“For clues?” Drayton asked.
“I’m not sure there are any,” Brooke said. “The only positive thing we have going for us right now is that the robbery was captured on CCTV.”
“What on earth is that?” Drayton asked.
“Closed-circuit TV,” Haley said. “Her security system.”
“That is good news,” Theodosia said. “Do you think there’s a chance your video cameras captured some decent images of the robbers? That the police might be able to ID them?”
“I don’t know.” Brooke swallowed hard. “The whole thing’s a complete nightmare. I can’t quite believe that Kaitlin is gone. I mean . . . I even had to meet with the medical examiner first thing this morning and . . .” She stopped, her voice trembling, unable to go on.
“I know,” Theodosia said. “It’s very hard. No . . .” She corrected herself. “It’s terrible.”
“Kaitlin wanted to be a designer,” Brooke said in a small voice. “She wanted to work with me.”
“She told us about that,” Haley said. “How she wanted to design jewelry just like you do.”
“And now, besides talking to the ME and arranging to have her poor body shipped back to her parents, the rest of my day will be spent dealing with frantic calls from multiple insurance companies, museums, private lenders, and major jewelers.”
“It sounds pretty overwhelming,” Theodosia said. “A lot to cope with.”
Brooke nodded. “It is. Plus the crime scene people are still scouring my shop, along with a couple of investigators and some private security people I brought in.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help,” Drayton said.
“Thank you.” Brooke cocked her head and fixed Theodosia with a steady gaze. “But you’re the one I’m here to presume upon. If you’re still game, that is.”
“Of course I am,” Theodosia said. “I told you I’d try my best and I will.”
Drayton’s brow furrowed. “What’s this . . . ?”
“I’ve completely imposed upon Theodosia,” Brooke said. “Enlisted her good help. You know as well as I do how smart she is when it comes to puzzling out tricky situations.”
“Really,” Theodosia said, “I’ve just been very lucky.”
“You’re also tenacious and cagey,” Haley said, jumping in. “You were the one who finally sorted out that crazy museum thing and figured out who killed that hotshot donor.”
A ghost of a smile flickered on Brooke’s face. “Yes, Theodosia was the one who finally solved the murder. I haven’t forgotten that.” She reached into her tote bag and dug out a stack of papers. “That’s why I brought all my information along. Everything I could scrabble together, anyway. My guest list, the contracts and agreements for borrowing the gems and jewelry, pretty much everything I have that pertains to last night.”
“You’re going to take a look at all this?” Drayton was focused on Theodosia now.
“I said I’d try.” Theodosia tapped the large stack of papers. “See if I can make sense out of anything.”
“Well . . . good for you,” Drayton said. He obviously approved.
Theodosia gave a faint smile. She’d been waiting for Drayton’s endorsement. Needed it. Most people regarded him as a highly knowledgeable tea master and antiques collector, but he also served as her champion. Sometimes Drayton believed in her when she doubted herself.
Drayton inclined his head toward Brooke. “So what do the police have to say? What’s the early report?”
“Not much of anything,” Brooke said. “Mostly they’re still asking questions. Oh, and they informed me that the FBI is being brought in.”
“My goodness,” Drayton said. “I wonder why?”
“Bringing the feds in won’t make Detective Tidwell very happy,” Haley said.
“Not a whole lot makes Detective Tidwell happy,” Theodosia said. Then added, “Unless, of course, he gets a chance to shoot someone.”
? ? ?
Once Brooke had taken off, loaded down with takeout cups filled with hot tea and a bag full of scones, they set about getting the Indigo Tea Shop ready for business. Haley scurried into the kitchen to tend to her baking and luncheon prep work; Theodosia and Drayton worked on arranging the tea room.
“I’m going to use the Spode china today,” Drayton said. “Just because it’s pretty and will give our spirits a nice boost.”
“I think that’s a lovely idea,” Theodosia said. They had multiple sets of china and her collection of teacups and saucers just kept growing. Of course, if she could refrain from hitting every tag sale, auction, and antiques shop between Charleston and Savannah, then maybe they’d be able to fit all their pretty things into the limited cupboard space they had. But what fun was that?
“Do you really think you can make heads or tails out of all the papers Brooke gave you?”