Джеффри Дивер - Nothing Good Happens After Midnight - A Suspense Magazine Anthology

“Put them in my closet.” The step-sister waved her away.

“And I have your clean undergarments. Shall I put them in your drawer?”

“No. Leave them. Just go,” Ermintrude snapped, reaching out a hand to prevent the drawer from being opened.

Still, Cinderella lingered.

“Just go. What are you waiting for?” Ermintrude said.

“I thought it only fair to warn you that a valuable necklace was stolen at the ball last night. We may have a visit today from palace guards who will search the house,” she said.

“Why should that concern me?”

“Because they will certainly come into this room,” Cinderella said. “Open all the drawers, rummage through your clothing.”

“Why would they do that, pray? I am a gentlewoman. They would not dare.” The step-sister’s face had turned very red.

“Ah, but they would dare. And what would they find, dear sister?” Cinderella paused. “I know you stole the necklace.”

“How dare you! What can you know about anything?”

“I know how you did it,” Cinderella said. “I suspect the necklace slipped off a lady’s neck while she was dancing. You saw it on the floor, picked it up and dropped it into a convenient glass of red wine, where rubies would be invisible. You held onto that red wine all evening until you realized you could not take the glass with you. So you went to the powder room and managed to tuck the necklace under your wig. It didn’t quite sit properly after that.”

Ermintrude was staring at her. “How could you possibly know any of this? It’s all lies. You are insane.”

“I just hope the men don’t search the house too thoroughly, because if they find the necklace, it will be a lifetime in prison at the very best. Or even the noose.”

The color had now drained from Ermintrude’s face. “Why should they want to search this house? We are respectable people.”

“I heard they will be searching everybody who was at the ball.”

“And how could you possibly know any of this? A servant girl, sitting all alone by the fire?”

“Suffice it to say that I do know. Maybe I followed you to the ball last night. Maybe I watched you... And I will tell the truth if the men come. And they will search until they find the rubies. Even in among your undergarments.”

Ermintrude’s hand went to the drawer before she realized she was giving herself away.

“I’ll bury them in the garden,” she said, defiantly. “They will never find them.”

“Oh, but I understand they will bring dogs with them. Dogs specially trained to sniff out jewels.”

“Then what should I do?” The defiance had gone from her voice.

“I have a suggestion that will save you and the honor of this house,” Cinderella said. “You will take the jewels and go straight to the palace. Tell them you found them lying in a puddle last night. You looked around but there was nobody to hand them to and your mother was anxious to go home, nervous about being out alone in the dark. So you had to wait until this morning to return them. You will receive their undying thanks, and there may even be a reward.”

“Do you think so?” she asked in a small voice.

“Either way you will be seen in a favorable light by the palace. That is important, isn’t it?”

“I suppose it is.” She opened the drawer, tipped the rubies from a stocking and stood staring at them. They were indeed very beautiful. “I saw them on the floor. I grabbed them on impulse. I’ll never own anything so lovely.”

“I know how you feel. I felt the same way when you all left for the ball.”

For a second the step-sister looked at her as if she was seeing a real person for the first time. “Why are you doing this for me?” she asked. “You could have kept quiet and let the guards find the rubies and arrest me.”

“Because, dear sister, unlike you I was brought up to be a good person. Nothing can change that.” She walked toward the door. “But I will warn you of one thing. I have my ways of knowing what you do. I saw you at the ball last night. And I may not always feel so generous toward you. So I’d like to be treated with a little more respect in future.”

“All right.”

Cinderella smiled to herself. She had only just gone down the stairs when there came a furious knocking at the front door. She went to open it, her heart beating fast. Ermintrude was now trapped in the house. But outside stood a man in magnificent clothing. “I have been sent at the order of the prince,” he said. “To find the young lady who lost this glass slipper last night.”

He came out of the bar just as the clock on a nearby church was striking midnight. A cold wind was swirling up from the desert to the south, making him button his jacket. He needed to get going if he wanted to make Tucson by morning. He was about to get into his car when he noticed the girl. She was sitting in the bus shelter hugging a guitar almost as big as she was.

Their eyes met. “Nice car,” she said.

“Yes, isn’t it? Latest model,” he said with pride in his voice.

She continued to sit there, hugging her guitar to her body.

“You won’t find a bus at this time of night,” he said to her.

“I know that.”

“Shouldn’t you be at home, a girl of your age?”

“That’s what I’m trying to do — get home,” she said, defiantly.

“And where is that?”

“California.”

He gave an incredulous laugh. “Then you are a long way from home.”

“No kidding.”

“What on earth are you doing out here in this God-forsaken place? Going to college?”

She gave a bitter laugh. “I wish.” She paused. “I’m trying to get home from Nashville.”

“Tennessee?”

“No, Nashville on the Moon. Of course Tennessee.”

“You’re a brittle little thing,” he said.

“Yes, well, I haven’t exactly had it as easy as you.”

“What took you to Nashville? Dreams of becoming a country music star?”

“Why else does anyone go to Nashville?” she asked.

“And it didn’t work out?”

“I learned all I needed to know about the music industry and what goes on in Nashville.”

“And it wasn’t for you?”

“There was nothing there for me.” She hesitated. “Or at least I found out there was nothing there for me.”

“So you’re heading home. Have you hitchhiked this far?”

“No, I took the bus this far. But I’m running out of cash.”

“I could give you a ride as far as Phoenix, if you like.”

“That would be great.”

“Come on then.” He clicked open the car door. “Put your things on the back seat and let’s get going.”

She stood up, carefully laying her guitar on the back seat but keeping her small backpack with her in the front. The engine purred to life and the big car took off, leaving the lights of the city behind. There was an occasional truck on the road but otherwise they were driving through total darkness.

“So are you any good as a singer?”

“Not bad,” she said.

“You want to sing something for me?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Suit yourself, but you know I happen to be a big music producer.”

“Really?”

“Really. I used to be in Nashville, years ago, but now I’m based in LA. I do more film music these days. Where the money is.”

He had expected her to sing for him then, but she remained silent. After a while he asked, “What’s your name?”

“Jolene Kent.”

“Good name for a country singer.” He chuckled, “Was it really your name, or did you make it up?”

“It’s a real name.”

“Jolene. I used to know a girl called Jolene, years ago. She was good. Great voice. Really cute too. Looked a bit like you.”