Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
The next morning, Cosmo and I took a seat in the last row of the auction room. Genie and Adriana sat in the front row, as close as possible to Shawn’s laptop.
Alphonse and his owner squeezed in at the last minute. I waved at them.
“I hope you’ve recovered from the excitement,” Paul said in a low voice as he took the seat next to me, with his numbered paddle in his hand.
“I’m so glad you were there,” I whispered back.
“So am I. I’ve got to admit retirement has its perks, but it’s good to feel useful once in a while when you get to my age.”
“I agree.”
He chuckled. “You have a lot of time before you can say that yourself. You’re still a youngster, my dear.”
On his auctioneer’s podium, Shawn banged a gavel. “Thank you all very much for coming today. I apologize for the delay but I’m sure you’ll all join me in a heartfelt thank you to the Crystal Springs police for their speedy and successful investigation.”
A smattering of applause followed.
“Our first lot is a rocking horse, made in England in the 1890s.” He signaled to a porter who carried in the item. I tuned out the bids. I’d spent so much energy lately that I’d decided to only concentrate on the important events.
Cosmo curled up on my lap. I stroked his flank until we came to the all-important part of the auction, the ebony box. Even from this distance I felt the connection between the object and Adriana, now that there was no more cloaking magic involved.
The hairs on my neck stood up as Shaw opened the bidding. “We have a bid of $150 online. Do I hear more?”
Cosmo’s ears twitched. My breath grew shallow. We’d placed that bid. At least online, we were winning the item.
An arm in a jeans jacket raised a paddle.
“$160 bid,” Shawn said.
I focused on the owner of the arm, to stop them.
Genie raised her paddle.
“I’ve now got $170. It’s $170 for this beautiful inlaid ebony box. Do I hear more?”
He scanned the room. There were no more takers. “$170 is bid. Going once, going twice, sold to the lady in the front row.”
I wiped my brow. We’d done it. I rose, to leave, until I remembered that there was one more thing on my list. I wouldn’t use magic to win the bid for what I already thought of as Jimmy’s chair, but I’d try to win it fair and square.
The bidding started with a paltry 80 dollars. A warm fuzzy feeling spread in the pit of my stomach as I raised my paddle. There were two other competitors in the room. The bids climbed to 100 dollars, then to 110, 120, 130 …
Again, I raised my paddle. I scanned the room. There was no more action. I closed my eyes until I heard the beautiful words, “Sold to the lady with number 137.” I’d secured Jimmy’s armchair.