maybe because Grandpa was with her now, it all seemed so familiar. She turned her key and stepped into the Amber Room. It took her a moment to find the light switch and she flinched as she turned it on, forgetting it automatically turns off the tunnel light.
Placing Grandpa's urn on the shelf next to Grandma made her smile.
"There you go Grandpa," she spoke out loud. "You two are together again."
She pulled out his leather office chair and sat at his desk. Leaning back and twirling around to take in the room, she looked up at the photo of Grandpa on the shelf and asked out loud, "So what's Mark like Grandpa? He seems as crazy as you. Drives as fast as you, and he's taking me to a graveyard today to get some money. What is it with you guys and all these secrets? I suppose then you wouldn't be as interesting as you are," she answered winking at the photo.
Looking through her Grandpa's files and folders, Abby felt like a spy. Boxes on the bottom shelf contained various dossiers, all organized alphabetically. The dossiers on ancient artifacts read like a missing persons report, only it was for missing treasures. Like the forty thousand gold coins hidden by the French in a cave in Scotland, not yet found. A hoard of gold bracelets buried by a wealthy family during a war. The family was killed and the bracelets remain buried, worth an estimated eight hundred thousand dollars. The burial hoard of Kubrat, Khan of 'Great Bulgaria'. Part of the hoard was found when a boy playing by the river fell into the hole where treasure was buried. Estimated value, one and half million dollars.
Abby continued to flick through each file, her curiosity growing with every turn of her fingers. A file contained notes to the whereabouts of a royal treasure worth over fifty million dollars. Pawned to Jewish bankers who died in the Black Plague, the clues point to a house in a small town. Another file contained information on a British Expedition to locate a multi- million dollar hoard of gold, silver and jewelry stolen by pirates and buried on an island.
Abby sat back in the chair and just stared at all the files and dossiers. It was more organized and detailed than her entire team back home tracking down lost heirs. Leaning back in the chair she looked up at the urns and the photo and asked, "Where did you get all this Intel Grandpa, who are you finding all this out for?" She remained looking at him after she spoke, as if waiting for an answer. When all of a sudden, she got one.
"Different clients," the voice came.
Startled, Abby swiveled around on the chair to the door where the sound of the voice came from. It was Mark.
"Shit Mark, you scared me," she gasped.
"Sorry, didn't mean to."
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Only a few moments. I got a text from Lyons. The auctioneers will take the coin and list it for their next auction in a couple of weeks' time."
"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?" asked Abby.
"But...," Mark said nodding. "But they only estimate it at one hundred and fifty thousand pounds."
"That's not enough Mark. What about your secret stash?"
"It's about ninety thousand, so we'll still be short."
"How long will it take to get your stash?"
"There are two things we need to do. First, we need to get the stash. That will be simple and quick. Then I need to convert it into money which should be about ninety grand give or take a few depending on the current market."
"Depending on the current market? What is it we're getting here exactly?"
"Gold. Small bars about two inches long and one inch wide."
"How many?"
"Twenty two."
"And that's worth ninety grand?"
"Yep. They're about four thousand pounds each. Depending on market value. And we need to get going so I can trade them in and get the cash in my account."
***
Mark and Abby drove out to Underexe, a tiny Devon village five miles north of Exeter.
"You'll like this place," Mark said. "The countryside scenery is stunning with the green rolling hills and
Placing Grandpa's urn on the shelf next to Grandma made her smile.
"There you go Grandpa," she spoke out loud. "You two are together again."
She pulled out his leather office chair and sat at his desk. Leaning back and twirling around to take in the room, she looked up at the photo of Grandpa on the shelf and asked out loud, "So what's Mark like Grandpa? He seems as crazy as you. Drives as fast as you, and he's taking me to a graveyard today to get some money. What is it with you guys and all these secrets? I suppose then you wouldn't be as interesting as you are," she answered winking at the photo.
Looking through her Grandpa's files and folders, Abby felt like a spy. Boxes on the bottom shelf contained various dossiers, all organized alphabetically. The dossiers on ancient artifacts read like a missing persons report, only it was for missing treasures. Like the forty thousand gold coins hidden by the French in a cave in Scotland, not yet found. A hoard of gold bracelets buried by a wealthy family during a war. The family was killed and the bracelets remain buried, worth an estimated eight hundred thousand dollars. The burial hoard of Kubrat, Khan of 'Great Bulgaria'. Part of the hoard was found when a boy playing by the river fell into the hole where treasure was buried. Estimated value, one and half million dollars.
Abby continued to flick through each file, her curiosity growing with every turn of her fingers. A file contained notes to the whereabouts of a royal treasure worth over fifty million dollars. Pawned to Jewish bankers who died in the Black Plague, the clues point to a house in a small town. Another file contained information on a British Expedition to locate a multi- million dollar hoard of gold, silver and jewelry stolen by pirates and buried on an island.
Abby sat back in the chair and just stared at all the files and dossiers. It was more organized and detailed than her entire team back home tracking down lost heirs. Leaning back in the chair she looked up at the urns and the photo and asked, "Where did you get all this Intel Grandpa, who are you finding all this out for?" She remained looking at him after she spoke, as if waiting for an answer. When all of a sudden, she got one.
"Different clients," the voice came.
Startled, Abby swiveled around on the chair to the door where the sound of the voice came from. It was Mark.
"Shit Mark, you scared me," she gasped.
"Sorry, didn't mean to."
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Only a few moments. I got a text from Lyons. The auctioneers will take the coin and list it for their next auction in a couple of weeks' time."
"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?" asked Abby.
"But...," Mark said nodding. "But they only estimate it at one hundred and fifty thousand pounds."
"That's not enough Mark. What about your secret stash?"
"It's about ninety thousand, so we'll still be short."
"How long will it take to get your stash?"
"There are two things we need to do. First, we need to get the stash. That will be simple and quick. Then I need to convert it into money which should be about ninety grand give or take a few depending on the current market."
"Depending on the current market? What is it we're getting here exactly?"
"Gold. Small bars about two inches long and one inch wide."
"How many?"
"Twenty two."
"And that's worth ninety grand?"
"Yep. They're about four thousand pounds each. Depending on market value. And we need to get going so I can trade them in and get the cash in my account."
***
Mark and Abby drove out to Underexe, a tiny Devon village five miles north of Exeter.
"You'll like this place," Mark said. "The countryside scenery is stunning with the green rolling hills and
Similar Books
