Paper Treasure (4 page)

“He does?” Charlie felt himself flush.

Lisa’s eyes danced mischievously. “We’re next door neighbours, remember?”

“Right,” said Charlie. He didn’t feel this way about any of his other neighbours. Actually, he’d never felt this way about anyone before.

Lisa drained the last of her soft drink. “Weirdo’s a neat old guy, isn’t he?”

“Hmmm? Oh, Weirdo? Yeah. He’d kind of cranky on the outside, but I like him. He must be really lonely in the nursing home.”

Lisa scrunched the wrapper from her burger and tossed it on the tray. “Ready?”

Charlie gave the ice in the bottom of his cup a final shake and tipped the remaining cubes into his mouth. “Ready.”

They dumped their garbage in the bin by the door and went outside. Seagulls flocked around the parking lot scrounging for scraps. Charlie shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun and looked over the lake. It was as still as a millpond.

“Do you realize I’ve been here four days and I still haven’t been down to the beach?”

“It’s too hot today anyway,” said Lisa.

“Why don’t we go tomorrow?” asked Charlie. “That is if you’re not busy.”

“I thought we were going back to see Weirdo.”

“We can do that too…but what I really wanted to ask you was if you wanted to go to the show tonight with me and Joey.”

“Is this a date?” asked Lisa slyly.

“Yeah, well sort of, if you don’t mind having a seven-year-old chaperone.”

“Not at all,” laughed Lisa. “It’ll be fun.”

“Seriously? Then it’s a ‘yes’?” asked Charlie.

“It’s a ‘yes,’” said Lisa, and she turned in the direction of downtown.

Even the thought of Joey watching their every move didn’t spoil Charlie’s good mood as they headed for the old greystone building housing
The Colville Times
.

Lisa’s father was the daily paper’s managing editor. He’d taken the job after several years as Asia correspondent for one of the large Toronto newspapers. “That’s how he met my mother,” explained Lisa as they neared her father’s office, “covering the Far East.”

“Were you born there?” asked Charlie.

“No. Dad had gone back to work in Toronto so my mother could finish her degree at York University. When I was five, we moved to Hong Kong. He ran the paper’s Hong King bureau for four years and my mother worked as a translator.”

“You lived in Hong Kong?”

Lisa’s reply stopped Charlie dead in his tracks. “What does…whatever you just said mean?”

“It means you’re cute,” giggled Lisa, “in Cantonese.” She pulled open the glass-plated front door of the newspaper building and led the way inside.

Laura Bradford hung up the phone in a panic. “Joey!” she called. “I need you downstairs! Now!”

“Dadadadadadaa!” screamed Joey as he vaulted over the last step and landed in the hall beside his mother. “Your wish is my command.”

His mother rolled her eyes skyward. “That was the real estate agent. She’s on her way over with a client.”

“Great. I’ll show them around.” He pulled a walking stick from the umbrella stand and swung it about like a sword.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind. I want you to tidy up the playroom.”

“Joey looked at his mother like she’d lost her mind. “Don’t you think that’s a serious waste of my talent as a super hero?” He cut and thrust in her direction.

His mother took a determined step towards him and reclaimed the walking stick. ‘Move it, Shorty. And leave Grampa’s sticks alone. I don’t want them broken.”

By the time the real estate agent pulled into the driveway, Laura Bradford had picked up orange peels in Joey’s bedroom, rinsed the remnants of a secret potion out of the bathroom sink and straightened the linen closet, which he had obviously visited in his search for a suitable cape.

The agent, Samira Saikley, was accompanied by a man in his late forties, wearing wire-rimmed glasses with the kind of lenses that darkened in the sunlight. Joey followed his mother to the door.

“Laura Bradford. John Reid.”

“How do you do?” said Laura. She offered Mr. Reid her hand.

“Mrs. Bradford. Nice place you’ve got here.”

He shook her hand, holding onto it for a moment too long. When he finally let go, she wiped her hand on her skirt.

“I don’t know if Ms. Saikley told you or not, but this was my father’s home,” she said. “He died a few months back which is why the house is up for sale.”

“As a matter of fact, she did tell me,” confirmed Mr. Reid. “My condolences.”

“Thank you.”

The real estate agent was looking at her pointedly.

Laura got the message. “Well, then. I’ll leave you to it.” She took Joey by the hand and they retreated to the kitchen.

“Do you think he’s going to buy the house?” Joey asked.

“I have no idea.” Laura picked up her book and the glass of iced tea she’d left on the kitchen counter. “Come on. We’d better go outside.”

Joey wandered around the backyard aimlessly, kicking at the grass and squishing ants while his mother sat in the shade and read.

Finally, he poked at his mother’s lawn chair. “How much longer do we have to stay out here?”

She looked up from her book. “What’s the matter, sweetie?”

“I’m hot.” Joey rubbed a grimy hand across his forehead.

His mother glanced towards the house. “They must be about finished. Why don’t you go inside?”

The screen door slapped shut behind him as Ms. Saikley and Mr. Reid appeared at the top of the basement stairs. “I need to show Mr. Reid the yard,” said the agent brightly. “Then we’ll be on our way.”

Joey eyed her companion. “Are you going to buy the house?” he asked.

“I’m thinking about it,” replied Mr. Reid. Then he followed the real estate agent outside.

It was much cooler down in the basement playroom. Joey turned on the television. His favourite cartoon was about to start. He’d seen this one before. The kids are hanging onto the dinosaur’s tail. He was swinging it back and forth across the treetops. Any minute now they’d go flying… Joey heard a real live snort.

He turned his head to see Reid standing in the doorway.

“I thought you’d gone already.”

“Not yet. I wanted to take another look at the furnace.”

Joey’s eyes slid back to the television.

“Just you and your mother living here?” asked Reid.

“No,” replied Joey, his sights firmly planted on the screen in front of him. “My brother’s out…and my father won’t be back til Friday night…Wow! Did you see that?”

Reid watched for a moment as the kids flew through the air and, three plops later, they were in a raging river. Another second and they’d encounter a waterfall.

He waited long enough to see if he was right, then left the room.

“You could try checking the periodical indexes.” Mike Kirby handed Charlie the volumes for 1946 to 1950. “If you find anything interesting, we’ll display it on the monitor.”

Lisa’s father was about the same age as Charlie’s, but unlike his father, who wore a navy-blue suit, shirt and tie every day to his office downtown, Mike Kirby wore jeans, a polo shirt and loafers.

He’d given his daughter a kiss on the cheek and sat them up at a desk in the corner of the newsroom.

“Shelly’s out interviewing the mayor,” Mr. Kirby explained. “I’m sure she won’t mind if you use the library table next to her desk.”

“What should we look for?” asked Lisa, taking one of the volumes and flipping through the listings. It was set up like a dictionary, every article from every major newspaper alphabetically indexed by subject matter.

“Anything with gold in the title, I guess. I’m not really sure,” admitted Charlie. He pulled up a chair and sat down on the side of the desk.

“Judging by the dates Weirdo gave us, they must have shut down the mine around 1950.”

After a few minutes, Lisa peeked at him over the top of her book. “So?”

Charlie smiled back at her. “So what?”

“So did you like my father?”

“Yeah, he’s cool. He didn’t even give us the third degree about what we’re up to.” Charlie paused. “Do you think he’s okay with us hanging around together?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Don’t know…” Charlie cleared his throat. “We’d better get back to work. Weirdo’s expecting us to come up with some answers by tomorrow.”

“Right,” said Lisa, scanning the open page. There were three columns under gold. With a little luck they’d be there all afternoon.

Chapter Six

Shadows in the Night

Joey elbowed Charlie out of the way so he could admire his reflection in the hall mirror. “Perfect,” he declared.

“Oh, yeah?” Charlie made a grab for his brother’s hair. “Yuck!” He pulled his hand back in disgust. “What did you do, use half a tube of gel?”

“Hey, watch it.” Joey patted his hair back into place.

“Joseph Bradford, did you use my styling gel again?” Laura Bradford stood in the living-room doorway watching her sons preen in front of the mirror. “I told you not to use my stuff without asking.”

“But, Mom, I want to look good. Charlie and I have a double date.”

“Double date!” Charlie shrieked. “This is not a double date, buddy boy. I’m only taking you because Mom…”

“Charlie, that’s enough.”

Charlie scowled at his younger brother. “You bug me, Joey. B, double U, G, B-Uh-G.”

Joey glared back at him.

“Joey,” explained his mother with a straight face, “it would only be a double date if you were taking someone as well. But you’re not. You’re just going with Charlie and Lisa.”

Joey thought it over.

“So when I get a girlfriend, Charlie and I can go to the movies together and that would be a double date, right?” He eyed his brother angelically.

“The odds on you and me double dating are a zillion-to-one,” said Charlie.

“Good, then I won’t have to watch you slobber over some yucky girl.”

Charlie lunged at him, but Joey was too quick. He dashed around and hid behind his mother. Charlie pulled up short. He might be taller than his mother, but he wasn’t dumb enough to run her down, even to get at Joey.

“Joey, why don’t you run ahead and call on Lisa,” said his mother. “I want to talk to your brother for a minute.”

She fixed her gaze on Charlie, locking him in place until Joey was safely out the front door. “I know Joey’s a little hard to tolerate sometimes…I appreciate you taking him to the show tonight.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “This is for helping me around the house.”

“Thanks. I’m kind of low on cash.” Charlie pocketed the money and followed his mother into the living room, where she had a cup of tea and the newspaper ready and waiting on the table beside the couch.

She plunked herself down with a sigh. “I really need a couple of hours to myself.”

“Does that mean we don’t have to hurry home after the movie?” asked Charlie hopefully.

His mother laughed and stretched in luxurious anticipation of a quiet evening. “I don’t suppose it’s Joey’s company you’re interested in, is it?”

Charlie flushed. “How do I look?”

“Fine,” said his mother, “except for your collar. It’s turned over.”

Carlie reached for the back of his cotton shirt.

“Here, let me.”

He bent down so his mother could fuss over him. She gave him a kiss and a pat on the cheek. “You look very nice.”

Charlie straightened up and checked the clock on the mantel. He should ask her now, while they had a few minutes alone.

“Mom, did Grampa ever talk to you about a gold mine he was involved with after the war?”

She reached for her tea and took a sip. “You mean Treasure Creek? You know, I’d forgotten all about it. Dad hadn’t mentioned it in years.” She eyed her son. “How did you find out about it?”

Charlie shifted uneasily. “Jack Weir.”

“Weirdo? I didn’t even know he was still alive.” His mother put her tea down and sat at attention. “How do you know him?”

Charlie explained how he and Lisa had found the mysterious entry in his grandfather’s diary about a meeting with Weirdo, and how they’d gone to see him that morning.

“And? What did he tell you?”

“Not much,” Charlie admitted. “Most of the time he was just reminiscing. About the war and that kind of stuff. What did he fight with Grampa about? Do you know?”

“Money,” said his mother. “What else?” She reached for her tea again. “Apparently Weirdo was pushing for a bank loan. Dad was assistant manager of the bank and he refused to sign for it. In those days it cost more to get the gold out of the ground than it was worth.”

“Oh.” Charlie waited. “That’s it?”

“End of story,” said his mother. “As far as I know, the mine was abandoned years ago. Long before I was even born.” She put her cup down and reached for the newspaper.

“What about the shares?” Charlie persisted. “Did Grampa leave them to you in his will?”

“They weren’t even mentioned.”

“Then what happened to them?”

“For heaven’s sake, Charlie.” His mother crumpled the newspaper in exasperation. “Those old shares are the last thing on my mind at the moment.” She glanced at the clock. “Hadn’t you better get going? The show starts at seven.”

Charlie headed for the door.

“Oh, and Charlie?”

“Yeah?” He turned back towards his mother.

“Make sure your brother doesn’t eat too much junk, okay? The last thing I need is to have him up all night with a stomach ache.”

She snapped the newspaper open and scanned the business page of
The Colville Times.
Someone had underlined an article in red ink. It wasn’t hard to guess who. Charlie had wanted her to see it. Written across the top of the page in bold letters:

“The price of gold is at an all-time high!”

The car’s lights cut a diagonal path across Joey’s ceiling then disappeared into the night. He burrowed deeper into his blankets and closed his eyes. Something had woken him up, but he couldn’t remember what it was.

There it was again. A little squeak like the sound of the chair in his grandfather’s study. Someone was wandering around the house.

Joey’s eyes popped open. Maybe it was his grandfather’s ghost!