Page 36 of Savannah Heat
“Yes, I think one. I heard someone come through the door; they didn’t speak or make a noise. They didn’t go into the next stall as I thought they would. Then I heard the water running in the sink. And then, bam, the door—the door popped open to my stall, and this person—they reached in and took my necklace. They put one hand on my shoulder and jerked my head around to get the clasp open, but I put my hand up to stop it, trying to hold on to it. They slapped my hands away, got the necklace, and were gone before I knew what happened. I was sitting there, helpless. On the toilet, the toilet, for goodness sakes.”
Dan shifted his position but stayed at her side. “Can you tell us anything else about the person? Anything at all that you recall can help, even any sounds or smells you remember.”
Mrs. Stanford closed her eyes. “Yes, yes…they were tall, slender, and wearing a black jogging suit kind of outfit. The hood was up, and they wore dark glasses, the big wraparound kind. I could just see part of their face. They were white.”
Dan asked the question Jenna was waiting for. “Was it a man or woman, Mrs. Stanford?”
Mrs. Stanford started to speak but then paused and looked up at Dan. “Well, I would have said man, of course, but funny you should ask because I thought I smelled Dior perfume, one of my favorites. It can’t be mistaken for a man’s cologne. I just now remembered that when you mentioned smells.”
Jenna looked at Dan. They both knew what that meant.
Dan asked a few more trivial questions, giving Mrs. Stanford time to relax and to think more clearly. Though he was impatient for answers, he knew better than to rush a victim.
Mrs. Stanford sipped at her bourbon, which relaxed her even more. She seemed more eager to talk about what happened and was more attentive to the remainder of Dan’s questions.
Dan tried a new tack with Mrs. Stanford, hoping to keep her seeing the scene in her head so she would recall more than she realized she knew. “What else—did they speak at all? What sounds do you recall, if not words?”
Mrs. Stanford looked up at Dan, and her eyes filled. “No, there was not one word. I am sure about that. It happened so fast. He, she—a person dressed all in black, their arms reaching into my stall, and me helpless, sitting there, and on a toilet of all things” she repeated. She lowered her head, and her hand went to her neck, reaching for the necklace that was no longer there. “My necklace—it belonged to my grandmother.”
Dan watched the tears, his jaw set, his eyes blazing, and looked at Jenna. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Mrs. Stanford. You have been a great help. I promise you we will do all we can to get your necklace back.”
Doreen shook her head. “I couldn’t stop them. That arm, that arm in black. Those black sunglasses, so scary. I’ll never forget it.”
Dan stood and looked at Mr. Stanford, who stared at his wife. “We’ll all do our best to get the necklace back for you and your wife. Jenna will help you return home if you need security to escort you. She can arrange that while I go check in with security.”
Mr. Stanford helped his wife up from the chair. “We have a car and driver standing by. Will you let us know how things are going, Dan?”
“I know you both would like to go home, but unfortunately, you will need to wait for the local police. They should be here any second, and I’m afraid you will need to rehash this all again. Mrs. Stanford, once home, if you do remember anything else, no matter how small or what you think might be useless, write it down, and then call me or Jenna. Sometimes, it’s the smallest thing that will provide a useful clue.”
Dan turned to Jenna. “I’ll go see who is missing in the room, like a few of our favorite characters, and talk to the senator. Maybe he has an update, and I need to brief him on this—what happened here. Where the heck are the local police?”
“Do you think he’d mind making an announcement to the guests to stay put until the police get here and to let them know what’s happened? Maybe he did, but I didn’t hear anything. If not, we might see a mass exodus, and that will mean chaos and a compromised crime scene. Maybe his people have started securing the scene already.”
Dan nodded toward a group of security people headed their way. “Yes, I’m hoping his security detail is on that already. If you will, Jenna, please get the Stanfords into the conference room to wait for the police. I’ll go talk to the senator and his team. Gonna be a long night.”
Chapter Sixteen
The Stanfords, still shaken, followed Jenna back to the conference room willingly, avoiding questions and stares from the other guests as they went. As they entered the room, they all heard the screech of a microphone as the senator addressed the guests:
“Another jewelry robbery has occurred, I am sorry to report. One necklace was taken from one of our guests while she was alone in the ladies’ room. I am so very sorry this happened again, and we have special investigations ongoing to catch this person or persons. I ask that you please wait until the police arrive since this is a crime scene. I’m sure they won’t keep you long. We have secluded the victim, and the crime happened in a small area off the main room, and it, too, is being guarded. The police should be arriving in minutes. I thank you for coming, and for your ongoing support. I apologize your evening was cut short. No thief will deter me from my efforts, and I hope they won’t deter you, either. Rest assured we will do everything possible to catch this thief and make sure our guest gets her property back as soon as possible. Marta and I so appreciate your efforts, your loyalty, and your time.”
Applause followed, though Jenna noticed the whispering and worried looks as she walked back through the room. After a security guard came up to be with the Stanfords, Jenna now did what Dan was doing, attempting to determine who was no longer in the crowd—specifically Gail, Harper, and Brock.
Jenna circled the room, but the three in question were nowhere to be seen. She found Dan with Marta and Lizbeth and saw the senator talking to several men, who she assumed were local police detectives.
Men and women in uniform now roamed the room, talking to the guests, sealing off the ladies’ room where the robbery happened, and blocking all exit doors. Though they all knew the thief was long gone, an armed team did a full search of the facility.
“This was a bit more excitement than we wanted at this event, Jenna,” Marta said. “Poor Mrs. Stanford. I know that diamond necklace was a family heirloom, like so many in this room tonight.”
Jenna shook her head. “It makes me furious. I hope you and the senator don’t get too much press for this. Kerri can try to keep it out of the papers as long as she can. But, as you know, a lot of people are here, and people love to talk about something exciting, especially something like this.”
Marta nodded. “Yes, and I understand all that. This is the most excitement some of these people have seen in years. These people love politics and the parties that go with it all.”
“That is an understatement,” Lizbeth said.
She turned to Lizbeth and smiled. “More than you expected on this visit, huh, my dear friend?”
Lizbeth shook her head. “No thief would prevent me from showing off my new dress and ten-pound weight loss tonight. I’m going for more wine now. Anyone else?”