Page 14 of Family Jewels

“You’re not gonna tell them anything,” I said, grabbing Neely Kate’s arm and giving it a slight tug. “But if we’re doin’ this, we’re gonna need a deposit.” Raddy had the look of a runner all over him.

“Fine.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Here.”

Neely Kate snorted. “You think we’re fresh off the turnip truck? We’re gonna need more than that.”

“Like four hundred and eighty dollars more,” I said. “Half down. Half when we turn it over.”

“But what if you don’t find it?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Then you’re outta luck,” I said. “We’re not doin’ this for our health. We’re takin’ time from our payin’ customers at the landscaping office to look for your misplaced jewelry. So five hundred—even if we don’t find it, and five hundred more if we do.”

He shook his head. “No deal.”

I lifted my shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “All righty then.” I tugged Neely Kate toward the exit.

“What are you doin’?” she whispered in a panicked tone.

“Trust me.”

To her credit, she gave me a sideways glance and kept right on marching. Sure enough, Raddy was calling us back five seconds later.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll pay it.”

I gave Neely Kate a smug grin before I turned around to face him. “Can you pay all five hundred now?” I asked, sounding all businesslike.

“No.”

“Bring it by the office when you get it, andthenwe’ll start searching.”

“That’s not gonna work,” he whined. “Today’s Tuesday and Buck says I gotta have it to him by Friday night or no deal.”

“Deal?” Neely Kate screeched. “You said you don’t know what it’s worth.”

“I don’t. But Buck says he’ll pay me five grand for it. He wants to give it to his woman.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why would you take five grand for a necklace that might be worth several times that?”

“A bird in the hand, Rose Gardner,” he said.

“Did someone say Rose Gardner?” a woman’s voice echoed from what sounded like several aisles over.

Raddy’s eyes flew open wide, and he gave me a shove. “You have to get out of here.”

Neely Kate shook her head and dug her heels into the concrete floor. “Not until you give us the down payment.”

“I already told you. I don’t have it.”

“Lucky for you there’s an ATM machine up front,” she said with a smug grin. “We’ll wait.”

He groaned and looked as frustrated as Muffy got when she saw a squirrel taunting her on the other side of the screen door.

“We’re not lookin’ until you pay up,” she said sweetly. “Which means you might not meet your Friday deadline. Tick tock.”

Raddy released a string of curses that would have made his mother blush, but Neely Kate just stood there with her feet planted wide, giving him a condescending smile. She waited until his language petered out, then said, “Now that that’s out of your system, are you gonna pay up or not?”

“Fine.” He pointed at me. “Butshehas to wait outside.”

Neely Kate gave a me a glance that read,See you when I’m done, but there was no way I was leaving until I got all the information I wanted.