Green streamers decorated the interior of Flannigan's Bar on Chicago's South Side. Saint Patrick's Day was approaching and the only orange allowed had to be on paraphernalia associated with the Bears or the University of Illinois, and that only grudgingly.
Two young women entered, alike in facial appearance, but different in matters of dress and deportment. Kristy Flannigan had her hair streaming down her back in a pony tail. She wore a White Sox Starter jacket gray slacks, and brown, flat soled shoes. Kelly, older by thirteen minutes, had her hair done up in a bun and wore a dark blue overcoat, which concealed her skirt. Her legs were encased in nylon stockings for warmth's sake, as they were quite attractive and hardly needed any support. Black pumps gave her the illusion of height over her sister.
They walked over to the bar, but before they could order their usual, the bartender said, "Your Dad wants to see you."
"What for?", Kelly asked.
"He didn't tell me why. Just to send you to his office once you came in."
The sisters went back to the cramped office. Their silver-haired father same behind the desk in his usual crumpled gray jacket and white cotton dress shirt with the neck unbuttoned. Across the desk from him sat a well-dressed woman with sapphire blue eyes and flaming red hair accentuated by a few strands of gray. She stood, as did Sean Flannigan. He introduced the twins and identified the visitor as Brigit O' Donohue.
"Could I have a chat with you two?" she asked.
"Sure," Kristy said, not sure of what this woman wanted.
"We could talk this over at table out in the main floor, as our conversation will be lost in the chatter."
"Of course," Kelly said.
The trio found and open table and without asking a mug of beer and small glass of whiskey were placed in front of Kristy. "Is that shot and a beer I've heard so much about?" Brigit asked.
"One shot of Jim Beam and one glass of Miller Genuine Draft," Kristy confirmed.
"She orders it every time," Kelly said.
"And you like to keep us guessing," the server said.
"I'm in the mood for a rum and Coke tonight, Kathy."
"All right," Kathy jotted down the order. "And you ma'am?"
"If you have Guinness and Bushmill's, I'm willing to try what this young lady is having."
"Coming right up."
As the three women waited for their order Brigit asked "Have either of you heard of the Killarney Emerald?"
"It's coming here on exhibition next month," Kelly said.
"But that's about all either of us know," Kristy said.
"When Ireland gained independence from Britain, it was sent as a gift from Irish-Americans to the people of Killarney," Brigit explained. Now it's being sent back the States on tour as a gesture of thanks."
Kathy game by with their orders, and Brigit stopped. Once the three were by themselves, she resumed speaking. "Although the exhibition doesn't start until next month, as you already know. The emerald is already in Chicago."
Kelly took a bigger sip of her drink than she'd hoped and swallowed hard. Kristy simply said "Oh?" and listened carefully to the next bit of information.
"We thought it would be better for security if we could slip it in without fanfare," Brigit explained.
"Makes sense," Kristy said.
"Why do you need us?" Kelly asked.
"To see if you can find a safe place to keep it," Brigit said.
"That should take a bit of thinking, but we can manage."
"Where is it right now?" Kristy asked.
"In my room at the Hilton and Towers," Brigit answered.
"That's not the most secure place for it."
"I know but I haven't pasted it all over the news. Could you come over to my room tomorrow morning?"
"Sure," Kelly said. "Say ten o'clock?"
"That would be fine."
Normally, the twins took public transportation to the Loop office, but for this meeting, they drove. The ten o'clock start meant they weren't fighting the infamous rush on the Dan Ryan (sometimes called the Damn Ryan) Expressway. They arrived at the Hilton and Towers ahead of the appointed time and asked for Brigit's room number. The desk clerk even offered to call the room and let Brigit know her two appointments were in the lobby. However, he got no answer.
The twins went up to the room, accompanied by one of the security guards. On opening the door, the threesome was treated to a shocking sight. The room was an absolute shambles. Clothes and other items were strewn all over the place. Brigit lay face down on the floor, with her clothes looking a bit disheveled. Her wrists and ankles were securely bound and a large cloth stuffed into her mouth and held in place by a scarf tied securely behind her head. In second she was released and lifted onto the bed.
Brigit was clearly the worse for wear. She moved slowly and was unable to speak for several minutes. At one point she buried her face in her hands, and Kristy noticed the watch face was smashed.
"Is this a wind up watch?" she asked.
Brigit nodded. "What are you aiming at Kris?" Kelly wondered.
"Our first clue," her sister said, pointing at the watch. "It's hands are stuck, I'd say about eleven oh eight."
"So that's about the time it happened."
"Right, and I'll bet a dinner at Ditka's there's an emerald missing."
"I shouldn't have told anybody else about it," Brigit said with a weary sigh.
"Other than the two of us, who did you tell?" Kelly asked.
Brigit thought it out for a while and said "Two people. No three. The fellow who sat beside me on the airplane. A Charles Thompkins, from Bristol, England. There was a young lady I met in the bar downstairs. There was a basketball match on the television and she and I were the only ones who didn't pay attention to it. We were right at the bar, so the bartender may have heard us."
"Surely he stayed until his shift was over," Kelly said.
"He could have phoned somebody," Kristy stated. To the security man: "Check the phone records."
"Right," he said. "I'll tell the cops to check his cell phone."
"What about the woman?" Kelly asked.
"I believe she said her name was Dite Spring," Brigit said. "She said it was short for Aphrodite. It was such an unusual name asked her where she was from. She said Glendale, California, just outside Los Angeles."
"Is there any way we can meet them?" Kristy said.
Several phone calls later, it was determined both suspected guests were in the building and could be met. A conference room on one of the lower levels was not being used at the moment. Thompkins was the first person interviewed. He was in his mid forties with salt-and-pepper hair. Although in town for business purposes, he'd been exhausted after a long day of sightseeing and claimed to be a asleep at the time and denied all knowledge of the attack. The story was hard to verify, but there was nothing to implicate him at the moment. He also was aghast at what had happened to Brigit.
Aphrodite Spring came in next. She wore jeans and a casual blouse. Blonde hair fell carelessly too her shoulders. "What's the big deal?" she asked as she settled into a chair. The security man told her.
"That's a terrible thing to happen to Mrs. O' Donohue," Dite said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Where were you about eleven last night?" Kristie asked.
"In my room, watching TV."
"What were you watching?"
"The local news. I wanted to catch the weather report for today."
"Do you really want to stick with that story?" Kelly asked.
"I don't see why I should." Dite said.
"You story has one huge hole in it," Kristie said. "Chicago is in the Central time zone, not Eastern. The late local news is on at ten, not eleven."
Dite shook her head, as if chastising herself for overlooking such a small detail. "Okay, so you got me," she said.
"Is the emerald still in your room?" Kelly asked. "Remember, the room is hotel property and they can insist on a search."
Dite gave in and led the group to her room. "I wasn't to meet with my contact until this afternoon," she explained. After rummaging around her cosmetic case, she produced a shiny green object about the size of a robin's egg. "The police should be taking a statement from Brigit about now." Kristy said. "Can you keep an eye on things here, Kell?"
"Sure thing."
Kristy and the guard took the elevator the three floors up to Brigit's room. "Hi Sean!" she said.
"Kristy!" he said "What are doing here?"
Brigit was thoroughly confused. "This is my cousin, Detective Sean Kowalski of the Chicago Police Department," Kristy explained. "Kelly tends to dress more businesslike away from home."
Kristy reached into her pocket and pulled out an object. "Look familiar?" she asked.
"The Killarney Emerald!" Brigit exclaimed.
"That's right. Kelly's keeping an eye on her right now."
Sean joined Kristy as the two went back to Dite's room. Nobody responded to the knock, so the security man opened it with a pass card. To everybody's surprise, Kelly lay face down on the bed. Her wrists and ankles were bound with nylon stockings and a silk scarf tied across her mouth held a balled-up handkerchief in place. Kristy quickly untied her sister and asked the inevitable question.
"Dite knocked me down and tied me up!" Kelly said. "She must be an expert because she did it so fast."
"Then she's left the hotel."
"Yes. On the way out she said she'd see us again."
At that moment, Kristy didn't doubt the statement.
THE END