The Chalice Thief

by K. J. Emrick

  “I want to take care of your daughter. Carly’s very special to me. I know, we’ve known each other just about a month. Not that long in the scheme of things, sure, but for us it’s been everything. We know each other. That’s how I know this is what I want, too. I’m not opposed to a woman working wherever she pleases, and Carly’s certainly smart enough to do whatever she wants, but I’ll be there for her every step of the way.”

  “That a fact?” I asked, surprised to hear a bit of my deceased hubby Richard in those words that Drew just spoke.

  “Yes,” was his very confident answer. “Me and your daughter, we’ve got something special. It’s time for us to see where it goes.”

  “You have to leave Lakeshore to do that?”

  That made him hesitate, just for a moment. “Yes,” he said. “There’s a whole world out there. Mainland Australia’s got all the best opportunities. That’s what I want for me and Carly. The best. I’ll find a job up in Brisbane, and things’ll work out.”

  “That’s where Carly said she wanted to go,” I point out. “Brisbane.”

  “Well, sure. We’re going together.”

  “You sure you’re not just copying what she wants? Do you have any plans of your own? Past leaving Lakeshore just as quick as you can, I mean.”

  Another pause, and this time there was no ready answer to cover it up. My Mom senses were right. Drew was definitely hiding something. Carly either didn’t want to see it, or she already knew about it and wanted to overlook Drew’s secret for the sake of love.

  “Nothing to say to that? Well, then let me ask you this,” I said, a dozen follow up questions springing to mind.

  I didn’t get the chance to ask any of them.

  Talk in the dining room suddenly hushed and then stopped entirely. My back was to the room, but from Carly and Drew’s expressions it was easy to figure out there was something going on.

  Turning around in my chair, I saw Kevin in his police uniform striding into the room. His blue hat with the white chequered pattern and the senior sergeants badge on the front of it was set squarely on his head. He never wears that hat. He hates that hat.

  The only time he wears it is when he knows he’s going to be seen in public doing his job. In public… or on the news.

  Behind him, Constable Arianna Eckert was in her full uniform as well. Including her hat. Including that very serious expression that I remember her wearing at the Thirsty Roo when Alfonse first reported the Van Diemen’s Land Chalice as stolen.

  Oh, snap.

  My nice breakfast was forgotten. “Kevin?” I asked, already halfway out of my chair. “What’s going on?”

  “Sorry to do this here, Mom,” he said, and I can see he honestly isn’t happy about whatever’s going on. “Had a feeling our suspect might skip town if we didn’t act quick.”

  His eyes went to Drew.

  The two men locked gazes. There was some sort of mental shoving match that took place between them in those few seconds. It was a thing I’d seen men do before, when each tries to prove to the other they won’t be moved. I could see why Kevin would be that way, being the authority of the Queen’s law in Lakeshore and all. So what was Drew being so defiant about?

  “Stand up,” Kevin directed him. “Come with us. Don’t make me use handcuffs.”

  “Aw, c’mon Boss,” Arianna said with a falsely sweet smile. Hooking her thumbs into her leather duty belt put her hands close to both her gun and her handcuff case. “It’s more fun when we get to play a bit.”

  “Arrest me?” Drew asked before I could. “For what, exactly?”

  Not that I needed to ask. I knew what the answer was going to say.

  “For stealing the Van Diemen’s Land Chalice from the back room of the Thirsty Roo.”

  The silence from the rest of the room was punctuated by several sudden gasps. Yeah. I knew how they felt.

  Carly’s eyes went very cold. Her voice held steel in it. “Kevin. Don’t you dare do this, you bloody drongo don’t you dare!”

  With a heavy sigh, Kevin came around the table and took Drew by the arm. “I don’t have a choice. Sometimes being the senior sergeant sucks, Sis, but there it is. Drew Norstrom. I’m arresting you for stealing. Come with me peacefully or I’m going to let my constable have her fun.”

  Arianna took out her cuffs, and began spinning them on one finger.

  Drew looked at Carly, and then he turned a sheepish look at me. I couldn’t believe what was happening. All those cues I’d picked up on. Little subtle things, and other not-so-subtle facts like how badly Drew wanted to get out of Lakeshore. I knew that he was hiding something, but could he really be the one who stole the chalice from the Thirsty Roo?

  “I didn’t do it,” was all Drew said before Kevin had him up on his feet. Not exactly a fierce denial of guilt, I thought to myself.

  “Kevin, don’t!” Now Carly was on her feet as well, beating on Kevin’s shoulders with her fists, her bracelets clanking up and down her arms. Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Don’t you do this!”

  Every eye in the place was on us. Kevin let his little sister shout at him for a moment, waving off Arianna as she stepped forward to intervene. When Carly paused for a breath, Kevin said very quietly, “Sorry, Sis. The higher ups are involved in this now. This one’s got legs, as they say. No stopping it now.”

  Carly wasn’t about to be appeased by that. “You’ve got no proof!”

  My son’s face has rarely looked that sad. “Yeah, Sis. I do.”

  Drew hung his head, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t fight. To his credit, he didn’t resist and try to run away from Kevin and Arianna. I knew he wouldn’t get very far but that doesn’t stop most folks. There’s been no end of foot chases right here at this Inn.

  It was left to me to hold Carly back when she tried to lunge across the table for them. She’s strong, my daughter is, but she’s not stupid. It didn’t take her long to realize that attacking her brother and his overeager constable wasn’t going to get her what she wanted. With a growl of frustration she fell against me, her fingers fisted into her hair and every muscle in her body tensed.

  “I’ll go talk to him,” I promised. “I’ll figure out what’s going on. Can I trust you to stay here?”

  “Where’m I gonna go?” she asked in a voice thick with heat. “I’m not leaving town when Drew’s in trouble. If I didn’t know better I’d think you had a hand in this, Mom.”

  “What? Carly, how could you say that?”

  “Because you didn’t want me to leave, now did you? No. You wanted me right here under your roof so you could pretend we were a family again.”

  Her words cut me deeply. “No, honey. I told you last night that if you want to go—”

  “I don’t care what you said! I know you. I know how you think. You’d go to any lengths to have your second chance at a family. You lost Dad, then you couldn’t even keep James around! Now you’ll do anything to keep me here in this Godforsaken tourist trap. You know it’s true!”

  My heart turned cold and heavy. “No, Carly. It isn’t true. I only want you to be happy.”

  She stepped back from me. “Then where’s James, Mom. Hmm? How’re you gonna make sure I’m happy when you can’t even keep a man of your own?”

  Turning on her heel she swept her way out of the dining room, then through the foyer to the stairs. She marched up them, dropping her foot on each one so that I could clearly hear the thud of every step even this far away.

  I knew I should go after her. She was upset, so I tried not to take anything she said to heart, but it was no use. It had hurt me to hear all of that being said. Here I thought that Carly and I were making inroads to healing over our past. Turned out she’d been keeping a lot of things bottled up. Seeing her new boyfriend arrested had pulled the cork.

  Before I could go after her, though, I needed to catch up with Kevin and ask him what proof he thought they had to prove Drew took the Chalice. Or, that the Chalice had even been there in the first place. Tru
thfully I still wasn’t convinced the thing had ever been in town. Kevin was right though, as was the mayor. When word got about that we’d had the thing here and lost it, the only visitors we could look forward to would be ones from the Federal government.

  Australia must have a bureau of antiquities or something like it. Men with guns and whips and dusty fedoras, hired by the government to make sure our culture didn’t get stolen and used for nefarious purposes…

  No. Wait. That was Indiana Jones.

  Still, things were going to get worse for Lakeshore very fast once this got out. Not the kind of press we needed at all. As I went past the front desk in the foyer I saw my first evidence of that.

  The Randalls, that nice couple who had just checked in for a two night stay yesterday, were checking out. Ikon was trying to convince them to stay but they weren’t having it. Too much drama, they said. The Pine Lake Inn was supposed to be a quiet, cozy place to have a restful holiday, and with all that ruckus outside they could hardly think let alone enjoy a moment of privacy.

  Ruckus?

  I’d hoped to catch Kevin in his patrol car before he drove away with Drew. Stepping outside I saw I wasn’t going to have any such luck. He was already gone. I’m guessing that he must have gotten out of here quick as he could rather than face the buzzing crowd of reporters set up on the Inn’s front yard.

  A few of the cameras swiveled in my direction. Before any of them could recognize me from my previous brushes with mystery and death and ask me for a quote, I fled back into the Inn.

  So, it begins, I thought. So, it begins.

  Ikon caught my eye from the front desk, and I could see him about to ask me if I was all right. The answer was definitely no and I definitely did not want to talk about anything that had just happened, so I shook my head at him and headed right up the stairs.

  At the top, Mister Brewster waited for me, standing with his hands clasped at his waist, his black outfit seeming to soak up what little light there was. The way the Inn was built, the stairs from the ground floor lead up here, and then you have to travel the length of the hall to get to the stairs leading to the top floor. In other words, the architect of the building has made very sure that I can’t get to my apartment while Mister Brewster is blocking my way.

  “I’d wish you a good morning,” he said, a smile hiding in the corners of his mouth, “but I doubt it’s been that good for any of us.”

  “I really don’t have time to talk right now.” I had no idea what I was going to do, but I felt like I had to do something. “If you need anything, can you ask Ikon at the front desk for it?”

  Mild annoyance showed through his expression for just a moment, then the smile was back. “I suppose. I was just on my way out, in truth. On the way to the library. That’s generally where I go when I have questions.”

  “Wonderful,” I said, or something close to it. “Um. Well, g’day then.”

  Eyes narrowed at me, he nevertheless stepped aside.

  I’m usually not this abrupt with my guests, and certainly not with Mister Brewster. I prefer to avoid him altogether, but I’m never rude to him.

  Guess my nerves were more frazzled than I realized.

  When I passed by the room that Carly was staying in I stopped, and raised my hand to knock… and then chickened out and decided to let things be for the moment. She was in there stewing, and I thought maybe letting her have a little time with her own thoughts might be best for both of us. A mother learned when to jump in with both feet, and when to have those feet keep on walking. If only every question could be answered with a mother’s wit.

  Halfway to my room, I stopped as an idea hit me. What I needed to do was learn more about the Van Diemen’s Land Chalice. I could try the internet, but I’m pretty sure there was a better source of information right here in Lakeshore.

  The library. Mister Brewster had put the idea into my head and the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. The town librarian, Ada Wenting, knew everything about Australian history. She’d be the one to ask, no doubt. I never did make it to my room. The keys to the loaner car were in my pocket still, and I was downstairs and ignoring questions from reporters before I knew it.

  Chapter 5

  I don’t know how other towns in other places do things, but here in Lakeshore we don’t have a central business district. People visiting our little slice of the lucky country have to wander about to find, well, anything really. The police station is at the far end of the town, where the paved streets give way to the dirt of Kookaburra Road again. The only church in town is just as you come in by way of Geeveston. My Inn—the only Inn—is on Fenlong Street right up against the shore of Pine Lake. Mrs. Havernathy sells her jams out of her house. We’re a tightly knit group, with everything spread out everywhere in a sea of white buildings.

  The library is over by the bakery. I suppose calling it a library is a bit of a stretch. Ada started collecting books back in high school, and soon enough they overflowed the boxes in her room. So her parents built a covered porch on the house, tore out a wall to connect the new space to what had been an unused sitting room, and bought and begged every spare set of shelves they could find to put in there. Now the walls were lined with bookcases and utility shelves and even those plastic cubes teenagers take with them to Uni. Two rows of mismatched wooden and metal shelving units march down the middle of the space as well.

  Her parents had passed away, but she still lived in this house. It hadn’t taken her long to open her little library up for her friends and then even visitors to the town to borrow from her selection. She was good about keeping up with the latest releases from what I’ve seen. I’m also very sure she’s never gotten rid of any book she’s ever owned. Ever.

  There aren’t any formal times for the library either. When Ada’s home, the library is open. That’s why I wasn’t surprised to arrive at this time on a Sunday morning and find mine was the only car out front. I suppose some people in town would be at Pastor Albright’s service. More and more of us were making the effort to go and listen to him talk. I have a feeling that this Sunday, however, the good pastor had lost his congregation to the spectacle of reporters sniffing about for the story of the century.

  The shopkeeper’s bell over the door jangled when I came in. The smell of books and old paint mixed pleasantly, and I wished I was here just to take out a lazy weekend read. Next weekend maybe. Or the one after that. I suppose there was always next year.

  "Ada?” My voice was loud to my own ears as I ducked around one of the middle stacks until I could see the Ikea pressboard desk that Ada used to check books out for people or just to sit at and read. She was there now, lost in some paperback novel with dogeared pages. She looked up when I call her name a second time.

  “Oh, Dell.” She blinked behind her thick glasses. “Didn’t hear you come in. Afraid I’ve gotten myself quite lost in this book here. She’s an older author but I do love her so. Well. Let’s just put her aside for a moment. There. Now, what can I help you find today?”

  “Don’t know if you have a book for it,” I told her. “Might just need to pick your brain. I suppose you’ve heard what’s going on in town right now?”

  “You mean that crazy business at the Thirsty Roo?” Her face turned sour and her eyes crinkled behind the heavy lenses. “I’ve heard, but I don’t believe it. Never go to the place myself. The Van Diemen’s Land Chalice? Here? Go on with ya.”

  “Wait. So you believe the Chalice is real?”

  “Of course!” She actually chuckled at the very suggestion I might think otherwise. “It’s a piece of our national heritage. It was being transported on the HMS Sirius to Norfolk Island in 1790 along with—”

  “I’ve heard this part.”

  Annoyance flashed across her face at being interrupted. “Oh. I see.”

  “I’m sorry, Ada. I was hoping you could tell me more.”

  “Like what?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

  “Like if it’s reall
y real! You’re telling me it is, but I still find it hard to believe. Something that’s supposed to transfer ownership of Tasmania to whoever holds the thing? I mean, come on.” With a breath, I reminded myself to calm down. “I’m sorry. There’s just so much going on. My best friend is two seconds away from giving birth, and we’re not sure where her husband is, and don’t even get me started on my daughter! So if you know about Alfonse Calico saying he had the Chalice, then I suppose you heard what happened just now?”

  Behind her glasses, Ada’s eyes scrunched up. “Just now? What d’ya mean?”

  I told her about the incident at the Inn. At least, the bare essentials. Drew being arrested for the theft of the Chalice and Kevin saying they had the proof. I left out the parts about my daughter blaming the whole thing on me. Much as I wanted to be back at the Inn fixing what was broken between us, it didn’t seem relevant at the moment.

  Ada’s mouth formed a perfect circle. “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” I had to agree. “That just about sums it up. So. Can you help me figure out if what Alfonse had was really this mythical Chalice?”

  “Hmm.” She thought about that question as she adjusted her glasses. Then she crooked a finger in my direction. “Come with me.”

  It was into the book stacks that she took me, around the middle shelves and to one of the far walls where lines of heavy tomes were standing side by side. A reference section. An honest to God collection of encyclopedias and dictionaries and how-to books in an age where information is instantly at your fingertips online. Had to admire anyone who still knew how to use these things.

  “Here it is,” she said after just a moment’s searching. The book she took off the shelf was tall with a heavy brown cover. When she opened it I could see pages that had reprints of old maps on them, and photos of historical figures like Matthew Flinders and Governor General Anthony van Diemen and yes, even Lieutenant Governor David Collins. She must have read this book before, a few times, because she was able to flip right to the chapter she wanted.

  “I’m sure you know your Tassie history,” she told me, “so let me start here. When David Collins was made the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Van Diemen’s Land, or what we now call Tasmania, he saw big things for our island state. Maybe even a country of our own one day. The indigenous people here before them, they called themselves the Palawa. They struck up a sort of friendship with David Collins and his people. Even worked together to help the newcomers from England. The Palawa gifted Collins with a Chalice hand carved from pine wood and inlaid with gold and quartz. Or so the story goes.”