by Marja McGraw
Coral ignored her and turned back to Judith. “So, have you heard the stories about our mother hiding a treasure in this house?”
“Actually, yes,” Judith replied. “To be honest, I’m very interested, but we’ve always wanted a fixer upper to live in and work on anyway. The treasure story was the bait that hooked us.”
“And what about the dead girl they found here?” Carol asked, narrowing her eyes at Judith.
“Actually, I was the one who found her. That’s one experience I’ll never get over, but at least she wasn’t in the master bedroom. I don’t think I could sleep in the room where I found her.”
“Which room was that?” Coral asked.
“The center room at the top of the stairs.” Judith glanced toward the living room, in the direction of the stairs.
Coral laughed. “That was your room, Carol. Now it’ll be haunted for all eternity.”
“You nitwit, there’s no such thing as a ghost. Are you trying to scare these people out of buying the house?”
“Oh. Yeah.” She turned to Judith. “You still want it, don’t you?”
“We do. I don’t believe in ghosts either.”
Chris Sr. had been standing off to the side while this conversation was going on. “You girls wouldn’t be trying to scare us off, would you?”
“Why, no,” Coral said. “We’re happy as little clams to be unloading this monstrosity.”
“Coral!” Carol admonished. “This is a wonderful old house, filled with happy memories.”
“Yeah, and it’s sooo wonderful that we never came back to it after taking care of Mother’s business.”
Carol sat down in the chair across from Judith. “We have a lot of good memories of growing up here. Our mother was a love, and she was so creative. Have you ever read any of her books? Oh, I’m sure you probably have. The only monstrosity in this house was my sister.”
I was slowly beginning to understand a little about the twins. Carol was uptight, and Coral liked to play on Carol’s trait. She seemed to do everything she could to annoy her sister. Typical sibling stuff even at their age, but they seemed to take it to a different level. I couldn’t help wondering if they’d ever gotten along.
“Were you two ever friends?” I asked. I rolled my eyes when I realized I’d said that aloud. I honestly hadn’t meant to.
Coral didn’t seem to take offense at my question. “We used to get along. I spent a lifetime teasing Carol, but it was all good-natured. We – ”
“Speak for yourself,” Carol said. “I haven’t had a sister in years, and I don’t care to talk about it.”
Coral turned her head and looked into my eyes. “She’s been upset ever since Mother died and we couldn’t find the treasure,” she said in a stage whisper. “I can show you where a lot of the hiding places are. I know where most of them are, but I also know Mother had a few she kept secret from us. Carol thought I found the treasure and didn’t share it with her because I came into some money. The cash actually came from some stocks and bonds, but she didn’t believe that.”
I saw Judith’s eyes light up. “You know where the hiding places are? Fantastic! My grandson and I want to see them.”
“Your grandson?” The women had been so busy fussing that they hadn’t noticed Chris and Mikey standing near the kitchen door.
“This is our son, Mikey,” Chris said, giving Mikey a
gentle shove in their direction.
“They call me Ace, and I’m the brains behind this outfit. You dames’ll have to stop in at our gin mill sometime.” Mikey’s eyes were big as saucers and I couldn’t believe he’d said that. From the look on his face, I was pretty sure he’d surprised himself, too. “Sorry, ladies, I didn’t mean to say that.” Dropping his head, he stepped back by his father and quietly slipped behind him.
Carol’s mouth dropped open and Coral began to laugh. “I like that kid’s moxy. What gin mill?”
Chris stepped forward. “We own a restaurant called Bogey Nights.”
Carol stepped closer to Chris and studied him. “Yes, I know who you are. I’ve read about you in the newspaper. You’re a private investigator.”
“No, I’m not,” he said hurriedly. “Nope. Not a gumshoe. Not me.”
“I’d like to hire you.” Carol’s mind was made up. It was evident in the way she crossed her arms and stood with her feet apart, head tilted slightly back.
“Hire him for what?” I asked.
Judith looked at me and nodded, apparently liking my question.
“Hey, what’s everyone doing down here?” Davey walked into the room and looked at each of our faces. “Who wants to hire who to do what?”
We’d forgotten he was in the house.
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Chris rolled his upper lip under and rolled back on his heels, looking down his nose at Carol.
“Find out who murdered that girl,” Carol said. “This is the house Coral and I grew up in, and I don’t like the idea of something like that happening here.”
“Oh, as though you care,” Coral said in disgust.
“Listen, Coral, I think the legend of Mother’s hidden
treasure has something to do with that girl’s death. In a way, that makes her death Mother’s fault.”
“Oh. Yeah. I hadn’t thought about that.” Coral turned and studied Chris. “Can you do it?”
“Ladies, I’m not a private investigator. The police are on this, so let them do their job.”
Carol held up her hand to silence Chris. “The police aren’t going to care a whit about the treasure. They’ll be heading in the wrong direction, and I’m absolutely sure the girl was killed because of something that isn’t really here.”
“Lord knows Carol and I searched for it. She was murdered because of something that simply doesn’t exist.” I was surprised to hear Coral agreeing with her sister.
“I understand they call you the Bogey Man.” Carol threw the name out like a challenge.
All eyes were on Chris. I could see the Bogey Man weakening. He was no longer back on his heels, and his lip had uncurled. He was tugging on his earlobe, and his eyes were far away.
Judith spoke up. “She’s right, Junior. The police won’t look at it the same way you would.”
Chris Sr. stepped forward. “Son?”
Chris glanced at his mother. “Don’t call me Junior.”
I could hear resignation in his voice, and I knew it went far beyond being called Junior.
Chapter Eighteen
“So it’s a deal then,” Carol said. “Let us know what your fees are and I’ll write you a check right now.”
“No fee,” Chris said. “I told you I’m not a gumshoe. I’m a restaurateur. I’m not going to charge you anything.”
“Works for me,” Coral said. “What a deal!”
“Cheapskate,” Carol mumbled under her breath.
“You take that back, ya ol’ bat!” Coral gritted her teeth and jumped up, out of her chair.
Carol had finally managed to ruffle her sister’s feathers. “Simmer down and let’s take care of business. Do you have one of your business cards on you? Mine are in the car.”
Coral reached into the back pocket of her jeans and fished out a small wallet. She extracted a tattered card. Carol reached for it, and Coral pulled her hand back. “I can give it to him myself. Besides, I want a closer look at Mr. Bogey Man.”
“I want you ladies to remember one thing,” Chris said. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for my parents. I don’t want them moving into this house if some fish-eyed heavy is gonna be hanging around trying to find the moola.”
Carol squinted at Chris before turning to Judith. “Huh?”
“He said if some bad guy with cold, inhuman eyes breaks in, he doesn’t want his father and me here.” Judith looked to me for confirmation.
I nodded.
“Cold, inhuman eyes? Well, that’s pretty descriptive. He scared me and I’m here with a group of people.” Max was backing towa
rd the door.
“Do you people mind? My young son is here, and I don’t want you scaring him.” Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Mikey was standing right behind Chris. I hadn’t.
“Let’s go talk outside,” Carol suggested. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like to take one last look around the old place. It makes me think of my mother.”
“Our mother,” Coral said, “and I’d like to look around, too.”
“Please, take your time. And if you see any keepsakes, feel free to take them with you. It appears that a lot of things were left behind.” Judith smiled at the two women.
I thought that was quite generous on Judith’s part, but I couldn’t help wondering if the twins would start taking things they hadn’t cared about after their mother’s death just to annoy each other.
“By the way, there are copies of some of her books in the basement,” Judith added.
“Oh, we have copies of all of her books.” Carol left the room and headed toward the stairs.
Coral stopped and glanced out the front window. “There’s a strange man sitting in his car across the street. He’s watching the house.” She waved her hand at us. “Anyone know who he is? He’s in an old beat up blue Chevy Blazer.”
I walked up behind her and peered out the window. There was a man in a baseball cap eyeballing the house, just like Coral said. While I was debating with myself about whether or not it might be the man who broke into Kimberly’s
house, he saw us standing at the window and started his car. By that time there were seven of us watching him. Carol was upstairs.
Chris headed out the front door with Big D behind him, and the man laid rubber on the street as he sped off. I could hear his tires squeal when he turned the nearest corner.
“Pamela, could you see his face?” Chris asked, walking back into the house.
“No. The bill of his hat shaded his face, but I’m pretty sure the baseball cap was the same color as the one I saw on the guy at Kimberly’s back door.”
“What’re you talking about?” Coral asked.
“Kimberly lived next door,” I explained. “She’s the young woman who was killed upstairs. Someone broke into her house and attacked a friend who was packing up Kimberly’s things.”
I glanced at Big D. He looked at the floor and shook his head, realizing that Chris was becoming involved in another case.
“Well, at least we can describe his car to the coppers.” Chris didn’t intend to leave Janet Murphy out of the loop, and I was glad to hear that.
There was a knock at the front door and Judith answered it. “Come on in,” she said, stepping back.
Mark Stanford walked in and took us all in with a sweeping glance. His eyes came to rest on Coral. “I thought that was you I saw walking across the street.”
She walked toward him and stopped almost toe to toe with him. She looked up into his eyes and stared. I couldn’t tell if she was glad to see him or not. Without saying a word she punched his arm and threw her arms around him. “You ol’ son-of-a-gun! It’s good to see you.”
Mark smiled and returned her hug before turning to us. “Coral used to babysit me when I was a kid. She always knew how to make me laugh.” He turned his gaze back to us again.
“Where’s Carol?”
“Right here,” she replied, coming down the stairs. She grinned from ear to ear when she reached him – and shoved her sister out of the way. “How’s my boy?”
“Not much of a boy anymore, but then you never did quit calling me your boy.”
They hugged and stepped apart.
“Carol used to bake me cookies. She always said she needed a taste-tester, and invited me in for a snack.” I could see by Mark’s expression that he was enjoying his memory.
“What are you doing here?” Coral asked. “You didn’t move back into that rat trap next door, did you?”
He grinned, not in the least offended, and obviously used to Coral. “Mom and dad left me the house. Things have been rough since my wife died and I got laid off so I moved back in.”
The twins turned to the rest of us. Carol smiled, and her face lit up. “Mark used to help us search for our mother’s hiding places. He was a little boy with a big imagination, and he found a few that were big enough for him to hide in. We’d pretend we didn’t know where he was, even though we knew about the closets he found, and we’d act like we were worried. Then I’d bring out a plate of cookies and sigh, saying I wished I knew where my taste-tester was. He couldn’t pass up a cookie.”
Coral looked like she was about to say something, but after looking at Mark her face softened and she bit her lip.
Carol, on the other hand, looked like she’d found a long lost relative. “We just hired the Bogey Man to find out what’s going on around here.”
Chris flinched. How could he investigate if Carol told everyone what he was doing?
“Oh? And what’s he going to investigate?” Mark had a troubled look on his face, but it passed so quickly that I thought I might have imagined it.
Coral finally spoke up. “Why, he’s going to look into who killed that poor girl. And maybe while he’s at it, he’ll find Mother’s treasure. Wouldn’t that be something when the rest of us could never figure it out?”
“I’ve got to head home, but why don’t you and Carol come by my house before you leave? We can talk about old times.” Mark placed his hand on Coral’s back while he spoke to her.
“I’d enjoy that,” Coral replied, “although I can’t speak for my sister.” It seemed like she almost snuggled under his touch a little.
Carol took hold of Mark’s hand. “I’d love to. I’d like to look through the house a little first, and then I’ll be over.”
Not to be left out, Coral said, “Me, too. It’ll only be a few minutes. This house brings back so many memories.”
“We already talked about memories,” Carol said, turning her back on her sister and heading back up the stairs.
Coral quickly followed her sister.
“Some things never change,” Mark said.
“So they’ve really been like this all their lives?” Judith asked.
“Yes, but don’t let it fool you. They’d bring out some pretty big guns if anyone ever tried to hurt one or the other sister.” Mark left and it was quiet for a minute.
With the sisters upstairs, and Mark gone, it was like the calm after a huge storm.
“Well!” Judith said. “And you all thought I was eccentric.”
Chris Sr. patted her back. “No one thinks you’re eccentric, Judy.”
“Oh, yes you do, and frankly, I like that label.” She left us and returned to the dining table to finish signing the papers.
Coral descended the stairs and joined us at the same time Judith handed the signed papers to Max, who said thank
you and beat a hasty retreat.
“Where’s Carol?” Judith asked.
“She’s upstairs in her old bedroom, crying.”
“Crying? About what?” Judith looked concerned. “Is she having second thoughts about selling the house?”
“No, she says being in this house makes her miss our mother.” Coral looked deeply into Judith’s eyes, and the older woman teared up. “You know, you’re never too old to miss your mother.”
Judith nodded, her own eyes glittering with moisture. “I know.”
Chris and his father left the room with Mikey following behind. Chris could deal with a lot of things, but not crying women.
Coral took a deep breath. “I remembered something. Maybe it’s a clue to Mother’s treasure. Not long before she passed on she sat down and told me that if anyone wanted to find her fortune, they’d have to ‘read about it’. Those were her words. Maybe there’s a clue in one of her books. I asked her if she’d left a note in one of the books, but she just laughed and told me to go read and let her rest.”
Chapter Nineteen
Glancing at my watch, I realized it was getting late. “Chris,” I called, “we’ve
got to get moving. I need to take care of a few things before we leave for work.”
“I think we’re going to stay a bit longer,” Judith said. “Your friend… What’d you call him? Big D? Anyway, he’s going to talk to us about what needs to be done and what he’d charge.”
I heard a soft thumping sound and turned in time to see Chris Sr. knocking on one of the walls. Stepping back, he studied the paneling on that particular side of the room.
“You know, it’s in the contract that when we buy this house, we also buy everything in it, and I do mean everything. If there is a treasure, it’s ours.” He went back to thumping.
“You don’t think the twins would argue with that?” Chris asked.
“I consulted an attorney to make sure the wording would be iron clad,” Judith said.
“When did you do that?” Chris Sr. left the wall and joined us.
“While you were upstairs and Pamela and Chris were
outside. I made a quick call to Henry, back home, and he told me how to word it. Max handwrote it in the contract and we both initialed it. Actually, you initialed it, too. The twins gave him carte blanche because they told him they just want to unload the house.”
“That’s what I initialed? I guess I’d better start reading things more closely. But, honestly, Judy, you know if they wanted to fight us on this they could.” Chris Sr. turned and looked at the wall with longing in his eyes.
She looked at him, but she didn’t reply. I found it interesting that one by one everyone was becoming hooked on finding hiding places. I wondered if Marguerite had any idea about the can of worms she’d be opening when she had the renovations done to the house.
“Okay, we’ve got to get moving.” Chris headed for the front door. “Keep your eyes open in case the guy in the Blazer comes back.”
“Come on, Mikey.” I reached out to him and he took hold of my hand. It would break my heart when he decided he was too old to hold his mother’s hand.
