The Key in the Attic(62)

“And why are you telling me this? To gloat?”

“I just wanted you to know that half of it is yours. We’re all that’s left of our great-great-grandmother Angeline’s descendants. To me, that means it belongs to both of us equally.”

Again Melanie was silent.

“Mel?”

“Mother gave that clock and all those other things to you.” Melanie’s voice was very soft now and not very steady. “I’d say anything inside one of them belongs to you. After all, she left the business to me.”

“She didn’t know there was something in the clock. I’m sure she would have wanted us both to have it, if she had known.”

“You might be able to get it all awarded to you, if you went to court.”

“Melanie!” Mary Beth shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Melanie would never understand her. It was no use. “I don’t want to go to court. Not over this or anything. I’m not trying to keep all of it. I think it’s right that we both share it.”

“What about your shop? If you had all of the money, you could buy it, and your troubles would be over.”

Mary Beth chuckled. “Troubles are never really over. Not in this world. And yes, if I had all the money, I could probably buy the whole building and let the theater next door pay me rent. That way I’d have enough to stay afloat during the lean times, no matter how the shop does. But it doesn’t belong to me. At least I don’t think it should. It belongs to both of us. You’re welcome to have it appraised by someone yourself if you don’t think my appraiser gave us a fair value.”

“I’ll certainly do that.” Melanie’s voice was taut and businesslike again. “Now, if that’s all, I have a premiere to get to. Goodbye.”

There was a click and then a dial tone. Mary Beth put her phone back in the charger and sat there for a long time, just watching the dusk turn to pitch black.





20

As promised, Melanie sent her own appraiser to look over the jewelry. His estimate of the value of the jewels was fairly close to the one Mary Beth had gotten from Mrs. Banks and which seemed quite satisfactory to the company that now insured the collection. Mary Beth had also consulted an attorney regarding the legal and tax ramifications of the find. She could hardly believe it was worth over a half-million dollars.

It was too bad she couldn’t buy just the portion of the building that housed A Stitch in Time and not worry about the part where the theater was. Her part of the treasure would be enough to cover just the shop. But Mr. Huggins needed to sell the whole thing. Mr. Li, who rented the theater, had no way of buying that part of the building himself.

“If I can’t buy both, Mr. Huggins will have no choice but to sell the whole thing to the Burly Boy people,” she told the members of the Hook and Needle Club on the last Tuesday of the month, “and I can’t buy both.”

“Oh Mary Beth, what will you do?” Peggy wadded her appliquéd quilt block in her lap, almost pricking herself with her needle. “I thought will all that money …”

Mary Beth got up to pick up the mail that had come through the slot in the front door. “It’s still six days until the end of the month. I’ll have to see what happens. Meanwhile, I’ve looked around a little bit. There’s a little storefront in Pleasant Point that I could probably afford. The money does make it easier.”

“Pleasant Point,” half a dozen voices moaned at once.

“That’s miles away,” Gwen said. “We couldn’t be running over there all the time like we do now.”

“I know I couldn’t come for meetings,” Peggy said. “I’d no sooner get there than I’d have to come right back to work.”

Mary Beth dredged up a cheerful smile as she flipped through the day’s bills and advertisements. “I know it’s not as good as being right next door to The Cup & Saucer, Peggy. Sometimes we …”

In with the rest of the mail was a letter from Mr. Huggins. She had read through half of it before she realized what it was saying.

“What is it, Mary Beth?” Annie looked concerned. “Are you OK?”

“It’s from Mr. Huggins. He says he has a buyer for the theater property if I’m willing to buy this part of it myself.” She sank down into her chair in the sewing circle. “And the price is a little less than I thought it might be.”

All the ladies started talking at once, but Mary Beth didn’t hear much of what they were saying. There was more in the letter.

“Will you have enough for it?” Annie asked. “You look worried.”