The Elusive Wampum, page 9
part #9 of Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Series
“I should have turned it off, Brenda. You’re not getting much rest this morning.”
“I was half asleep but William said something about having some news to tell us.”
“Maybe he has found out the value of your wampum. He signed it out of evidence while you were talking with Carolyn Pyles. He had two anthropologists and a noted antiquities dealer coming to his house and he wanted them to assess it. I don’t know what else he would want to tell you except that you are a very wealthy woman.”
She laughed as he folded her into his arms. “If I am then I’ll have to sell it to pay for that cottage we’re building out there.” She pulled back. “Oh no, I forgot about the architect coming later today to discuss plans for enlarging the summer house.”
“Call me if you have any questions about it, Brenda. I don’t see any way to get back here before nightfall. Can you handle it all right alone?”
“This will only be a preliminary discussion. I have all kinds of ideas but he’ll have to tell me if some of them will work or not.”
“I trust you can handle it alone. But if you ask Phyllis to join you, and Allie, too, then I can see where maybe more than an antique bead will have to be sold.” He pulled her to him again. “I’d like to stay right here with you, Brenda, but I have to move along on these indictments. And I’ll talk to Bob and the judge in regard to deal-making for Carolyn. She sure is scared enough of prison to sell out her own husband.”
Later, when Brenda went downstairs at ten sharp, she heard Allie’s laugh. She and Phyllis shared stories about their recent guests. Brenda heard Andrew Masterson’s name mentioned. She joined them and looked around for William, then asked Phyllis if he was in the kitchen or sitting room.
“He had an important call at the last minute and told me one of his anthropologist friends wanted to give him some more information about something. To tell you the truth, Brenda, I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to really pay attention. He is an early bird and by the time seven comes around it’s as if the hour is more like ten for him. He apologized and said to tell you it may be evening before he makes it over here.”
Allie related how hard Andrew Masterson tried to win her over. “I was so embarrassed at how he flirted with me right in front of Jane. What a roving eye he has! If I were his assistant, I wouldn’t put up with that kind of stuff.”
“Something keeps her attached to him,” Phyllis said. “They’ve been together a long time.”
Brenda told them she would cook breakfast for all of them and then they would have to tackle room preparations for the guests later that week. She quickly called Mac to ask if it was all right to clean the room once occupied by Carolyn and Jason Pyles. He told her there was nothing else the police would do in it. Brenda went to the kitchen and retrieved eggs and bacon from the refrigerator. Phyllis got plates and silverware out and Allie made coffee. She saw the covered tray of cinnamon rolls on the counter and took it to the table.
Once they were settled in front of plates of steaming eggs and bacon, Phyllis leaned toward Brenda.
“We’ve waited long enough, Brenda. Tell us the whole story of how two thieves were here guests in the bed and breakfast this whole time! I can’t believe that quiet little Carolyn was into crime.”
“I’m still having a hard time digesting that part,” Allie said.
“I’ll tell you what I know so far but remember, as always, nothing leaves this room.” The women nodded and Phyllis waved her hand, losing patience.
“We agree as usual, Brenda. Tell all.”
Brenda told how the Pyles, disguised as security guards, managed to steal the objects right in front of other guards and get away with it. Allie asked which door they escaped through.
“They walked right through the same door the rest of the guards used at the end of the shift.” She explained Carolyn’s confession. Then Brenda hesitated. How much should she tell her friends? Phyllis knew her too well.
“That’s not all, Brenda,” she said. “You have more and may as well spill it all or we’ll hound you for the rest of the day.”
“The news media has the info about what they stole from the show but the rest is definitely still under wraps. The FBI has been following them in Cincinnati. After they were arrested here, the FBI went into their apartment with search warrants. They are both big-time crooks. Jason learned the trade from his father who is imprisoned somewhere in Massachusetts for a number of years. So they’ve been in the middle of a streak of wrongdoing for the last ten years or so. They steal from shows like the one here in town and from museums as well. They then sell to unsuspecting buyers after a period of time passes and news dies down regarding the thefts.”
Allie leaned back. “I would never have thought such a thing.”
Phyllis shook her head in minor disbelief. “They must have felt invincible. Now both of them will join Jason’s father in prison, where they all belong.”
“Carolyn confessed a lot to me alone. She wants to cut a deal to stay out of prison. I don’t know if that idea will succeed or not. She is in serious trouble.”
Phyllis asked if all the stolen relics had been retrieved. Brenda told them yes, including Randolph’s wampum bead. Allie wanted to know how they were caught. She chuckled when she heard Brenda’s cunning way of luring the thieves back to the attic.
“When I told the story about the bogus paintings I watched everyone’s reaction. A handful indicated real interest. Carolyn Pyles surprised me most. Later she explained Native American paintings were the only antique items that drew her. I was lucky she had that inclination toward art because she was truly driven to join Jason in the attic. She swears he went up there by himself and found the wampum in that small chest we saw, Phyllis. She said he dug it out of a small closet that is set under one of the eaves. Carolyn stood guard on the landing and was ready to send a signal if she heard anyone approaching.”
“The phony paintings were her downfall,” Phyllis said.
“They found authentic documents and treaties in their Ohio apartment that were stolen. I think this will grow even bigger the more evidence is uncovered.” Brenda stood to clear the dishes. Allie helped her and rinsed them. “Stack them in the dishwasher, Allie, and I’ll get back to them later. The architect will be arriving around eleven-thirty. If anyone wants lunch or anything else to eat, help yourselves. Morgan left plenty to hold us over for the next two days.”
Brenda glanced at her watch. Then she had an idea she knew Mac would groan about. “Do you two want to join me when I present my cottage plans to Maurice?”
“Of course we do,” both women said at the same time.
“I want to check messages in the office first,” Allie said. “I definitely want to hear your ideas, Brenda. I know you and Mac are excited to get your own place to live in.”
Brenda and Phyllis hurried upstairs and pulled sheets from the guest rooms and piled them outside the laundry door, eager to get a few last tasks done before the appointed time. At eleven-thirty sharp, Maurice Weston arrived. He was a friendly, neatly-dressed man with alert eyes and very polite as Allie took him into the sitting room and called Brenda, who gathered her notebook and pen from her apartment. She and Phyllis joined Maurice, who looked at a large sheaf of papers with his drawings. Brenda explained Mac would not be here for the first meeting but she would pass ideas they came up with to him.
“He will definitely be present in the future,” she said. “We both agree the structure should look as if built in the 1890s, just like the bed and breakfast.”
Maurice smiled and reminded her that this was the first of many meetings before everyone was satisfied with final plans. An hour later, after a detailed discussion, Brenda thanked Maurice for his time and they all walked him to the door. She told him once she talked with Mac she would have a better idea of when to meet again. After he left, Allie and Phyllis bubbled over with excitement and more ideas.
Brenda laughed. “Mac warned me not to include you two. I have to admit you have some good ideas but I’m determined to include Mac in every detail. I want this to be his home as much as it will be mine.” Brenda pictured their future cottage home and focused on the image of her and Mac cozy in front of a fireplace, or cooking dinner together. Truthfully, the details of the construction and renovation were just icing on the cake in comparison to living with the love of her life.
Allie and Phyllis spent the rest of the afternoon preparing rooms for future guests. When the dryer ran with the last load of linens, they came back to find Brenda. It was now mid-afternoon, and Brenda told them to go home and take advantage of some time off.
“No guest for another forty-eight hours, so enjoy some free time.”
“I’ll probably be back over here with William later this evening. I’m curious to find out what he wants to talk to you about, Brenda.” Phyllis picked up her purse and she and Allie left at the same time.
Brenda locked the front door and checked the back one. Then she went upstairs and stretched across her bed. In less than ten minutes she was sound asleep.
* * *
William Pendleton asked his friend a third time about his research on Randolph Sheffield’s wampum bead. The archaeologist had conferred with other experts in the field and carefully repeated what he said. After he showed his guest to the door of the Pendleton home, William paced for a while. That is the state he was in when his wife came through the door.
“You look worried, William. Is something wrong?”
“I’ve just gotten some news that may or may not sit well with Brenda. I have to think this over before I meet with her and Mac this evening.” He smiled at Phyllis and kissed her. “Oh, don’t worry too much about it…I’ll tell you everything when I figure things out. In a way, it reminds me of typical Randolph.” He chuckled. “Yes, it is so like him.”
Phyllis knew she had to be patient. William’s words only increased her curiosity. “It won’t be easy, William, but I hope you’ll tell me whatever it is before we get over there tonight.”
He kissed her again. “You’ll hear before they will, my dear.”
The Pendletons were to arrive at eight sharp. William, always punctual, escorted his wife to the door seven minutes before eight o’clock, exactly the amount of time it took to drive to Sheffield House, and in the car he finally told his wife the news he had for Brenda and Mac. It would prove an interesting night, judging by Phyllis’ reaction. She held William’s free hand as he drove steadily across town to the bed and breakfast
Mac arrived home a half hour before the Pendletons were scheduled to arrive. Brenda simmered chicken noodle soup on the stove, with chopped carrots and celery making the entire room smell fragrant and delicious. She dished out salads for both of them and sat down across from him.
“What could it be that William wants us to know?” Mac asked.
“I suppose it’s as you said earlier…he has news about the wampum. Possibly some detail about its provenance, knowing William. He loves to research history and such.” She went to the stove and filled two bowls with the simmering noodles.
Between bites Mac commented. “You don’t appear overly excited to find out its worth.”
Brenda smiled. “I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason I still can’t manufacture any real interest in it. Randolph was very careful about things of value. He catalogued everything he found here during the renovation. I just don’t get it. A valuable antique bead stored in a wooden chest in the attic? If this place had caught on fire it wouldn’t take much for old wood like that to burn and destroy the antique and everything around it.”
“You have a point, but maybe it didn’t interest him enough to secure it better. Maybe it wasn’t his greatest treasure,” Mac pointed out.
Brenda smiled, but she reminded Mac that William said her uncle often brought it out to show to others and to admire it.
“We’ll just have to be patient, Brenda. They’ll be here in a few minutes. I’ll get some drinks ready.”
Brenda rinsed the dishes and joined her husband just as the doorbell rang. Phyllis and William followed her to the sitting room. Brenda commented to Phyllis how unusual but lovely it was to greet them as guests in the otherwise empty bed and breakfast, which any other night would be teeming with guests. Mac handed them drinks and poured a glass of wine for Brenda and for himself.
“What did you want to tell us, William,” Brenda asked, bracing herself for more tedious historical detail.
The older man shook his head and failed to keep a smile off his face. Brenda glanced quickly at Phyllis. She thought she saw a faint glimmer of sympathy in her friend’s eyes before she returned to William. William cleared his throat.
“I’ve had two experts examine your wampum, Brenda. An antiquities appraiser as well. I’m afraid I have bad news for you in regard to its value. In fact, it isn’t a real wampum bead at all. I’ve checked three times with them and they insist yours is made from glass. It’s an excellent forgery of the real thing. In fact, they admire the work of the forger. I hope you aren’t too disappointed. I wished for better news for you.”
Brenda broke into an amused smile. “I knew something was fishy about it. That explains why Randolph didn’t secure it in a safer place.”
“I agree,” William said. “Now I’m certain he knew all along it wasn’t an authentic artifact. When he told me he haggled the price way down I think it was because the seller realized he knew it was a fake from the beginning. That’s why he sold it to him for very little money. Randolph had a great sense of humor. I think he liked to show it off simply to see if anyone recognized it as a forgery. He was an old hand at theatrical magic, after all, where costume jewelry is used all the time. To my knowledge no one ever did recognize it as a fake. That includes me and I handled it as many times as he brought it out.”
“Are you all right with this news?” Phyllis asked her friend with sympathy.
“I’m perfectly fine with it. I had no idea it existed until a few days ago. Once I heard of it there was always something that nagged me about my uncle’s handling of the relic.” She turned to William. “I know it’s a fake but does it hold any real value at all?”
“None of significance. In fact, even the real ones don’t hold a high value in the general markets today. Money is exchanged and value increased mainly between collectors. If the thieves tried to sell it to outside collectors, their crime wouldn’t pay off for them.” William posed the next question to Mac. “Do your thieves have any concept of the minor value of what they stole, or thought they stole?”
“It sounds as if this was their first theft of a wampum bead. Jason Pyles is very knowledgeable when it comes to old treaties and other documents that are very valuable. Paper artifacts are very easy to transport and sell, of course. According to the FBI, findings in their apartment are valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. They possessed quite a stash. Plans to sell to particular buyers are also well laid out in their business records. It sounds as if their efforts to get Randolph’s old wampum meant nothing in the end even if they had gotten away with it. It was just another score.”
“It would have been entertaining to see their reactions when they tried to pawn it off as something real and were accused by the buyer,” Brenda said. “On the other hand, they surely made sure what they sold did have real worth.” Everyone agreed.
The two couples spent the rest of the evening talking about Randolph and his escapades over the years with William Pendleton. Much laughter and enjoyment was had by the two couples, long into the evening. When they got to the door to leave, Brenda thanked William for telling her so many stories about her uncle. “Memories like yours, William, are more precious than any relic in the attic, to me. I may have this beautiful house from my uncle, but I cherish the few memories I have of him. Hearing your stories is almost as good as being there.”
William smiled fondly in response. “What will you do with the wampum bead now, Brenda?” William asked her.
“I’ll keep it forever but it will probably sit on my dresser or maybe I’ll show it off just like Randolph did. It’s nice to have that piece of him in my life.”
Once they climbed the stairs to their apartment for the night, Brenda said, “I’m glad that’s over and done with. Now just you wait, I have so much to tell you about our cottage plans.”
She ignored the soft groan that escaped Mac’s throat.
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Wendy Meadows
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About the Author
Wendy Meadows is an emerging author of cozy mysteries. She lives in “The Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two cats and lovable Labradoodle.
When she isn’t working on her stories she likes to tend to her flowers, relax with her pets and play video games with her family.
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Also by Wendy Meadows
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Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Series
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Wendy Meadows, The Elusive Wampum
