Tosca as a friend of Karma’s parents, gathered up the spilled contents of Sally’s bag and set them on Fuller’s desk. They included a lipstick, a packet of tissues, a silver business card case, a Honda key fob with several keys on it, and a silver locket on a long, oval-link chain.
    “This must be Karma’s,” Charmaine exclaimed, holding up the small heart-shaped pendant. “It has her grandmother’s name, Abigail, engraved on it. A gift from Fuller to his wife, I guess, and passed on down to Karma.”
    Blair, Swenson and a few others craned their necks to see it. No one remarked on the fact that it had been in Sally’s purse. Tosca figured they were too embarrassed to say anything, and it was quickly set on top of the desk along with the other articles. The largest and strangest item that had tumbled half-out of its box from Sally’s bag was a lavender and rose-colored glass-like object that had landed at Tosca’s feet. She picked it up, surprised at its weight because of its delicate design, and was still holding it when the ambulance left.
    Shaped like a miniature candelabra, its four small tubes appeared made to hold tiny tapers. Its heaviness led Tosca to guess it was a piece of carved gemstone, but she had never seen anything as odd or so colorful. A small silver plaque on the crystal base bore the word “Sunida.”
    As she stood examining it and admiring its beauty, Thatch practically snatched it out of her hands, turning it around and around, repeatedly exclaiming, “Good God!”
    “What? What is it?” said Tosca,
    “It’s the Tourmaline Chandelier,” he said. “The twin to the Candelabra tourmaline from the Queen Mine in San Diego. No one knew who bought this one after it was found in the Oceanside Mine.” Thatch held the tourmaline up to the light. “It’s an extraordinary, extremely rare, museum-quality piece. The other one, the Candelabra, was the tourmaline find of the century. It’s on display in the Smithsonian Institution. This one is slightly smaller and disappeared shortly after it was discovered.”
    “It’s beautifully textured. Look at the ridges. Did someone carve it?”
    Thatch laughed. “No, the striations are naturally formed. It was extracted from the mine exactly as you see, polished up, of course. I wonder if it could be Sally’s?”
    “Sally’s? But the name or word on it is ‘Sunida,’” said Tosca, pointing to the plaque. “Wonder where she got it?”
    “Sunida sounds like it could be a Thai name. I can’t believe I’m holding the Chandelier. It’s worth close to a million dollars,” said Thatch, “a very expensive bauble.”
    He handed it to Charmaine, who put it back into the box and said, “We should leave everything here on the desk. Karma can sort it all out when she comes home.”
    She placed the box next to Sally’s other belongings on Fuller Sanderson’s old writing desk.
    The heart had gone out of the evening, and the guests drifted off, walking to their island homes or heading for the ferry to return to the peninsula. Those who had driven from the mainland got into their cars to cross the bridge to Newport Beach.
    “I think I’ll spend the night on my boat,” announced Blair. “It could be hours before we hear anything from Karma. There’s a full moon. Might even do some night fishing. Oliver, like to join me?”
    Swenson turned his back and lumbered out the door without replying.
    Blair shrugged,