Always Room for Cupcakes (Cupcakes 1)

“Here’s your take from last week,” the man’s voice said. “The old man with the Rolex actually thinks it’s his son that stole it from him. I told him that I couldn’t remember who I’d bought it from, but he’s convinced. Said it was the final straw, he was cutting the boy off.”

They both laughed and I felt a chill run through me.

They were running a con on the residents of the town. She stole their items and he sold them back to the victims, or probably anyone who came in and wanted to buy them, claiming someone sold them to him. Then they split the money from the sale.

What dirty bastards…

I left the shop as quietly as I’d entered it, going around the corner to the coffee shop to give her a chance to leave.

I went through the pictures I’d taken, then zoomed in on the pinky ring. It was sterling silver with a B engraved in it, and looked like it was very expensive. Although, I wasn’t an expert on jewelry, so what did I know.

I enjoyed my latte, played a few rounds of Trivia Crack, then dropped my camera in the van before going back inside the pawn shop.

Plastering a big smile on my face, I sashayed into the store, the bell dinging as I entered.

“Afternoon,” the man behind the counter said, and I turned my smile to him.

“Good afternoon, how are you on this fine day?” I asked, maybe a little too over the top.

“Better now,” the man replied, his grin kind of lecherous.

Tapping down the desire to throw up in my mouth, I leaned over on the glass counter in front of him, treating him to a gratuitous shot of my cleavage. He took the bait, getting an eyeful before bringing his gaze back up to my face.

“What can I do for you, beautiful?”

The will to roll my eyes was great, but I controlled it, instead answering coyly, “Well, I don’t know if you can help me or not … it’s kind of a long shot, but I figured, if anyone in this town would have what I need, it’d be you.”

He smirked, obviously enjoying the attention, and covered my hand with one of his.

“How about you tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll see what I can do.”

I stood up, pushed out my chest, and twirled a lock of hair around my finger.

“See, it’s my daddy’s birthday this weekend, and I wanted to get him something real special. He’s always worked so hard, and could never afford the things he wanted … He’s always been a big fan of those mobster movies, really liked the jewelry the men wear and stuff, so I thought maybe if I could find a ring or a pendant or something, he’d get a kick out of it. His name’s William, but he goes by Bill, so something with a W or a B would be just perfect.”

I pouted in what I hoped was a pretty way, puffing out my lower lip and looking up at him from beneath my eyelashes.

“I told you it’s a long shot…” I added, letting my sentence trail off as I ran a finger over my lower lip.

His eyebrows drew together, and I worried maybe I’d laid it on a little too thick and he was on to me, when he held up a finger and said, “Just give me a minute,” then disappeared into the back.

I watched him go then wandered over to the jewelry counter and leaned over, looking inside. If he was monitoring me from the back, I wanted him to think I was searching for a piece for my father.

A delicate emerald ring had actually caught my eye when I heard him coming back to the front. Tearing my eyes away from the pretty piece of jewelry, I flashed my teeth at him as he stopped in front of me.

I watched as he laid out a chain, which had a large oval pendant with a big W engraved on it. When he didn’t immediately put out anything else, I worried that he wasn’t going to show me the ring, then he said, “I have this necklace, and I also have a ring that you might like, but it’s a bit more expensive.”

He took my hand and turned it palm up, then dropped the pinkie ring inside.

I made a show of picking it up, looking it over, then placing it on my own pinkie and holding my hand up to look at it.

“Oh, it’s perfect,” I said, smiling up at him as if he were my hero. “How much is a bit more expensive?” I asked, keeping my tone cautious.

“Three hundred.”

Son of a bitch … I sure hoped Moose would pay me back for this.

“I’ll take it,” I replied, reaching for my purse. “My daddy’s always given me the best presents, now I want to give back.”