caught looking when she shouldn’t have been, and she quickly turned away.
The bartender looked surprised at the rebuff, then shrugged it off and walked the length of the bar to where Justin Dorsey stood waiting, a bag of ice in his hands.
Justin nodded toward Tamara with a grin, apparently noticing the brush-off. Tyler laughed and took the ice, shrugging off Justin’s teasing.
A minute later the mayor approached the Danvers group, and together they moved out to the veranda, where more appetizers and music filled the sea air.
“Have you seen Justin?” Janie asked, coming up to the group. The worry lines across her forehead had returned.
“He’s working.” Izzy pointed toward the bar. Justin held the ice lid open while Tyler dumped it in.
“It looks to me like he’s making himself useful,” Cass added.
Janie’s smile returned. “Good. Which I guess I should be doing, too. I promised Willow and Laura I’d keep an eye on the auction items.” She hurried off, waving to Justin as she disappeared into the crowd.
The evening passed quickly as plates were cleared and more desserts made the rounds. Willow, Janie, and Laura wandered through the crowd, encouraging bidding and making sure food and drink were plentiful. Justin and the other valets set up extra tables in the entry hall for checkout, and boxes and bags were discreetly piled up behind them to carry off winning items.
Finally Laura brought the bidding to a close, and the volunteer staff moved quickly, collecting bid sheets, circling the winners.
Laura motioned for the bevy of volunteers to stand behind the tables where people would bring their receipts and claim the portable items.
“Do you need help?” Nell asked.
“I think we’re fine,” Willow said. “Laura could organize a roomful of toddlers. She’s amazing. And Kevin and Tyler will stick around after the bar closes and help the other guys handle any of the heavy stuff. They’ve all been taking turns patrolling the tables, too, keeping an eye on things.”
Laura laughed. “Our very own muscle men.” She turned to Willow. “Time to read off the top item winners. Want to do the honors?”
Squeals and cheers greeted the generous winning bids as people stepped up to claim their winning sailing adventures and vacation homes. When Willow read Franklin Danvers’ name as the highest bidder on the last item—the diamond, sapphire, and ruby heart necklace—Tamara leaned over and kissed him fully. The crowd cheered, and the organizers declared the evening a wild success.
As people headed to the entry hall to claim their items, Nell looked around for Birdie and Ben.
Birdie waved from a table where she was claiming a cartload of items. “Ben is loading his art winnings into the car.”
Nell laughed. “All we need is a few more walls in our house.”
“They’re all Canary Cove artists. Ben couldn’t resist.”
He appeared then, taking Birdie’s box and motioning toward the entryway. “If Izzy has to stand for one more minute, I think she’ll have that baby in the middle of the community center. She’s drained.”
He nodded toward the jewelry table where Izzy and Sam stood talking quietly to Laura and Willow. Behind them, Janie Levin, along with several other volunteers, huddled together, listening intently to what Laura was saying.
“Something’s wrong,” Nell said as they made their way toward the group.
On the table was the black velvet stand that once held the sapphire and ruby diamond necklace.
“It’s gone,” Laura mouthed, meeting Birdie’s eyes.
Nell turned and looked at her.
Birdie’s hand went to her throat. “Gone? As in . . . ”
Laura nodded.
“Oh, my,” she said, and moved to Laura’s side.
“Tamara or Franklin didn’t claim it?” Nell asked.
Willow shook her head. Her eyes were moist.
Nell watched Birdie’s face, composed and in charge, as if it were her job now to calm the event organizers. Suddenly she remembered why the necklace looked familiar. She’d seen it before—in Birdie’s den, when they were looking for some papers in the safe behind Sonny Favazza’s portrait. “It was your necklace, wasn’t it?” she said quietly.
Before Birdie could answer, Laura spoke up, her voice choked. “Birdie, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this could have happened. The volunteers were watching the tables all night.” Her face was the color of her snowy white Versace dress.
Birdie waved away the concern. “No worry. It isn’t really a problem—except maybe for your uncle Franklin’s wife. Tamara was determined to get that necklace.” She looked beyond Laura to the bar, where Tamara Danvers stood chatting with Ty Gibson and Kevin Sullivan, oblivious of the drama unfolding behind her.
“I’m calling