The Cinderella Cleaning Caper (5)

After he had washed and dressed, Riley went over to the telephone and lifted the receiver. "Operator, please connect me to the Imperial Police West Side precinct," he said.

"Certainly. One moment, sir." A few minutes and a switchboard later, Riley was connected to the person he needed to talk to: a family friend, Thomas Franklin.

"Hello, Riley. Good morning!" said Thomas Franklin as he picked up his phone. “You’re up early. How is everything?”

“I need to talk to you,” Riley said. "The missing diamond from the Worthington estate," Riley said. "You know anyone involved in that case?”

"Yeah, my department’s handling it. Why?”

"Then I've got to talk to you. I’m investigating a case that you’ll be very interested in hearing about."

"Really?" Thomas had a smile in his voice. "The way you’re calling me, it sounds like you think there’s some sort of connection."

"It's a hunch, but hear me out. Come on down and I'll show you what I've got,” Riley said.

"Sounds good. I'll be down at your place in a few minutes."

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As the students filed into the classroom, Lilly looked around for Nina, but she was nowhere to be seen yet again. She took her seat as Miss Miller took her place in front of the chalkboard. Her expression was somewhat grim.

"Class," she said, "I'm sorry to say that Nina will no longer be in our class." There was a collective gasp and murmuring from around the classroom. “She is going to be moving very far away, and is leaving this morning."

"Oh, no..." Morgan said, from behind Lilly. Meredith, who was sitting towards the front of the room, gasped.

"Wait," Lilly said. "Miss Miller, who told you this? Is she just leaving without saying goodbye?"

Taken aback by Lilly's forceful question, Miss Miller swallowed. "I'm afraid so," Miss Miller said. "Nina's mother called and said that she needs to move for work, and that it needs to happen now."

Lilly clenched her fists. Did Nina's mother decide to run away because she was scared? Was she really a thief, and did she decide to escape to another city to continue her dirty deeds?

"All right, class, please take out your readers and open to page 62," Miss Miller said, breaking Lilly's train of thought. As Lilly did so, she realized she needed to get in touch with Riley—and fast. There was only one way that she could do so. She reached into her pocket and clutched a tiny coin in her fist.

"Excuse me, Miss Miller? I need to go to the bathroom," Lilly said, raising her other hand.

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Thomas Franklin hung his trench coat on the pegs. "I still can't believe it," he said as he sat down on the couch. "Beginning of this year, I was getting advice from your father...now I'm the one giving it out." Thomas was a member of the Imperial Police’s investigation team on lesser crimes that were classified as grand larcenies. He was just a few years older than Riley, and the two of them met each other through their fathers. When Thomas decided to follow his father's footsteps into the Imperial Police, he often worked with Jasper Rowley when cases led their paths to be crossed. Thomas lived with his parents and younger brother Oliver, as well as his wife Becky and their baby son Samuel—who had been born only a few days after Jasper Riley had passed away.

Riley and Thomas looked at each other from across the coffee table, with the notes that Riley had gathered from his interviews spread out on the coffee table. "So, tell me about this missing ring, other than the million dollar price tag," Riley said.

"Well, it's a ring," Thomas said. "It looks like a very plain engagement ring, but it has a teardrop shaped blue diamond on it. It's known as the 'Ocean Diamond,' and the last time that it was appraised ten years ago, the value was set for a million loriens. Never seen a blue diamond myself, but apparently this gem's a really deep blue—kind of like a sapphire."

"And the lady that owned it—Mrs. Worthington—she found that it was gone when she looked in her jewelry box?"

"Yes. What's interesting is that she had just worn it last Friday night, and put it right back in its proper place in the jewelry box after she did. Her husband even witnessed her doing it."

Riley wrote that statement down. "So the theft happened anytime between Saturday and Monday. Did anything significant happen during that time? House guests?"

"Well..." Thomas thought for a moment. "I did get a full list of all the people who are members of the household staff. There were a lot of people coming and going that weekend. The cleaning staff, the nanny for the children, the dog walkers, for instance."

Riley paused to think. "Are these independent people, or are these companies that come in and do the work for the Worthingtons?"

"The nanny's an old family friend, and she's as clean as my mom’s kitchen floor—absolutely no way that she'd be a thief. The dog walking and the cleaning staff are done by outside companies. I believe the dog walker's from Happy Tails, and the cleaning staff is from Cinderella Cleaning Service."

Cinderella Cleaning Service. There was that name again. “That’s interesting,” Riley said, “because at one of the houses I visited yesterday, they used the same people. This might very well be a connection. In fact…” Riley chuckled to himself. “We’ve got a very good reason to suspect them.”

Thomas felt a glimmer of realization cross his mind, and smiled. “You’re on to something. Man, your mind works just as fast as your dad’s.”

The compliment brought a moment of melancholy, but Riley smiled through it, and explained his reasoning. “If you work for a cleaning service, you've got almost full access to a house, and all the rooms in it. And if you're lucky, you're left alone to poke through everything at your leisure."

Thomas smiled. "You know, I'm inclined to agree with that theory."

"So I'll also see if I can check out their client list, and maybe--"

Just then, the telephone rang. Riley jumped up and took the receiver off the hook. "Good morning, Rowley resi--"

"BRO!!" shrieked Lilly from the school telephone. She had managed to sneak all the way down to the school's payphone from her classroom, and was now hoping that she could let Riley know the news before the teacher became suspicious about her extended absence. "Nina's gone! Miss Miller said that her mom told her they were moving very far away!"

"Tell me where she lives," Riley said, "I'll go there right now. And you, get back to class. Now."

Breathlessly, Lilly whispered the address, then hung up the receiver. Riley turned back to Thomas.

"Was that your sister?" he asked. "What was wrong?"

"I was going to get to that later, but I suppose I can tell you now. My sister went to her friend's house yesterday, and discovered a ring matching the description of one of the rings that was stolen."

"Really?" Thomas's eyebrows raised. "So who's this friend of hers?"

"A little girl named Nina. From what I heard, she lives alone with her mother. I asked Lilly to invite her over for dinner, but..." Riley got up and took his coat from the rack. "I'd better get over there."

"I'll come with you," Thomas said. "I have to speak with kids all the time."

The two men put on their jackets and left at a brisk pace, on their way to Nina's house.

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"I don't care how many men you need to use, you need to find her!" shrieked a woman's voice as Riley and Thomas arrived at the corner of the street where Nina's house was. A woman in a shabby looking dress and apron was standing out on the front step of the shabby house, frantically wailing to two patrolmen. “You’re got to find her!”

"Ma'am, we’ll do all we can,” the taller of the two patrolmen said, “but we need you to calm down and describe your dau—“

“She’s only nine years old! NINE!” the woman shrieked. “Oh my God, if anything happens to her…”

As Riley and Thomas approached, the other patrolman looked in their direction and nodded to Thomas in recognition. "Mr. Franklin! Do you think you can assist us?" he asked.

"What's happened?"

"Lost child. Little girl, about nine years old."

"Nina," Riley muttered. "When did she discover her missing?"

The patrolman leaned close to Riley and Thomas and dropped his voice to a whisper. "The mother claims she was gone when she woke up in the morning, but frankly, I don't buy it. She's not being very cooperative with us."

"I have a bad feeling that I know why," Riley said. “But the girl's our priority now. I'll help you as much as I can."

"Do you have any idea where she might've gone?" Thomas asked.

The patrolman shrugged. “Like I said. Not very cooperative.”

Riley leaned against the building and thought for a moment. As much as he didn't want to at this moment, he needed to talk to Nina's mother, at least to try and find out the truth from her. "Hey, Tom, I'm going to talk to her mother,” he said. “I’ll see if I can get any information about Nina from her.

Thomas nodded. “All right. We’re going to scour the neighborhood and see if there’s anyone that might have seen her.” He joined the two patrolmen and started pointing out directions to start the search.

Riley approached Nina's mother. She was wringing a grubby, damp handkerchief in her hands, and sniffed back tears every few seconds. "My name’s Riley Rowley. I’m the older brother of your daughter’s classmate Lilly," Riley said. He reached into his pocket and as he pulled out his insignia, the woman flinched and turned pale.

"You...You're a detective!" she sobbed.

"I am. I want to help find Nina, but I also want to ask you some questions. Can you tell me when you realized your daughter was missing?"

"The school called to say she was absent," Nina's mother sobbed. Riley frowned.

"That patrolman told me you had discovered her missing when you woke up."

Nina's mother flinched again, realizing that she had been caught in a lie. Gotcha, Riley thought.

"Ma'am, what really happened this morning? Please, tell me the truth. If you tell me the truth, we'll find Nina faster."

Nina's mother swallowed. "We had a fight. I yelled at her, and she left the house..."

“What were you fighting about?” Riley asked.

“Nothing...nothing important. Clothing. Something like that.” It was obvious to Riley that she was trying to cover up for something. He decided to strike her weak point for maximum damage.

“Did you recently tell your daughter that you were withdrawing her from school and moving?”

Suddenly, Nina's mother grabbed Riley by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him close to her with surprising, fear-driven adrenaline.

"You don't understand. It's all over for me if she's gone!" Her eyes darted to the patrolman from the magistrate searching around the house, looking for any nooks or crannies that a nine-year-old-girl could hide in. "There has to be somewhere she's gone, anywhere."

"Please, calm down!" Riley said. He put his hands on Nina's mother's hands, and slowly and carefully eased them off his jacket. "I know you're worried. I get very worried myself if something happens to Lilly, and I know that Nina and your daughter are good friends, so I want to help you in any way I can." A thought struck him. "Just out of curiosity, what do you do for work?"

"I'm...a housekeeper," Nina's mother said. "I work for a cleaning service...they send me to people's homes and I vacuum and dust and do windows.”

A cleaning service. Riley's eyes widened. "I've been thinking about getting a cleaning service. Hard to take care of the house on my own lately. Where do you work?"

"Cinderella Cleaning Service," Nina's mother said.

That name again. It hit Riley like a thunderbolt. Lilly’s suspicions were correct: if that ring had been seen in this house—along with what may be other potential stolen jewelry—then chances were very, very good that Nina’s mother was the thief—or involved with the thieves. God forbid she had made off with the Ocean Diamond—it meant the loss of everything she owned. It meant prison for years. It meant that Nina may have to be sent to a workhouse. Riley collected himself, and returned to his line of questioning.

"I shall have to check them out," he said, and decided to change the subject. "I know a way you can help me. How does your daughter get to school? Does she walk, or does she use the streetcars?"

"She walks every day," sniffed Nina's mother. "The same route."

"Then why don't the two of us retrace that route together. I'm pretty sure she's sticking to an area she knows. Maybe we'll find a secret hiding place together, and she'll be there."

"That...sounds good," Nina's mother sniffed. "I just can't stand these people searching around like I've hidden her somewhere in my house...They make me feel like a criminal!"

How ironic, Riley thought. "Well then. You can lean on me if you don't feel like you can walk." He bent his elbow and let Nina's mother take it. As the two of them got up to leave, Riley waved at the patrolman. "We're going on a walk. We're retracing the route that Nina takes to school every day, in case she's hiding along there."

"All right," the patrolman said. "If you see anything, let the station know."

"Very well," Riley said. He turned to Nina's mother. "Shall we walk?"

Nina's mother nodded, but looked very pale and almost lifeless. Her hand laying on the crook of Riley's elbow was shaking. He hated to consider the fact that she was a thief—she seemed like a hard working woman who put her daughter's needs before her own.

The two of them slowly walked towards the main road, passing by shabby houses, vacant lots and shells of houses that had been reclaimed by nature. The two of them called Nina's name and peered inside vacant houses, looking for the telltale signs of a little girl hiding. Riley took a look at the ground. He saw no grass that had been recently trampled down, no dead leaves or twigs disturbed, no signs that a crying young girl had passed this way. That meant she wasn't hiding anywhere in her neighborhood.

"I don't see any signs of someone having been this way," Riley said as he led Nina's mother to the corner where the neighborhood met the main road. "Now, which way does your daughter go to school? You'll have to forgive me, I don't really know this part of town that well."

Nina's mother pointed to the left, her hand shaking. She's going to lose it, Riley thought. "All right, we'll head this way, then. I see a few patrolmen, so maybe they have some good news for us."

Her grip on Riley's elbow tightened slightly as Riley hailed the patrolman. "Are you searching for the young girl?" he asked.

"Yeah, we've got a lead," said the patrolman. "The old lady on that porch over there? She saw a little girl run past a couple hours ago, in the same direction you're going. She thought she might've been on her way to school."

"Oh, thank God," Nina's mother said, relieved. "Yes...yes, this is the way she usually takes to school..."

"Then let’s continue,” Riley replied, giving her a warm smile. “Maybe there’s a secret hiding place on her way to school. You know how kids have secret bases and all?”

Nina’s mother nodded, and gripped Riley’s arm tighter as they continued down the street. We’d better find her soon…I think she’s cutting off blood flow to my arm, Riley thought.