The Case of the Carroltons’ Cartier - Part 1

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I’m doing something a tad different for this one. I’m going to do a serialized noir story. If you read my stuff on the regular, you may recognize Jack Lumley from an earlier tale. I hope this turns out to be worthwhile for all concerned.

I used to do work for the studios in Hollywood. I’d fix it when one of their star or starlets crossed a line that could have created box office problems. That work more or less dried up after I refused to be a patsy and slipped out of a frame that a VP tried to jam me in. He ended up in jail, and even studio heads were smart enough to figure out I had helped put him there.

After that, the studio work dried up and I barely had enough civilian divorce cases to make ends meet. And some months, they didn’t. Hell, some months the ends didn’t even get close enough to say “howdy do” to each other.

After an extended barren spell, I happened to meet up with Danny Styles, an old army buddy. Danny was from Bluff City, Tennessee, but ended up in San Francisco after the war. His father-in-law was a higher up in some insurance outfit. Danny was in charge of investigations. His team would make sure there wasn’t anything hinkey with the claims. It happened more often than you’d expect, he told me. He asked how my operation was going, and I told him it wasn’t. He tossed me a few jobs in L.A. - a suspicious fire here, a bogus theft there; it wasn’t exciting work, but it kept the lights on and my belly full.

I got a call from Danny one hot Monday afternoon. He asked if I had time to handle a burglary claim in Holmby Hills. “I’m not sure I’m allowed there, Danny. The studio suits who live there have probably given their security goons my picture with strict orders to beat me to a pulp on sight.”

“Well, you’re in luck. The burglary wasn’t at anyone’s house connected to show business. Just business. You ever hear of Carrolton Cosmetics?”

“Sure, I wear it on the weekends when I’m feeling fancy.”

“I bet you’re the belle of the ball. Anyway, Sidney Carrolton owns the company. He’s richer than a king, maybe two kings. His wife, Mary, reported that a diamond necklace was stolen from the house. And this wasn’t your everyday piece of jewelry. This was a Cartier with several giant rocks; ten carats total.”

I whistled, “That’s a lot of ice.”

“Tell me about it. The thing was appraised for one hundred grand.”

“And the missus would just wear that around her neck?”

“They tell me that’s what necklaces are for, but I’m going to assume that it was for special occasions. Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be anything fishy. The police report is cut and dry. The necklace was taken out of a safe, along with some smaller pieces. The total claim is one hundred twenty five thousand. Anytime we get a claim that big we want to just give it a once over. You think you can handle it?”

I agreed and Danny gave me the phone number for Carrolton’s place. I called the number, and got a butler who set up an appointment for four o’clock the next day.

Holmby Hills feels like a different world from where the rest of us live. It makes Bel Air look like a tenement row. The mansions all sit on acres of land, and are guarded by tall stone walls and metal gates, usually with some rich guy’s initial welded into the pattern.

I drove up to the gate, and a solid granite bruiser of a man stuffed into a dark suit appeared from a small guard shack. He approached my car and asked how he could be of assistance.

“How may I help you, sir?”

“I’m Jack Lumley with the insurance company. I have an appointment.”

He nodded. “Yes, sir. Please proceed up the driveway. Mr. Hanley will show you in.”

I thanked him, and proceeded up the driveway which was a journey in and of itself. I approached the sprawling white mansion that could have housed the population of Iowa, and parked in the circular stone driveway. A middle-aged man in a butler’s uniform that could have been swiped from one of the studios strode to my car and opened the door.

“Mr. Lumley, if you will follow me, please.”

The man turned and walked towards the steps to the house, paying me no mind. He was halfway there before I was even out of my fleet blue Chevy. I trotted to catch up with him.

“In a hurry, Jeeves?”

“I’m afraid Mr. Carrolton does not have much time,” he said ignoring the moniker I had given him. “I just want to make sure you are able to maximize your appointment.”

He led me through a Spanish tiled foyer and down a hallway to a study.

“Mr. Carrolton is expecting you, please go in.”

I crossed into the study which was bigger than my whole apartment. A large mahogany desk dominated the space. There were leather couches on two walls and two matching chairs in front of the desk. Mr. Carrolton stood behind the desk. He was a soft man in his late 50’s, wearing a gray suit with a red tie. He smiled thinly as I walked in. A woman, younger than Carrolton, but not scandalously so, stood beside him. Although she was wearing a simple light-green dress, you could tell she was a stunner. She was a blonde with blue eyes and an inviting smile. She was way out of his league, but I assume his fortune gave him a pass into whatever league he wanted to play in.

“Mr. and Mrs. Carrolton?” I asked.

“Yes, Mr. Lumley. We appreciate you coming out. I am afraid I don’t have much time, but we will try to assist as we can,” he said pointing to one of the chairs. Mary Carrolton walked to one of the chairs and took a seat. I took the other as Sidney Carrolton sat in his overstuffed leather desk chair. Mary Carrolton was a little too close for me for comfort. I know it wasn’t the case, but I could have sworn I felt her heat next to me. Fortunately, I had business to tend to.

I pulled out a pad from my jacket pocket and a pen. Before I could say anything, Sidney Carrolton handed me a stack of papers.

“You’ll find the values of all the stolen items there. The largest, of course, is Mary’s necklace. That’s worth quite a bit.”

“It was an anniversary present,” Mary said. “An overly indulgent one, but lovely.”

“Yeah, pretty lovely I said,” glancing down at the appraisal. “This is all routine under the circumstances, I just need to get some details.”

“I’ve covered all this with the police,” Mr. Carrolton said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“I know. But, unlike my client, they aren’t on the hook for any claims.”

“Yes, of course. Ask away,” Mr. Carrolton said.

“Walk me through what happened.”

“Mary and I went to a party Saturday evening. When we got back someone had broken into the house, into this room, and got into the safe.”

I looked around, not detecting any safes.

“It’s behind that picture of the horse,” Mrs. Carrolton said.

I stood and pulled the picture. It swung open to reveal a wall safe. Not out in the open, but one of the top two places someone would look for it. The door to the safe was closed.

“Would you mind opening this?”

Sidney Carrolton made a face that would have made you think I’d asked him to accompany me to a dental appointment, but he didn’t say anything. He got up and spun the combination to the safe in. I made a point of not watching. And made an even bigger point of showing that I wasn’t.

“There,” Carrolton said.

I turned and looked at the safe. There were some papers in disarray, but not much else.

“What did they take, other than the necklace.”

“It’s all in the papers I gave you. Some rings, a watch, a couple of smaller pieces.”

“Did they take anything else?”

“From what we can tell, they did not,” Mrs. Carrolton said. “This is the only room they touched, and even then they made a bee line for the safe and made away.”

“Did anyone on the staff see anything?”

“No,” Mr. Carrolton said. “And, before you ask, it couldn’t have been one of them that did it. None of them has the combination to the safe.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. Only Mary and I have the combination. And our daughter, Cynthia.”

“How old is Cynthia? Does she live here?”

“Cynthia is 17 years old, Mr. Lumley. And, yes she does,” Mrs. Carrolton said, and in anticipation of our next question she added, “And she was not home Friday evening. She was out with friends.”

“Do you know that for a fact?”

“Yes. Her friends picked her up before we left. She came about an hour after we did.”

“Do you know her friends?”

“Yes, of course, they travel in a pack,” Mrs. Carrolton said. “It’s her and three others. All very nice young ladies and gentlemen from her school.”

“Can I get their names?”

Sidney Carrolton pointed at his wife. “Just write down their names and numbers for him.”

“Of course,” she said, fixing him with a stare as icy as her blue eyes.

“Excuse me,” a voice said from the hallway. It was a teenage girl dressed in a long floral skirt and a plain white top. Her dirty blonde hair was held back with a bow and she carried a small purse in her right hand. She was a normal looking kid who likely wasn’t going to turn into the stunner that her mother was.

“Yes, Cynthia, what is it?” Mr. Carrolton asked.

“I’m going to meet my friends.”

“Fine, but it’s a school night. Be home before 9.”

“Cynthia, say hello to Mr. Lumley. He’s here to look into the robbery.”

Cynthia paused and said, “How do you do? Are you with the police?

“No. The insurance company,” I said.

She relaxed. “Very nice to meet you,” she said. “I’ll be home before nine. I promise.”

“Have fun, dear,” Mr. Carrolton said.

Cynthia walked off, clutching her purse to her.

“How many people knew about the necklace?”

“Oh, I’ve worn it at parties, and I even think there was a picture of me with it in the society pages as recently as last month,” Ms. Carrolton said.

“I may have missed that issue,” I said. “So, there’s no secret the necklace exists, but I presume only you and your daughter knew where it was.”

It wasn’t a question, but Mr. Carrolton answered it anyway. “That’s right. And, not to state the obvious, but none of us robbed ourselves. There’s no reason to.”

“It’s worth a lot,” I said.

“And so am I,” Mr. Carrolton cut in. “Far more than the insurance proceeds from this theft, I can assure you. Now, I am afraid I really must end this meeting. I have other commitments.” Mr. Carrolton stood.

“I got what I need to start, thank you,” I said as I stood and shook Mr. Carrolton’s hand. I handed him my card and asked him to call me if he thought of anything else that might be helpful.

He took the card, and then gestured to the door.

“Mary, please accompany Mr. Lumley to the front door.”

She stood, and I followed her as she led me to the door. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Carrolton,” I said as she opened the door.

“No. Thank you. I know you are doing your job. My husband can be a bit short sometimes, but he doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“Perfectly understandable,” I said. I handed her my card. “Call if anything comes to mind.”

“Anything?” she said with what I could swear was a sly grin.

“Umm.”

“Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Lumley.”

I walked out and she shut the door behind me. I wasn’t expecting whatever that was that Mrs. Carrolton lobbed at me. And I’m not sure I didn’t like it. But, something about this whole business seemed off kilter. I would do more digging in the morning.

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