Lewi's Legacy

by Graham Adams

  They worked flat out to arrange five more auctions around the world, two in New York, one in Madrid and two in Tokyo, sorting the artefacts in tens, starting with those which would sell the best. The second consignment was sent to New York, as the auction was completed in Milan. Four of the items sold well above their initial estimate, but one of the Chinese vases failed to reach the reserve and Leah arranged the return of it for a later auction.

  Philippe the Swiss banker had confirmed that the four numbered accounts had received funds and happily they, in total, exceeded the estimates by just over one million pounds, netting them a commission each five thousand. By the end of the second month just about all of the artefacts were either sold, or on their way to be auctioned. Leah had done such a professional job, that none of the successful sales had raised any publicity, which must have pleased Mikhail. In one case the Matisse had sold in New York to a mystery bidder for eighteen million dollars, which netted them twenty thousand each.

  The job was complete, apart from the Chinese vase, a collection of rare gold coins and a large tapestry. These were the only other items left in the warehouse, except for the ‘Unknown Items’ which remained, sitting in the quarantine area.

  Victor was dreading the next day, Sunday, as Mikhail was due to visit them and survey the remaining items.

  16 Enquiries

  A great read!

  As he reached his little remote cottage Edmund had a good feeling about his last visit to Fay and Harold. They had got their son back, maybe not in the state they would have liked, but he was home none the less. It felt to Edmund that the young man had gone through a terrible ordeal, but where had he been? Harry had mentioned to him that Victor had been working in Paris, but wasn’t allowed to talk about it, not even to his parents.

  There was nothing good, however, about the weather; wet and cold. A full belly and a warm log fire was all Zowie wanted, and when the call of nature came, she was out, and back in, in a flash, her wet glossy coat soon dry again on the warm hearth. Ancient forest cottages were built for the bad weather with thick thatched roof, even thicker walls and tiny mullioned windows that let in the smallest amount of cold, as well as light. His main window looking out into the forest was only two foot square, and with the design of it, the only thing he could see was if the wind was throwing the rain onto it.

  He wound up his clockwork radio and listened to the local station for the day’s forecast hoping that they could venture out, and it was good news. He left the back door open for a while to freshen up the room, and Zowie dived outside. Edmund had a plan of action for the first pleasant morning; it was to solve the enigma that was Louis Owen. One thing he hated was an unsolved mystery.

  Considering the plaque on the bench at Sally’s pond he must have lived there at some point in the seventies, and when Brian, his good friend, offered him the cottage he had said that it had been empty for a while and the sale was subject to probate. Was this person now dead? He asked himself. There was only one way to at least throw some light on it, if not solve the nagging question. It was to seek out Brian in Southbourne and hope that he could help.

  After locking up, he fired up the Toyota pickup. Zowie jumped into the passenger seat barking all the way down his drive to rejoin civilisation. Forty five minutes later Edmund had found a parking space on the High Street right opposite the coffee shop that Brian frequented. He checked the Patek watch and noted eleven, perfect timing. Good old predictable Brian, there he was at the same window seat with the same cup of cappuccino. Edmund entered the café and Brian stood up to shake his hand ‘I like your new car Eddie, what happened to the real car?’ Brian asked laughing.

  Edmund noticed that he had finished his coffee and knew that one was always enough for him, so he asked whether Brian could join him for lunch at the Café Riva on the cliff top. He told Edmund that he had plans to meet his wife that lunchtime, so he invited her too.

  Brian dialled home and Avril answered. ‘Would you like to have lunch at Riva with Edmund today, he is right here in the café with me?’

  ‘That’s fine,’ she answered, I’m only in the middle of ‘War and Peace’, so tell him that would be great at one.’

  ‘War and Peace, eh,’ exclaimed Edmund. ‘Glad we don’t have to wait until she finishes before lunch, see you at one then Brian?’ He nodded in response as he rushed back to his office.

  Edmund got back into the car and felt some relief that he had more than an hour to go down to the beach at Fisherman’s Walk before lunch and hopefully meet some of his dog walking friends on that beautiful bay. Down the zigzag path, he noticed a very tall person walking his way. It was, unmistakeably John and his border collie Molly. They walked along together whilst Molly and Zowie ran to catch the surf as it rolled in. It was fortuitous to meet John as he was knowledgeable about natural remedies, having used them himself. He told him the story of Victor and the way he was at home in Burley. John couldn’t help himself, but recommended a renowned herbalist who had a shop in the High Street in Southbourne. He told his friend that the shopkeeper was a ‘bit of a free spirit’, almost a hippie, that had not grown out of it, but not to be put off by that.

  It was a great lunch with Brian and his wife. Being well read she was full of conversation and was fascinated to hear Edmund’s stories about the mystery pond, the surprise appearance of Zowie, and the strange re-appearance of Victor.

  At the end of lunch, Edmund apologised that he had to ask Brian a favour. He wanted him to trace the previous owner of the cottage, as he needed to solve a puzzle that was bothering him. Brian, efficient as ever, was able to recall the solicitors who dealt with the transaction.

  He explained that this firm owed him many favours from the past. He had gone the extra mile for them, as he often did in property. Sometimes the buyer or seller had a problem, which could hold up the negotiations, and Brian was the one who always had the expertise to get around it for them.

  Brian was quite aware that Edmund could not easily be reached, so he invited him back to his office and he called in that favour from the lawyer concerned. In less than five minutes he handed him the name and phone number on a piece of paper. At that time, the phone rang on Brian’s desk, which gave Edmund the cue to leave. Her shook Brian’s hand whilst he was talking and hugged Avril, who gave him directions for the herbalist’s shop on the High Street, and left them.

  The proprietor seemed very interested in Victor’s plight and soon came up with an evil smelling tincture which he said ‘would do the boy no harm’. Edmund left the shop with the usual ‘make love not war’ hippy saying ringing in his ears. Climbing back into the Toyota cab he sat with his faithful friend and looked at the message that Brian had scribbled onto the paper for him. The name ‘Esther Owen’ and a Southampton number was underneath it.

  Sitting for a little longer, before driving off, he knew that a self-imposed isolation was very important to him at the time, but this would have to be sacrificed whilst there was unfinished business with Louis Owen and Harry’s son Victor.

  Zowie looked up at her master from the passenger seat in the Toyota, as he stood in the cramped telephone box and dialled the number on Brian’s note.

  17 Coming home

  Ruth’s bequest

  There was so much going through Louis’s head as he weaved his way through the streets of Saltsburg, looking for a road sign with Metz on it. The white bonnet of the SL350 Mercedes sports seemed to go on forever in front of him. Finally he was heading for the open country of Alsace. It was very tempting to turn the dull whine of the powerful machine into a roar, which a slight dip of his right foot on the accelerator would easily provide.

  He made some mental plans as he cruised along, like telling his great aunt that she had a new step sister-in-law, and that Moshe’s brother, his own great granddad, did not fall victim to the Holocaust.

  He also thought of the fraught relationship that he had with Harold when he had left the showroom in Southampton, but with the help of Ethan, a ne
w and better understanding with his boss could arise.

  Then there was Esther, the thought of her gave him a warm feeling, and a longing to get back to Southampton as soon as he could. He reminded himself of what he had said to Leah and Ethan, that someday he would bring his new wife back to see them again. In some ways he could not believe that he had said such a thing about someone he had only just met, but in the same vein, the feelings that he had for this beautiful dark girl just could not be ignored.

  He passed the sign for Saverne and desperately wanted to stop and find the farm where his great grandfather had sheltered, and ultimately fathered Leah, but the urge to go on was stronger. He took a mental note though; to make that pilgrimage the next time he came to visit his newly discovered family.

  Driving the sports car onto the ferry at Calais certainly caused a stir with the other passengers. With such a rare and expensive car, it was delightful to act as the mysterious stranger. Then he was off the ferry and heading down the coast road, every moment getting closer to home. With an early start from the ‘Wedding Cake’ mansion, he calculated he would be at the Shirley bungalow before eight.

  Tired but also excited he got out of the car in Aunt Ruth’s drive with virtually no back ache, as the driving position on the Mercedes was perfect. Ruth gave him the biggest hug and whispered that someone wanted to see him, and did he want to go and see her now? Louis nodded and asked her where Esther lived. It was in fact just a short walking distance, but he slid into the driver’s seat and glided the car around the corner. He looked for number twenty eight, which was a Victorian detached villa, as most of the houses were in the street. They had no drive so he pulled up outside and sounded the horn. Esther came running out of the front door in her slippers, he was out of the car and she threw herself in his arms as if they were a married couple, and he swung her round a couple of times, and noticed her grandmother looking out of the window though the thick net curtains.

  He loved the way she ran around to the passenger seat and jumped in. She surprisingly kissed him long and hard. ‘I’ve missed you Louis, I really have. I think I love you!’ He kissed her again, but saw other curtains quivering in other windows.

  ‘I think that you ought to get back in the house, Esther. You know what the old folk are like.’ He smiled at her. ‘Honestly, you are the reason I came back. When can I see you? I want tell you all about what happened.’

  She squeezed his hand and told him to come back the next day, and jokingly he said that it wouldn’t be with that car. She just giggled and ran back to the house. As he drove back to the bungalow, his blood pressure was up.

  Suddenly, he felt tired when he took his coat off. Ruth had made him a smoked salmon sandwich which he ate, and then he rushed to the bathroom for a long relaxing bath. His head should have been full of the adventures that he had had, but it wasn’t, just one thing; what Esther had said to him. Was she joking about love? Perhaps she was just a bit young, but he just could not get her out of his mind. He wanted her, he ached for her, how did she have that power over him so easily? Maybe that was just the thing he wanted to hear, yet still he stayed amazed and shocked at the same time.

  ‘Aunt Ruth just before I go to bed I want to ask you something. Are you trying to arrange something between me and Esther?’ Louis asked his favourite aunt.

  ‘Well, yes I am Louis, you need someone and although she is young, she is very grown up for her age, and she’s gone through a lot as well as you have. To us it’s a real match, are you unhappy, my little boychick?’

  ‘Would it surprise you my darling auntie that we are in love, and I can’t believe it.’

  Ruth gave him a knowing smile. ‘Now go to bed and sweet dreams, don’t forget its back to work tomorrow.’

  The next morning, Louis parked the massive sports car right in front of the huge showroom window to create the biggest impact, and it did. Just about all the garage staff filed out onto the forecourt. Even the office girl came to admire the sleek machine. He looked past the crowd to see Harold walking slowly towards him with a broad grin.

  ‘I knew you would do it my boy, even if you had a little help from someone.’ The garage owner laughed loudly. ‘Now boys and girls, back to work, and you Louis, come into the office. The young man passed him the keys and the file back.

  ‘I didn’t spend much Harold.’ He said

  ‘I know, Louis. I have spoken several times to Ethan, you certainly made a hit there, dear boy.’ He put his arm around his shoulder. ‘Come into my office I’ve got something to tell you.’

  Before Harold could say anything Louis told him about his relationship with Ethan and his wife, and the big man was listening with his mouth open, he had had no idea about it at all. He had however told the payroll department to double his pay in that week’s wages as a bonus. And he promoted him to Assistant Manager with a pay rise to go with it.

  Esther was just eighteen when Louis married her. Unbeknown to everyone she was already pregnant with their daughter Leah May. He had told Esther that if the baby was a girl, he wanted his daughter to be named after his Great Aunt who lived in Strasbourg.

  Only two months before their wedding there was a very sad event, his Aunt Ruth passed away in her sleep and Louis made another visit to the graveside of Moshe, now back together again with his beloved wife.

  At the reading of the will, Louis was the sole beneficiary, and it was Ruth’s wish that he and Esther live at the bungalow so that she could watch over them. Thankfully Esther was happy about that request, especially how Ruth had played such a big part in bringing her and her beloved Louis together.

  The proudest moment for Louis was to have his father return the favour and be the witness for him at his wedding, and to see Henry’s young son André and wife Collette, it just made his day. He couldn’t help himself at the end of the ceremony. He whispered to his father that Esther was pregnant, and to tell Collette when they were at home in Provence.

  In Ethel’s house after the ceremony she welcomed Louis’s father, asking them to stay the night which they accepted. It was Louis’s opportunity to tell the fantastic story about the lost relatives he had found a year before, when he went to Strasbourg. His Aunt Leah had given him Lewi’s letter, which being in Hebrew, he couldn’t read, but Ethel obliged for them. At the end of the reading there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

  ‘What about the paintings Louis?’ His father asked.

  ‘I’m glad you asked that dad. If you have any ideas, will you write to me, and then I might try and see if I can recover them. As you can guess, I’m a bit busy at the moment.’ He raised an eyebrow at his father across the room, and Henry nodded knowingly. ‘I feel however, that justice should be done for Lewi.’ They all nodded in agreement.

  ‘Will this put you in danger, Louis?’ Esther looked into his eyes as she asked. But Louis did not reply, but changed the subject, asking his father about the latest wine harvest prospects, hoping that she might just forget about that question.

  Baby Leah was two years old when, all of a sudden, Louis felt the loss of his Aunt Ruth; somehow it hit him like a stone. That particular evening, arriving home from work, he just went straight to bed, he didn’t want Esther to see how upset he was. Esther followed him to their bedroom and looked at him as he lay on the bed in the foetal position looking so forlorn. She knew deep down it was not a good idea to ask anything at that moment. She was a little scared of what his reaction might be, not forgetting that she had a small child downstairs, so she quietly left him alone, packed Leah into a pushchair and quickly ran to her Gran’s in the next street for some advice.

  Ethel did give her grandchild some advice. She told her to leave the child with her and get back to the house. God would give her the wisdom to know what to do when she got there. ‘Just pray for wisdom child, it will come!’ Ethel shouted, as Esther ran back to her house. Steadily she walked along the passageway and as she opened the bedroom door, he had not moved from the position that he was in when she left with Leah
. She then got on top of the bed and lay alongside him in the same position and pulled him close to her. The word that came to her was ‘patience’, so she just lay there for a good half an hour saying nothing.

  ‘Sorry, darling, that I have been such a pain to you, but my mind does not seem to be at rest.’ He went on to tell her that when his Aunt Ruth had died, there was so much going on that he hadn’t had time to grieve for her. Also the visit to Saltsburg and the heartbreaking story of his great granddad during the war still was unfinished and unresolved, and he just did not know how to deal with it.

  Esther hugged him tighter, in some ways pleased that it was not her that was causing him so much pain. ‘Can you tell me what you would like to do to help make things a little better for you? I want to help you Louis I love you so much and so does Leah.’

  ‘I don’t want those horrible people to get away with the hurt and pain that they caused Lewi, I really want to do something about it, but I don’t know what I can do. Do you understand me?’ He turned his head towards her, and she could see the hurt in his face, she reached up and kissed it gently.

  ‘You want to do something and you feel that we are tying you down, is that it Louis?’

  ‘Yes, in some way it is.’ He answered.

  She stiffened with the pain of his answer, not expecting it to be so clear. It felt like a stab in her heart. Then the wisdom came back that she had prayed for. ‘Why don’t we all go to Strasbourg and see Ethan and Leah? Harold owes you some time off, and I think it would do us good to meet some of your relatives. And you did promise to do that to them didn’t you?’

  He jumped off the bed, and pulled her towards him, smiling. ‘That is exactly what I want to do; I’ll get on to Harold tomorrow, the sooner the better. Oh, and we need to get you and Leah a passport. By the way where is she?’ For the first time for a while, Louis looked excited about something.