“Hey, I’m good with all the ladies.”
“Watch it, or I’ll tell Miri you said that.”
“Oh, please don’t.” He patted Alex’s shoulder and left the apartment. He took a deep breath as soon as he got outside, trying to get the stench out of his lungs.
Alex found Teren scanning the book shelves in the living room. They were filled with pamphlets, and books by little known authors and publishers. Several carried swastikas on the cover. Others were more mainstream, but were still far right of the center.
“Anything interesting?”
Teren held up a pamphlet she’d found. In bold letters on the front cover it said, The Death Penalty for Homosexuals? It’s in the Bible!
“Oh, fuck. Just what I wanted to see.” She examined it, noting that the author was a Pastor Roger Pitt, and it was published by the Aryan Power Church. It really was nothing more than a photocopy, but it’s simple construction did nothing to detract from the obscene message on the cover.
“Makes you wonder about people, doesn’t it?” Teren said quietly.
“Yeah. Anything else here?”
Teren pointed to a book on the top shelf. “This looks a little out of place, doesn’t it?” She pulled it off the shelf and showed the front cover to the shorter woman. “He doesn’t really remind you of a family man, does he?”
The title of the book was Families and Christ: How to Teach Your Family to Be Christian. Alex shook her head.
“No, but I suppose anything’s possible.”
Teren reached up to replace the book on the shelf, when Alex suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Wait a minute. Let me see that again.”
She took the volume from Teren and pointed to the author’s name. “Dr. Jacob Dawkins. Didn’t you say he was on the board of CMF?”
“Yes, he helped found it. He’s on the boards of several groups around the country.”
Alex opened the front cover and looked up at her friend. “Guess who Halloran visited three days ago?”
Teren raised an eyebrow. “He didn’t.” Alex held the book up for her to see. Inside the front cover was a short message, the date, and Jacob Dawkins signature.
“I think we should have a talk with Dr. Dawkins, don’t you?”
Teren nodded. She took the book, and looked at it much more closely. She frowned, feeling something move in the spine.
“Alex, I think there’s something in here.”
“What? Where?”
Teren took the jacket off the hard back book, and carefully pinched the spine. She slapped the book hard against her hand, and an object slid out, hitting her hand before falling to the floor.
Alex bent to grab it. She felt a wave of deja’vu as she recognized what it was.
She showed it to Teren. “That look like a safety deposit box key to you?”
*******************************************************
The key was to a box in the First Bank of the Front Range, and though it was Sunday, Tanner put the pressure on to get someone there that morning. It wasn’t long before the box was opened. It contained a silver goblet, secured inside a wooden box lined with velvet. Alex couldn’t be certain of its origins, but she thought it was at least a century old.
Andrew Tanner suggested they stop at an antique dealer in the center of Colorado Springs. The Leister Antiques store had been a resource for him before, when dealing with stolen art objects and rare antiques. If anyone could tell them about the goblet, he was certain it would be Anthony Leister.
They decided to split up for the time being. David and Teren would visit the offices of the Religious Family Association, and attempt to speak with Dr. Dawkins. Alex and Tanner, after a brief stop at the CSPD for a fingerprint dusting, would take the boxed goblet to the antique dealer. Whoever was finished first would give the other team a call and they would regroup after that.
The antique shop was more like a museum, Alex thought. Larger pieces were roped off, preventing anyone from touching them. Smaller items were in glass cabinets and display cases. It was much different than the type of store she was used to, which was much more hands on. She made this observation to Tanner, not seeing the elderly gentleman approaching them with his cane.
“I agree, hands on is much more fun,” he said. “But they,” he waved to a couple in fancy clothes, “they don’t want to touch a piece until they’ve paid for it.” He shook his gray haired head. “They call themselves antiques lovers. The only thing they love is spending money.” Leaning down he whispered conspiratorially, “My real store is west of here, in Manitou. That’s where you can touch stuff.”
Alex took an immediate liking to the man. His dress was stylish, with impeccable grooming, but the way he acted made it seem that he’d be just as comfortable in jeans and an old sweater. When Tanner introduced them, she shook his hand warmly.
“Mister Leister, thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice.”
“Nonsense, Agent Reis. Andrew here knows that he’s welcome to knock on my door anytime. If I can help, I will.” He smiled at her and motioned with his hand. “My office?”
“After you.”
He led them down a small corridor to an office rich in woodwork. There was a smell of oak and cedar, with an odor of furniture polish as well. The furniture consisted of bookcases, chairs and a desk, all of which were obvious antiques. There was a shine about them that spoke of age and gentle use.
“Well, Agent Reis, I understand you and Andrew have a goblet you want me to look at.”
“Please, call me Alex, Mr. Leister. Yes, we do. It was found in a safe deposit box, and I believe it might have been a form of payment to someone.”
“I see. By the way, Alex, my name is Anthony.” They smiled at one another. “Well, Andrew, where is this cup?
Anthony had stepped behind his desk, which was where Tanner placed the wooden case. He leaned it back, pulling the lid open. Anthony’s eyes went very wide.
“What a marvelous piece! Splendid workmanship.” He gently lifted it out of its velvet home and placed it upright on the surface of his desk. He took a magnifying glass and began to examine the details carefully, still mumbling words of praise for the craftsmanship.
It was several minutes later that he finally sat back and looked up at them. “Simply marvelous. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen such an example of eighteenth century silver.”
Alex and Andrew looked at each other. The blond agent recovered her voice first.
“Eighteenth century?”
“Absolutely.”
“How can you tell?”
“Well, first off, by the markings in the engravings, because they show the use of a carving tool. Also the scene of the goblet, the one of the crucifixion. It has the correct stylized position of the body, and shows the triangular representation that was popular at the time.” Anthony raised his head and grinned at them. “Of course, the fact that the date is carved into the bottom of the cup is also a good indication.”
Alex’s jaw dropped, and she had to gather it back up. Once she had, she shook her head. “A date on the bottom. Right. Is there anything else? I take it, due to its age, that it would be an expensive piece, am I right?”
“Well, that depends. What do you mean by expensive? While all pieces of this time period are usually priced over two hundred dollars, there are certain items that can be less, due to their lack of ornamentation, or more, depending on the artist, and the history of the cup.”
“And this particular piece?”
“Along with the date, the artist left his initials.” Anthony carefully turned the cup over, showing them the engraving in the wide base of the goblet. “TG. Now I think there was an French artist with those initials. I’ll have to look on the data base.”
To Alex’s surprise Anthony simply turned to a beside his desk, and opened the door. He gently pulled out a sliding platform that held a computer monitor on one tier and a keyboard and mouse on the second. Alex’s eyebrows shot up, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tanner grinning.
The elderly gentleman across from her looked up. “What? You didn’t think a man my age would understand all this new fangled technology, did you?”