The Daughters of Julian Dane

by Lucile McCluskey

  She smiled, not fully understanding, but reached into her bag and brought out two of those ten thousand-dollar pads of money. “Will twenty thousand be enough to get us started?”

  “Cash!” he exclaimed and whistled.

  “And I need a receipt for the cash and the trolley titles.”

  Sully looked at her in disbelief. “I’m insulted!” he declared laughingly. Then, “I’ll even get Elinor to add her signature to the receipt. Now, let’s see where did I put that receipt pad?” He began rummaging in the drawers of his desk. “Hey, you like Jelly Bellys?” He placed a jar of colorful jellybeans on the desk. “Have some. The whites are coconut and hot butter popcorn – both delicious. My fat little wife got me acquainted with them. Now I can’t do without them. Ahh, here it is.”

  As he filled out the receipt, he asked, “You know the nursery rhyme about Jack Sprat who could eat no fat, and his wife could eat no lean?”

  “Betwix the two they licked the platter clean,” Addie finished.

  “Right. I knew you were a smart girl. Well, that was my Emma and me. She was barely five feet tall, and just about as round.” Then he yelled, “Elinor!”

  She appeared almost instantly. Staring at the two bundles of cash on the desk, then at the two of them, speechless.

  Sully pushed the receipt pad over to the side of his desk. “Need your signature for twenty thousand cash and titles to four trolley cars.”

  “What is this!” she exclaimed.

  Sully held up his hand, palm-facing Elinor. “Don’t ask. She’s in a hurry.”

  Elinor gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, shook her head, then signed the receipt. Sully tore it out of the pad and handed it to Addie with all seriousness.

  “If you’re to meet Arbuckle, I guess you’d better go, unless, you want to stay another minute and tell us what really happened at Stonegate last night,” he said pointedly staring at her face.

  “It’s like the paper said, Mr. Ryker ...”

  “Yes, we know what the paper said. Maybe another time, huh?”

  “Yes, sir. I promise,” she said.

  When she got into her car, she called her mother on her new cell phone to ask her to go to the South Street house, telling her what she was doing, for which Della was very pleased, and what she needed her help to do. Her mother was delighted and anxious to get started, even suggested that Mattie might like to help her, for which Addie was glad.

  With that settled, she later found herself rushing down River Road, speeding. She immediately slowed down. She didn’t need to greet her daddy with a speeding ticket. Two more days and he would be home, and Donnie would be home. She was still wondering how her daddy would feel about the Lincoln and her staying at Stonegate even though Mr. Ryker was no longer a threat to Miss Mattie. She would have to stay because of all the people she would have there very shortly.

  She didn’t like to even think that man’s name and wished she could put the events of the night before out of her mind and memory. Her daddy would have to be told about it. She hoped her mother would do it. But it would give him one more reason to object to her inheritance. Hopefully, he had had time to reconsider. And their lives could move on to new and wonderful experiences – a new, bigger house, with a nursery for the baby, a new truck for him and closets full of new clothes, even that vacation to Disney World when her mother was feeling better.

  As she approached the graveled side road down into Bakers Landing , she noticed another white car in front of her. Mr. Arbuckle. It had to be. But as soon as she turned off River Road she saw a fire engine and an ambulance, then a police car. And several people had gathered in front of the Simmons’ house. “What on earth?” she muttered. Then she saw Miss Lettie, her arm around a younger woman. That had to be Ellie Mae, the woman who cared for the Simmons couple. A small, tan car was parked in the yard of the next house – Ellie Mae’s, no doubt.

  The white car in front of Addie pulled over to the side and parked. She stopped right behind it – as far from the other vehicles as she could get because of the trees. She didn’t want to be in the way of any of them. She lowered the window before turning off the ignition, and sat there wondering what could have happened?

  Police Chief Bugg was talking to the woman with Miss Lettie. Moments later, he got in his car and left. Addie then got out of her car. It was then that she noticed a blue car down at Miss Lettie’s house, and Mr. Arbuckle had gotten out of his car and was approaching her. They greeted each other, and Addie led him to the two women. The ambulance was slowly pulling away.

  “Miss Lettie, what has happened here?” she asked.

  “Oh, hello, Addie. Mrs. Simmons set the house on fire. The firemen are taking one last check before they leave. And, Addie, this is Ellie Mae. Ellie, this is the young girl that I told you about, Addie Martin.”

  Addie acknowledged the introduction and introduced Mr. Arbuckle. Ellie Mae, Looking exhausted and distressed, said, “She didn’t mean to. She keeps going back in her mind lately to the days of her housekeeping. She had gotten up and was trying to make breakfast. I was still asleep. I don’t get much sleep these days trying to care for them and put up with her mind changes. She woke me up yelling at Mr. Simmons that if he wanted any breakfast, he’d better get his lazy self out of that bed and put out that fire because she wasn’t going back into that kitchen until he did.

  “I jumped up and ran to the kitchen. The curtains over the sink were on fire from a burning skillet of grease in the sink, and a dishtowel was burning on the stove. I ran to the hall phone and called the fire hall, then I had to drag Mrs. Simmons outside. I told her to stay outside until I could get Mr. Simmons out, although I wasn’t sure that I could. He is, or was completely helpless, but I knew I had to try. But Mrs. Simmons followed me back in the house demanding to know who I was. And what was I doing in her house? I didn’t figure I had time to get her back outside, but I hoped she’d just follow me, so I went to Mr. Simmons’ room, but the poor old man was already dead. He had died in his sleep.” There was a catch in her throat, and Addie was afraid she was going to cry, but she continued, “I had to drag her back outside and hold her there while she yelled and screamed until Chief Bugg arrived. I hated to leave Mr. Simmons in there, but I had to keep her outside,” she said helplessly. “But the fire trucks arrived and put out the fire before it reached his bedroom. The ambulance just left with him.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Addie said. “What can I do for you?”

  Mr. Arbuckle offered his condolence, and asked what he could do?

  “Mrs. Simmons is down at Lettie’s house now,” Ellie Mae said. “I’m so glad it was his niece’s day to come. She comes once a week. Miss Simmons didn’t want her aunt to see them taking Mr. Simmons away. There’s no telling what she might have gotten in her mind to do. She gets real strange these days. Yesterday I woke up about four-thirty in the morning, and she was banging pots and pans around in the kitchen. She was going to make an early breakfast because it was window washing day. She told me if I couldn’t get up on time, I could pack my things and leave. Said she didn’t need me anyhow. Then a minute later she wanted to know why we were up so early?” Then she went back to bed and back to sleep.” She shook her head sadly.

  “I’m so worn out, and I need sleep so bad. She has to be taken care of day and night these days, and I’m afraid that I can’t do it anymore. Not after this. I’m too old for it.”

  “We need to get you down to my house,” Miss Lettie said as the firemen were taking their leave. “Jo Ann needs to know they’ve taken him away, and see what she wants to do. It’s her problem now. You’ve had all you can take.”

  Addie got the two women into the back seat of her car, and Mr. Arbuckle followed them down to Miss Lettie’s house.

  A stout woman about Addie’s height, with short, dark hair, and wearing a nurse’s uniform and white sweater, met them at the door. “They’ve gone?” she asked.

  Miss Lettie told her yes, and then made introductions all around.<
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  “Aunt Beth is asleep on your daybed. Can we talk out here?”

  “You’re going to have to get someone else to care for her. I just can’t do it anymore,” Ellie Mae said.

  “I know, Ellie Mae. You’ve been so good to them, but you’re completely exhausted. I can’t ask anymore of you. A nursing home is the only solution, but I don’t know of any where there is not a long waiting list.” Then she looked at Mr. Arbuckle. “Is there anyplace around here that you know of – anyplace at all that would take her in? I do have to work.”

  “Miss Simmons, I don’t know of anyplace close to Riverbend. Sadly enough, there are several families in similar situations in and around Riverbend.”

  They heard a noise from inside. “She doesn’t sleep long,” Miss Simmons said. “I’ll take her to her house and get her some clothes and her medicine. What are you going to do, Ellie Mae?”

  “I don’t know. I really don’t have anyplace to go.”

  “Of course you do,” Miss Lettie put in. “You can stay with me. We’ll fix up that bed upstairs and you can hang your clothes out on the line to air out the smoke smell, or we can wash them. We’ll see if we can find someone to move your things to down here.”

  Mr. Arbuckle looked pleadingly at Addie.

  “Miss Lettie, Mr. Arbuckle needs to get back to the bank if you could spare a few minutes to show him your coins. I know he wants to help you with them – that is, if you want him to?”

  As soon as Miss Simmons had left with her aunt in the blue car, the four of them entered Miss Lettie’s living quarters. She then excused herself, went into the hallway and shut the door. Ellie Mae took a seat on the recliner, which had been cleared of its clutter. Mr. Arbuckle took a seat at the table at the end of the daybed, and Addie sat on the daybed close to him.

  Miss Lettie came back through the door with the leather bag containing the gold coins. “Addie,” she said, “you didn’t tell me where you found these.”

  Addie was saved from answering her by Mr. Arbuckle’s excitement of feeling the weight of the small leather bag, as Miss Lettie put it into his hand.

  “Oh, my!” he exclaimed. “You do have several.” And he began to brush crumbs aside on the slightly soiled tablecloth. Then opening the bag carefully, he slid them out gently onto the cleared space. “Oh, my! Oh, my!” he exclaimed. “These are beauties, and so many. I’ve never seen this many different ones together before. He began picking them up with his thumb and forefinger by their edges, and placing them separately on the tablecloth. All was quiet in the room as he worked. Then he looked for several moments at one large coin as if studying it. Then he reached into his inside coat pocket and brought out a small black book. He began flipping through the book. He stopped at one page, looked at it, then at the coin. Finally, he picked the coin up gingerly, held it beside the page in the book, and then turned it over to study the other side. “I don’t believe it,” he whispered almost reverently. “I don’t believe it,” he repeated louder. Then he turned to Miss Lettie who was standing behind him. “Miss Neilson,” he said, “if this is the coin I believe it to be – collectors have been looking for it for many, many years. We had begun to think that it didn’t really exist. He turned back to the coin, looking at it front and back, careful not to touch it except by its edge. Then he looked at the picture in the book for a few minutes. “It is!” he announced. “I’m sure it is! But I can’t believe it. And it’s in such excellent condition. How long have you had this coin?”

  “I don’t know, but well over fifty years. My father was a ship’s Captain. He traveled all over the world. He’s been dead for fifty-five years. Addie found the bag when she and her mother spent the night with me on Friday because of the storm. Is it valuable?”

  “Miss Neilson, this one coin could support you for years to come. I wish I could own it, but it’s out of my league.”

  “Really?” she exclaimed. “Are any of the others valuable?”

  “My dear woman, they are all valuable, some more than others. And they are all in such good condition. It will just be a matter of finding buyers, which I’m sure, will be no trouble at all for most of them. I know there is two of them that I want to buy. If you trust me to take them with me and sell them for you, I’ll give you a list of them as a receipt. Addie and Miss Ellie Mae can sign it as witnesses. These coins should give you a nice nest egg to draw on for the rest of your life, especially, if I can find a buyer for this one.” He held up the one that had excited him so, separately from the others. “What I’m thinking is, I might find three or four more collectors who would go in with me to purchase it from you at a price where we could make a little money on it, if I can’t find a buyer right away. We could come to an agreement of how much we could pay you each month until we locate a buyer. Would you like to think about that?”

  “Think about it? Mr. Arbuckle, you don’t know how good that sounds to me. As you can see, my house needs repairs badly, and especially, if Ellie Mae is going to come live with me. And I sure would like to get the electricity turned on again, and we need a phone now that we’ll be the only ones down here.” She looked at Ellie Mae. “We have furniture. Ellie’s is stored in the spare room at the Simmons’ house. She can have the upstairs, and I’ll keep the downstairs. I don’t climb steps too well. We’ll be good company for each other. I know she doesn’t want to leave the landing anymore than I do.”

  “Oh, Lettie, that would be so good of you,” Ellie Mae was saying, as Mr. Arbuckle was listing the coins in a small spiral notebook he had taken from his coat pocket.

  “Do you have some facial tissue or a roll of toilet tissue? I want to wrap each coin separately before putting them back in the bag.”

  Miss Lettie left the room, and Addie said, “Mr. Arbuckle, I need to go to my car. I’ll be right back.” He nodded his head that he had heard. And Addie left the room. She had food to bring in to Miss Lettie.

  When she returned with two large, brown, grocery bags, he was carefully wrapping each coin in toilet tissue. She walked to the kitchen counter and deposited the two bags.

  “What on earth?” Miss Lettie asked as she followed Addie to the kitchen.

  “Just a little thank you from mama and me for your kind hospitality on Friday.” The woman examined the two bags. She was awed by so much fruit, and such a variety, and declared that Addie should not have done it, but let her know how much she appreciated it.

  Mr. Arbuckle had all the coins back in the leather bag and was asking for Ellie May’s signature, and then Addie’s. When he handed the receipt to Miss Lettie, she asked, “How soon do you think I could get some money from any of them?”

  “Miss Neilson, I’ll be back early in the morning with a bank card for you to sign and I’ll deposit the money for the two coins I intend to buy as soon as I get the card back to the bank. And I’m sure I can sell at least three or four more of the coins this week. It’s just a matter of me getting in touch with some collectors that I feel sure will want them. And I think you should arrange for a phone and the electricity immediately. Can I do it for you?”

  “If you think I will be able to afford it, I sure would appreciate it.”

  It was all arranged, and Addie was anxious to leave. She was so happy for Miss Lettie. And daddy thought no good would come of her inheritance, she thought. Without it, I wouldn’t have been down here on Friday. I wouldn’t have met Captain Neilson, or have even known that I could see and communicate with spirits. And what a difference there is going to be in Miss Lettie and Ellie Mae’s lives now. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother. Of course that would have to be after she had met Grandpa Eli. But right now, she needed to get to Stonegate. As soon as Mr. Arbuckle left, Addie said her good byes and rushed to her car. As she drove past the little house, she looked at it again in amusement. She wanted to examine it again as soon as she had time. Then she saw Mrs. Simmons on the porch of the big house next to the little house.

  She was peering in the glass French doors, and Jo Ann was no
where around. Had the woman slipped away from her niece? Did Jo Ann even know where she was? She stopped the car, got out and shut the door. Mrs. Simmons turned around. Addie walked up the yard to her.

  “Where is he?” the woman asked.

  “Who are you looking for, Mrs. Simmons?”

  “Harry. That husband of mine. He’s gotten out of bed and gone some where without telling me.”

  Oh, dear, Addie thought. “Maybe he went to the bathroom,” she suggested as she took hold of the woman’s arm hoping to lead her back to her house. Would she get in the car?

  “He can’t get up and go to the bathroom.”

  “Maybe he’s back in his bed now, why don’t we go see?” She was slowly, gently, guiding the woman down the three steps to the ground. She was seven houses from her own. How did she get this far, and where was Miss Simmons? So far so good, she thought as she slowly walked her to the car.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do with that man,” she was mumbling, as Addie helped her into the back seat. Then she got in and started the motor. The door locks automatically clicked, and Addie breathed a sigh of relief. At least she couldn’t get out. But as she was driving off, she saw Jo Ann running across yards calling, “Aunt Beth! Where are you, Aunt Beth?”

  Addie honked her horn. Jo Ann was frantic. She stopped the car, stepped out and yelled to her. “I have her! Be right there!” Jo Ann Simmons had her hands full, and Addie wondered how frail, exhausted Ellie May had ever managed?

  When she reached the Simmons’ house, Jo Ann came running up to the car. “Where was she? I can’t turn my back on her. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “She was on the porch of the big house looking for Mr. Simmons.”

  Jo Ann shook her head. “I was looking for a suitcase or anything that I could put her some clothes in. There isn’t anything, not even a shopping bag. I’ve got to go to the shopping center to get something. I can’t take her with me, and I can’t ask Ellie Mae. That poor soul is near collapsing, and she’s too much for Miss Lettie. And I don’t believe Aunt Beth has eaten today or had her medicine.”