Chapter 17
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Doreen huddled over her coffee the next morning, an exhausted Goliath curled up in her arms, Mugs at her feet, and Thaddeus tucked up under her hair.
She heard his breath moving in and out in the softest of snores.
She looked over at Mack and Nick, both busy on their laptops.
“Is it just me,” she said, with a scoff, “or do you guys need a holiday after this … holiday?”
Both men snorted.
She nodded. “Is this what holidays are supposed to be like?”
“Nope,” Mack declared, with a laugh. “Yet often they do end up that way.”
Nick agreed. “People take holidays to do big projects, like landscaping and home renovations and stuff,” Nick noted, “and they basically say the same thing. They go back to work, exhausted.”
“I have to admit that’s how I feel right now,” she muttered. Mugs gave a hefty sigh and rolled over onto his side. “Even the animals appear to be completely out of sorts here.”
“I don’t know that they’re out of sorts as much as they appear to be tuckered out,” Mack said, as he looked down at Mugs. “It’s been quite the adventure for them.”
“For Mugs, at least, this is familiar turf,” she noted, “although I don’t know that it’s a good memory for him.”
“And that’s a good point,” Mack said. “I wonder if animals have nightmares about places where they used to live.”
“Nightmares, dreams, who knows what else,” she muttered. “I’m sure a lot of times that Mugs’s life wasn’t as nice as it could have been.”
He chuckled. “I think you’ve been making up for any suffering he may have had to go through.”
She smiled. “He was always my dog, and the two of us were inseparable. Most of the gardeners didn’t even want him around because, of course, he was a dog and liked to dig in the gardens and cause all kinds of chaos.
It wasn’t that they particularly cared. At least I don’t think they did, but Mathew did, and that caused problems in their world, since it was on them to make sure everything was perfect. ”
“Mathew really did have a problem with perfection, didn’t he?”
“I think it was his way of controlling his environment.” She yawned again and slumped lower in her chair, making Thaddeus shift on her shoulder.
“Thaddeus has been really quiet on this trip,” Mack pointed out.
“I know, and I think, like the rest of us, he just wants to go home.”
Mack nodded. “It would help if we were getting somewhere here.”
“Yeah, and what about Daniel?” she muttered. “The detective who told us we couldn’t leave without permission?”
Mack shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I can get that reversed if the captain knows where we’re going and that I have a job to go home to,” he pointed out.
“I don’t know about that,” Nick countered. “Still, I think Daniel just liked being able to tell you that.”
Mack smiled and added, “It’s definitely an interesting experience being on the other side of the law.”
She looked at him with amusement. “Yeah,” she said, with a smirk. “Not so nice sometimes, is it?”
He smiled at her, got up to give her a kiss on her temple, then headed to the fridge and pulled out some eggs.
“You really are a lifesaver, you know that?” she muttered.
He laughed. “Because I can scramble eggs?” he asked in a teasing voice.
“Yeah, plus you don’t expect me to do it.”
“Nope. I want to get fed today.”
At that, Nick burst out laughing.
She glared at him and stated, “I’m pretty good with eggs, you know?”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Nick noted. “I think we’ve all had enough to deal with these last few days.”
“You’re not kidding.”
Just then, Scott called out from the side kitchen door, bypassing the greenhouse. Mack opened it and let him in.
“Hey,” he greeted everyone in his usual bright, jovial mood. “How’s everyone this morning?”
She stared at him and grumbled, “You do know I could hate you.”
He looked at her in surprise, almost hurt. “What did I do?”
“You’re bright and cheerful this morning, while I feel absolutely done in.”
He smiled at her. “For me, this is all about treasure hunting. I’m excited about what I’m finding here.
But, for you, it’s exhausting, tiring, emotional, and all that other stuff, so you have my sincerest apologies for all of it.
On the other hand,” he added, hesitating a moment, “I woke up in the middle of the night, wondering about something.” He held up his hands, pleading.
“Please feel free to tell me that this has nothing to do with me. I’m just asking. ”
She smiled over at him. “Spit it out, Scott,” she said encouragingly. “I’m sure at this point we have no more secrets anyway.”
Scott asked, “Do you have any idea what is happening here with these murders?”
“Because of the second murder,” she muttered, nodding.
Mack chuckled. “If you feel uneasy, Scott, that is normal. However, we seem to have safety in numbers.”
“And you don’t know anything?” Scott asked.
“Nope, nobody tells us anything,” she said. “And, of course, the more of these things that I remove from the property, the more suspicious it looks to the officers out there.”
“But you’re entitled to all of it,” Scott pointed out, “so it really doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe not to us, but to them?” She left her question hanging.
Scott thanked them for putting his mind at ease.
Doreen offered him some coffee and to stay for breakfast. He smiled and helped himself to a cup.
Mack looped his arms behind Doreen and just tugged her back so she rested against his chest. Thaddeus squawked from her shoulder, realized Mack was behind him, and immediately moved to higher ground.
She chuckled. “He really does prefer to be as high as possible.”
“It’s the only reason he likes me,” Mack teased, with a smirk. “I’m just the next step up in life.”
At that, Thaddeus ruffled his feathers and crooned, “Thaddeus loves Mack. Thaddeus loves Mack.”
She smiled at him, as Mack looked down at his feathered friend. “Hey, buddy, that’s a really nice thing for you to say.”
Thaddeus didn’t say anything more, just settled into his new roosting spot.
Nick looked over at him and nodded. “The animals really do accept you as their own, don’t they?”
“Yeah,” Mack confirmed. “Mostly because I’m always there to help out when they are saving Doreen,” he added, with an eye roll.
Scott listened and watched with avid interest and noted, “Seems there’s quite the story in that.”
“An awful lot of stories,” she clarified, with a headshake. “I have to admit that Mack’s right. The animals have saved my life on numerous occasions.”
Nick added, “Hopefully after this, you won’t end up in the position where anybody has to save you.”
“I would love that,” she stated, “and it would be nice to think I’m not in danger all the time.”
“If you would just stay out of trouble,” Mack muttered.
She looked over at him and gave him an eye roll. “What he really means,” she said to Scott, “is, if I would stay out of his cases.”
Scott chuckled. “And yet it seems as if the two of you have quite the relationship.”
“That we do,” she murmured.
Soon a breakfast of pancakes and eggs and some fresh fruit was plated before everyone. After they all had their fill, Doreen asked Scott, “How are we doing on the furniture?”
“All the bedrooms are cleaned out. The larger pieces from the living room are gone. The two dining room sets have to be packaged a little bit differently, but we’ll get to that.”
“Is something like a used dining room set even worth selling?” Nick asked.
Scott shrugged. “It depends on the set. These are easily worth over one-quarter of a million dollars each.”
The instant disappearance of all color from Nick’s cheeks was enough to make his brother laugh.
Mack said, “See? You’re just stepping into this world. I’ve been dealing with Doreen for a whole lot longer, and I can tell you that, at this point in time, one-quarter of a million for a dining room set makes me shake my head but doesn’t faze me because I know she would never want it.”
Doreen nodded. “People would just freak out when I let Thaddeus here walk across it with his claws.”
Scott looked at her in horror.
“Exactly,” she said. “I don’t need furniture in that category.”
“Anyway,” Scott began, staring from her to Mack, “the packers and movers should get another good day in today. I think we’re probably close to 80 percent wrapped up.”
“For all three floors?” she asked. Scott nodded. “So what else is there?” Doreen asked him.
“The trailers for the cars are coming today,” he shared, “and I believe we have two of them booked, so that will go pretty quickly, and it will be a big relief.”
“You’re not kidding,” she muttered. “And to think there’s that kind of money sitting in the garage.”
He looked at her and laughed. “There’s that kind of money sitting here in most rooms.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care about this stuff. Honestly, I don’t care about the cars either. That was definitely a Mathew thing.”
“Is there anything here you do care about?”
“Yes,” she declared, “the painting of Mugs in the master bedroom.”
Mack stared at her. “There is?”
“Yes, I saw it earlier in that little alcove. I thought for sure Mathew would have gotten rid of it, but it’s not in a prominent position, so maybe he just didn’t notice.
” With that, she led them all to the master suite, around the corner to where the alcove led to one of the seating areas.
“We should take this downstairs with us and put it in my bedroom. I don’t want to forget it. ”
Mack nodded, still staring at it. “Look at that.” Mugs came up beside him, sat down, looked up at the painting, and woofed. “That’s right, big guy. That’s you.”
Thaddeus poked his head out and squawked, “Big Guy. Big Guy. Big Guy.”
“Ah, no,” she murmured. She stroked Thaddeus on the cheek and said, “Sorry, Thaddeus. Big Guy isn’t here.”
He glared at her. “Big Guy. Big Guy. Big Guy.”
“Nope, not here, but we’ll go home soon, and then you can visit with Big Guy.”
With Scott eyeing her curiously, she explained that Thaddeus liked to go for play dates with another friendly bird.
Scott shook his head. “Such a fascinating life you have.”
“Maybe,” she muttered.
“No maybe about it,” Scott declared. “When you’re ready, you should write a book.”
“Write a book?” she repeated in astonishment.
“Yes, you have no idea how many people would be fascinated by everything that’s gone on in your life.”
She couldn’t see it herself, but even Nick chuckled. “That’s not a half-bad idea.”
“It is a terrible idea,” she argued, “and nobody would care about what I do or what I’ve done.”
“Yes, they would,” Nick countered, “all the more so because of the craziness in your world in terms of treasure.”
She frowned.
“It’s true,” Scott agreed. “Everybody loves to hear about a good treasure hunt.”
“Maybe you should write a book then. It’s certainly nothing on my near horizon,” she muttered.
“Just think,” Mack added, turning to look at her, “with all those titles you assign to these cases, you could do a breakdown of each and every one of them in a book format.”
She stared at him in astonishment. “Are you suggesting that I write a book too?” she asked.
“Why not?” he asked, and then he grinned. “Would it keep you out of my current cases?”
“No,” she replied instantly. “It’ll just have me coming back, looking for more. You already know that.”
“Oh, in that case, maybe not then,” he said, with an eye roll. “So, I’ll get started on loading those breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.”
“I can help you with that,” Doreen replied, now facing Scott, raising one eyebrow.
He replied to her unasked question, “I’m busy and already distracted. It’ll be another full day for me, and I still have more things to organize.” He asked Doreen, “One last time …”
“The answer is no,” she said crossly. “I do not want any of this.”
“There are some uncut gems if you would like them instead.”
She frowned at him. “Why would I care?”
He just stared at her for a long moment, wordless.
Mack wrapped his arms around her shoulders, nudging her toward the kitchen. “She really means it,” he told Scott. “The Mathew stage of her life is over.”
“Got it,” Scott confirmed, sending a smile in her direction. “I guess whenever you want a piece of jewelry, you can find something you like and get it for yourself.”
“Exactly,” she replied, with a shrug. Then she held up the ring on her finger.
He gasped and asked, “May I see it?” She walked closer and showed it to him. “Now that is stunning … and absolutely wonderful.”
Mack smiled, adding, “It’s not worth even a tiny fraction of any of Mathew’s jewelry collection.”
“It’s worth far more,” Doreen declared, “because it’s from someone who loves me, and it’s from one of the cases I worked on with Mack, involving his family and some lost jewels.”
Scott nodded and started to laugh. “In that case, I understand fully.”
“Good. Now let’s get this day started.”