Jewels On Tiger Island. Catherine Pickren

that he saw Sheriff Benson in the casino. Now they knew which casino he liked to visit. They decided not to concern themselves anymore that evening with the sheriff, and to go to their room on the third floor which overlooked the pool, and have a nightcap.

      John and Mary talked and enjoyed each other’s company, and several nightcaps ensued. They must have had exquisite sex later that night, because when they woke up, Mary’s bra was on the T.V., John’s underwear was on the chair, shoes were strewn and separated across the room, and the rest of their clothes were in three different heaps on the floor.

      “Do you know what time it is?” John asked groggily as he tried to sit up in bed and open both eyes.

      Mary yawned and said, “Come here. It’s time to get your engine revved again.” She pulled John down beside her and began massaging John to the point that he climbed on top of her.

      Chapter Sixteen

      That afternoon, John and Mary decided to do some sight-seeing and window shopping. There were a couple of shops which sold men’s and women’s beach wear, T-shirts and souvenirs, and two or three shops that sold dresses made by fashion designers such as Liz Claiborne or Ann Taylor. The dresses were very expensive and could have been bought in the states for half the price.

      While Mary was trying on a blue maxi-dress in one of the more expensive stores, John sat in a chair by the window and watched people go by as they were window shopping. John happened to look across the street and saw Earl Benson go into a pawn store.

      As soon as Mary got out of the dressing room, he told her they needed to leave quickly. They went into an adjacent store on the same side of the street that sold ice cream, milk shakes, and sodas. They ordered sodas, and had only drunk a few sips when they saw Benson exiting the pawn shop.

      Mary said, “I wonder if he bought or sold anything.”

      John replied, “My guess is he sold something. Last night he was on a losing streak. He probably needs money today to get back some cash that he lost. Let’s go ask the store owner. The least the owner can do is to tell us to ‘mind our own business.’”

      With an eclectic variety of items on shelves and the floor, the pawn shop was neatly decorated and clean-smelling. Two long, glass locked display cabinets held diamond rings, jewelry, and guns. The pawn shop owner was sipping water from a bottle when John and Mary approached the counter where he was standing. “Hello. May I help you with something?” the store owner asked.

      John cleared his throat and said, “Actually, we were curious about the man who was just here. Did he pawn anything here?”

      The store owner said, “Yes, he did. He comes in here about four or five times a year to pawn things. He never buys. He sold some silver and gold items today.”

      John’s interest was piqued and he said, “Really? Could you show us what he pawned?”

      The store owner replied, “Sure.” He opened up one of the glass display cabinets and took out a twenty-two inch gold chain necklace, a gold Timex watch, a thin silver necklace with half of a heart-shape design engraved with a bird’s wing, and a silver toe ring.

      John and Mary were stunned. They immediately recognized the gold Timex, silver necklace, and silver toe ring, and could only stare at them for what seemed like eons, but was actually a minute. The watch, necklace, and toe ring belonged to Joanne Jones, the deceased woman they found on Tiger Island, Florida. Finally the store owner said, “Would you be interested in purchasing any of these items?” John and Mary slowly looked at each other and finally Mary spoke, “I might be. I need a new watch. Do you mind me taking a picture of this with my camera phone?”

      The owner replied, “Sure. Go ahead.”

      Mary said, “Great! What time do you close? We might be getting back to you later.”

      The owner replied, “The store closes at five this afternoon. The hours are from eight to five Monday through Saturday. We’re closed on Sunday.”

      Mary zoomed in and took pictures of the three items. She and John said “thanks” and left the store.

      Once they were outside, John spoke, “That was great thinking to take pictures of those items. I know you recognized them, too. The watch, necklace, and toe ring belonged to the deceased Joanne Jones. Her parents never received these personal items, but Sheriff Benson did. Why is that? Didn’t he and Sergeant Haddock leave Tiger Island the same time that we did? How did he come by them in lieu of Joanne’s parents? I don’t know about you, but I feel that we’re on to something. I feel like we need to contact Joann’s parents and see if they could identify and describe any missing jewelry items that might have belonged to their daughter. I can’t remember Joann’s dad’s name. Let me call Logan, tell him what we just saw, and see if he can get Joanne’s dad’s phone number for me.”

      John immediately called Logan on his cell phone and told him about their experience seeing Sheriff Benson on their trip, what they just saw in the pawn shop, and that he needed the phone number of Joann’s dad. They exchanged mutual agreement on what the next steps should be and then they disconnected.

      Mary asked, “What did you and Logan discuss?”

      John replied, “He said that he would get Joanne’s dad’s phone number and call me as soon as he has it.”

      John and Mary saw a bench nearby and sat down. It had been an interesting day. They discussed the possibilities for how the sheriff wound up with Joanne’s jewelry to the point that they were both getting headaches.

      Finally, John said, “I probably need to call Bob, my lawyer in Boston, and ask him what he thinks we should do. He’s a personal friend, and ‘on retainer,’ and he will not discuss this with anyone.”

      The phone rang. It was Logan. John answered, “Good work. I’ll have Mary write it down.”

      Mary found a pen and a receipt in her purse. She wrote on the back of the receipt the number John called out. John thanked Logan and disconnected. He pondered a moment to think about what he should say to Joanne’s Dad, and then he called the number Mary had written on the back of the receipt.