Page 40 of Artifacts

Aldric made a scoffing noise. “I wish. But what did you say—use a ladder? What if there isn’t one?” Because he couldn’t see one.

“Then I’d suggest making one.” Elliot straightened up the small section of leaflets and flyers for other local businesses that he kept in a corner of the counter. “You’re being very elliptic today, Aldric. Did anything else happen yesterday while I was out?”

“Oh, how did your meeting go? I forgot to ask,” Aldric exclaimed, hoping to get Elliot off the topic.

“It went well. It has the potential to be a profitable and rewarding contact. The gentleman is an interior decorator, always needing to ‘source’, as he put it, pieces for clients, both commercial and private. He’s currently working on a loft conversion apartment Downtown and looking out for Depression glassware, the mass-produced semi-transparent pale-green glass items of the nineteen-thirties. I’m just about to see what pieces I have in stock or in storage or if I have news of any coming up at auctions or sales.”

Elliot seemed to have the counter cleaned and arranged to his satisfaction and now turned back to Aldric to continue. “I’m aware you’re changing the subject, Aldric, and I would never wish to intrude, of course.”

“Of course,” Aldric echoed, wondering, not for the first time, about Elliot’s courtly, old-fashioned manners and way of speaking. It felt even more like something out of an old black-and-white movie than usual today.

“But if you explain, maybe I can help? I can see you’re perturbed and I would like to help ease that.”

“I… Yes.” Relief rushed into Aldric like the tide into a rockpool. “Something did happen yesterday, well, has been happening, and I think I do need help.”

“I see.” Elliot’s demeanor sharpened, his tawny-brown eyes brightening behind their wire-framed glasses. “I wonder if this is a case of three heads being better than two? If so, Jonas should be along any minute now…”

The bells at the door tinkled right on cue as the third Intrinsic Value employee entered and stopped in his tracks. He probably wasn’t expecting to see his boss and co-worker waiting for him, about to pounce. He looked from one to another.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Elliot assured him. “At least, I think not. Aldric is about to explain something and where he needs help on it.”

“I’m in.” Jonas’ reply came instantly.

Elliot clapped Jonas on the shoulder as he walked past him to lock the door and flip the sign to closed. “But first, please tell us how the interview went at the university. Or is it a college? I can never keep up with these changes in academia.” Elliot made himself seem older than he was.

“Oh yes!” Aldric exclaimed. He felt ashamed for being so wrapped up in his own stuff that he hadn’t asked how things had gone for Jonas.

“Oh, I think it went well.” Jonas’ modest half-smile came and went. “I feel good about my chances.”

“They’d be lucky to have you on their faculty, and you deserve much more than filling in as a replacement for someone halfway through the semester,” Elliot told him warmly.

“Well, we can’t always get what we want, no matter how much we want it or how much we have to bring to it.” Jonas suddenly sounded bleak. “But we can try.”

He was a natural teacher, patient and clear, and Aldric had wondered why he wasn’t working in the field his qualifications were in. His theory was that Jonas had been burned out, had needed a break from teens or young adults and was trying to make a living from his side-line. “You miss it,” he deduced. “Is the university at the Hill where you just interviewed like the sort of place you worked at before?”

“Aldric!” Elliot scolded. “Quit stalling!”

Elliot had the occasional lapse from his old-fashioned ways and into more modern speech, Aldric had noticed. He nodded and launched into the story, trying hard to leave nothing out. Elliot exclaimed when Aldric described how the two men had tried to snatch him.

“Attempted abduction? In broad daylight?” he gasped. “Sorry, I interrupted, Aldric. Go on.”

Some details Aldric had to blur, of course, but he felt both men understood what was between him and Darrell.What had been, he corrected himself. He also felt neither man would judge him or recoil from him.

“Hmm.” Jonas took off his tortoise-shell-framed glasses and rubbed them with a tissue. “Whatever’s happening, and something is, it’s connected to the Buckman estate purchases, correct?” Aldric nodded, and Jonas continued, “Let’s narrow it down. It isn’t all the contents of Buck Buckman’s study that Elliot bought. As amusing as they are, the finger traps he used on guests and the ‘priceless sculpture’ he showed off to them that collapsed when they were near it, causing consternation and shock, aren’t part of it.”

He chuckled. “Though I must say, I would have liked to see the ‘first folio Shakespeare’ whose pages fluttered out and crumbled when the cover was opened! I wonder how often he used that trick on the unwary, and how they reacted! But our concern is only the puzzle boxes, that are in and of themselves, cheap toys with no precious value.” He pointed at the one on the counter. “Like that one, for instance. Common wood and a common item. We can narrow our focus to a finer point yet—to the one box said to be his favorite.”

“So let’s get to work.” Elliot undid his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. “Luckily I still have all the items here and didn’t take them to the safety deposit.”

Fetched from the safe and spread out along the countertop of an antiques store, the wooden boxes looked cheaper and flimsier than ever.

“This hexagonal one?” Elliot checked. Aldric nodded. “Jonas, take note.”

“Thank you both for this,” Aldric said, appreciating the support more than he could explain. “You have no reason to help, and any other boss I’ve ever had would have fired me for bringing all this trouble to his door.”

Elliot shook his head. “None of this is your fault, Aldric, any more than it is mine for purchasing the items in the first place. If anything, more blame attaches to me for not getting rid of them. But even though neither of us started this, we’ll end it, yes?”

“All for one and one for all?” Jonas added, perplexing Aldric. “The Three Musketeers, Aldric.”

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