The Unkindest Cut - By Honor Hartman Page 0,59

There were probably twenty-five or thirty booths, and a number of people were milling about, chatting with exhibitors and examining various items on display.

I spotted a booth with a lot of books, and I headed for that one first. Marylou and Sophie wandered off in the other direction.

‘‘Good morning.’’ An attractive young man smiled at me as I approached the books. His name tag read DAVID.

I returned his greeting.

‘‘Let me know if I can help you with anything,’’ he said.

‘‘Thank you,’’ I responded. ‘‘I will.’’

I could never resist the lure of books, and I spent a happy fifteen minutes or so examining bridge books of all kinds. Books to help me with my bidding, books on defense, books on conventions—book after book on how to play bridge. I found a slim volume on the history of the game, and I perused it a bit more thoroughly.

I had never really read much about the history of bridge, and this book looked like a good resource. It also had a section on the history of playing cards, and after skimming it briefly, I decided I definitely wanted to purchase it.

Then something in this section caught my eye, and I felt a slight tingle of excitement.

Had I just stumbled on a possibly important clue to the identity of the killer?

Chapter 21

After I paid for the books I had chosen, the young man bundled them into a bag with a handle. He thanked me for my purchase, and I smiled back at him.

My thoughts centered on what I had read about the history of playing cards. I needed time, however, to sit down and read the book slowly and carefully. I might be wildly off base, but if I wasn’t, then I might have found a very important clue.

‘‘Emma!’’

Marylou’s voice snapped me out of my brief reverie. She was beckoning from a few booths away, and I walked over to her. Should I say anything to her and Sophie about what I had discovered?

No, I decided. Not just yet.

‘‘What have you found?’’ I asked.

‘‘Aren’t these adorable?’’ Marylou pointed to sets of earrings made in the shapes of the four card suits.

I picked up a pair of spade earrings and examined them closely. The workmanship was actually quite good. The spades themselves were made of onyx, and not merely black enamel as I had first thought. The setting was gold, forming a thin border around each spade.

The other suits were equally well crafted. The clubs were also onyx, and the diamonds and hearts were a deep red.

‘‘Red jasper,’’ the woman at the booth replied in answer to my query.

‘‘They’re exquisitely made,’’ I said, and she thanked me.

They were also expensive, I noted, and I eyed the diamonds with regret. I could afford them, but I always hesitated to spend that much money on clothes or jewelry.

‘‘Go ahead and buy them.’’ Sophie spoke from behind me, startling me. ‘‘You know you want them.’’

‘‘Yes, do, Emma,’’ Marylou said. ‘‘They’re lovely.’’

Well, how could I not buy them after that? Sophie would nag me if I didn’t, or Marylou would probably buy them for me for my next birthday. I knew my two friends all too well.

‘‘I’m going to buy a couple of pairs myself,’’ Marylou said. ‘‘I want a pair of spades and one of hearts.’’

‘‘I’ll take clubs,’’ Sophie said, grinning at me.

‘‘And I’ll have the diamonds,’’ I said, not too reluctantly, truth be told.

Then I spotted something else. ‘‘And I’ll take two sets of cuff links,’’ I said, thinking of Jack and Luke. Their anniversary was coming up in a couple of months, and these cuff links would be a perfect gift. They had met in college over a bridge table and had been together ever since. ‘‘One set of spades and one of hearts.’’ I handed over my credit card, determined not to wince at the amount.

‘‘Good idea,’’ Sophie said. ‘‘They’ll love them.’’

Our purchases paid for and neatly boxed, we continued on our survey of the room. We viewed a wide array of products, more jewelry, more books, all kinds of cards and scorepads, computer software, and more. There was even a booth for a travel agent whose specialty was bridge vacations. We had to tear Marylou away from that one, but she brought away with her a handful of brochures.

‘‘Don’t you think a cruise sounds heavenly?’’ she said, beaming at Sophie and me.

‘‘They’re very relaxing,’’ Sophie said.

‘‘I’ve never been on one,’’ I said. ‘‘Baxter and I always talked about it, but we never got around