Read Online A Fatal Appraisal by J. B. Stanley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: J. B. Stanley
Tags: cozy
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Quite a lovely bunch."
The group ate quickly, eager to begin filming their
segments. Molly, who was an extremely fast eater, had finished her entire lunch
before Jessica had even started on the second half of her pimento cheese
sandwich. Jessica inconspicuously eyed Molly's empty plate and noted the
impatient tapping of the younger woman's left foot.
"Go visit with Tony." She kindly shooed Molly into
motion. "He's dying to show you that cop's set of Hot Wheels and I need to
clean the pieces we'll be filming. We'll meet you back at our pens at
three."
"It's a date," Molly answered. "I hope you
two have something exciting to show me as well."
"I've got an anatomy book the likes of which you've
never seen," Borris promised smugly.
"That sounds like a come-on line," Jessica teased.
"Only for you, my dear." Borris winked and Jessica
smiled at him fondly. Molly could see that the pair had already forgotten about
her, but she didn't mind. Those two should just get over their relationship
hang-ups and admit they're crazy about each other, she thought.
Molly spent over an hour with Tony as he meticulously
reviewed the highlights of the Hot Wheels collection he had filmed that
morning.
"This is all Officer Johnston's!" he exclaimed,
his boyish smile lighting up his face. "This is one of the best
collections I've ever seen."
"Whew." Molly wiped her forehead in mock relief
and laughed. "I'm glad I didn't waste your time."
"No way. These are the first ones ever released,"
Tony gushed. "All of the packaging is mint. And see here"—he pointed
to a row of yellow-green and pink cars—"these two colors, the vaseline and
pinks, are much more rare than the other colors."
"I'm surprised they even made pink for boys to play
with," Molly said, taking photographs.
"Exactly! That's why they're more unusual," Tony
enthused.
"What's this collection worth?'
Tony swept his arm over the group of cars. "Close to
six grand. Officer Johnston is going to keep them for his son. I told him he'd
better get them insured and that he should store them in plastic bins. He's the
nicest state trooper I've ever met, probably 'cause I wasn't behind the wheel
of a speeding car.” He winked at Molly. “He'll be here for the show on Friday.
When I gave him two tickets he mentioned something about bringing some of his
Coca- Cola memorabilia."
"That's great, Tony."
After photographing all the Hot Wheels, Molly got some
coffee from the vending machine downstairs and wrote up an outline for her
article. She decided to write a side story on what people ended up doing with
their items once they’d been assigned estimated values by the appraisers of Hidden
Treasures . She could follow up this line by conducting an interview with
Trooper Johnston. Her readers would love to discover that members of law
enforcement were collectors as well.
Molly checked her watch. She still had a half hour of free
time before she met with Jessica and then Borris, so she decided to check out
the exhibit on Civil War antiques.
As Molly walked through the Great Hall, she felt a bit lost
among the bustling mass of activity. Curators and staff members from the
Richmond Confederacy Museum were frantically putting the finishing touches on
the exhibit they had loaned out specifically for the filming of Hidden
Treasures . Molly paused next to a formidable statue of Stonewall Jackson on
horseback. The top of Jackson's hat was twenty feet off the ground and the
enormous haunches of his mount could easily hold four regular-sized riders.
Molly admired the sculpted muscles of the horse's forelegs and the wrinkles
meticulously carved into lifelike creases on Jackson's pants.
Just as she reached out a hand to touch the tiny lines
forming the horse's marble mane, the lights went out. The windowless hall was
completely enveloped in darkness.
And in the sudden silence, a woman began to scream.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3
With their crushing inferiority complex about
Quite a lovely bunch."
The group ate quickly, eager to begin filming their
segments. Molly, who was an extremely fast eater, had finished her entire lunch
before Jessica had even started on the second half of her pimento cheese
sandwich. Jessica inconspicuously eyed Molly's empty plate and noted the
impatient tapping of the younger woman's left foot.
"Go visit with Tony." She kindly shooed Molly into
motion. "He's dying to show you that cop's set of Hot Wheels and I need to
clean the pieces we'll be filming. We'll meet you back at our pens at
three."
"It's a date," Molly answered. "I hope you
two have something exciting to show me as well."
"I've got an anatomy book the likes of which you've
never seen," Borris promised smugly.
"That sounds like a come-on line," Jessica teased.
"Only for you, my dear." Borris winked and Jessica
smiled at him fondly. Molly could see that the pair had already forgotten about
her, but she didn't mind. Those two should just get over their relationship
hang-ups and admit they're crazy about each other, she thought.
Molly spent over an hour with Tony as he meticulously
reviewed the highlights of the Hot Wheels collection he had filmed that
morning.
"This is all Officer Johnston's!" he exclaimed,
his boyish smile lighting up his face. "This is one of the best
collections I've ever seen."
"Whew." Molly wiped her forehead in mock relief
and laughed. "I'm glad I didn't waste your time."
"No way. These are the first ones ever released,"
Tony gushed. "All of the packaging is mint. And see here"—he pointed
to a row of yellow-green and pink cars—"these two colors, the vaseline and
pinks, are much more rare than the other colors."
"I'm surprised they even made pink for boys to play
with," Molly said, taking photographs.
"Exactly! That's why they're more unusual," Tony
enthused.
"What's this collection worth?'
Tony swept his arm over the group of cars. "Close to
six grand. Officer Johnston is going to keep them for his son. I told him he'd
better get them insured and that he should store them in plastic bins. He's the
nicest state trooper I've ever met, probably 'cause I wasn't behind the wheel
of a speeding car.” He winked at Molly. “He'll be here for the show on Friday.
When I gave him two tickets he mentioned something about bringing some of his
Coca- Cola memorabilia."
"That's great, Tony."
After photographing all the Hot Wheels, Molly got some
coffee from the vending machine downstairs and wrote up an outline for her
article. She decided to write a side story on what people ended up doing with
their items once they’d been assigned estimated values by the appraisers of Hidden
Treasures . She could follow up this line by conducting an interview with
Trooper Johnston. Her readers would love to discover that members of law
enforcement were collectors as well.
Molly checked her watch. She still had a half hour of free
time before she met with Jessica and then Borris, so she decided to check out
the exhibit on Civil War antiques.
As Molly walked through the Great Hall, she felt a bit lost
among the bustling mass of activity. Curators and staff members from the
Richmond Confederacy Museum were frantically putting the finishing touches on
the exhibit they had loaned out specifically for the filming of Hidden
Treasures . Molly paused next to a formidable statue of Stonewall Jackson on
horseback. The top of Jackson's hat was twenty feet off the ground and the
enormous haunches of his mount could easily hold four regular-sized riders.
Molly admired the sculpted muscles of the horse's forelegs and the wrinkles
meticulously carved into lifelike creases on Jackson's pants.
Just as she reached out a hand to touch the tiny lines
forming the horse's marble mane, the lights went out. The windowless hall was
completely enveloped in darkness.
And in the sudden silence, a woman began to scream.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3
With their crushing inferiority complex about
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