––Sarah Thompson
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: The Estate Sale
Early Saturday, the morning of the estate sale, Alyx called Maggie to tell her about the break-in.
“I’ll have Bernice take inventory today to make sure nothing is missing,” she said. “The items from Althea’s condominium are in shambles, though. The furniture was turned over on its side, drawers pulled out, chair seats removed, apparently ready to be torn apart, possibly interrupted by the appearance of the patrol car…” She paused. “They searched under, behind and in all the drawers.”
“I’m speechless,” replied Maggie. “What could they have wanted?”
“I think someone was looking for something that belonged to Althea.”
“So you don’t think it was a robbery?”
Alyx took a deep breath before answering. “No, I don’t. At first, I thought it might have been bored teenagers out for an evening of mischief, but now I think maybe not. The police are calling it a break-in, and said they’ll conduct an investigation accordingly. They did say they found the alarm disabled. Apparently, it’s an old-fashioned model, and anyone could have disabled it. I don’t necessarily agree with that; I couldn’t.”
“I’m sorry, Alyx. I shouldn’t have left you with the estate sale going on––and now this to deal with too. We’ll leave right away, and I’ll investigate the cost of putting in a new alarm system as soon as I get back.”
“No, it’s not necessary for you to leave, Maggie. I can handle it. The only reason I called was to let you know about it. If I need you, I promise I’ll call. I’ll let you know if there are any developments and don’t worry, okay?”
Although Alyx rushed to get to Althea’s place early, Nelda was already at her condominium when we arrived for the estate sale.
“I’ve got coffee and pumpkin muffins,” Alyx announced, and handed Nelda the bag of muffins.
They unloaded and set up a card table in the garage, grabbed a couple of chairs from the kitchen, and Alyx tied my leash to her chair, which was totally unnecessary since I wasn’t about to go anywhere with a crowd of people stomping around, not watching where they stepped, I’m sure.
The women barely had time to take a sip of coffee when a caravan of trucks and vans arrived.
“Fasten your seatbelt, Nelda. Here we go.”
Nelda took a bite of the pumpkin muffin and smiled. “Got coffee. Got food. I’m ready.”
Most of the early birds were local dealers hunting for bargains. Alyx said she remembered all those times when she’d arrive at a sale at the advertised time, and half the items would have been gone because the dealers beat her to the sale and made tempting offers that the homeowners couldn’t refuse.
She ignored the slamming car doors and the murmuring of the mini-crowd until one man––the owner of the collectibles store down the street from Antiques & Designs––asked in a loud, brusque manner, why she wasn’t letting them in.
“In the interest of those who want to buy items for their own use and not for resale, I’ve decided to make it fair, and open the sale at the time stated in the ads. According to my watch, it’s not nine o’clock yet.”
“Aw, come on. You know how it works; this isn’t the only sale going on.”
“It’s the one I’m running, and I’m opening at the time advertised.”
The man clenched his fists, pushed past a couple of other people, made a show of slamming his truck door, and peeled away. No one said anything, except the thumbs-up sign from the young mother in the back of the group.
As the day progressed, the estate sale was going well. Most everything sold for the asking price, and by the middle of the day when the crowd had trickled down to one or two people at a time, Alyx started marking items half-price to move them more quickly.
Alyx and Nelda had everything wrapped up by three in the afternoon. Nelda was helping her carry a few items to her truck, when she saw a note under the windshield wipers and handed it to Alyx, who scanned it and shoved it in her pocket without comment.
“Thanks again for helping out, Nelda. I hope it wasn’t too much for you. Estate sale customers can be trying.” She turned, unlocked the car door, buckled my carrier into the passenger seat, and climbed in without further conversation. She didn’t notice that Nelda hadn’t left, and rested her forehead on the steering wheel.
“Did that rude man from this morning leave you a nasty note?” said Nelda through the window.
“Don’t worry, Nelda; it’s not the first time I’ve made someone angry. Thank you for all your help. You worked hard today. Enjoy what’s left of the day, and I’ll see you Monday.”
Alyx drove straight to the police station, and she asked to see Detective Smarts. He wasn’t in, so she left a message for him to call her as soon as possible regarding a threatening note someone had left her.
“Meow is like aloha––it can mean anything.”
––Hank Ketchum
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: A Welcome Diversion
Alyx looked tired and for good reason. First, someone had broken into the store, and now a threatening note had been left on her truck. Clearly fascinated by Jonathan Steele, she hadn’t hesitated to accept his dinner invitation, but now she seemed to be having second thoughts, as I watched her move slowly around her bedroom. She pulled an outfit out of the closet and then put it back, she dialed a number and then disconnected it before it rang. In the end, she stepped into the shower. Coming out with a thick cotton towel wrapped around her, she applied color to her eyes and lips.
The female cats were no longer interested in her wardrobe, now that she’d purged her closet of all the unattractive clothes. In keeping with her more casual style, her wardrobe was now up-to-date and flattering.
The doorbell chimed and we all followed her to the door, Pooky anxious to meet the new man and ready to dislike him. As it turned out, Steele came with a bag of treats in his pocket and the two of them left for the Ethiopian restaurant having made three new friends.
As a precaution, I had asked Gemma, one of Pooky’s outdoor cat friends, to keep an eye on Alyx when she was away from me if she could.
Gemma had ingratiated herself with Hunter’s assistant, Dorinda, when I gave her a job to do that involved surveillance of the lawyer’s office. She visited Pooky on occasion, and I was glad to hear that now she had a home when she wanted one, and could depend on regular meals––no cat should have to scrounge for food.
When they returned from their date, Alyx invited Jonathan in for coffee. They engaged in small talk while she prepared the coffee and it was ready within minutes. She watched him stir three teaspoons of sugar into his cup and asked him what motivated him to start traveling.
“I was born in Africa. While in college, and against my parent’s wishes––I might add––I decided to visit my birthplace. I loved the experience and knew that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So when I graduated, I got a job with an import-export company in Chicago, and the rest is history, as they say.”
“Did you tell me that Lithuania was the last country you visited?”
“Yes, that’s right. I was there about a month ago. I met some wonderful artists whom I hope I can continue to do business with.” He shifted in his chair, moving a little closer. “That’s enough about me; now tell me about you. Are you a transplant like most of us here in Florida?”
“There’s really not much to tell. I was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. My brother, Tom, and his family were already living in this area when I moved here. My ex and I had often talked about moving to a warmer climate and since our son was five and starting school, we thought it an appropriate time to make our move. Five years later, I found myself a single mom, on my own. I went back to school to become a designer and met Maggie. We both already had a large collection of things and talked about someday owning our own business. One day, I was walking along Ocean Street and saw a building for sale, made an offer, and as you said, the rest is history.”