“Better than me eating it all on my own.” The other bagel popped up. Dee grabbed it, smothered it with cream cheese and walked into the dining room where they sat and ate breakfast. Lorelei refilled their coffee before pulling out her phone.
“I haven’t gone through these yet, I thought I would wait until we were together.” She purposefully did not mention running into the cop at the casino. She wanted to see if Dee recognized him, to rule him out. She pulled her chair close to Dee and opened the photo app on her phone. She opened the file dated for yesterday.
“Well, I hope you aren’t expecting me to remember him from this view.” Dee stifled a laugh as Lorelei saw a large belly contained by a dark blue shirt stressed at its buttons.
“I was trying to get pictures without anyone noticing,” Lorelei flicked the screen to get the next photo. This one wasn’t much better except the shirt hung loose. “Dang it,” she kept flicking through the photos until she finally came across the faces of the security guards that worked last night.
Dee took the phone and slowly scrolled through the photos. “After about the first fifteen photos, you got better at getting faces instead of their belt buckles.”
“I got caught by a security guard, he told me to put my phone away and to stop taking pictures.”
“What did you do?” Dee asked.
“Went into the restroom and practiced another way to be more sneaky,” she said.
“Did you, by chance, get a picture of that one?” Dee kept scrolling through the photos.
“He’s one of the last ones. I snapped his picture right before I left for the night.”
“I know this guy,” Dee stopped and enlarged the photo. “I remember this guy.”
Lorelei looked over Dee’s shoulder at the picture she stopped on.
“I would hope you would know him,” she said, reaching for the phone.
“He’s the one who was in the house, I am sure of it, it was him.”
Lorelei took the phone from her and looked at the picture of the cop, Michael Smith.
“Dee, this is the cop who was first at the beach, he helped you, and went with you to the hospital.”
“Not him, this man here.” Dee pointed with a shaky finger to the man who was sitting to the left of Michael “He’s the man I saw through the window at Jim and Fran’s house!”
“And you recognize the man next to him?” Lorelei asked.
“Of course I do, but I don’t know why you’d be taking a picture of him, we know it wasn’t him. He wouldn’t have been able to leave and come back with his partner.”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk to the police because you thought someone in uniform might be a part of burglary.”
“I am pretty sure it was a security guard uniform the more I think about it. There wasn’t a radio attached to the uniform, like you see with cops, or the sheriff. And I remember seeing a radio attached to the paramedic’s uniform.”
Lorelei rubbed the back of her neck. She had no clue who the man was.
“Where else would there be security guards?” Lorelei asked.
“They’re all over. We have two separate casinos, we have security around the college, the art museum, the boat basin, and the other ship yards.”
“That’s a lot of places to check out.”
“We have nothing but time,” Dee said.
“But he saw you, so we don’t have all that much time. Especially since there has been nothing in the paper about a death from a fall from the bluff. So he knows you’re still alive.” Lorelei chewed on her lower lip as she was contemplating how she was going to find this guy.
“I have a question,” Dee turned toward Lorelei with a wry smile. “Why were you taking pictures of the men playing Black Jack, especially since we knew he couldn’t be the one?”
“Maybe I was testing you, to see if you remembered him from the beach or maybe would mistake him for the man in the house.”
“You can rationalize that all you want, but you were with him last night, weren’t you?” Dee’s smile reached her eyes and Lorelei could see she had been quite beautiful in her younger years.
“I was playing a machine, trying to be inconspicuous when I hit a jackpot. Bells and whistles went off and people were cheering.”
“Must have been some jackpot, usually they just go about their business.”
“It was $4500, and Officer Smith was there in the crowd. And visiting with him while he played cards was a good way for me to get more photos and not be seen.”
“And yet you went to the other side of the table to get his picture, which is a good thing, since the man next to him is the one from the house.”
“Don’t read too much into it,” Lorelei mumbled as she took her phone from Dee. “Now I just have to find out who that man is and what he was doing in your neighbor’s house. And what did you say was missing?”
“There was art missing off the wall, but I couldn’t tell if anything else was missing.”
“So maybe I should look at the college’s art program and the art museum first,” Lorelei was talking to herself as she took her and Dee’s dishes back into the kitchen.
“That would be a start, by why the college?” Dee asked.
“Art history, maybe there was something of value that they didn’t know they had. I’m not sure. Right now, I going to put my smelly clothes in the wash and take Bindi for a run.”
“In this weather?” Dee looked out the window and watched as the rain continued to pour.
“I need to get out there before the wind starts, or I will be dodging branches as well as raindrops.”
“The tide is out. Go out and run on Bastendorff Beach. You won’t have to worry about the branches, just rain drops.”
“I’m going to take Bindi to the beach down below,” Lorelei winked at Dee. “I can run the road first then let Bindi run the beach if I feel the need for more exercise. I’ll let you know what kind of plan I come up with. Why don’t you give me the keys to Jim and Fran’s and I’ll feed the cat while I’m out.”
“That would be helpful,” Dee said as she went and got the keys.
Back at the apartment, Lorelei changed into her running clothes. As she put on her shoes Bindi started bouncing, vocalizing her excitement. She knew when her person put on those shoes, it meant she got to go for a run.
Bindi kept bouncing until her person grabbed her purple harness and slipped it on. She then grabbed Bindi’s purple raincoat and put it on. She tightened it and then hooked on the matching leash. Bindi stopped at her little boots but when her person didn’t stop, Bindi bounced higher. She hated those boots but wore them when she was asked too.
Lorelei warmed up by jogging to the house on the bluff. She let herself in through the back door. After she filled the food dish and gave the cat fresh water, she and Bindi went for their run.
Lorelei ran, with Bindi leading the way, about three miles before heading to the trailhead that led to the beach where she first met Dee. The storm was getting closer and the waves were building. Lorelei watched the surfers as they caught some waves. She wondered if she should pick up surfing. She loved watching them, but the thought of being at the mercy of the ocean wasn’t appealing so she let the thought go.
After meeting Dee she realized she didn’t have any close friends except her brother and his wife. She never felt lonely. She wasn’t the type to share her life with anyone. She had one boyfriend in high school, but he broke up with her because she went to college out of state instead staying close to home so he could continue dating her. She never let anyone dictate what she was going to do. It was hard leaving her twin, Thomas, because they had never been separated, but she knew they both needed to have a life separate from each other. Thomas was now married with a little one on the way, which proved her point.
When the surfers started making their way to the beach, Lorelei went back up the trail.
CHAPTER NINE
AFTER SHOWERING AND getting dressed for town, Lorelei sat at
the small desk and made of list of what she needed from the store. She needed groceries, and especially laundry detergent to get rid of the cigarette smell. And then she remembered the cash she won last night. She found the sweatshirt and pulled out the wad of cash. She wanted to go the local thrift stores and find some inexpensive trinkets for the place. She wanted to make it her own. She let Bindi out one more time. When she came back in, Lorelei kissed Bindi’s nose and told her to be a good girl before leaving for the store.
She drove around the small town, looking for a good place to get some stuff for the apartment. There were a few thrift stores; Goodwill, Salvation Army, and a Hospice store. She decided to hit the Hospice store since she knew many people donated to them from the estate sales. She figured she would find what she was looking for there.
Once in the store she found some throw pillows that were like new. They would match the sofa in the apartment. She also found a nice clock to set on the desk. There were other things but she wasn’t in the mood to go through everything in the store.
When she left she noticed a pawn shop just down the road, another good place for getting things cheap. She pulled over and went into the store. She noticed some small statues and noticed a glass sculpture hidden behind them. Lorelei was pretty sure it was a Chihuly. They had a few pieces in the house before Mom sold everything to travel. Neither she nor Thomas were interested in what she had. They both let her do what she needed to start over after Dad.
“How much is that?” Lorelei asked the man in the suit behind the counter. He was startled to see her, and looked in the direction she pointed.
“I just got that in, it’s worth quite a bit,” he walked over to the piece.
“It’s a Chihuly, isn’t it?” she asked. He picked it up and carefully placed it in her hands . The colors were amazing and it would go perfectly on the windowsill of the apartment.
“I’m surprised you know what it is, not many people around here know of him.” He took the sculpture back from her and placed it behind the other items, hiding it from view again.
“I’m from Olympia, there is a Chihuly museum in Tacoma.”
“Oh, so you aren’t from here?” he asked. His shoulders relaxed. He leaned toward Lorelei.
“No,” she said and didn’t feel the need to let him know she had just moved here.
“You will see pieces like for over $5000, but I’m selling it for $3000 .”
“I’ll give you $1000 for it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know what this is worth?”
“I do. And I know that you give pennies on the dollar. I’m surprised to find something like this in a pawn shop.”
“Heirloom, and the kid needed money, not some piece of glass.”
“And you didn’t enlighten him on what it was worth, did you?” Lorelei’s cat-like smile caught him off guard.
“Tell you what, I like you.” His smile made Lorelei’s skin crawl as he boxed up the colorful glass before handing it to her.
Lorelei walked out of the pawn shop with the Chihuly, $1500 less in her bank account, and the need to take a shower. She’d forgotten again about the cash winnings in her purse.
It was worth it. She placed it carefully in the trunk before getting in the car. Next stop was groceries. She stopped at Safeway, on her way home and filled up on food. She thought of getting a package of bagels and cream cheese and decided that as long as she kept running she could splurge on the junk food.
There was a used car lot on her way home. She saw a purple Suzuki Sidekick parked near the road at the end of a long line of cars. She hadn’t seen one of these in years. She pulled in and parked next to it.
“You looking for a new ride?” the man asked as he approached her.
“Depends, what can you tell me about this Sidekick?”
“Only had one owner, woman brought it in a few days ago. She decided she needed a vehicle she could get in after her hip surgery.”
“So, an old lady had it? Lorelei asked. She grabbed her purse, locked the Honda and tried to opened the Sidekick’s door. It was locked.
“I wouldn’t say old, but she took a fall down some stairs and since then couldn’t ride in it comfortably.”
“Would you be willing to give me her name so I can ask about what all she had done with it.”
“No, but I would be willing to give her your name and let her make the decision if she wants to contact you.”
“Fair enough. Can I take it for a test drive?”
He handed her the keys. She unlocked the door, got in, and started it up. It purred to life. It only had 37,000 miles on it. She rolled down the window and asked, “Did she roll over the odometer or does it really have 37k on it?”
“That’s correct. She took it out during the nice weather and kept it in a garage if she wasn’t driving it.”
Lorelei let out a whistle. “Can you get parts if it breaks down?” she asked.
“No, but there is a garage that I trust with all my cars that can do the work for you.”
Lorelei looked around the interior. It was in mint condition, and she swore it still had the new car smell to it even though it was over twenty years old.
She pulled out of the car lot and zipped up the road. She shifted into second, then third and finally to fourth. She had it up to fifty miles an hour before she looked in her review mirror hoping a cop wasn’t behind her. She slowed down and did the 35 mph speed limit. She drove farther up Newmark before pulling into McDonald’s to turn around and go back.
She parked near her car, got out, and handed the keys back to the man.
“How much to hold this for me? I want to talk to the previous owner before I commit to buying it.”
“It’s priced at $4995, but I will take a $1000 to hold it.”
Lorelei, looked around to see if anyone was watching her before she opened her purse and counted out a thousand dollars in hundreds.
“You’ve got yourself quite a car here,” he said as took the cash from her.
“I will give you $3000 more, in cash, after I talk to the previous owner.” She held out her hand to shake on the deal. He hesitated, then shook her hand.
“Follow me,” he said then walked back to the office. She fell in step next to him.
“I’m guessing you’re going to call her now and have her talk to me?” she asked.
“Yes, I am.” He handed her his business card. It read Bob Anderson.
In the office she sat down at the only desk and watched as he picked up the phone and pushed the buttons, calling the previous owner. The nameplate on the desk read Bob.
“Hey Mom, I have a young woman here who is interested in your Sidekick.” He was silent for a moment before handing the phone over to Lorelei.
Lorelei got the lowdown on the vehicle and the more she listened, the bigger her grin spread across her face. When she finished the phone call she handed it back to the salesman.
“I believe we have a deal,” she said. “Do you take trade-ins?”
Bob laughed, “Yes, I do.”
They went back out to the lot and he looked over her car. It had over 250,000 miles on it.
“I can’t give you much for a trade in with those miles, how about $500?”
“Works for me,” she said.
“Let’s go back into my office,” he smiled and led her back inside.
She gave him her information, plus $3000 more in cash. He handed $500 of it back, saying he was giving her $500 for her car. He noticed her driver license was still Washington.
“You need to get an Oregon driver’s license or I have to charge you Washington State sales tax.” Lorelei hadn’t lived in Washington since she was eighteen, but kept her state of residence while she was in college in Oregon.
“I’ll get it done on Monday and bring it to you. I just found my apartment so I need to take that paperwork to the DMV as well. The title is in the glovebox, along with my insurance information.”
“That will work.”
Lor
elei went back to the Honda, unloaded her groceries and the stuff she got from Hospice, putting them in the Sidekick. She opened the trunk and pulled out the box that held her Chihuly glass sculpture. She took all her information out of the glovebox and gave Bob everything that was pertinent to the car and the sale.
“I’ll see you Monday!” she called out as she started the Sidekick again. She put it in gear but before she could leave the lot her phone rang. It was a number she didn’t recognize.
“Hello?”
“Is this Lorelei?” a male voice asked.
“Hi Michael,” she smiled. “Is this where you ask if I’m available for breakfast tomorrow and I tell you yes and ask what time?”
“So my parents didn’t scare you off?” She could hear him laughing on the other end of the phone.
“They did not. I do have to ask if I can call you back, I’m getting ready to pull out of parking lot.”
“Just be there around nine tomorrow morning. I will see you then.”
“I can do that.” Smiling, she hung up the phone and stuffed it in her purse. She didn’t want to be tempted to answer it if she was driving.
She pulled out and headed toward the beaches, toward home. She couldn’t wait to show Dee her new car. She’d also take a picture of it with the top off and Bindi inside, once it stopped raining, so she could show it to Thomas. She could already see him rolling his eyes at her. She had enough money to buy a brand new vehicle and not put a dent in her bank account. A nice vehicle she could drive up to see him in, but she knew this car would make it to Washington and back home many times to come.
After unloading the car, she knocked on Dee’s door. Dee came down the stairs to let her in.
“Come see my new ride!”
Lorelei lead Dee, Bindi, and Lily to her new Sidekick. “Don’t you just love it?” She opened the door and Bindi jumped in, ready to go for a ride.
Dee laughed while Lorelei told her all about the car and how she got it.
“You’re going to need to keep this in the garage. Let me get you a remote for it so you can just drive right in.” Dee went back into the house to retrieved the garage remote while Lorelei played with Bindi and waited for Dee’s return.
The Case of the Stolen Art Work Page 7