"Why?" I asked.
She was silent longer. This time I was too...some things, you just have to wait for.
"I've been having dreams." She said.
"Oh?"
"Dreams of a dragon. A really monster one. And all it does is watch me."
"Go on"
"And....and there's a pile of coins in front of it. And every time I sleep it gets smaller."
I'd guess a thousand, five hundred coins at first, and then ten less, ten less, every day.
"And recently...one dream it touched me, caressed me...tore my nightgown with its claws. When I woke up, it was ripped. RIPPED!" She shriked.
"Did you ever wear the necklace?" I asked.
"Only once. To a charity ball. Sence I've been able to afford better jewelry, clothes...my husband lost a court case, I got the kids back...so many lucky things happened I thought it best to put the necklace away..."
I could guess that the dreams started after she put the necklace on. But only a guess.
"Another night it clawed me, angrily...I woke up bleeding."
She shook herself. "I can't DO this, Ma'am. I just can't. You take it, you like this kind of stuff. I'll sell it to you for fifty cents. Fifty cents."
I remembered the old story, the bottle imp, quite suddenly. You bought it, it made you happy, it made you miserable, both at the same time...but you could only sell it for half of what you bought it for.
And once you ran out of small money...that's it.
Ten coins...
If I bought it, I'd have five days to solve this mystery.
Would I do it?