A Terrible Fall of Angels (Zaniel Havelock #1)(112)
A sound like an electronic doorbell sounded as the door opened and then closed behind me. The air conditioning was on so high that all my exposed skin ran in goose bumps.
I spotted Shelby Jackson and her boyfriend at the far end of the room in front of a glass-covered jewelry display that ran around the room in a U shape. There was an elderly man helping them look at rings. The glass display at the back of the room was only partially filled and next to what looked like an area with equipment where maybe you could watch the jeweler actually create some of the sparkly things in the displays. There was one door beside the work area that was closed and marked Private. It probably led to the offices and private restrooms, maybe a break area. There was an entrance near the door that let you walk back behind the display area so the salespeople could go back and forth and another larger opening in front of the far door and the workstation.
The older man looked up at me and said in a soothing voice with just a trace of accent, “We will be right with you, please feel free to look around and see if anything catches your fancy.”
I thanked him and pretended to look at the jewelry, but I was really keeping an eye on Mark Cookson, who was still standing there, staring through the window. He wasn’t looking at the jewelry in the window display either. He was staring at Shelby and her boyfriend. He didn’t look angry, or even upset, he looked thoughtful. Was he going to wait until they were somewhere less public? I would have. He looked so completely different from in the hospital and in all his pictures that he could start a new life somewhere else. He could have a true do-over if he was patient and willing to wait on taking Shelby. The fact that he was hesitating this much let me know that he didn’t realize there was security film of him coming out of one of today’s crime scenes in this new body.
I wanted him to wait until I had more backup, but I didn’t want him to disappear. We needed to catch him before he hurt anyone else.
A younger woman came out of the door in the back of the shop. She had long dark hair and glasses. She moved past the older man and walked toward me on the other side of the display cases.
“How can we help you today?” she said with a smile that was pleasant and professional.
“I’m wanting to buy an engagement ring.”
She glanced down and I realized too late I was still wearing my wedding band. I’d been too worried about Cookson to think my cover story through.
I smiled at her and put everything I had into the smile, so that she put her hand to her throat and her breathing changed. Okay, tone down the smile, I thought, we aren’t flirting, we’re just undercover while we guard Shelby.
“I couldn’t afford to give her an engagement ring when we married, but for our anniversary I want to surprise her with one.”
The saleswoman liked the story, because her smile filled her eyes, as she said, “What a great idea, I’m sure your wife will be thrilled.”
I smiled back. “I think she will be.”
“What were you thinking about spending?”
I hadn’t thought that far, so I said, “I’m not sure, I know the kind of ring I want. Can we go backward from there?”
She smiled. “Of course,” she said, though her eyes were a little less sure than her smile. She probably had a lot of people come in here without a budget in mind and then freak out about the prices.
“Promise I won’t freak out about the prices, but since my wife waited so long for an engagement ring, I want it to be special.”
Her eyes matched her smile again. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find the perfect ring for you.”
I nodded as if I believed that, and half watched Cookson at the window as the saleswoman started to point out different styles of engagement rings.
Someone’s cell phone rang, and it turned out to be the boyfriend’s. “We’re looking at rings, don’t you dare answer that,” Shelby said. Her tone was serious; if Reggie had used that voice with me, I would have ignored my phone.
“It’s my coach, babe, there are scouts coming to the next game. He was supposed to learn what pro teams are coming and then call all of us that have a chance in hell of getting drafted.”
“Fine, take the call,” she said, with an eye roll that I saw from across the room. The boyfriend took the call, getting up from the seat to stand in the middle of the room as if he couldn’t take the news sitting down.
Shelby saw me then or recognized me. “Didn’t I see you at the Cozy Cauldron earlier today?”
“You did,” I said, smiling at her.
Her boyfriend had walked across the shop like he wanted privacy for the call.
“You were sitting with what’s her name, Elizabeth?” Shelby said to me.
“Emma,” I said.
“That’s right, her and her new boyfriend.”
I nodded, still smiling. “That’s right.”
She glanced behind at the boyfriend, who was standing with his back to us. It was an important call for him; his whole future was on the line, and if they married, Shelby’s future, too.
The saleslady hesitated with a tray of rings in her hands. They were princess cuts, and I shook my head. “They’ll stick out too much at work, she’ll hate that. Do you have anything that is more flush to the ring mounting?”
“What’s her job?” the saleslady asked.