Paper Treasure (8 page)

Charlie thought he would pass out when Reid headed towards the washroom. He held his breath.

The washroom exploded in fluorescent light as Reid flicked on the switch and walked in. As long as he doesn’t close the door, we’re all right, thought Charlie.

Reid eyed himself in the mirror for a moment, then picked up one of the paper-wrapped glasses on the tray and unwrapped it. He poured himself a soft drink and reached for the ice bucket. The ice must have all melted, because Reid tipped the bucket’s contents down the sink and walk out of the bathroom, bucket in hand. He left the motel room, leaving the outside door ajar.

“Hurry, now’s our chance,” Charlie urged. They bolted out of the bathroom and across the room, hesitating only long enough for Lisa to drop the folder on the desk.

“This way,” whispered Charlie when they got outside. “The ice is by the front office.”

They snuck down the back stairs and out through the maze of parked cars to the next street.

Lisa held her hand over her heart, panting with relief. “Charles Bradford, don’t you ever do that again.”

“Don’t worry,” puffed Charlie. “I’m not cut out for a life of crime.”

They laughed hysterically at the thought of Reid using the facilities while they huddled behind the bathroom door.

“That would have been supremely embarrassing,” said Lisa with a giggle.

“You’re telling me.”

Lisa caught her breath. “You can’t retire yet.”

Puzzled, Charlie looked at her under the street light.

“The key,” said Lisa. “You’ve got to return it.”

Charlie pulled the key from his pocket. “Two choices…either we go back to the motel and hand it in, or we toss it in the mailbox.”

The key felt heavy in his hand.

“On second thought, let’s hang on to it…we can always return it later….”

Chapter Ten

The Final Clue

“Where’s your girlfriend?” demanded Weirdo. “She dump you?”

“No, she didn’t dump me.” Charlie entered the room and tossed his sweatshirt on Weirdo’s bed. “As a matter of fact, she’s gone to
The Colville Times
.”

“What for?”

“Remember the papers I told you we found in Reid’s room last night?”

“I sure do.”

“Lisa’s going to check the back issues of the
Northern Miner
for any mention of Mattlin Mining. My mother threw out Grampa’s old copies and I think that’s where he first got the idea…and that’s why he was coming to see you…” Charlie’s voice trailed away.

Weirdo was going strange on him. He was sitting in his chair by the window grinning from ear to ear like he’d just won the lottery.

“What’s with you?” Charlie demanded.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Weirdo actually chuckled, his weathered face filled with glee.

“What?”

“After you called this morning,” said Weirdo, “I did a little digging of my own.” He cleared his throat.

“And?” prompted Charlie.

“And…” Weirdo paused for an imaginary drum roll. “Mattlin Mining is trading for $20 a share.

“Twenty dollars a share?” Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “The company offered Reid one hundred shares of Mattlin for every five shares of Treasure Creek!” No wonder Weirdo was giddy. “You’ve got five thousand shares. That’s…$2,000,000!”

“I know,” beamed Weirdo. “I know.” His head bobbed up and down like a wrinkled old apple. “You’ve got to find those shares of your grampa’s, kid.”

Charlie closed his eyes. What if Reid already had them? Even worse, what if his grandfather had thrown them out? No, he couldn’t have, otherwise he wouldn’t have had Mrs. Kowalski witness his signature.

There was a rap on the door, and Lisa poked her head inside. “Here you are. The nurse told me you were in the sunroom.”

Charlie half-heartedly raised his hand in greeting.

Lisa checked the corridor, then closed the door behind her. “Listen to this.” She waved a handful of notes at them and launched right into her report.

“About six months ago, the big mining companies started buying up abandoned mines in Northern Ontario. Treasure Creek is right smack in the idle of the biggest gold rush Northern Ontario has seen in years.”

“Well,” she demanded, “aren’t you two going to say anything? A little praise, maybe?”

Weirdo just kept smiling and bobbing his head.

Charlie was sitting on the edge of the bed looking extremely depressed.

“Did I miss something?” asked Lisa.

“Uh, huh. About two million dollars’ worth,” croaked Charlie.

“What?”

“Each partner in Treasure Creek has shares worth $2,000,000 in Mattlin Mining stock.”

“Holy smokes,” said Lisa. “I feel weak.” She plunked herself down in the guest chair. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” said Charlie.

“He’s going to protect what’s rightfully his,” declared Weirdo. He gripped the wheels of his chair and moved to within spitting distance of Charlie’s face. “Where’s your gumption, lad?”

“Down the toilet.”

“Well, fish it out. Don’t you want your family’s share?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then, think. We’ve got to get the goods on this guy Reid before that deadline Monday night.”

Weirdo drummed his bony fingers on the arm of his chair. “Even if you don’t have the actual certificates, we might be able to prove ownership some other way.”

Weirdo was right. This was no time to give up. Charlie explored the possibilities. “We could set a trap. We know where he is.”

“And we know what he wants,” added Lisa.

“What about bait?” asked Weirdo.

Charlie thought. “Do you think Mrs. Lovell would help us?” he wondered aloud.

“She’s kind of old,” said Lisa.

“All the more reason.” Weirdo thumped the arm of his wheelchair. “What’s the matter, you kids think old people can’t take care of themselves?”

“No, sir.”

Weirdo suddenly turned a peculiar shade of grey.

“What’s wrong?” Lisa rushed to the man’s side.

“What if this guy Reid’s already tried something? He might have broken into Essie’s house just like he broke into Charlie’s the other night.”

“Come on,” urged Charlie, “we’re wasting time.”

Weirdo swung his wheelchair towards the door. “Get my ball cap,” he commanded. “It’s on a hook inside the cupboard.”

“Are you allowed out?” Charlie grabbed the handles of Weirdo’s wheelchair.

“Of course, I’m allowed out.”

“I thought,” began Charlie, “that you had to sign in and out, or something. Like a residence.”

Lisa handed the man his hat. “Don’t get mad at Charlie, Mr. Weir. He’s only trying to help.”

“Sorry,” said Weirdo gruffly. “I’m worried about Essie, that’s all.” He leaned back so he could see Charlie. “Truce?”

“Truce.”

“You look like an idiot upside down.”

“So do you.”

Lisa opened the door. “Cut the mushy stuff, guys. We’ve got a job to do.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Weirdo pulled his Blue Jays cap over his sparse white hair and snapped on his clip-on sunglasses. “To the elevator,” he ordered.

Charlie and Lisa had given him the slip. They’d said they’d be around when he got back from the library, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. After all he’d done for them.

Joey called to his mother that he was going to visit the neighbours, then he nipped through the gap in the hedge and rang the side bell at Mrs. Kowalski’s.

She answered the door. “Hi, Joey. Did you want to come in for a visit?” she asked, opening the screen door. “I’m making chocolate chip cookies.”

Joey could smell them baking in the oven.

“No, thanks,” he said. Mrs. Kowalski always put nuts in her cookies anyway. “I’m looking for Charlie and Lisa. I have a message for them.”

“Have you tried the Kirby’s’?”

“Yeah,” said Joey, “but there’s nobody home.”

“That’s too bad.”

The timer went off in Mrs. Kowalski’s kitchen.

“If I see them, I’ll tell them you were looking for them.”

“Thanks.”

Joey headed back the way he came and sat down on the swing his grandfather had rigged beneath the apple tree when Charlie was little. He pushed himself off the ground and pumped. The branch above him creaked as the swing gained height. He swung back and forth, sun and shade alternating on his bare legs.

Charlie and Lisa could be anywhere. What he needed was a plan.

He pumped higher.

Every time things got interesting they got rid of him. Like last night, when they had followed Reid to the motel.

The motel! Joey dug his heels into the dry ground and hopped off the swing. He’d find out what Reid was up to, then Charlie and Lisa would have to include him.

He’d have to be careful. Mrs. Kowalski was at her kitchen window. She waved at him.

Joey waved back and pretended to go in the house. As soon as he was sure she was no longer watching, he followed the property line to the back of the yard.

There was a rather large hole in the neighbours’ fence. He’d discovered it the other day when he was on a secret mission behind the lilac bush.

He took one last look over his shoulder then disappeared amidst the shrubbery and through the fence.

Less than a minute later, Joey had traversed the neighbours’ yard and made his way to the next street over. He stood on the sidewalk for a moment to get his bearings, then turned left and headed downtown.

Joseph Bradford was on the case.

Charlie slowed to a stop on the sidewalk in front of Essie Lovell’s house. He’d forgotten about the porch steps.

“We’ll have to carry him up, and then come back for the chair,” Lisa said in a whisper.

“What’s that?” asked Weirdo.

“The stairs,” said Charlie. “We’ll have to carry you.”

Weirdo grumbled something unprintable. He’d been in a good mood, enjoying the sun on his face, even if he had complained that his teeth jarred every time his wheels hit a crack in the asphalt.

“I’ll make sure Mrs. Lovell is home,” said Lisa. She hurried up the steps and rang the doorbell. Essie appeared in record time.

“We’ve brought a friend of yours with us,” said Lisa. She stood aside so Essie Lovell could see who was on the front walk.

“Jack Weir!” Essie’s face lit up in a beautiful smile. “Jack,” she said as she stepped outside to greet him. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too, Essie.”

The old friends beamed at each other, then suddenly Essie’s expression clouded over. “But you shouldn’t have come today,” she said. “I’m so upset.”

“Why” asked Charlie. “What’s wrong?”

Essie’s mouth worked, but nothing came out.

“Is it Reid?” prompted Charlie. “Have you heard from him again?”

She shook her head. “Benjamin Bunny is missing.”

Weirdo looked puzzled.

“Her cat,” said Liza.

“Oh.”

“He usually stays out all night in the warm weather,” said Essie, wringing her hands in despair. “He’s always waiting at the back door for me when I come down in the morning. Only this morning he wasn’t there.”

Lisa put her arm around Essie. “Maybe he got shut in someone’s garage overnight.”

“That’s probably what happened,” added Weirdo. “Remember that ginger cat Hilda and I had?”

Essie nodded. “He’d go off for days at a time. Old man Harvey used to feed him scraps from his restaurant.”

“I’m sure that’s all it is, Mrs. Lovell,” said Lisa. “Someone else probably fed Benjamin. He’ll come back.”

Somewhat reassured, Essie invited them in for tea.

It was really cool seeing the two of them together, thought Charlie, as Mrs. Lovell fussed over Mr. Weir, making him comfortable in her maze of a living room.

Once they were settled, Weirdo told Essie how much her shares were worth.

“And to think I was going to sell them for a few hundred dollars!” She turned to Charlie and Lisa. “If you two hadn’t come along, I would have been just another sucker.”

“Now, Essie, don’t blame yourself,” said Weirdo. “You had no way of knowing that the stocks were worth something. I might have done the same thing if I wasn’t such a suspicious old coot.”

Charlie winked at Lisa. “Like my grandfather, right, Mr. Weir?”

The old man chuckled. “Takes one to know one.”

“So, what’s this plan of yours, Charlie?” asked Essie Lovell.

“We need to lure Reid here and trick him into revealing himself.”

“How?”

“You phone him at his motel and tell him you’ve decided to sell. He’ll probably jump at the chance to buy your certificates.”

Essie nodded. “All right,” she declared. “I’ll do it. Where did you say he was staying?”

“The Lakeshore Inn.”

Chapter Eleven

To Catch a Thief

Joey hid behind the pop machine at the end of the corridor until the housekeeper, loaded down with clean sheets and towels, disappeared inside another room.

He scurried by her cart to Room 210. A Do Not Disturb sign hung on the door.

He could hear the murmured sounds of someone speaking inside the room. Either Reid was on the telephone or he had company. Joey crept up to the window.

The curtains didn’t quiet meet in the centre. If he stood on his tiptoes, he could just see into the room. Reid had his back to the window. He was holding the phone to his ear with one hand and gesticulating wildly with the other.

“The deadline was for Monday…. Of course I can deliver. What do you think I’m doing here, sightseeing?”

Joey watched as Reid paced back and forth across the room.

“Don’t worry. One more day and I’ll control the majority of the stock…. No. As soon as I sell the shares to you, you can convert them to Mattlin Mining stock. They’ll never know they were sitting on a small fortune.”

Joey hadn’t the faintest idea what Reid was talking about, but whatever it was, he was sure it had something to do with the Treasure Creek Gold Mine.

He pressed his face against the glass. Reid had lowered his voice and Joey could barely make out what he was saying. Something about an old lady….

“And what do you think you’re doing, young man?” said a voice behind him.

Joey felt a hand grab hold of him by the t-shirt. He spun around and found himself looking directly into the steely eyes of the motel housekeeper.