Alice rolled her eyes. “There are always taxes.”
“But I don’t think anyone can claim it’s not yours now,” Annie continued, “especially since it’s been in your family’s possession for the past one hundred and fifty years.”
“That’s great.” Mary Beth smiled tightly. “But let’s not get too excited until we find out if it’s really worth anything.”
****
The next day, Mary Beth arranged for an appointment with a certified jewelry appraiser in Portland. Ian agreed to go with her.
“I’m just going along to make sure there’s no trouble,” Ian said, a big smile on his face. Mary Beth was glad to have him. It was a little disturbing to know she might be carrying thousands of dollars worth of antique jewelry around with her.
The appraiser—a Mrs. Banks—was approximately Mary Beth’s age and looked more like she should be teaching Sunday School than dealing with expensive jewelry. But by the time she was through measuring and weighing and examining everything Mary Beth had brought, it was obvious she knew her business and did her job well.
“Now, as soon as I have the appraisal written up,” Mrs. Banks said, “I’ll mail it to you.”
“Oh.”
Mary Beth knew her disappointment must be plain to see.
Mrs. Banks smiled gently. “I know. Everyone thinks I can just come up with a number right away, but it’s just not that easy. Especially with a lovely piece like this. I’ll have to come up with comparables and compile all the information before I can give you a reasonable appraisal.”
“Then you don’t know yet if they’re real.”
“If they’re real? Bless you, dear—of course they’re real!” The appraiser’s eyes twinkled. “I won’t quote you a figure yet because it would just be a guess at this point, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. For now, you’d better get those back into your safe-deposit box.”
Ian took Mary Beth’s arm, grinning at her. “You all right?”
Mary Beth could only nod, and her hands trembled as she put the jewelry back into the little zippered bag she had brought them in. Then she put the bag into her purse and took out the keys to her SUV. Somehow she managed to thank Mrs. Banks, and then she made her way to the door.
With a chuckle, Ian took the keys from her hand. “I think you ought to let me drive us back to Stony Point.”
****
A few days later, Annie answered her telephone.
“Annie, it’s Mary Beth. Do you think you and Alice could come over for a little while?” Her voice was breathless and unsteady and unnaturally high.
“Is anything wrong?”
“I—” Mary Beth laughed nervously. “I got the letter from the appraiser.”
“What does it say?”
“Uh, I haven’t opened it yet.”
“Mary Beth!”
“I just can’t make myself. Not by myself. Do you think you and Alice could come over?”
Annie laughed. “You silly thing! Let me give her a call. Either we’ll be right over, or I’ll come alone.”
Annie hung up and immediately called Alice.
“Right now?” Alice complained. “I’ve got a Divine Décor party to get to.”
“You don’t have just a minute or two? Mary Beth just got her appraisal, and she doesn’t want to open it by herself.”
“Well why didn’t you say so? Listen, if you think she’ll drop you back home later, I’ll drive us both over and then head straight to my party from there.”
“Sounds like a plan, Alice. I’ll be right out.”
A few minutes later they were at Mary Beth’s, hurrying breathlessly to her door. Mary Beth almost dragged them inside.
“I can’t stand it.” She held up a white envelope with a professional-looking logo on it. “I’m dying to know what it says, and I just can’t make myself open it. What if it’s a hundred thousand dollars? What if it’s two?”
Annie sat her down on the couch, and then she and Alice sat on either side of her. “The best thing to do is to just open it and find out. Whatever it is, it’s more than you have. Just take a deep breath and open it up.”
Mary Beth screwed her eyes closed and shook her head. “You open it.”
“It’s yours, Mary Beth,” Annie told her. “I think you should—”
“Oh, for goodness sake—I’ll open it!” Alice grabbed the envelope and slid her fingernail under the flap. She had to tear it a little to get it all the way open, and then she handed the contents to Mary Beth. “There.”
Again Mary Beth shook her head and passed the papers over to Annie.
There were three or four pages of information about the jewels, the weight and number and quality of the various stones and their settings, the qualifications of the appraiser, the methods she used to reach a value, but that’s not what any of them wanted to know right then. Finally Annie found what she was looking for: the value.
“Mary Beth,” she whispered. Then she swallowed and looked again. “Mary Beth, they appraised it at five sixty-five.”
Mary Beth’s mouth dropped open and her eyes filled with disappointment. “Five hundred and sixty-five dollars? I thought—”
“No, Mary Beth, five hundred and sixty-five thousand. Five hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars!”
For a moment there was only a stunned silence.
Then Alice whooped and started dancing around the room. “No more Burly Boy! No more Burly Boy!”
Tears filled Mary Beth’s eyes, and she threw her head back and laughed. “No more Burly Boy!”
After a cup of strong coffee and a few hugs, Mary Beth was finally able to look over the documentation from the appraiser.
“It’s true. It’s really, really true. I guess I’ll have my hands full getting the jewelry sold and arranging to buy the shop and everything.”
“I don’t know if they can sell something like that overnight,” Annie said, “but I bet you can find someone who can handle it quickly for you.”
Alice grinned. “I just wonder what that Frank Sanders would say now if he knew what that jewelry is worth. He’d be spitting nails.”
Annie giggled, but Mary Beth could only shake her head.
“I just can’t believe it. It’s too amazing.”
Annie squeezed her hand. “It’s an answer to prayer.”
“And don’t forget,” Alice said, “no more Burly Boy!”
To that, Annie and Mary Beth added a hearty amen.
****
Before long, Alice had to hurry off to her Divine Décor party, and Mary Beth drove Annie home.
“I still can’t believe it,” Mary Beth said for probably the tenth time that evening. “It’s a pity though. Geoffrey provided for Angeline, and she never knew about it. Think how much easier her life could have been if she had been able to have the money this would have brought. It was always here for when she needed it.”
Annie felt a sudden surge of joy bubbling up inside her. “Or maybe you could think that this was put here for when you would need it most.”
“Oh Annie.” Mary Beth bit her lip. “Do you think …?”
“Of course it’s a miracle. You deserve to have something good finally happen to you after all you’ve been through lately, with the shop and the break-in and your sister …” Her sister. They pulled up to a stop sign, and Annie put her hand on Mary Beth’s arm. “Wait.”
Mary Beth glanced at the empty intersection. “What’s wrong?”
“Melanie.” Annie felt as if her birthday balloon had just burst. “I hadn’t even thought about her before.”
“Oh.” Mary Beth sat at the intersection for a while and then finally nudged the gas pedal. “Well, if the jewelry does belong to our family, it belongs to both of us equally—Mel and me. That’s what Mom’s will said as far as dividing her property, so I have to think it would be the same for this. It’s only right.”
“I’m sure that’s true. Won’t that change things? As far as you buying the building and eve
rything?”
Mary Beth shrugged. “I don’t suppose there’s much I can do about it.”
And Mary Beth didn’t say anything for a long while after that.
“What are you thinking?” Annie asked as they pulled up at Grey Gables. “Melanie still?”
With a rueful smile, Mary Beth nodded. “At this point, I’d rather just mail her a check and be done with it.”
“Well, once you sell it at a reasonable price, I don’t see how she could object.”
“Oh, you don’t know Melanie. She would be sure she could have gotten a better price. And no doubt I paid too much in commissions to whoever brokered it for us. How did I know I wasn’t cheated? How did she know I wasn’t cheating her?”
Annie shook her head. “Surely she wouldn’t think that of you. Would she?”
Mary Beth chuckled. “No, I don’t really think she would. But I’m sure I’ll do something wrong in handling the deal.”
“Why not let her do it then?” Annie asked.
“That’s the thing. If I ask her to take care of it, she’ll tell me how busy she is and ask me why I can’t handle the simplest of business affairs. Either way, she’s not going to be happy.”
“You know, some people never are,” Annie said, “and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make them happy. All you can do is do your best and not let them keep you from being happy.”
Mary Beth smiled as she got out of the car. “I think that’s the best advice I’ve heard all day.”
****
There was nothing else to do and no use in putting it off. Mary Beth would just have to call Melanie and tell her about the jewels. She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, breathing deeply and thinking peaceful thoughts.
I will be pleasant and not easy to upset. All I have to do is let her know what’s going on. We don’t have to decide what to do right this minute. We can figure out the details once we know more. I’m not going to be intimidated by my own sister.
She took a deep breath and punched Melanie’s number into the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Melanie. It’s Mary Beth. Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Only a minute. I have a premiere to go to.” Melanie’s voice was brisk and businesslike. “What’s on your mind?”
“You remember the things Grandma Marie said were passed down to her from her grandmother? The clock and the desk and things?”
“Yes. Very nice in their way, of course, but you know I don’t like that fussy, old-fashioned stuff. And no, I don’t have any interest in buying any of it to bail you out. I’m sure there are all kinds of dealers around, though I doubt what you have would be enough to fix the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“I’m not asking you for anything, Mel, I just wanted you to know something. I had the clock in being repaired and—”
“Mother gave all that stuff to you when she moved into that old folks’ home, didn’t she? Goodness knows, I didn’t want them. Anyway, they’re yours, and so is the responsibility for their upkeep. I know getting something like that done is expensive, but you should have gotten an estimate before you agreed to the repairs. I can’t really do anything about that, can I?”
“Melanie, I’m not asking—”
“It’s amazing to me that you’ve stayed in business even this long. You don’t have much of a head for practical matters, do you?”
Mary Beth said nothing. She merely waited.
“Mary Beth? Are you there? Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you, Melanie. Can you hear me?”
“Well for crying out loud, why didn’t you answer me? I told you already that I’m in a hurry.”
“I was waiting for you to give me a chance to say something.”
From the other end of the line, Mary Beth heard an impatient little huff.
“Go ahead.”
“I just wanted you to know that there was something hidden in the clock that’s worth a lot of money. It’s been in there for over a hundred and fifty years. Mom couldn’t have known about it. Even our great-great-grandmother who was meant to have it didn’t know about it.”
“What do you mean by ‘worth a lot of money’?” Melanie sneered. “A thousand dollars?”
“No. A lot more than that. A whole lot more. Five hundred and sixty-five thousand.”
Melanie didn’t say anything. “What … what exactly is it?” she asked finally.
“A really amazing necklace with pearls and rubies and diamonds, and earrings and a ring to match. It’s all gorgeous.”
“And why are you telling me this? To gloat?”
“I just wanted you to know that half of it is yours. We’re all that’s left of our great-great-grandmother Angeline’s descendants. To me, that means it belongs to both of us equally.”
Again Melanie was silent.
“Mel?”
“Mother gave that clock and all those other things to you.” Melanie’s voice was very soft now and not very steady. “I’d say anything inside one of them belongs to you. After all, she left the business to me.”
“She didn’t know there was something in the clock. I’m sure she would have wanted us both to have it, if she had known.”
“You might be able to get it all awarded to you, if you went to court.”
“Melanie!” Mary Beth shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Melanie would never understand her. It was no use. “I don’t want to go to court. Not over this or anything. I’m not trying to keep all of it. I think it’s right that we both share it.”
“What about your shop? If you had all of the money, you could buy it, and your troubles would be over.”
Mary Beth chuckled. “Troubles are never really over. Not in this world. And yes, if I had all the money, I could probably buy the whole building and let the theater next door pay me rent. That way I’d have enough to stay afloat during the lean times, no matter how the shop does. But it doesn’t belong to me. At least I don’t think it should. It belongs to both of us. You’re welcome to have it appraised by someone yourself if you don’t think my appraiser gave us a fair value.”
“I’ll certainly do that.” Melanie’s voice was taut and businesslike again. “Now, if that’s all, I have a premiere to get to. Goodbye.”
There was a click and then a dial tone. Mary Beth put her phone back in the charger and sat there for a long time, just watching the dusk turn to pitch black.
20
As promised, Melanie sent her own appraiser to look over the jewelry. His estimate of the value of the jewels was fairly close to the one Mary Beth had gotten from Mrs. Banks and which seemed quite satisfactory to the company that now insured the collection. Mary Beth had also consulted an attorney regarding the legal and tax ramifications of the find. She could hardly believe it was worth over a half-million dollars.
It was too bad she couldn’t buy just the portion of the building that housed A Stitch in Time and not worry about the part where the theater was. Her part of the treasure would be enough to cover just the shop. But Mr. Huggins needed to sell the whole thing. Mr. Li, who rented the theater, had no way of buying that part of the building himself.
“If I can’t buy both, Mr. Huggins will have no choice but to sell the whole thing to the Burly Boy people,” she told the members of the Hook and Needle Club on the last Tuesday of the month, “and I can’t buy both.”
“Oh Mary Beth, what will you do?” Peggy wadded her appliquéd quilt block in her lap, almost pricking herself with her needle. “I thought will all that money …”
Mary Beth got up to pick up the mail that had come through the slot in the front door. “It’s still six days until the end of the month. I’ll have to see what happens. Meanwhile, I’ve looked around a little bit. There’s a little storefront in Pleasant Point that I could probably afford. The money does make it easier.”
“Pleasant Point,” half a dozen voices moaned at once.
“That’s miles away,” Gwen said. “We couldn
’t be running over there all the time like we do now.”
“I know I couldn’t come for meetings,” Peggy said. “I’d no sooner get there than I’d have to come right back to work.”
Mary Beth dredged up a cheerful smile as she flipped through the day’s bills and advertisements. “I know it’s not as good as being right next door to The Cup & Saucer, Peggy. Sometimes we …”
In with the rest of the mail was a letter from Mr. Huggins. She had read through half of it before she realized what it was saying.
“What is it, Mary Beth?” Annie looked concerned. “Are you OK?”
“It’s from Mr. Huggins. He says he has a buyer for the theater property if I’m willing to buy this part of it myself.” She sank down into her chair in the sewing circle. “And the price is a little less than I thought it might be.”
All the ladies started talking at once, but Mary Beth didn’t hear much of what they were saying. There was more in the letter.
“Will you have enough for it?” Annie asked. “You look worried.”
Mary Beth glanced up at her, knowing she must be pale as a ghost. There was no way any blood could possibly make it past the tightness in her throat into her face.
“I just can’t—”
She handed the letter to Annie, who scanned it briefly.
“Oh Mary Beth. It’s wonderful.”
The other ladies crowded around. “What? What?”
“‘The proposed buyer of the other part of the property,’” Annie read, “‘is looking for a small investment. The buyer would like to continue renting that part of the property to the Bijou Theater but doesn’t want to be involved in property management. The buyer would like to know if you …’” Annie looked up at Mary Beth. “‘… if you would be interested in managing the theater property in exchange for a percentage of the rental.’ That couldn’t take very much work, could it?”
“No. No, Mr. Huggins says Mr. Li who runs the theater is a wonderful tenant. There are never any problems. He always pays on time.” Mary Beth couldn’t keep a tremor out of her voice. “Read the rest, Annie. The last part.”
“‘If this is something that interests you, please let me know as soon as possible, and I will arrange a meeting between us and the proposed buyer of the other part of the property, Ms. Melanie Martinelli.’”
The Key in the Attic Page 16