The Case of the Angry Auctioneer (Auction House Mystery Series Book 1) (15 page)

Maybe she just wouldn’t take it to the vet. Maybe she would just keep it here with her and care for it and nobody but her sister oh and Sean would ever have to know…Jasper held up the furry little body and the cat stared down on her with benevolent eyes. “No, that would be catnapping,” Jasper said. She lowered him down to her chest and resettled. “I’ll be good and responsible, kitty,” she said. “I’ll take you to the vet. Maybe you can stay with me after that. Would you like that?” The cat licked her hand. “You sure are a little love. You’re standing in for what I don’t have too much of right now,” Jasper whispered. “Proxy would be a good name for you.”

Her cell phone rang. It was Cookie inviting her down to the Forester to talk about the Austrings. They wanted to schedule a house-clearing before they closed the deal on the Clippert place, Cookie told her. Jasper set the cat down gently and got up from the sofa. The cat followed her out to the kitchen where she set out bowls of food and water. Then, with the cat still trailing behind, she fetched a boot box from Jimmy’s bedroom, took it into the bathroom and crumbled up a bunch of toilet paper inside. The cat immediately climbed into the box, crouched and took a pee. “This is just for temporary. Good Proxy,” Jasper said. She lured the cat back to the kitchen and, when it was fully engaged with its food bowl, hurried out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.

At the Forester Jasper pointed out Sean’s new art work on the wall. The photographs in their simple silver frames were dazzling in their color range and abstract shapes. Jasper’s eyes mirrored their sparkle. The pictures took up one entire wall of the restaurant, midway between the coffee shop and the more formal dining area. “You sure he didn’t take these with a super power telescope?” Cookie asked. “They look like distant galaxies.”

“Nope. They’re really all of his head. Self-portraits. He uses stencils and gels to change the color of the sunlight and the shapes of the shadows. Oh, and mirrors to bounce the sunlight. See here, if you look really closely, you can see his eye.”

Cookie studied one of the pictures close up. “I see it!” she marveled. “Crazy! Watch out for him, Sis.”

“What?”

“The man’s infatuated with himself. He seems to have deep blue eyes – or at least one of them. And he must have at least four hands.”

“Ha! That doesn’t sound so bad,” Jasper said.

“Two tall lattes, one skinny, one caramel mocha!” the coffee barista called.

They got their coffees and took them to their favorite table near the front window. For a Monday mid-morning the place was busy with lap-toppers and people reading newspapers or just gazing out into the sunny day. Jasper wondered how all these people could get away from work. Didn’t any of them have regular jobs? Being an auctioneer and a professional psychic medium had their perks, she guessed. Although Jasper knew that once a few more days had gone by, people would expect her to put aside whatever grief she was experiencing in the wake of Jimmy’s death and get back on track. She wished she could get all these nameless, faceless people out of her head, but they were always there cajoling and criticizing. She sighed.

“Drink up, Sis,” Cookie said, reading her thoughts. “We have all the time in the world here. So let’s just relax and savor.”

Jasper sipped her skinny and Cookie sighed as she took a small but pleasurable slurp of her caramel mocha. Cookie asked, “Sean seems like a nice guy. But his work is really…well, wild.”

“You said ‘crazy.’”

“I mean, Sis, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Jasper smiled with pride. “Yay! That’s great. I’ll tell Sean you said so. I mean if I see him again.” She leaned across the table, intent on conveying Sean’s intensity. “That’s what he’s striving for. Super originality. He says, ‘Why bother making something if somebody else can do the same thing.’”

“Hmm, that’s a thought,” Cookie said. She traced her finger around the rim of her mug. Hers was sunny yellow today. Jasper had requested blue.

“Something bothering you?”

“I’ve never known an artist before. I mean not up close and personal,” Cookie said.

“So. Me either. He’s just a guy who happens to make art for a living.” Jasper shrugged. She felt her shoulders rising defensively.

“Hey, you know I’m on your side, Sis. It’s just that how can he afford that big place he has in the country – what did you say, 20 acres? Does he really sell enough art to be able to live better than a lot of us?”

“Well, there are his inventions,” Jasper said. She drank down some more latte.

“What? Toys for cats and dogs? That’s not like a cure for cancer – “

“I’m not sure you can patent that.”

“Are you sure? Ask your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Not yet.”

“Hush.”

“But that’s not the point.” Cookie sipped more of her rich latte. She laughed and shook a finger at her sister. “You’re trying to change the subject! Okay, okay, I’ll lay off. But I just want to look after my little sister.”

“Born two minutes before me does not a big sister make!” Jasper protested. “Two lousy minutes and you’re going to hold that against me the rest of my life. Or our lives. Or whatever. Not fair, not fair, not fair.”

“You’re a nut,” Cookie said fondly. “Maybe you and that crazy artist deserve each other.” Her tone was kind and Jasper didn’t take offense.

“Maybe,” she said. “Too soon to tell. Here’s to the future and whatever it holds.”

They clinked mugs. Jasper added, “And just don’t tell me what that is, okay? I’d rather find out on my own.”

“I keep telling you. I’m not Ms. Psychic Predictions. Especially when it comes to family matters.” Cookie and Jasper exchanged a somber look. Cookie looked down at the table.

Jasper reached for her hand. “Hey, it wasn’t your fault. Jimmy lived his own life. He made his own decisions.”

Cookie slumped, deep furrows between her brows. “But, Sis, why didn’t I get anything before it happened? No chills, no foreboding, no dreams. And worst of all, no Mom. Wouldn’t you think she’d care enough to speak up ahead of time?”

“Now you’re being silly. You’re always telling me that sometimes things happen because they’re meant to happen. Maybe if you had gotten some hint that Jimmy might be heading for a fall, you would’ve stepped in. But who’s to say he would have listened to you anyway? Did he ever take advice from anybody – especially us?”

“You’ve got a point there, girlfriend.” The sisters double clinked their mugs. “I’ve got to get a to-go cup,” Cookie said, standing and picking up her oversize and highly fashionable purse.

“What happened to sit and savor?” Jasper felt separation anxiety kick up inside like a cat in a cage on its way to the vet. She reached for her sister’s hand. Cookie leaned down to kiss Jasper on the cheek.

“Family matters.”

“Yeah it does,” Jasper said.

“Don’t try guilting me. I’m better at it than you are.”

“Am not.”

“Am too.” Cookie smiled fondly. “See you at three.” She made her way to the counter.

Jasper turned her attention to her mug, studying the foam as if somebody’s life depended on it, as if she could catch any glimpse of wisdom in the cloudy coffee.

***

Cookie’s afternoon appointment with Emily and Kiefer Austring was already underway when Jasper walked into the waiting room of Psychic Medium Rare. She’d waited too long before leaving the auction house, fearful of raising Ted’s ire for ducking out twice in one day. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the real boss. His maleness and his booming voice made it hard for her to step out of line.

A placard hanging by a decorative brass nail on the door to Cookie’s consultation room proclaimed:

SESSION IN PROGRESS. SHHHH PLEASE!

There was a second message scribbled on a post-it note and stuck below.

Jasper, this means You!

No doubt about it – Cookie didn’t want her in on the meeting with the Austrings. Who knows what all they wanted to go into without a nosy auctioneer intruding. Maybe checking on the fingers and toes of their unborn baby and whether or not they were expecting the future president of the United States or at least a member of Congress.

Knowing that Cookie would invite her in when it came to talking about the house where Jimmy had died, Jasper picked out a magazine, choosing between Psychic Phenom and a stack of others, chose Traditional Home, and perched on the Rococo revival settee Cookie had bought at the auction. Jasper had just begun to envision the perfect cottage garden she might one day make for herself if she ever had a home she could truly call her own, when the door to the inner office opened. Cookie stuck her head out and beckoned with a formal nod of the head.

“Hi!” she said and reached to hug her sister.

“Love you too,” Cookie whispered. Her hug was light. Jasper surmised that Cookie’s spirit was otherwise engaged. She stepped in to the office and admired the way the light filtered in through the lace curtains Cookie had chosen, one of her few brand new purchases.

The Austrings looked calmer than when Jasper had first met them the night of Stepfather Turned Body. In Cookie’s deep red wingbacks, they sat holding hands across the small angled divide between them. The box of blue tissues on the piecrust table had been well used it appeared, since several crumpled tissues surrounded it. Jasper greeted Emily and Kiefer and took the place Cookie nodded her to, on a folding chair brought in for this unusually large group reading. Consultation. Meeting. Cookie herself sat in the oak desk chair she had wheeled over from her roll-top desk, two more nice auction buys.

Jasper felt some pride in the appearance of her sister’s office. It had a nice, rosy, comforting glow about it. Something very pink attracted her attention out of the corner of her eye. Then it was gone. Maybe Cookie’s energy itself had something to do with the room’s glow.

Cookie directed everyone to take a full, deep breath.

Jasper did her best but found that suddenly she had a tickle in her throat. She tried to fight it off but it erupted into a full-fledged cough. “Sorry, everyone.” She headed for the tissue box. Kiefer grabbed it off the table and tossed it to her. “Well, thanks,” Jasper said. She saw a brief look of annoyance cross Emily’s face.
Jeez, these people are impatient.
She wondered to what lengths they would go to get into the Clippert house as soon as possible and make it their own. Jasper got back to her chair, kept her posture erect because she knew that was important for receiving good energy, and found her cough retreat as her breathing grew deep and regular.

Cookie announced that there was someone present.

Jasper squinched her eyes shut and clapped the tissue across her mouth.
I don’t want to see anybody. I don’t want to hear anybody. And nobody touch me. Please, God and angels and all good types.
It was a frequent prayer for Jasper. Cookie often reminded her that their horoscopes matched and they had the same gifts they could choose to develop or not. “Not!” Jasper would always say.

“Just because you have a gift doesn’t mean you have to develop it,” Cookie would reassure her.

“Fine, fine, fine.” And Jasper would change the subject.

“Shhh, I’m trying to tune in,” Cookie said. Jasper wondered if she had spoken aloud. “It’s a man standing in the position of father,” Cookie said. Jasper’s spine shivered suddenly like an unexpected chiropractic maneuver had just taken her by surprise. She sat up straighter. Cookie said, “He says he doesn’t want you to name the baby for him.”

The Austrings bent forward.

”I? E? E-E-E-E-E,” Cookie said. “Ilky? Evil? ”

Jasper shuddered.

Kiefer Austring put a hand lightly over Emily’s mouth.

“Evelyn? Like that?” Cookie pronounced the name British style with a long “e.”

“Evelyn.” Kiefer said. “My dad. People called him ‘Inky.’”

“I told you he stood in the father’s position,” Cookie said, a bit more sharply than Jasper might have expected.

Jasper swallowed down a giggle. She could understand not wanting to name a baby boy Evelyn. It just didn’t sound modern enough. Maybe not for a girl either. Although Evie or Evvie weren’t such bad nicknames. And how about ‘Inky’? Jasper would smile with delight if she were ever introduced to anyone in the flesh named Inky, man, woman, girl, boy, dog, cat.

“Why – why is he here?” Emily asked.

“Because you wanted to talk to someone and he’s ready to talk. Yes, yes,” Cookie said. She touched a hand to her ear as if she were adjusting a headset. “Slow down a bit. “He says he has to hurry because someone’s trying to shove him out of the way. He wants you to return the baby car seat you bought and get a better one for his grandchild. He says go to Milwaukee or Chicago. Don’t order on-line. He doesn’t trust the Internet.”

Emily shook her head from side to side. “That’s Inky. He never approved of me,” she whispered.

“He’s holding out a pink rose. He’s saying he’s sorry. I think. The other man is really pushy. Let him finish!”

Kiefer grabbed Cookie’s shoulders. “Let him finish!” he shouted in her sister’s face.

Jasper gripped him by the back of his well-pressed shirt. “You leave her alone! She can’t help what they’re doing on the other side.”

“You leave him alone!” Emily said. From behind, she seized Jasper’s wrists and tried to pry them off her husband.

Suddenly, Jasper felt herself diving forward, following Cookie’s backward fall with the Austrings sandwiching her between them. The four of them landed in a heap on the floor.

“Everybody off,” Cookie muttered.

They all untangled and got slowly to their feet. Several hands reached down to help Cookie but she managed on her own. Kiefer picked up her chair. He apologized. “I think I got a little carried away there,” he said.

“His father always has that effect,” Emily said. Kiefer shot her a look that, Jasper thought, did not bode well for a happy evening ahead. They were about to resume their seats, but Cookie announced that the session was finished.

“But we didn’t get our full hour,” Kiefer said.

“No, we didn’t get our money’s worth,” Emily said.

“You haven’t paid me anything,” Cookie said.

“But we planned to.” Kiefer brought out his wallet. He whispered in his wife’s ear and she whispered back. He dug out two ten dollar bills and flared them out toward Cookie.

Jasper opened her mouth to protest, but Cookie stood silently, arms folded.