Page 226 of Share with Me

“Yes.”

“My wife bought a bunch of stuff from his antique store.”

“He’s a picker too, sir.”

“A picker? I need to talk to him. Maybe he can help me find some old auto parts.”

“You like old things too?” Ivan chuckled.

“I liked old things first. Brinley got it from me, young man. Not the other way around.” Ned straightened up. “What’s the price tag on this curricle?”

“Well, let’s see…” Ivan walked to the front and then around the two-wheeled two-seater until he saw a dangling tag.

Whoa. Lots of numbers.

Calmly he told Ned. “And it’s dated 1850, if it helps.”

“Might be one of the last ones. I’m surprised it’s still intact.”

“What do you mean?” All the while Ivan was wondering if they would ever make it to lunch before he had to return to work.

“You know anything about curricles, son?”

“Sorry, no. I only know music history.”

“The curricle was the sports car of its time. It was fast and furious. Lots of wrecks and all that.”

“Those poor horses.” It was all Ivan could say.

Ned stepped back to take a photo of the curricle.

The default sound on Ned’s iPhone told Ivan that he was probably had just sent the photo to someone. An appraiser, perhaps?

“There was also the phaeton, but it was heavier,” Ned continued. “Later on, about a century later, convertible coupes were all the rage. Same idea.”

“And you have one of those in your collection.”

“I have a 1935 Duesenberg, yes. Maybe I’ll take you for a spin someday.”

Maybe.

Ivan could have reciprocated if his 1945 Chevrolet truck wasn’t a pile of rust in Matt’s junkyard in Brunswick.

Ned’s iPhone pinged. Ned read the message and smiled. “I want to talk to your friend Matt about this curricle. I can’t believe it’s in here.”

“It looks restored.”

“I agree. How long as it been here?”

Ivan shrugged. “It was here when I started work last Friday. You’ll have to ask Matt. Unfortunately, he’s picking in South Carolina today. He’ll be back tomorrow morning as far as I know.”

“Whereabouts in South Carolina?”

“Charleston and Port Royale. He goes there a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if this curricle was in someone’s basement all this time.” Ivan went to the checkout counter to get a business card. He handed it to Ned. “Looks like it’s the store number on there. I used to have his number when I had a cell… Uh…”

“Why don’t you put a Sold sticker on that curricle so nobody else takes it?” Ned asked, handing Ivan a credit card. “I’m sure Matt also lists this online.”

“I’m sure he does.” Ivan couldn’t believe it. He made a sale in the thrift shop to Brinley’s dad, of all people. He gulped as he swiped the card. The string of digits when he rang it up made him a bit dizzy. What made him dizzier was then he put the receipt on the counter for Ned to sign, looked up and saw that it was nearly one o’clock. He’d missed his lunch hour and it was the end of it.

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