When the dishes were done, Dan left for the game and Elizabeth offered to show Garnet the upper levels of the home. She led Garnet up the stairs, her progress slow as she clutched the railing with one hand and used her cane to steady herself with the other.
“The house was modern when it was built, but over the years there have been a few updates,” Elizabeth panted, trying to catch her breath on the landing. “You may have noticed the kitchen was remodelled some time ago. I had the electric wiring and the plumbing upgraded at the same time.”
“Cool tub,” Garnet remarked when Elizabeth pushed open the bathroom door. A white claw-foot bathtub stood against the far wall.
“Yes, I was always fond of that myself. I had it refinished a few years ago when I replaced the toilet and sink.”
The house had five fully furnished bedrooms, two of them at the back of the house. The master suite, which had been Reginald’s, was painted blue and had its own bathroom. The green room had been the nursery and had a connecting door that led to a self-contained suite, once the nanny’s quarters. These quarters could also be accessed by another door further down the hall.
“All the bedrooms have remained the same all these years, except for mine,” Elizabeth said, as they passed by the door to her room at the front of the house. “I’ve had it redecorated several times.” Garnet peeked in and saw that it was wallpapered in a pink and green floral pattern.
As they crossed the hall to the last room, Garnet became acutely aware of a persistent mewing sound coming from behind the closed door. When Elizabeth turned the knob, Ginger immediately scampered out past them and bounded down the stairs.
“Now, how did she lock herself in there?” Elizabeth asked, shaking her head.
They entered the yellow room, which had two other doors, one of them opening out onto the balcony. Elizabeth pointed to the other door, on the inside wall. “That leads to the attic. Nothing but junk up there. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a packrat. You may find some of it amusing, though, if you care to go through it sometime. I haven’t made the trip up myself in a couple of years. The stairs are much too steep for me now.”
Garnet felt a small flicker of excitement. Her mother said that old people often called their old things junk and sometimes they were, but other times they were treasure troves of antiques. “Oh, I’d love to look through it. Mom and I used to spend lots of Saturday afternoons rummaging through antique shops. Before she got so busy, that is.”
“Tell me, what does your mother do?” Elizabeth asked.
“She’s a manager at Prosperity Trust.”
“She must have a very important job that it keeps her so busy.”
“Well, it’s not just her job. She’s also trying to search for her father.” Garnet went on to explain about the discovery of the divorce papers in her grandmother’s desk, and that her mother was trying to find out if the father she thought was dead all those years might still be alive.
The grandfather clock in the front hall gonged twice, announcing two o’clock.
“Oh, time for my pills,” Elizabeth said.
Garnet followed Elizabeth downstairs, waiting for her in the living room while she took her medication in the kitchen. Ginger had found a cosy spot to nap on the far end of the sofa, the slit of one of her eyes opening, as the hand-painted clock on the mantel chimed two. Garnet looked down at her watch. One fifty-five. It was running at least five minutes behind. She adjusted it, then picked up the silver-framed photograph on the mantel.
They had been an attractive couple, Elizabeth and Albert. Though the picture was black and white, Garnet could see that Elizabeth’s shoulder-length hair had been dark and wavy, and her lips were tinted, so that she reminded Garnet of one of those glamorous movie stars from the 1940s. She wore a simple white hat and gown with her gold locket in front, and Albert, only slightly taller, looked handsome in an air force uniform and cap. Their eyes shone with happiness and anticipation, unaware that a life together would not be theirs.
“Our wedding day,” Elizabeth said from behind her.
Garnet looked up. “You’re wearing the same locket as in this picture.”
“It belonged to Albert’s mother,” Elizabeth said, clutching it. “Reginald gave it to her when Albert was born.”
Garnet set the photograph back down, her eyes travelling to the silver angel on the other side of the mantel. She touched it lightly, admiring its workmanship.
“Albert’s grandfather made that,” Elizabeth said, taking a seat in the armchair. “You may pick it up if you like.”
The angel wore a robe and was blowing a horn and fit easily into Garnet’s hand. Its wings were detailed, in layers, like the feathers on the wings of a bird. On the back of the angel was a tiny knob that appeared to be a button. Garnet pressed it. To her delight, the wings swung upward.
Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, it’s quite something, isn’t it?”
Garnet ran a finger along the opened wings, then squinted. “What are these markings?” She brought the angel over to Elizabeth and pointed at what appeared to be tiny writing.
Elizabeth leaned forward, then waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, that. Yes. There’s another on the other wing. I believe they’re Bible verses. I used to think they might be a clue to the jewels because of what Reginald said on the day he died about the angel guiding me. But when I looked the verses up, I couldn’t think what they might have had to do with the jewels.”
“What do the verses say?” Garnet asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t remember, exactly. It’s been so long since I looked.”
Garnet tried to make out what the writing said but it was very small. “Do you have a magnifying glass?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I’ll get it for you.” She rose from the armchair and hobbled out of the room, returning a few minutes later.
Garnet took the glass from her and held it over the wings, reading the tiny engraved letters and numbers. “I think the one on the left says something like ’Mat. 28:5.’” Moving the glass over to the other wing, she noticed the script was in a slightly different style. “And the one on the right says ’Ps. 45:13.’” Garnet glanced up at Elizabeth. “What does it mean?”
“They’re abbreviations. ’M-A-T’ would stand for the book of St. Matthew, and ’P-S’ would stand for the book of Psalms. The numbers indicate where in the books the verses would be found.”
“Oh. Can we look them up?”
“Certainly. The Bible is here on the table.” Elizabeth handed Garnet a thick black leather-bound book.
Garnet set down the angel and flipped through the worn pages, looking up after several moments. “I don’t seem to be having any luck. These books aren’t in alphabetical order.”
“No, dear, they’re not. Come, let me show you,” Elizabeth said patiently, taking the book from her, and turning to a page in the front that listed the books in the Bible and their page numbers. Together she and Elizabeth found the page and the verse.
Garnet began to read out loud. “’And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.’” She peered up from the book and frowned. “The language kind of sounds like Shakespeare.”
“That’s because this Bible is an old King James Version. Hundreds of years ago, King James authorized an English version of the Bible, and this is more or less what the scripture was translated to. There are many translations now, though, and in nearly every language of the world. At church, we use a modern one in today’s English.”
“So, what does this verse mean?” Garnet asked, struggling to understand.
“Do you know the Easter story at all, when Jesus arose from the dead, the morning of the third day after he was crucified?”
Garnet nodded. “When I was little, Nana used to sometimes take me to Sunday school.” Beyond that though, apart from her grandmother’s funeral, she had not set foot inside a church in years. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in God. She did
pray sometimes, but only if she felt that she really needed some extra help.
“In this chapter there were two women named Mary who went to visit the tomb where Jesus had been buried. The tomb was actually a cave. When they got there, they discovered the stone from the cave had already been rolled away and an angel was waiting for them to give instructions. He told them not to be afraid, that Jesus was raised from the dead and they were to go and tell his disciples this.”
Garnet bit her lower lip. “You were right, Elizabeth. This has nothing to do with any jewels. What does the other verse say?” She placed the magnifying glass over the right wing. “Ps. 45:13.”
“So that verse would be found in the book of Psalms, in the Old Testament, chapter 45, verse 13,” Elizabeth explained.
Garnet found the page and read aloud. “’The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.’” She glanced up. “Well, at least now it might be talking about jewellery.”
Elizabeth gave a little snort. “That it is. But if it’s supposed to be a clue to anything, what does it mean?” she asked, her voice rising slightly. “Over the years, I’ve searched this house from top to bottom. Any hiding spot I could think of, I’ve looked in. I’ve knocked at walls, checked for loose floorboards, you name it. Since I couldn’t find them in the house, I even went to different banks in the city to see if Reginald had any safe-deposit boxes that I couldn’t find the keys to, but everything has come up empty. I don’t need the jewels for money. I would only like to see them once before I die. And if they are hidden in this house, I don’t want them lost forever!”
The phone gave a shrill ring in the kitchen. “Excuse me,” Elizabeth said. She reached for her cane and left Garnet alone.
Garnet picked up the angel again. She ran her fingers over the delicate silver feathers, searching for any other potential clues she might have missed. Snippets of the telephone conversation drifted to Garnet’s ears as Elizabeth’s voice became louder and slightly unsteady.
“Fifty thousand dollars? I don’t know ...” There was a pause. “Give me a few days. I’ll help your friend, but this is the last time....” Another pause. “Goodbye, then.”
Garnet looked up at Elizabeth as she returned to the living room, leaning heavily on her cane. Her face was flushed and beaded with moisture.
“Are you okay?” Garnet asked.
Elizabeth nodded but Garnet could see that she was not. She set the angel down on the mantel and rushed to Elizabeth’s side, the vision of her collapsing on the grass still fresh in her mind. “Come, sit down,” she said, guiding her to the sofa and easing her down. “Do you want a glass of water or something?”
“I need my pills. My nitroglycerines,” Elizabeth answered weakly. “They’re in the kitchen on the countertop with all the other medicine.”
Garnet bolted out of the room, then returned with the blue bottle and a glass of water, which she set down on the table. Elizabeth’s open palm shook as she held it out for Garnet to give her the pill. She slipped the pill under her tongue and leaned back, closing her eyes. Garnet sat down next to her and watched as Elizabeth’s colour returned to normal.
That telephone call, whatever it had been about, had left her seriously agitated. Who had the caller been and what had been said to upset her so? Fifty thousand dollars? That was a lot of money. Surely nobody was asking Elizabeth to give them that much. Did this have anything to do with the money she had seen in Elizabeth’s purse the other day? She wanted to ask her about it but now wasn’t the time. Anyway, if Elizabeth wanted her to know, maybe she would tell her later.
Garnet looked down at Elizabeth’s sapphire ring next to the gold wedding band and in a calm, soothing voice attempted to distract her. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth. I’m going to help you find those jewels, I promise. I’ll search the house from top to bottom, whatever it takes. But I’ll probably need your help. You might even have to answer some questions for me. Are you with me on this?”
Elizabeth opened her eyes. Smiling weakly, she nodded, and Garnet could feel her relax as a plump, wrinkled hand, speckled with age spots, stretched out and patted the top of Garnet’s smooth, freckled one.
Garnet only hoped she could live up to her promise.
4
Grand Delusions
“I’ve decided to hire a private detective,” Garnet’s mother announced.
It was Victoria Day. Garnet and her mother had walked over to Victoria Park and were listening to the strains of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony as the daylight faded on the fresh spring evening. Cars were parked along the side streets and people were piling out with blankets and lawn chairs. Later, there were to be fireworks on the grassy plain near the clock tower that had once graced the top of the long-demolished former city hall.
Garnet glanced over at her mother. “Wow, you really are getting serious about this now.”
Her mother shrugged. “I know. And maybe this whole thing is rather silly. I mean, who needs him now? I’m fifty years old. But I guess it’s the curiosity getting the better of me. Why wasn’t I told the truth?”
“I don’t know,” Garnet replied, wondering herself what Nana had tried to hide about her first husband. “What will you do if the detective doesn’t find anything?”
“If the investigation comes up empty, I guess I’ll just have to live with it.”
Several children twirled on the grass, inspired by Tchaikovsky’s ballet waltz from Swan Lake. When the orchestra shifted to the cancan, they kicked their legs high into the air and children and adults alike swayed to the music. All seemed to be having a wonderful time.
But for Garnet, it had not turned out to be much of a holiday. After sleeping in, her day had started with the dreaded trigonometry assignment she had put off for the past week, which was worth twenty percent of her mark. It was due the next day and, once again, she had left things until the last minute. By late afternoon, when the paper remained almost as blank as her mind, it was obvious to her that summer school could become a reality. “I just don’t get it!” she shrieked with frustration, throwing the textbook across her bedroom. It was at that point that she decided she needed a break and went downstairs to the computer.
She reread Amy’s last email and replied.
Hey Amy!
How was Kurt’s party? Things still suck here. Just wasted my day on the trig assignment from hell. Think I’m gonna fail.
I’m hanging out with an old lady now. She lives in this big house and has a cute grocery boy. Mom’s still working all the time and looking for her dad. Still hope they transfer her back to Owen Sound. Talk to you soon.
G.
As the audience applauded the orchestra’s piece, Garnet wondered how long it would be before Amy stopped replying to her emails altogether. What was Amy doing right now? she wondered. Most likely, it was something exciting. Something with Jody. Something not with her parents.
Out of the corner of her eye, Garnet noticed two tall figures as they approached the crowd. She caught her breath as she recognized one of them. Who could miss Dan with that athletic build and dark hair? The other one looked vaguely familiar — with a slighter build, but also athletic — and bleached-blond hair cut close to the scalp. They stopped just metres from her to face the orchestra. Dan’s head turned slightly and Garnet caught his eye.
He smiled and waved to her. “Hey, Garnet, how are ya?”
“Okay,” she answered, trying to seem nonchalant as her heart did a flip-flop. They walked over to join her. “What’re you doing here?” she asked.
“Just came to watch the fireworks,” Dan replied.
“Oh yeah,” Garnet responded, silently chiding herself. She hoped the increasing darkness would hide the red she was sure would creep into her face. Stupid question. Of course they were here to watch the fireworks. Just like everyone else.
Her mother looked on with curiosity and smiled at the boys. “Are these friends of yours, Garnet?”
Garnet shrugged one shoulder.
“This is Dan. I met him at Elizabeth’s. He delivers her groceries.”
Dan stared at Garnet for a moment, then said, “The grocery boy? Is that all I am? The grocery boy?” He put a fist to his heart and pretended to be hurt. “We had lunch together yesterday and everything. How soon the lady forgets!”
Garnet’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped at his unexpected theatrics. Then she noticed the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
“All right. He’s more than the grocery boy. Dan’s a friend. Sorry,” she laughed.
Dan pulled up the collar of his jacket, as though his dignity had just been restored. “All right. That’s better,” he said, giving a huge, lopsided grin. They all laughed, then to Garnet’s surprise, Dan turned to her mother and extended a hand. “Hi. I’m Dan Peters. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Garnet’s mother replied, taking his hand. “I’m Sharon Walcott, Garnet’s mother.”
Dan nodded in his friend’s direction. “And this is my friend, Justin Farrell.”
Justin smiled and shook her hand as well, but gave a simple wave to Garnet. His eyes narrowed. “Do I know you from somewhere?”
“Maybe from school,” Garnet replied. “I’m kinda new. We just moved here a few weeks ago.”
A woman’s voice unexpectedly called out from across the crowd. “Sharon!” They all looked over in that direction and saw a woman waving. Garnet’s mother waved back. “That’s Susan with some people from work. Do you mind if I go say hello? I won’t be long.”
Garnet shook her head. “No, go ahead.”
“Do you want to walk around with us?” Dan asked.
Garnet looked over at her mother who, in turn, took a harder look at the boys.
The Jewels of Sofia Tate Page 5
