MURDER OF PEARL (EBOOK)

Kelly shoved the knife further into the slit, hitting flesh and tearing it. She grimaced with effort and her nose scrunched at the smell. Liquid oozed out onto her gloved hands, sopping the towel she’d placed underneath for the mess. 

I’m gonna gut you like yesterday’s catch, she thought.

Aloud, she exclaimed, “Oh, this is a tough one!  Come on, you!”

She glanced up at the camera and offered a tentative smile. The knife finally did its work. The top of the oyster popped off.  

“There we go,” Kelly said, once again glancing at the camera. “And, oh my gosh, you guys, this one is so beautiful!”

She whisked the pearl off into a bowl of salt off-camera to clean it, then smiled at the camera. “Who’s excited to see this pearl?” 

Bright lights glared down on her within her make-shift basement studio.  Two large umbrella lights shone from either side. With her laptop perched on a stand and her cell phone also connected to read comments, Kelly shifted her eyes between each screen, switching back and forth between scanning for comments and making eye contact with the camera.  

Across the room, her younger sister, Jodi, monitored her orders page. She held up two fingers and wiggled them at Kelly. Kelly gave a slight nod to acknowledge the additional two orders received as she shifted the pearl from the salt bowl to the water bowl.  

She offered the camera another smile, and arched her eyebrow as she swept the pearl under the cover of a towel to dry it before its reveal. After years with the Pearls Unlimited company, a business specializing in pearl-set jewelry, she’d become a master at all things pearl party-related.

Together with Jodi, Kelly worked to organize events like in-home or online pearl parties as part of their sales plan. Customers placed an order for jewelry, and with each piece, they received a live oyster opening.  

Kelly would shuck an oyster, remove its pearl, and then measure and show its color to the purchaser, before the pearl was set into the jewelry of their choice.  The draw was the allure and mystery surrounding which size and color of pearl the purchaser would receive.  

Off-camera, Kelly set the pearl on a display card before sliding it in front of the lens.  With her “pearl-vision” lens slid into place, Kelly held the pearl in front of the special set-up.  

“Ladies, this is an absolutely gorgeous rose pink. And it looks like at least a size seven.  Melanie, girl, you are lucky with this one.”  

Messages scrolled up her screen as party viewers extolled the virtues of the beautiful, rich-colored pearl.  After showcasing the pearl, Kelly measured it before sliding it into an envelope marked with Melanie’s name. She gave the group an overview of the jewelry piece Melanie had selected, showing them a picture of the necklace in her catalog.  

After she revealed the rose-colored pearl, three more orders popped on the screen.  Jodi wiggled three fingers at Kelly.  

“All right, ladies, keep those orders coming. I’m here until they stop. And remember, no more parties for another two weeks after this one! Jodi and I are booked for an exclusive private event this coming weekend!

“I’ll have plenty of pictures when I get back to share with you and one lucky gal will win access to our next still-to-be-determined weekend event at the end of the party tonight!  All you have to do to be entered is place an order.”  

Kelly recited the order information off by heart as Jodi posted instructions in the live stream video’s chat.  

She powered through the remainder of the party, opening over thirty oysters before the party concluded.  She wound down with another promise of pictures from the exclusive weekend event, a wink, and a wave.  

As the camera’s light blinked off, Kelly blew out a long breath.  

“Well, that was a whopper of a party,” she said to Jodi, as she slumped in her chair.  She fanned herself with her hands. “Gosh, these lights are hot.”

“Getting you ready for the spotlight this weekend.”

Kelly sucked in a breath as she leaned forward and started to clean up the soppy towel soaked with smelly oyster juice. “How many oyster openings do we have for that one so far?”

Jodi shuffled through a stack of papers. “One hundred twenty-two.”

Kelly dropped the drenched towel onto the tabletop. Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline. 

“What?!” she exclaimed, eyes wide.

“And more to come, probably,” Jodi said. “I told you before, this one was a fantastic setting. Old mansion, lots of ladies with disposable income.”

“What’s the occasion again?”

“Someone named Pearl’s birthday. One of her friends or something thought it would be a cute theme to have a pearl-themed party for Pearl.”

“And we’re the only ‘entertainment,’ so to speak?” Kelly asked, as she continued her clean-up.

“That was my understanding,” Jodi answered.  “They want a jewelry showcase on Friday, pearl openings on Saturday afternoon, and a pearl-themed cocktail party Saturday night.  We don’t have to do anything to prepare for that, but we were invited.  And then Sunday brunch followed by openings for any last-minute orders.”

Kelly blinked her eyelids rapidly as she considered the whirlwind weekend ahead.  

Jodi reached out and clapped a hand on Kelly’s shoulder.  “Relax, Kelly, it’ll be fun.”

“What I can’t understand,” Kelly answered, as she stuffed a wad of wet paper towels into her trashcan, “is why women with enough money to rent out this mansion for the weekend for someone’s birthday party hired us to provide the entertainment?  Come on – they must have much more extravagant jewelry than what we offer.”

“They didn’t rent out the house,” Jodi answered. “It’s Pearl’s place.”

“Wait, I thought this was in a B&B or one of those murder mystery mansions or whatever?”

“Nope. Willow Lake Estate belongs to Pearl.”

Kelly widened her eyes again. “Now, I really don’t understand why they hired us.”

“Who cares? We’ll probably do over one-hundred and fifty openings over the weekend, and if we’re lucky, we’ll get a few more bookings. Plus, it’s all expenses paid!  They provide the rooms, food, everything.”

“I guess it’s not a bad way to spend a weekend.”

Jodi grinned.  “It’s going to be a killer weekend.”