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I hadn’t thought of that. “Good point.”

“What’s your budget?”

I told her.

She handed back my phone. “Well, that takes care of the diamond problem.”

Vera opened one of the shallow drawers and brought out a velvet tray. Inside were six rings, each secured in its own little slot.

I leaned forward to get a better look. They were beautiful, but none looked quite like the photograph. I picked up one with a square setting.

“She doesn’t want square,” I said. “I know that for sure.”

Vera snatched the tray away as if I’d offended her. “Hang on. I think I know the one.” She opened a drawer farther down, looked inside, then closed it and opened another. “Yes, here it is. Iris’s ring.” She took out a small envelope and tipped a ring into her palm. She examined it through the visor, then placed it on a square of black velvet in front of me.

The diamond was bigger than the one in the movie, sitting in a gold setting with a delicate pattern down either side. Near the stone, I could see every little curve. Farther along the band, the engraving had softened with wear.

“Who’s Iris?” Soren asked in a tone that told me he was almost afraid to ask.

“You’ve heard of Iris Johnson, surely?” Vera asked.

Soren shook his head. “Can’t say I have.”

Vera clucked her tongue, clearly greatly disappointed in all three of us. “I’d expect as much from these two. But, Soren Moon, you grew up in Montana. How could you not know about Iris?”

“What’s her story?” Jack asked. “We don’t want a cursed ring.”

“It’s a sad tale, but that don’t mean the ring’s cursed,” Vera said.

Cursed?

“Iris married a man whose family made their fortune during the gold rush of the 1860s.” Vera said. “One of the richest families in Helena. Money didn’t save her, though.”

I braced myself, waiting to hear what had befallen poor Iris.

“Nope, sure didn’t,” Vera said. “Still had six kids, one after the other.”

We waited to hear the sad part of the story.

“And?” Jack prompted.

“Well, that’s it. Six kids, one after the other.” Vera shuddered. “Then, as if she hadn’t suffered enough, she opened a school for girls. Worked hard all her life teaching and raising kids. A dozen grandchildren, at least. Thankless, I imagine. And she and her husband were married for sixty some years. Cannot think of a worse way to spend our precious days here on earth than looking after some spoiled man and his children.”

“Sounds to me like she was a great woman,” Jack said.

“Some might say so,” Vera said in a tone that implied she would not.

“Were she and her husband happy together?” I asked.

“From all accounts, yes,” Vera said.

“How did you get her ring?” Soren asked.

“That’s what I do. Shop estate sales. Found this beauty last year. No one’s come in here that could afford it. Until now.”

“May I?” I asked.

“That’s what it’s here for,” Vera said.