Laura Childs - Shades of Earl Grey

“Including our so-called cat burglar.”

“Right,” said Drayton. “And if this thief had his eye on Camille’s ring, he might also be honed in on the European Jewel Collection. It certainly has received enough publicity.”

Indeed, there had been a splashy write-up in the Arts Section of the Charleston Post & Courier and Drayton had even been interviewed on the Good Morning, Charleston radio show.

“If it makes you feel any better, Drayton, those same concerns have been bouncing around in my head, too,” Theodosia told him.

“Unfortunately, there really isn’t much we can do,” said Drayton. He assumed a glum expression. “Something like this, you have to wait and see what happens.” He paused, reached behind him for a cup of tea he had brewed earlier for himself, took a sip.

“Chamomile?” asked Theodosia. Chamomile was a tried-and-true remedy for nerves.

Drayton nodded. “Do you know if Delaine talked with the police yet?”

“I just got off the phone with her,” said Theodosia. “She was on her way over to the Lady Goodwood Inn to meet with two detectives from the Robbery Division.”

“Too bad your friend, Detective Tidwell, couldn’t be of help.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a friend,” responded Theodosia.

Burt Tidwell, one of the Homicide Detectives in the Charleston police force, had once insinuated that Bethany Shepherd, one of Theodosia’s former employees, had been involved in the poisoning of a slightly shady real estate developer during a historic homes tour. Theodosia had worked with Detective Tidwell, if one could call it that, to resolve the case and bring the true culprit to justice.

“Besides, Tidwell’s in the Homicide Division,” added Theodosia. “Last night’s event is being assessed as a robbery.”

“Right,” said Drayton. He set his teacup down, picked up the two jars of honey, balanced them in his hands as though he were weighing something. “Anyway, I’m still worried about tomorrow night.”

“What if we spoke with Timothy Neville?” said Theodosia. “Suggest to him that the Heritage Society might want to take some extra precautions?”

Timothy Neville was the president of the Heritage Society and a good friend of Drayton’s. Timothy’s great-greatgrandmother had been one of the original Huguenot settlers in Charleston back in the seventeen-hundreds and her descendants had become wealthy plantation owners, growing rice, indigo, and cotton. Timothy resided in a magnificent Georgian-style mansion over on Archdale Street.

Drayton nodded. “Timothy might go along with the idea. Should go along with it, anyway. It would certainly be in his best interests.”

“So you’ll speak to him?” asked Theodosia. “Share our concern without completely alarming him?”

“Absolutely,” said Drayton, making up his mind. “I’ll call Timothy this instant.”

“This,” said the enthusiastic manager of Spies Are Us, “is the slickest little device this side of the DOD.”

“What’s the DOD?” asked Drayton.

“Department of Defense, my friend. And this little baby provides your first wall of defense.”

Theodosia and Drayton stood in the high-tech electronics store gazing at a device that looked like a second cousin to a video camera. Around them were showy displays that featured motion detectors, security cameras, tiny cameras that fit into pens and lapel pins, as well as miniature microphones.

“How exactly does this work?” inquired Drayton. He had voiced his feelings to Timothy Neville about heightening security at the members-only party tonight and, surprisingly, had received a green light. The problem he and Theodosia now faced was to select the right security device from the hundreds for sale in the store. Security, it would seem, was very big business these days.

“This motion detector functions like the automatic range finder on a camera,” said the young store manager whose fccname tag read RILEY. “Basically, you set the perimeter via this keypad.” Riley’s fingers tapped lightly on the shiny keypad. “Then, once the device is programmed, it emits sonar pulses and waits for an echo. But if someone breaks the electronic beam, say they walk through it or even pass a hand nearby... then wham! The alarm goes off!”

“How large an area will this secure?” asked Theodosia.

“What are we talking, warehouse or retail?” Riley asked.

“Think of a smaller retail space,” said Drayton. “With glass cases.”

“A smaller area, I’d say you should probably go with two,” Riley told them. “If you decide later that you need to expand your protected area, you can always add a couple additional modules.” Riley smiled and nodded over the top of Theodosia’s head toward a customer. “Could you excuse me for a moment? I’ve got a customer who’s here to pick up a security camera. Poor guy owns a couple liquor stores and is constantly getting ripped off.”

Theodosia looked askance at the device in Drayton’s hand. “How much is this thing?” she asked.

Drayton studied the price tag. “Ninety-nine dollars,” he told her. “I’m amazed this stuff is so affordable.”

“Me too. But you know how much technology has come down in price. Look at DVD and CD players.”

Drayton stared at her blankly. As a self-professed curmudgeon who was scornful of all things technologic, he still preferred his old Philco stereo and vinyl record albums.

“Well, never mind,” Theodosia told him, deciding this probably wasn’t the best time to illuminate Drayton on the advances that had been made in the past ten years. “You think we’d need two of these?” she asked.

Drayton studied the brochure and did some quick math, figuring square footage while he mumbled to himself. “Two should do it,” he decided. “The jewelry will be on display in the small gallery. That’s really our key area of concern right now.”

“And Timothy approved this expenditure?” Even though Timothy Neville lived in baronial splendor in a huge red brick Georgian mansion, he was notoriously frugal when it came to expenditures for the Heritage Society.

“When I spoke with him yesterday, he certainly agreed there was a potential for trouble. So yes, he did approve this. Tonight’s party is members-only, of course, and he didn’t seem to feel we should expect any problems. I think Timothy’s got more of an eye toward next weekend. That’s when there could be a security issue. I suppose he views tonight as a sort of dry run.”

“But he’s agreed to security guards, too,” said Theodosia. She wasn’t about to pin all her hopes on two ninety-nine-dollar motion sensors.

“Two security guards will be posted. But realize, we had to employ them anyway,” Drayton told her. “For insurance purposes. Anytime you have a traveling show like this European Jewel Collection, you’re contractually obligated to provide a certain amount of security.”

They stood there silently, eyeing the device.

“Are we overreacting?” asked Theodosia.

“Probably,” admitted Drayton. “In the cold, clear light of day, when you stand in this store and see all this trickytechy stuff that plays right into people’s paranoias, our cat burglar theory does seem awfully far-fetched.”

“Right,” Theodosia nodded. Her hand reached out and touched the motion sensor. It had a black metallic surface with a matte finish. Very gadgety and Mission Impossible looking. “This is sort of crazy,” she admitted. “You turn this little gizmo on and it generates supersonic detector beams.”

“It’s nuts,” agreed Drayton.

“Maybe we shouldn’t buy it then,” said Theodosia.