“You found these calculations in with the other notes from the assignment?”
“I mean, generally speaking, yes. It was all kind of thrown in together. But look how he circled the specific gravity here.” She pointed. “These aren’t the right readings if it was a natural ruby.”
Micah stared up at Avery, frowning. “Right. That’d reflect the specific gravity of a spinel. Why would your dad have written this, unless he was suspicious the ruby in the medallion was a fake?”
“Well, I’m glad you said it. I was afraid to,” Avery said. “But they must have ruled that out or redone their calculations prior to it being certified. Mom never would have signed on to the authenticity if the ruby wasn’t real.”
“Absolutely,” Micah said, nodding. “She did sign, though. So it’s got to be real.”
There was too much that didn’t add up for Avery. The odd date her mother had signed, the stolen files from the home office, the strange, cryptic messages, and now these numbers. “I’m not so sure.” She finally spotted an outlet behind her desk and plugged in the answering machine.
William’s voice rose into the air from the little speaker, and Avery’s eyes instantly filled with tears. She hadn’t been prepared for that. Even through the tinny answering system, it was still her dad.
Micah glanced up from the paper and quickly put an arm around her shoulders. “Oh dear. I’m sorry, honey.”
She shook her head, smiling and wincing at the same time. It always surprised her that grief could still sneak up like this after a year. The so-called stages didn’t always present themselves in an orderly fashion or stay gone once they’d passed. Dr. Singh said sadness marked progress from anger, but anger felt more tolerable to Avery, in spite of the way it wreaked havoc in her life. “No. No, it’s okay. It’s all good.” She took a deep, shaky breath in. “I really miss him. Let me listen this time; I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what he said.” She pressed stop and then play again, breathing through the bittersweetness.
Micah, William here. I’m leaving the office now, but we should sit down before the Emperor’s Twins document is turned in Monday. There are a few things on the, uh, paperwork. To discuss. All right.
That was it. Her dad had never signed off correctly. Ever. Even in a phone conversation, he’d rarely said good-bye. When he did, it wasn’t actually good-bye; it was a see you later, talk soon, or something similar. But that wasn’t what she was supposed to be paying attention to, was it? She looked at Micah. “He sounds awkward. Stilted.”
“I noticed that this time around too. I think I was too overwhelmed, hearing his voice, when I listened at home.”
“And you never had a chance to talk again after this?”
Micah sat back, frowning, staring through the papers on his desktop into the past. “Did we? I don’t think we did. This message came in Friday night. I called him back but got his voice mail. He probably figured we’d catch up on Sunday. Now, in light of these numbers,” he said, tapping Avery’s scrap of paper in front of him, “I’m not so sure what we’re going to find when we’re back in the lab on Monday.”
Avery stood abruptly, pacing. “Ugh. I don’t want to be the one to tell Goldie her Emperor’s Twins exhibit is centered around a fraudulent ruby. This sucks. I have so many questions and so few answers.” Which made her think of another. “Edward Johnstone. Does that name ring a bell? He called here the other day and Sir Robert gave me the message, and then I missed another call from him before we connected. When I finally phoned him back, he said the strangest thing.”
“Edward Johnstone was the collector who submitted the Emperor’s Twins medallion to MOA last year,” Micah said.
Avery stared wide-eyed at him. “What?”
He nodded. “Why did he call you? Why would his name have seemed familiar to you, I wonder?”
She smacked the desktop, scattering papers. “In those files Tilly and I found, with the history of the piece originally being submitted. I knew I’d seen his name somewhere. Yes, I remember, he was listed as the submitting collector. But what does that mean? Micah, he asked me about the status of the ruby we’re currently working on. And then he gave this warning that was like something out of one of Tilly’s mysteries. He said, ‘Trust no one.’ He told me to make sure we never let the ruby and medallion out of our sight or that it had to be locked up when it wasn’t with us. But that’s not new advice; it’s standard protocol.”
“That is very odd. There was nothing else in the archived items mentioning Johnstone or anything about an item not being handled correctly, was there?”
“No. There may have been something in the files that were stolen, but we’ll never know now.” She couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice.
The phone rang, and Micah answered it while Avery poured their coffee. The rest of the day dragged; it was tough to concentrate, knowing her sister and aunt were on their way home and knowing there were a plethora of things that weren’t adding up, the latest of which being her father’s cryptic phone message and the weird warning from Johnstone.
When Avery’s phone rang on her way home that afternoon, from a private number, she answered it, expecting to hear Edward Johnstone’s voice again. Instead, a muffled, deep, man’s voice came on the line through the speakers in her car. “Use the key.” The line went dead.
Avery hit the steering wheel, accidentally grazing the horn and startling herself when it blared. “Ugh! What? What key? Use what key? Who are you?” She didn’t recognize the voice, but that was the point, wasn’t it? To keep her guessing and off balance?
She was still fuming when she turned into the driveway, past the police officer stationed there. No number of ice cream flavors could cool her aggravation with whatever was happening. Halston was on the front porch, lying in the sun, and Stefanie’s car was gone, which meant Tilly and Aunt Midge were home. Thank God.
Halston’s happy greeting and the aroma of butterscotch and chocolate drifting to her the moment she came through the front door began to work their magic on her mood. She found Aunt Midge and Tilly in the kitchen, nearly hidden behind the biggest, most beautiful bouquet of pink roses she’d ever seen. Avery crossed to the counter where they stood and pulled them both into a tight hug.
“My girl,” Aunt Midge said. “You must have been terrified. I still think we should have come home right away.”
Avery shook her head. “No. I’m glad you stayed. I’m super excited for you,” she told Tilly. “Who sent you flowers? They’re gorgeous!” She reached out and turned the little white card so she could read it, and her breath caught in her throat.
Never stop at enough.
So proud of you, Lamb.
Love to you and Roo.
“They’re from Dad,” Tilly said softly. Her blue eyes were wide and hopeful, and Avery couldn’t utter a single word of disagreement.
She nodded. “Yes. They must be.”
Her younger sister’s expression immediately relaxed, and Avery knew she was remembering the last time a message had come to the house. But how could Avery crush her sister’s hope over this? She didn’t have the heart to. No matter who the flowers were from—and Avery mused that they might even have come from a well-meaning Micah or Sir Robert or Wilder—the sentiment was just as perfect as the arrangement.
“I know Dad sent them. No one else would know about Billie.”
When Tilly turned ten, she’d decided she wanted to sing. And not just in the shower. Church choir wasn’t enough. A part in the elementary school play wasn’t either. So Anne and William had found a voice instructor, and Tilly fell in love with song, and with jazz in particular. Avery still remembered William coming home one day with a rolled-up black-and-white poster under one arm and handing it to Tilly. Tilly made Avery take her to the big Crafts and Cloth store in Forsythia Hollow, a half hour away, so she could spend her allowance having it matted and framed. The image of Billie Holiday singing her heart out beside the quote on the poster still hung on eighteen-year-old
Tilly’s wall. The full quote from Billie read Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what’s more than enough.
Avery put her face near the gorgeous roses and inhaled, closing her eyes. She smiled at Tilly. “You deserve them.”
As they were clearing dinner dishes later that night, Midge spoke. “I saw the floor by your office. I can’t even imagine what you went through.”
“I can’t get the blood out. The cleaning company gave me some stuff to use every time we do the floors, but it’s not coming all the way out.”
“Good,” Tilly spoke up. “Who cares about the floor? I’m glad you hit him. The stain just proves how badass my sister is.” She gave Avery one more quick hug and went back to squeezing the lemons for lemonade. Leave it to Tilly to lend some perspective to the situation.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she told them both. “So is Halston. He was the really brave one. He got himself hurt trying to protect me.”
Aunt Midge made a kissy face at her still-regal Afghan hound, now sprawled out on the cool tile. “Of course he did. And he’ll be fine, especially after he sees the hero’s dinner I’m making him. Steak and liver.”
* * *
Each summer, the Ayers family barbecue was a casual afternoon event, often stretching into the evening, that included the small Ayers family along with their closest friends. Last summer the party had been skipped entirely, as it had been scheduled for the weekend after the accident. Avery and Midge had discussed skipping it this year as well, but the get-together was needed more now than ever. Midge’s core group of friends would attend, which meant her four closest girlfriends and their plus-ones, her long-ago fiancé Colin and his charming husband Prince Ivan, and of course Midge’s good friend and wannabe suitor Wilder Mendelsohn. Avery had extended an invitation to Art on a whim, and Micah, Noah, Sir Robert, and Francesca, and even Goldie Brennan were coming. In a moment of weakness she’d even invited Nate yesterday, as they were leaving the lab. Tilly would no doubt have her close friends in attendance as well.
Avery, Tilly, and Aunt Midge worked tirelessly into the night Friday, preparing all the food, sweeping and sprucing the patio, and setting up croquet and the volleyball net on the back lawn. Tilly turned on the small globe lights they’d strung through the trees, and Avery went along and replaced the four bulbs that were out. The evenings were still cooler than the days this early in June, which meant perfect weather for a cozy fire when it began to get dark. Avery stocked the firewood nearby and set out a few extra candles, finally collapsing on the new, super-soft cushions on the patio swing beside Tilly. She tipped her head back and breathed in the scent of the lilac bushes all around them.
“I invited Rachel,” Avery said. She wasn’t going to mention Art, as he’d seemed a little caught off guard when she’d asked him.
“Awesome!” Tilly grinned. “Rachel was always your most fun friend. I’ve missed her. Eve and Mindy are coming, and maybe Chase.”
“Really? Chase?” Tilly had dated Chase a few months ago, but they’d both agreed after a couple weeks that they were better off as friends.
“Sure. He and Mindy are a thing; it’s cool. You said Noah will be here, right?”
She nodded. “Yes. He sounded excited to see you. Well, as excited as a nineteen-year-old boy can sound.” Avery chuckled.
Aunt Midge spoke. “I called and thanked them both this morning before our plane boarded. It would have made your parents happy knowing Micah and Noah rushed out here to help you.”
“I can’t believe he spent the night here and I missed it. You could have told me. Maybe we would have come home early,” Tilly grouched, making Avery and Midge laugh.
“I’m sorry,” Avery said. “I assure you, after he’d helped me clean up the broken glass and repair the kitchen drawers and boarded up the office window to keep the rain out, then cleaned up after the glass company, we all went to bed early. We were a very boring group. You didn’t miss a thing. You’ll see him tomorrow and then all day Sunday when we help him find a few nice suits.”
“I can’t wait. If I can ever get him to look at me like a girl and not some kid he grew up with and ask me out . . .” Tilly addressed Aunt Midge. “I’m allowed to go out with him, aren’t I, Auntie? He’s not that much older.”
“You’ll be eighteen by end of summer, and Noah just turned nineteen, isn’t that right? I believe I can live with that. Keep in mind that, as it is the twenty-first century now, it’s entirely possible for a young lady to invite a young gentleman out on a date as well.” Aunt Midge winked at the two of them on the swing and stood. “I’m off to bed before I fall asleep right here. I love you girls.” She blew them kisses and whirled around toward the French doors to the kitchen, drawing her chiffon shawl in a circular swoosh around her as she went.
When Tilly had gone up to bed too, Avery sat on the family room floor with Halston by her side. She rested her elbows on the coffee table, holding up the two keys she’d found yesterday in the archived collection. Use the key. Which key? And use it for what?
Chapter Fifteen
Before going to bed, Avery spent over an hour trying both keys in every keyhole she could find, even the ones that were hidden. She rummaged around in the basement and found a locked box inside one of the cupboards under the tool bench. This is it, her mind told her. But she was wrong. The larger key did indeed open that box, but it was a collection of hundreds of baseball cards in protective plastic sleeves. Her father’s key must have been inadvertently tossed in when they were clearing out closed-case items from the home office last year. As disappointed as she was that she hadn’t unlocked some supersecret item that would answer all her questions, her heart lifted when she saw the baseball cards. The ones right on top were her dad’s favorites; she’d heard him talk about the greats whenever they went to games. In pristine condition inside their plastic sheaths were Detroit Tigers Al Kaline and Lou Whitaker and New York Yankees Mickey Mantle and Mariano Rivera. Her dad must have had some of these since he was a boy. Avery didn’t know much about baseball, but this was quite a find. She hefted the box under her arm and carried it upstairs. Aunt Midge would be thrilled to see her brother’s baseball card collection.
She set it on the kitchen table and put the key on top of it for Midge to find in the morning. Avery racked her brain, trying to think of anywhere in the house she hadn’t searched for a lock to check with this other blasted key. She turned it over in her hand, trying to make out the inscription. One side was smooth and blank; the other had a few numbers and letters stamped into the metal. In the home office, Avery picked up her mother’s antique loupe with the beautiful mother-of-pearl handle and read the inscription on the key: LEX1073.
She sat behind Anne’s desk. She normally used her father’s desk, but her mom’s chair was infinitely more comfortable. Avery only had to pull one drawer open to find a scrap of paper, this one lavender. She wrote LEX1073 on the paper and folded it completely around the key, then locked both into the safe behind the mirror before going to bed. She’d tell Aunt Midge tomorrow about the phone call and her subsequent late-night key quest. That inscription should lead her to whatever it was she was meant to use the key on, once she deciphered what it meant.
When Avery joined Midge in the kitchen for coffee the next morning, she was warmed to see William’s baseball collection spread out all over the table and Midge reading the back of one of the cards.
“Where did you find these? I haven’t seen them since we were kids! I can’t believe how many he added!” Aunt Midge was beaming.
Avery refilled Midge’s coffee and explained. She retrieved the key and lavender slip of paper from the safe and set it in front of her aunt. “Have you ever seen that key before?”
Her aunt unwrapped it, turning the silver key around in her palm. She shook her head. “Never. So this has got to be the key your mysterious phone call referred to. The phone number was hidden? Do you think it’s from the same source as the notes?”
Avery
nodded. “I’m thinking it must be. The voice was altered somehow, so I couldn’t recognize it. I’ve been racking my brain since yesterday trying to think what this unlocks. Whatever it is, it’s not in the house. Which I think leaves either the Manhattan office or a safe-deposit box somewhere.” She slid the key back toward herself across the table and picked it up. “I’m going to show it to the detective as soon as I get a chance.”
Aunt Midge nodded. “That’s a good idea. I really don’t like the fact that someone is still contacting you, especially after the break-in and now your collector turning up dead. I’m glad we’ve got a Springfield County patrol car sitting out front. It makes me feel a little safer.”
“Yes, for sure.” Art had warned her it was a bad idea to have a whole bunch of people in and out of their house right now. She’d argued that it was only friends and family, and he’d countered by asking her how sure she was she could trust each of them. None of that was worth sharing with Aunt Midge; it would only worry her.
Avery chose dark denim jeans turned up at the ankle and a sleeveless red blouse with a wide satin ribbon around the fitted waist. She’d first tried on a couple sundresses from her mother’s closet, as she and Tilly hadn’t had the heart yet to clean everything out, but they just didn’t look right. She’d never been a dress person, much as she admired them on Tilly and her aunt. Silver hoop earrings, a little mascara, and her new bright-white Vans finished the look. She was the first one downstairs and ready before the party.
Tilly emerged from her room as Avery was setting out hors d’oeuvres. “Oh! You look so pretty,” Avery exclaimed. Tilly’s blue sundress was perfect on her, with her white canvas high-top Chuck Taylors lending a nice ultramodern vibe to the outfit. Her long blond hair was loose, and Avery could see she’d taken extra care in placing a solitary thin braid to hold it back on one side.
“Thank you,” Tilly said, smiling. She twirled around and lifted the hem of the short dress, revealing blue-jean short shorts underneath. “Pretty and functional. I’m not losing at volleyball just because of this dress!”
Ruby Red Herring Page 18