"This is a story that goes back almost twenty-five years, Arlo. Vivian Duncan said she had been forced to give up fifty-two exceptional emeralds, eleven million dollars in raw gems, to corrupt Zimbabwe border guards. She said she barely escaped Zimbabwe with her life. A tragic story. But Zelli always suspected Vivian of running her own scam.

"Then, a few days ago, she had begun to change her tune. The timing was right. She was ready, perhaps, to cash out. She was planning to sell her wedding business. That's where I came in. Because it had become time to collect her big prize. She was prepared, finally, to admit to Zelli that seven of the rough emeralds might be available. That was, until she wound up dead before they could complete their new deal."

I turned back to Zelli Gentz. "But it was only a minor setback for you, I think. You always expected to get another call about those gems. Perhaps," I met his gaze, "you even thought I had them?"

Gentz smiled, his dark mustache emphasizing his beautiful white teeth. Everyone else at the table was silent.

"When we found the stones this morning," I continued, "seven were missing. I knew they hadn't been found on Vivian. And I was certain Zelli didn't have them, yet. I expected whoever might have taken them would call you," I said, turning back to Zelli, "possibly even today, offering to sell you those seven perfect stones."

"Let us say for the moment," Zelli commented, "that is true."

"And Sara," I said, turning to the bride, "don't you think now is the time to tell Detective Honnett just how you got the seven emeralds which you offered to Mr. Gentz?"

Sara looked up at me, startled. "Me? Why, I never..."

"The emeralds, Sara. That's why you killed Vivian Duncan. At your own wedding." I shook my head. No party planner enjoys a hostess who sabotages her own affair. All that planning and painstaking hard work and then the bride doesn't have sense enough to restrain herself from committing murder!

Sara stood up, but then so did Wesley and Honnett.

Big Jack bellowed, "Sara child! What the hell is all this about?"

And Honnett, who had remained remarkably quiet all evening, said, "Let's just let Madeline finish what she wants to say. Settle down."

"Somehow," I continued, "that night at her wedding, Sara must have learned about the emeralds," I explained. "She probably overheard a private conversation between Mr. Gentz and Vivian. Earlier, they had agreed to just such a meeting. Vivian planned to bring seven wonderfully matched rough emeralds, which Zelli intended to purchase, to the Museum that night. They set a price at near seven hundred thousand dollars. Perhaps Sara had even overheard Zelli suggesting the money was already deposited in a Swiss bank account that could easily be transferred to her name. Simple for a man from Zurich."

Zelli nodded and I went on. "So much money. Right in front of her. And Sara needed money. She had just married a man who didn't have any. And from the way Brent had been behaving, he was just about through accepting the tokens and bribes that Big Jack kept at the end of his leash. How could Sara have the lifestyle she needed and the husband she wanted? I think she just took it." I turned to Sara. "Didn't you?"

"Me? You are insane!" Sara looked at me through slits of eyes.

"And what made me realize you could have done it, Sara, was the videotape from your wedding reception. I checked the tape taken from the fixed camera that covered the bridal table. Your table. Funny thing. The bride wasn't there."

"Yes, I was..."

"Sara," I interrupted her. "The police have the tape."

"So I couldn't eat that horrid food, okay? I was mingling with my guests and...I didn't kill anyone. That's just crazy!"

"When we saw you that night," I said, staring her down. "When you came into the foyer, Sara, when Honnett and I had just discovered the body. You knew it was Vivian, didn't you?"

"No, I..."

"You knew she was dead."

"I..."

"Sara," I continued, "look around. Brent has ditched you. He must realize whom he has married by now. Perhaps he suspected you even then. And today, I had a sneaking suspicion that you asked him to drop off a package at the Four Seasons Hotel, so I checked with the front desk. Don't you think he's got to know you were using him to deliver the seven emeralds you took off of Vivian Duncan's dead body?"

Sara stared at me, biting her lower lip. She was cornered.

"You hated Vivian. You must have suspected she knew Brent very, very well."

"She was a disgusting, old hag!" Sara shouted.

"So you cornered her outside, while she was having a smoke. You hit her with something hard and found her bag, found the stones."

Sara stood up, her eyes wide.

"And before you attacked her, did she perhaps tell you who your real father was?"

"Shut up!" Sara yelled, her eyes filled with alarm. "How could you know? Who are you, anyway? Did Vivian tell you? That horrid old witch! Did she tell you all my secrets? How could she? How could she try to destroy me?"

Cool Sara had finally broken down.

"You stupid bitch!" screamed Beryl Duncan, startling us all with a breakdown of her own. "You killed my mother, you stupid little fool!" Beryl stood up, tipping her chair, and lunged for Sara's thick black curls.

"Ooh. Cat fight," Arlo observed, grabbing his shot glass of tequila and stepping out of the way.

At that point, it seems just about everyone else jumped into action, all talking at once. Big Jack Gantree pulled Beryl back just as Honnett stepped up to Sara and slipped on a pair of handcuffs.

And all the while, Whisper Pettibone sat back in his chair and clapped.

Chapter 26.

I had prepared a spectacularly light, three-layer high, lemon curd cake for the evening. Unfortunately, no one seemed especially interested in dessert.

Honnett, of course, was on the job. He had to take Sara, along with her shocked grandfather, to the police station to charge her with the murder of Vivian Duncan. A back-up patrol car, which had been stationed in my cul-de-sac, had rounded up Brent Bell as he had tried to make an early departure. The patrol officers now watched Sara as well, as Honnett returned to my house for one more thing.

He said we still had personal business he needed to finish up. He didn't require any prompting. He flat out told me that he had been wrong about Ralph Duncan. I asked him to speak loud enough for Beryl Duncan and Ralph to hear. And it did my heart good to see Honnett take responsibility, in front of everyone, for the sin of, well, of underestimating me.

He turned to go and pulled me aside.

"You have your own way of doing things," he said.

"That I do."

"Sorry if I came down on you too hard, before."

"Don't mention it," I said, happy to be the one who gets to be big enough to forgive.

"And I won't forget," Honnett said, winking. "I'm your slave. You pick the day."

"What?" Arlo said, coming into the entry just as Honnett left to go. "What was he saying?"

"He bet on the wrong horse and now he's going to have to pay up."

"Hey," Arlo said, taking my hand, "I sure hope that dweeb isn't calling my girlfriend a horse."

"Arlo."

"Wild night, Mad. You sure can throw a party."

"Aren't you sticking around for cake?"

"I better take off," he said, looking sheepish. "I should go home and work."

"Arlo, your show is on hiatus. What work?"

"Oh, I've got scripts to read. You know."

He left, and I was pretty sure I knew where he was headed. To McDonald's for a couple of Big Macs and a super-sized fries. Such are his epicurean standards, humble though they may be.

As I turned to go back to the dining room, Zelli Gentz came out, putting on a black leather jacket.

"Oh no, Zelli," I said, suddenly sad. "Are you leaving?"

"I'm afraid I must," he said. "I had a very exciting evening, Madeline. You are an excellent chef. Thank you especially for preparing such a fabulous North American dish. You knew I would enjoy it."

"I'm glad."

"And I must thank you for reuniting me with all those stones from so long ago. I had never expected to see them again, all together."

"Perhaps not," I said, "but you are quite worldly, Mr. Gentz, and I am certain you expected to come across those stones some day, didn't you?"

"You are wise. With such a rare commodity, it is true, we learn that every stone will eventually turn up one day. But what a treat that you would find them for me tonight. I shall never forget the sight when you sat at your dinner table and poured them out on the table, like a magician. You are truly an amazing woman."

"Thank you. And you are pretty amazing yourself."

Zelli put a hand through his hair and smiled a roguish smile.

"Would you like to visit Zurich, Madeline?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"We shall see. Alas, I have work to do that keeps me away. I now go to Colombia where I have my cutters."

"To cut the seven emeralds for the sultan's rings?"

"Yes. The best emerald cutters in the world are in Colombia. They pass this skill down from father to son, working in the most primitive conditions imaginable. But they are artists. And an artist is what is called for."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Those emeralds. The ones you purchased from Sara Silver today. They will make you give them back. You don't expect you can just leave the country with them."

"Ah, Madeline. You do not remember all that we discussed last night. Do you think those rough stones are still in the United States?"

"No?"

"They are gone, of course. Would I be so foolish to carry them on me? I expect I will be searched quite thoroughly this time when I leave your LAX tonight. But, of course, there is nothing to find."

Of course. There wouldn't be. He was something.

"What will you do with the money? Will you pay it to Sara Silver?"

"Ah, yes. The seven hundred thousand. I suppose I have to think about this. Sara stole those stones, so it is not right that she should profit."

"It certainly isn't," I agreed.

Zelli put his arm around me, standing there at the front door, and thought.

"But when you stop to think, Vivian stole those emeralds, too. According to our agreement, ten percent belonged to Vivian, ten percent belonged to Gantree, and eighty percent belonged to me. So you see, I might as well claim that these seven stones were part of my eighty percent and pay no one."

"Ah, but let's think a little bit further," I said. "It seems to me that under the conditions you originally acquired those stones, it could be argued that you obtained them illegally yourself. Perhaps they really belong to the country of Zimbabwe."

"Yes, I can see your point. So do you suggest I send the payment directly to their government?"

"Let me think about it, and I'll let you know."

"Yes. I will do that. And now, since your Police Detective took the other forty-five stones away, I have no further business in the States. Goodbye, dear Madeline. Thank you so much for inviting me to your charming home for dinner."

What manners. I would miss Zelli Gentz.

When I got back to the dining room, Wesley caught me up on what had been going on. Apparently, Beryl Duncan was brokering a settlement between Whisper Pettibone and her father, Ralph. If Whisper could convince the police to drop their assault case against Ralph Duncan, they were offering Whisper the chance to own Vivian Duncan Weddings outright. Whisper was a man who expected justice to be served, but on the other hand, what could be more just than for him to finally own the whole show?

Holly and Wes were clearing the dishes and told me that the three of them had gone out to my courtyard to discuss the details. That's where Esmeralda was napping, and Ralph had suddenly realized how much he missed her. The dog-Dad reconciliation was currently in progress.

I looked at the tower of lemon cake and turned to my friends.

"Holly?" I asked her, "A little slice?"

"I've been eating way too much." She gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"Wesley?" I looked at my friend.

"I couldn't eat a thing. My stomach is still doing the Macarena from the scene we just witnessed."

"Maddie, why don't I cut you a piece of cake," Holly suggested, picking up the silver cake server.

"No, wait," I said, stopping her. "Our guests are gone and I just don't feel in the party mood any more."