rightful owner.
A part of her said they belonged to Aretha, but Doreen still wasn’t sure about that. If Aretha had anything to do with any of the mishaps that had befallen her, then Doreen wouldn’t give that money over to her, or the jewels for that matter.
Now Doreen was really out of sorts. Just as she got up to walk out to the garden and do something, her phone rang again. It was Zachary again. She hit Talk and then End Call, so she cut him off. She didn’t want to deal with him right now. When it rang again, she went to do the same thing, but, recognizing another number, she answered it.
“I do know an Abelman,” the snippy woman said.
“Good,” Doreen said, letting out a long breath slowly. She walked back to the table. “Who is it?”
Silence.
“Is there a problem with telling me who it is?”
“Maybe,” she said.
“Did she ever marry?”
“Yes.”
Feeling like she was pulling teeth to get answers, Doreen took several calming breaths. “Is there anything you can tell me about her?”
“She lives in Kelowna.”
“Okay, that’s helpful,” Doreen said, making a note. “Do you know what her last name is? Or did she have any children? Anything?”
“No, I can’t say too much. No children though. And again, the last name would tell you who she is.”
“Maybe,” Doreen said, trying to hold back her exasperation. “I don’t really understand why it’s an issue though.”
“Of course you don’t,” the woman said with a sneer. “That’s because you’re thinking about what you want. You’re not thinking about what other people want.”
Wincing at that because it was true, Doreen said, “You’re correct. I am thinking about what I want. And I was hoping to get in touch with her.”
“Is there any money involved?”
Her tone had changed, as if something were behind that question which Doreen needed to be careful of. Because, of course, the jewels were involved, but not necessarily to come to Reginald’s sister or to this snippy caller. “I’m not sure why you would bring up something like that,” Doreen said. “I’m not trying to pay her anything or charge her for anything either, for that matter,” she added for clarity.
She heard almost a humming sound on the phone.
“Does she need money?” Doreen asked.
“Doesn’t everybody?” the snippy woman said.
“Are you related to her?”
“No, but when she recognized my name, she mentioned she had come from the same family line.”
“The same family?”
“Only in that Abelman is a very old Jewish name,” the woman said proudly.
“Ah,” Doreen said in understanding. “And, of course, it’s always nice to find other people who are connected in the family tree.”
“Well, that’s what I thought,” she said. Then she added in a haughty tone, “Yet this woman isn’t really connected. So she doesn’t get the same treatment as family.”
Chapter 25
Wednesday Midmorning …
Doreen nodded, but, at the same time, she gave Mugs a big eye roll. “Well, if you could see your way to let me know what her last name is, or her first name, or where she lives, or her phone number, I would really appreciate it,” she said. “I am not the police. I’m not a journalist. I’m not a creditor looking for money.”
“Good thing,” she said, “because she doesn’t have any to give away. I’ll have to think about it.” And, once again, she hung up with a sharp click.
“Wow,” Doreen said to Mugs. “The crazies are out in full force today.” Of course that wasn’t fair, but it suited the way she felt. “Why won’t she just tell me who it is?”
But she hadn’t. And that left Doreen wondering. She looked up the woman’s address to see if that would tell her anything, but, of course, why would it? And then she looked up the Abelman name she’d gotten from the phone book and checked through the news. Again, another old distinguished family who had been here forever apparently, and, according to the bits and pieces she was reading, was one of the founding families involved in the communities for a good many years. They’d spawned four children, all daughters. All had married, and all had different names now. Which was why it was hard to find an Abelman name anywhere. But there was no relationship to Reginald or to his sister.
But this woman knew Reginald’s sister. Doreen could just imagine a conversation where they’d meet up somewhere, and she’d introduced herself. What a shock to realize this person had the same family name you did. She couldn’t imagine. Yet, at