Sinner or Saint Read online

  Back in her car, Marlee took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding following her walk through the yard of death even though she escaped unharmed. She waited for a few minutes, with the engine running and the heater blasting. When it became apparent that Kelsey wasn’t coming out of the house any time soon, Marlee shifted the SUV into drive and motored on home.

  One frozen pizza and half a bottle of cabernet later, Marlee sat on the couch waiting for her house guest, the antique pipe smuggler, to return. She had plenty of time to think of what she was going to say to Kelsey when she finally returned around 9:00 p.m.

  “You’ve had quite an evening. Why don’t you come in and tell me all about it,” Marlee snapped as she let Kelsey in the house.

  Sensing Marlee’s obvious irritation, Kelsey said, “Look, I said I was sorry. Mr. X and Mr. Thayer had me over a barrel here. I just want to finish up this transaction and be done with it. Then my family isn’t obligated to anyone anymore.”

  Deep down, Marlee understood Kelsey’s plight. It was just that the young Irish lass had tricked her into providing information about herself and Elmwood when she was a visitor at the family B&B in Dublin. Had Kelsey just been straightforward about her problem or asked for help, Marlee would have been more than willing to assist the young woman. She was a pushover when it came to helping someone, but she had little tolerance for liars.

  “I understand you’re in a tight spot, but lying to me is no way to go about handling the situation. Is everything done now? Did Thayer wire the money to Mr. X?”

  Kelsey took a deep breath, choosing her words with care. “I think there’s much more to this than an antique pipe.”

  “Why? What do you mean?” Marlee leaned forward on the couch, pouring herself another glass of wine.

  “I asked to use the restroom, but I really didn’t need to. I just wanted to hear what Mr. Thayer and his girlfriend said while I was gone. They were both acting suspicious, so I knew something else was going on. And I was right. I made like I went to the loo but just went around the corner out of sight. The security guard was outside with the dogs, so I knew he wouldn’t see me. While I was gone, Mr. Thayer took the pipe and unscrewed the bowl from the stem. Then he pulled a cloth out of the bowl.”

  “A cloth? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I saw it all very clearly. He unrolled the cloth on his desk and inside were four emeralds. Mr. Thayer remarked that they looked to be a fine cut and would bring top dollar,” Kelsey recalled.

  “Oh, come on! Emeralds inside the pipe?” Marlee rolled her eyes. Not only was Kelsey lying again, but she apparently thought Marlee was stupid. The insults were never ending with this one.

  “I’m not putting you on! I saw it with my own eyes. And when I walked back into the room, he swooped the emeralds back onto the cloth and shoved it inside the top desk drawer.”

  “Then how did you get through security with emeralds? I can see you getting a pipe through because it looks like an older version of any other pipe I’ve seen. It wouldn’t necessarily draw attention. But I’m pretty sure they could see the emeralds inside. Scanners can pick up things like that.”

  “The pipe was in my suitcase, which I checked. If I’d known there were emeralds inside, I wouldn’t have done it because, of course, I would think it would be detected, and I’d be arrested. As far as I knew, the pipe was the only thing of value I was carrying.” Kelsey dropped to the loveseat, displacing a disgruntled Pippa who snarled as she jumped out of the way.

  “Did Mr. X pay for your ticket here?”

  Kelsey nodded. “Why?”

  “Because it’s all starting to make sense now. This thing is much bigger than bringing in an antique pipe without paying import fees. I’m afraid we’re looking at an international smuggling ring, and you, my dear, are an accomplice.”

  It’s really not that hard. I can play dumb with the best of them.

  Chapter 10

  “But I didn’t mean to smuggle jewels,” Kelsey said, her voice bordering on a whine. “It’s just a pipe. I figured it was stolen but thought the worst thing that could happen if I was caught was a fine for bringing in an object without claiming it and paying import tax.” She wrung her hands before jumping up from the love seat and returning with a plastic drinking glass. She grabbed the wine bottle and poured a few glugs in her glass.

  “I began to wonder why there was so much effort put into you bringing the pipe here. I mean, you said your parents were indebted to Mr. X for around eighteen thousand euros with the amount growing by the day due to the outrageous interest. I doubt the pipe itself was worth anywhere near that amount unless it was owned by someone famous. Why would Mr. X and Conrad Thayer go to so much trouble to get the pipe here and play it off as if they were just trying to avoid import taxes?” Marlee asked.

  “I guess it doesn’t make much sense when you put it that way. I have no idea how much antiques cost. I thought the pipe was worth the same amount as my parents’ debt.” She shrugged, throwing back a generous gulp of wine.

  “How did Della react to the emeralds? Was she shocked?” Marlee asked, still wondering how Conrad and Della met and how they got together.

  “Not shocked, really. I’d say she was excited. She said they would be the end of all her problems but didn’t elaborate.”

  Marlee pondered the situation. How could Della benefit from Conrad’s possession of the emeralds?

  “Did you ever hear Conrad or Della actually say that the green things were emeralds?” Marlee asked. She now believed that Kelsey really thought the jewels were emeralds, but Marlee wanted confirmation.

  “No, neither one of them said the word “emeralds,” but they made a huge fuss over them. That’s what they looked like to me. What else could they be?” Kelsey asked.

  Marlee shook her head. “I don’t know. What I do know is that we need to get back into the Thayer house to find out more. I’m afraid this matter will come to the attention of the police or the FBI soon. If so, you could be in deep trouble, and I could be charged as well since I knew about it and allowed you to stay at my house. This looks like some sort of conspiracy, and you and I were unwittingly pulled into it.”

  “But I didn’t know about the emeralds. And you didn’t know about any of this until I told you about the pipe. How can either of us be in any kind of trouble if we weren’t directly involved?” Kelsey asked.

  “It’s called a conspiracy. Anyone involved in a criminal operation can be charged, regardless of their level of involvement. Just because you didn’t know the whole scope of the matter, doesn’t mean you’re innocent. When I was a probation officer, we had a saying: “if you’re in for a dime you’re in for a dollar.” It means that no matter how small your role, if you’re involved in a criminal operation, you can be held accountable for the whole thing, not just your part,” Marlee said, thinking back to the numerous drug cases she handled in which anyone affiliated with a drug ring could be held accountable for the whole amount of drugs attributed to the group. On more than one occasion, a defendant was shocked to find out that although they never handled any drugs, they were accountable because they received money from buyers or kept the books.

  “I can be charged as a smuggler?” Kelsey asked, with the naiveté that showed her nineteen years of age.

  “You certainly can because that’s exactly what you did. You knew you were doing something illegal by bringing the pipe with you. Even if you didn’t know about the emeralds, you still suspected that the pipe was stolen. At the very least, you knew Mr. X and Thayer were avoiding import taxes. You may not have realized the scope of the operation, but you were aware of part of it. And if this matter is prosecuted, they may decide that you knew a lot more than you’re saying.” Marlee knew she was being harsh with Kelsey, but the girl needed to understand the harsh realities. Sooner or later, the police would find out about Kelsey, the pipe, and the emeralds.

  “But you have to help me. I’m trying to help my parents. And I’m trying to avoid Mr. X killing me
or my sisters!”

  “I have a friend in the Elmwood Police Department. We’ll talk to her about the whole thing. You need to come clean and tell her everything you know. I think if you’re honest, you can avoid prosecution. Worst case scenario, you’re given a fine. Either way, you’ll be sent back home.”

  “But I can’t go back home. Don’t you understand? If Mr. X sees me again, he’ll force me to work for him again, and if I don’t, he’ll kill me. I’m not kidding, and I’m not being overly dramatic. Ireland is off-limits for me, at least for the time being. Maybe forever.” Kelsey grabbed the bottle and poured the last of the red wine into her glass, chugging most of it in one gulp.

  “So, what’s your plan? You’re going to live in the U.S. from now on?” Marlee asked.

  “I can’t go home. No matter the outcome of the transaction between Mr. X and Mr. Thayer. I’d like to stay in the United States, but if I need to move to Canada or elsewhere in Europe, so be it. My part in this was just to transport the pipe to wipe out my parents’ debt.”

  “Mr. X expected you to return to Ireland after the transaction with Conrad Thayer?” Marlee asked, still confused as to the identity and motives behind this mystery person.

  “Yeah, I never let on that I was planning to stay here. My life in Ireland is over, and I wanted to live here where there are opportunities.”

  “So how will you earn a living now that you’re here in the United States?” Marlee asked.

  “I’ll take whatever job I can get at first and then work my way up. Eventually, I want to move to Los Angeles and work with the movie stars as a hair and makeup artist. We already talked about that when you were in Dublin,” Kelsey said.

  “Any job you get here is likely to be minimum wage, which isn’t enough to pay for rent, food, and transportation. Very few people are able to get ahead when they’re only earning minimum wage. You need to get a higher paying job, and to do that you need education, and that costs money.” Marlee knew Kelsey’s dreams far exceeded her abilities, as was usually the case with people her age.

  “You sound like my parents. That was how things worked in your day, but it’s different now,” Kelsey said with an all-knowing look.

  “Things really aren’t that different now than they were twenty years ago. It still takes money to make a living, and to get enough money you need education. It doesn’t have to be college, but you need some type of specialized training so you can develop a marketable skill. Employers won’t take a chance on somebody without any specialized knowledge, skills, or experience. They’ll hire the person who has a degree from a college or technical school. Or they’ll hire someone who has work experience in the field. You’ve developed some great experience working for your parents at the B&B, but you need to build on that with education. Otherwise, you’ll be doing the exact type of work here that you were doing back in Dublin.”

  “Why are you being so cruel to me? Did you forget what it’s like to be young and have dreams?” Kelsey shouted as she strode into her bedroom and slammed the door.

  It took Marlee a moment to regain her composure. She was stunned that Kelsey, a guest in her house, had again acted so rudely. And Kelsey’s comments about her age and no longer having dreams stung a bit too. Is this what it’s like to have a teenager in the house? The Raffertys deserve a medal for putting up with Kelsey and for the two sisters who will be in their teens soon, Marlee thought. She felt like storming into the guest room and demanding an apology but knew that would only escalate matters. Better to wait until they both cooled down and discuss the issue calmly while reminding Kelsey that she was a guest, and a short-timer at that. As soon as this matter was sorted, Kelsey would be on her own to sort out her living arrangements. Whether that was going back to Dublin or finding her own apartment, Marlee didn’t care. As long as she left Marlee’s house.

  The next morning, Marlee woke up ungodly early, still not adjusted to the time on her third day back in Elmwood. She tossed and turned, processing the matter of Kelsey, Conrad Thayer, and the emeralds. By 4:00 a.m., she couldn’t take it any longer and made a full pot of coffee. While the java brewed, she ate a bowl of instant oatmeal and reminded herself that she really needed to go grocery shopping today. She sat at the dining room table and sifted through the notes she made during her prison tours and interviews in Dublin, reliving the connections she made while there. As she rifled through the papers, she attempted to make sense of the data and put the information into a framework she could use in writing her research papers.

  Three hours later, Kelsey wandered into the kitchen, her hair more of a tangled mess than usual. Her face was blotchy, and her eyes were red. She had a hangdog expression as she looked at her hostess. “I’m so sorry for the way I spoke to you last night. I know you’re right, and you’re only trying to help me. But I’m so excited to follow my dreams and have a hard time when someone treats my ideas as rubbish.”

  “Kelsey, I don’t think your ideas are rubbish. I think you’re a typical teenager with big ideas that aren’t realistic. If becoming a makeup artist is something you really want to do, then you’ll have to work toward it. Go to cosmetology school to learn the theories and techniques. Complete an internship or work part-time as a make-up artist. Once you have the certification and some experience, employers will be willing to take a chance on you. This applies to all fields unless you want to work for minimum wage or do unskilled labor. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those jobs, but it sounds like you want something more out of life than just scraping by.” Marlee’s irritation from the previous night had dissipated. She was back in mentor mode, the same way she’d dealt with Kelsey in Dublin.

  “But I want to get started now. I’m a fantastic hair and makeup artist, and as soon as everyone sees what I can do, then I’ll be working on movie and television sets in no time,” Kelsey argued.

  Marlee sighed. She needed another tactic with this young woman, whose head was stuck firmly in the clouds. “What’s going to distinguish you from the hundreds or thousands of other people who want the same job? There aren’t enough jobs as makeup artists for everyone who wants the position. You need to have a leg up on the others applying for the same job. That’s where education and experience come in.”

  Kelsey laughed, balancing a cup of coffee in her palm. “Once they see what I can do, they’ll hire me on the spot.”

  “Okay, let’s see what you’ve got. Show me what you can do.” Marlee gestured at her own mop of unruly hair and makeup-free face. She suspected Kelsey’s hair and makeup experience did not expand beyond slapping some eye shadow on her younger sisters.

  “After breakfast, if that’s okay.”

  Marlee made another pot of coffee and the two had a pleasant breakfast of frozen waffles. Pleasant, that is, until Marlee set down some ground rules. “The drinking age here is twenty-one. You can’t drink here, not even in my home. I could be charged for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which would torpedo my promotion at the university. And you need to start making long-term plans for where you’ll live. You’re welcome to stay here for a few more days, but then you either need to return home or find an apartment.”

  A fork clattered to Kelsey’s plate as she stared open-mouthed at her host, the partially masticated waffle in full view. “You’ve got to be putting me on. Where will I go? I don’t have any money. And I’ve already told you, I’m not going back to Ireland.”

  “Until you tell me the name of Mr. X, I’m not helping you anymore. If you’re truly in danger, I’m willing to help, but only if you tell me the name of the loan shark.”

  Kelsey pushed back from the table, her eyes narrowing as she considered Marlee’s offer. She reached for her coffee cup, downing the last of the cooled beverage before she spoke. “I can’t tell you his name. That’s final.”

  “Then you’re on your own.” Marlee pushed back her chair, picked up her dishes, and walked into the kitchen.

  “If I tell you his name, I’m signing my own d
eath certificate. And those of my sisters too. You know that, right?” Kelsey shouted, an obvious ploy for sympathy.

  Dishes clattered in the kitchen as Marlee ran hot water in the sink and squeezed in a stream of blue liquid detergent. Marlee had said everything she needed to say. Now it was time to wait and see what Kelsey’s next move would be.

  Kelsey’s next move was to sigh heavily and then stomp into the bathroom. A loud whoosh of the shower started right away, but Marlee thought she could hear sobbing as well. She resisted the urge to knock on the door and comfort Kelsey, knowing that the only way to get to the bottom of the matter was to let her feel distress and discomfort.

  Once her uninvited house guest was ready to come clean about the identity of Mr. X, then Marlee could make decisions about what to do next. She would keep to her deal and take Kelsey to apply for asylum, but she was also considering talking to the police about the whole matter. If the police found out about smuggling the antique pipe and the emeralds, Marlee could be charged with accessory to a crime. Her attachment to Kelsey wasn’t great enough to risk her career and her freedom.

  Kelsey stomped out the bathroom, a large blue towel wrapped around her body and a patterned towel wrapped around her head. She gave Marlee the evil side-eye as she made her way to the guest room. “I’ll be out to do your makeup and hair in a few minutes,” she said before slamming the door behind her.

  Is this normal behavior for an average nineteen-year-old? Marlee wondered. There’s no way I could put up with this roller coaster on a daily basis. Thank god I never had kids!

  Throwing her off balance is the best way to keep this train moving forward. Time for things to escalate.

  Chapter 11

  She couldn’t believe her eyes.

  “What do you think?” Kelsey asked as she stood behind Marlee, both of them looking into the rounded mirror atop Marlee’s bedroom bureau.