He shrugged. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not as if you could’ve gone out and bought a how-to book.” He shook his head.
“I can’t blame them. I screwed up and did something stupid. Lewis had every right to be angry with me.”
“Oh, it was Lewis. I can see where he’d have problems accepting something like this. He always was a down-to-earth, no-bull kind of guy.”
They sat quietly for a minute before Victor spoke again. “I came over here hoping I could ask for your help.”
“Please tell me Clarence isn’t missing again,” she said as a knot started in her stomach.
“No. It’s not a person exactly.” He seemed to struggle for words.
“Just tell me Victor.”
“You know Jack and Tina Dempsey?”
“Yes. I went to school with them. They have a little boy who’s sick, right?”
“He’s autistic. The kid has a cat that for whatever reason helps keep him calm. Whenever the cat gets out of his sight he starts getting anxious.”
“My gosh that must be horrible.” She thought about her own nieces and nephews and how fortunate they were to be healthy.
He cleared his throat. “The cat disappeared sometime last night and the family is frantic to find him. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of.”
Ry realized why he was there.
“I don’t mean to offend you or anything, I mean, with it being a cat and all.”
“Victor, please. If it will help that poor kid, I don’t care if you ask me to find cat poop. Did you bring something that belongs to the cat?”
He took a plastic bag from his pocket and handed it to her.
Inside she found a small stuffed mouse with a bell on its tail. She reached in and touched the mouse; instantly she saw the cat. She carefully studied the area around the cat by turning in a complete circle. As soon as she saw the enormous pot of begonias hanging from a tree, she snapped herself back. She handed him the bag back. “The cat is on the back patio of the Silver Spur restaurant.”
He hopped off the tailgate. “How can I ever thank you, Ry?”
“Just keep my secret,” she said.
He nodded gravely. “Don’t worry about Lewis. He’ll come around.” He gave a quick wave and rushed to his car.
Ry put her gloves back on and went inside. Suddenly, the work seemed a lot lighter and she felt a glimmer of happiness. When she heard a car drive into the back lot an hour later, she was actually humming.
She rushed to the door, hoping it would be someone from her family. It was Victor. Her regret faded when she saw his smile. “From that smile on your face, I guess everything went well with your cat hunt,” she said.
“You should have seen the difference in that poor little boy. One minute he’s screaming his lungs out and as soon as he sees the cat, it’s as if he sees something magical. He starts laughing and the next thing you know he’s sitting there next to the cat, coloring away in his coloring book.”
Victor reached into his pocket. “I also came by to give you this.” He took money from his pocket. “His parents had already posted flyers offering a fifty-dollar reward. I told them I couldn’t take it, but they kept insisting. I thought that since you’re the one who actually found the cat, it should go to you.”
Ry stepped back quickly. “I can’t take that.”
He looked confused. “You have to. I can’t keep it.”
Ry looked at the money and tried to think what he could do with it. Finally, the solution came to her. “Why don’t you start a special fund at the police station? Whenever you see someone who needs a little help, give it to them.”
He slowly nodded. “Okay, if that’s what you want. I’ll get Alma to take care of it.”
“Hey, since you’re here I have a question for you,” Ry said.
“Okay. What’s up?” He smoothed his mustache.
“You know the money that Harvey Jenkins and Raymond Dodd stole from those four banks? If the money was ever found, who would it legally belong to?”
His eyebrows rose. “Did you find it?”
“I don’t have it,” she answered honestly.
He didn’t seem to notice the vague answer. “That’s a good question. The banks never reopened. I seem to remember reading that Aaron Lassiter died a few years after the robbery.” He looked at her and held up a finger. “Maybe the government owns it because of their having to pay out the insurance.”
Ry shook her head. “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation wasn’t operational yet. It didn’t start until 1933.”
Victor went back to smoothing his mustache. “Okay. Then I think the money would be given back to the account holders or their heirs.”
“They burned the banks. I doubt they had any type of backup files then, so the information they had on the account holders would have been destroyed.”
“I see you’ve given this some thought,” he said and then sat quietly.
Ry could see he was really getting into figuring out the ownership.
He held up a hand again to emphasize his words. “I suppose if there was someone still living who had an account there and they still had the necessary paperwork to prove they lost their money during the robbery, then they might have a claim on whatever was due to them. Maybe they’d get the principal plus whatever interest over the years.” He shrugged and dropped his hand. He hooked his thumb over his belt. “Who knows how a judge would rule? One thing I know for sure is that the only winners in the mess would be the lawyers. You can bet they’d walk away with most of the money.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” she mused.
Victor looked at her closely. “I think if I was a regular citizen and not wearing this badge and I found that money, I’d keep my mouth shut and find a way to make it do some good.”
Ry nodded. “Victor, I like the way you think.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ry continued hauling debris from the downstairs area. She made four trips to the dump. During the cleanup, she found several pieces of jewelry and a few small items of merchandise that somehow remained undamaged during Dennis Lawson’s rampage. Unfortunately, none of the furniture or glassware had survived intact. It broke her heart to see the splintered remnants of once beautiful pieces lying in scattered heaps. The downstairs level, at least, had begun to look manageable.
Her body ached from exhaustion. She lost track of the number of times she had picked up an intact object and had a mental image burst forth in her head. After a while, she had started to notice that if she concentrated on trying to avoid seeing the visions, they happened less often. It was when she forgot and grabbed something without thinking that it happened.
On Friday, Ry decided to cut her workday short. She didn’t want to be exhausted when she went to Kate’s for dinner. She left the shop at three and drove to the motel. After showering, she stretched across the bed hoping to catch a quick nap before dinner, but sleep evaded her.
She couldn’t stop thinking about her family. No one had contacted her since her parents left her shop on Tuesday morning. She wondered if things had gotten worse between her brothers. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t had minor spats before, but she had never seen any of them as angry as James and Lewis had been on Monday night. Maybe they were waiting for her to make the first move. She covered her face with her hands and suppressed the urge to scream. The one constant in her life had been her family. It was a given that they would be there when and if she needed them, and now she didn’t even know if she should call or not. She cursed Dennis Lawson for shooting her. Then she cursed Raymond Dodd for robbing those banks and starting this entire fiasco. Her anger was cut short when she realized that had she not been shot, Clarence Reed would more than likely be dead. She got dressed. It was still too early to go to Kate’s, but she couldn’t stand the thought of staying in the small, dim room another minute.
Ry drove to a liquor store and managed to find a bottle of wine that she knew Kate liked. As she drove toward th
e downtown area, she noticed kids in costumes. It was Halloween and she had completely forgotten. She had seen the decorations around town, but lost track of the days. There would be all sorts of things going on in the town square for kids of all ages. Victor would have the town square closed to traffic allowing the kids an added measure of safety as they ran from shop to shop. Merchants would pass out candy, and the town council would have booths and games set up on the square. Later in the evening, there would be a dance with a live band at the civic center parking lot. She knew her brothers and their families would be out there somewhere. She drove slowly along the adjoining streets hoping to catch a glimpse of her family. On her third circuit, she noticed flashing lights behind her. She pulled over to the curb and waited. She had not been speeding and was ready to defend herself. The lights on the police car went out, and a moment later Victor stepped out of the car.
Ry relaxed and got out of the truck. “You had me going there for a minute,” she admitted.
He grinned and rubbed his mustache. “I saw you cruising around and thought I’d harass you for a while.”
Ry dropped the tailgate on the truck and they sat down.
“How’s the cleanup going?” he asked.
“Slow, but I can actually see the floor in spots now.”
He nodded. “Are you going to reopen?”
“I don’t know. I like living here, but the shop was almost too much.”
“Have you considered a smaller place?” he asked. “You could buy a little house to live in or even rent a place.”
Ry swung her legs from the tailgate. “The idea sort of crossed my mind, but honestly, I never gave it any serious consideration.” She glanced at him. “Do you know of any smaller shops for sale?”
“I heard that Lacy Wayne is looking for a buyer.”
Ry nodded. She vaguely remembered hearing that from someone. “I’m not sure her shop is big enough. I remember it being small.”
He waved at a passing car. “Have you considered doing something besides antiques?” He glanced around them. “I mean, with things being the way they are for you I’d think that handling so many things that belong to other people could be hard on you.”
“Strange you should mention that,” she admitted. “I’ve been having some problems with that very thing.”
He nodded. “Have you thought about what’s going to happen at, say, an estate sale?”
She shivered. “No. I haven’t.”
He stood. “I’d better get back to work. My wife and I are leaving in the morning. We’re going to be gone for a few days to visit her sister’s family in Houston.”
“That sounds like fun.”
He grunted. “You haven’t been to Houston in a while, have you?” He smoothed his mustache. “Anyway, if you need me, you have my cell number. Feel free to call me.”
“That sounded more like a plea than an offer,” Ry said and laughed.
“I love her family,” he said, “but I sure wish they lived somewhere else.” He gave her a quick wave.
She got into her truck and sat staring out the window. A smaller shop would make things easier. Rather than antiques in general, perhaps she could specialize. Furniture was definitely out. It had been a problem for her from the beginning—too heavy to move alone. She loved old books and maps, but doubted there would be a big enough market here. Vintage glassware had been easy enough to find, but difficult to handle. One small chip and the piece lost most of its value. Antique toys and clothes didn’t interest her. Farm tools had been somewhat cool, but every antique store in the county sold those. If she were to be brutally honest with herself, the only thing she truly loved about the store was finding the pieces. Once she found them, they held little interest to her.
“I don’t want to be an antique dealer,” she mumbled to herself. “I’m an antique seeker.” She started to crank the truck when she heard. You’re a treasure seeker. She glanced around to see who had spoken, but she was alone. “A treasure seeker,” she repeated. She liked the connotation the words brought to mind.
As she drove to Kate’s apartment, she dreamed of dashing off to exotic destinations in search of treasure. She thought about Dodd’s bank robbery money. Victor had more or less said that as long as she kept her mouth shut, who would ever know she’d found the money? How would she get rid of it? Sell it, was the obvious answer. It wasn’t as if she could take it to the bank and deposit it into her account. She could probably sell the old bills and coins on the Internet. She was still plotting when she rang Kate’s doorbell.
When Kate answered the door wearing a form-fitting sweater and jeans, Ry felt a little leap in her pulse. She pushed the feelings away and reminded herself that there might be a third person here tonight, even though she didn’t think Kate would have been that insensitive. She handed over the bottle of wine. “I remembered you liked this particular merlot.”
Kate took the wine and glanced at the label. “This is what they served at that little steak house near the hospital in San Antonio. You used to meet me there sometimes when I worked the evening shift.” The smile left her face as she turned and started back inside. “Come on in.”
Ry followed her into the apartment. It was small, obviously a place meant for one person and somehow that made Ry feel better. It was certainly much nicer than the motel where she herself was staying.
She followed Kate into a tiny kitchen. Two glasses sat on the counter next to a corkscrew. The relief she felt made her realize that she hadn’t been entirely sure it would be just the two of them. She wondered if she should ask about Kate’s new girlfriend and decided to wait and see how things went. There was no need to get things off to a bad start.
“The pasta’s ready,” Kate said as she got busy at the stove. “There’s a bottle of wine in the fridge. Would you mind pouring us a glass?”
She opened the wine and poured Kate a glass, but got a glass of water for herself. She set Kate’s wine next to the stove.
Kate apologized when she saw the water. “I forgot you’re not supposed to be drinking alcohol. You seem so normal, I forget.”
Kate turned back to the stove. “Did he give you a ticket?” she asked and chuckled. “I heard Victor pulled you over while you were driving around town.”
Ry shook her head. “It never ceases to amaze me how quickly news travels in this town. Who told you?”
“Ben Harrington, told my neighbor, Mrs. Montoya. She came by a couple of minutes before you arrived to tell me my dinner guest would be late since Victor had pulled you over.” She stirred the sauce. “Ben always gave me the willies. I don’t mean I thought he was dangerous or anything, but he never seemed to miss anything. It’s like he’s always watching.”
He never missed anything except seeing the store being demolished.
Ry hadn’t realized how hungry she was until they began eating. They chatted about the weather and other mundane things as they ate. Afterward, Ry helped her clean the kitchen before they went to the living room and got comfortable.
“How have you been feeling?” Kate asked.
“Great. I’m just tired from working at the shop.”
“I’m sure you all will get it finished this weekend.”
Ry didn’t say anything.
Kate looked at her over her wine as she took a sip. “I assumed your family would be there to help you over the weekend,” she said.
Ry took a quick gulp of water to wash the lump from her throat. When it didn’t work, she shook her head.
Kate set her glass down and leaned forward. “Ry, what’s wrong? Why are you so upset? Is there something wrong with your family?”
Again, Ry shook her head. How could she tell Kate what had happened without telling what had started it all? She didn’t realize she was crying until Kate moved to the couch beside her and took her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, everything that had happened since the shooting came pouring out of Ry’s mouth. She told Kate about the voices and
visions. She even told her about having a vision of Raymond Dodd hiding the money. When she finally stopped, they sat staring at each other.
Kate finally stood, retrieved her wineglass and drained it. “I’ll be right back,” she promised. She returned with the wine bottle and refilled her glass. She took a long swig before she sat down in the chair across from Ry. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “All right, let’s go through all of that once more, only this time let’s try it a little slower.”
Ry retold her story.
Kate sat for a long while, tapping her wineglass and then she began asking questions. “So, it was your vision that led Victor out to the Christmas tree farm?”
“Yes, but I asked him not to tell anyone. He lied to protect me.”
Kate nodded. “Are you absolutely sure someone didn’t mention the sex of Annie’s baby?”
“I’m sure.”
“What about at the hospital? You were pretty heavily drugged. Maybe someone mentioned it to you and you forgot.”
Ry frowned. “I guess it’s possible, but I really don’t remember talking to anyone about Annie.”
Kate nodded and licked her lips. “Ry, I shouldn’t tell you this but one of the nurses accidently mentioned the baby to me. She thought we all knew.”
Ry held her breath.
“You’re right. Annie’s having a boy,” Kate said. She stared into her wineglass before turning her gaze back to Ry. “Have you talked to Dr. Price about any of this?”
“No, and I don’t intend to. I’m not about to become someone’s guinea pig.”
“I don’t want to frighten you, but it could mean that there was more damage than anticipated. A blood clot could have formed after the surgery. He could have missed a tiny fragment of the bullet or skull. Any of these things could be pushing against your brain causing you to hallucinate.”
“Is it a hallucination if what I’m seeing is real? How could I have known that someone named Lilly Jankowski committed suicide a thousand miles from here or that her mother’s name was Irene? How could I know where Raymond Dodd hid that money?”
The Treasure Seeker Page 20