The Key in the Attic by DeAnna Julie Dodson Page B

hunt, if you will.” Sanders grinned, and for a minute he almost looked charming. “Everybody loves a treasure hunt.”
    Annie glanced at Mary Beth, and they both giggled.
    “I suppose they do.” Mary Beth glanced at the little brass key she still held, and then she handed it to Sanders. “I guess you’d better have this too. I don’t need it anymore.”
    “Thanks.” He slipped it into his pocket. “Now, Ms. Brock, tell me about those other pieces you have from this same period.”
    “Not much of anything, I’m afraid. Some china, a mantel clock, an end table. I think the desk was really the nicest one, though the others are pretty enough.”
    He took a business card from his inside jacket pocket. “Next time you decide to sell something, you call me first.”
    “Well …”
    “Promise?” Again he gave Mary Beth his almost-charming smile. “I guarantee you the best prices.”
    Mary Beth took the card, relenting. “ If I decide to sell, I promise I’ll give you a call.”
    “See you soon!” he called as they left the shop.
    ****
    Mary Beth was surprised to find that “soon” for Frank Sanders meant at six thirty the next evening.
    “Mr. Sanders. I really didn’t expect—”
    He squinted a little in the late-day sun as he stood there on her front porch. “I hope you’ll forgive me, Ms. Brock, but I was out this way, and I thought I’d take a chance and see if you might be in.”
    She knew she hadn’t given her address or anything. How in the world—?
    “How did you find me?”
    Sanders looked a little sheepish. “I just looked up your name on the Internet. You were the only one in the area where Bob Kelsey would be doing business. I figured it had to be you.”
    “I see.”
    “So … may I come in? I’d love to see those other pieces you were telling me about yesterday.”
    “Well, I really have plans.” Plans to not let an unexpected stranger into the house. “If I decide to sell any of my things, I’ll make sure to let you know first.”
    “Just for a minute.” He gave her an ingratiating smile. “I wasn’t going to stop, and I know I should have called ahead. I don’t get out this way often, and I just couldn’t help myself. I promise not to keep you.”
    “Well… .”
    “Just for a minute,” he wheedled. “I love the period just before the Civil War, and your desk is such a great example of it. I just want a peek at the other things you have.”
    Mary Beth looked at him for a long minute, and then she exhaled. “Let me just make a quick phone call.”
    “Great. Thanks.”
    She hurried inside and speed-dialed Annie’s number.
    “Hi. It’s Mary Beth. I thought you’d be here by now.”
    Of course, Annie sounded puzzled. “You did?”
    “Yeah, you’re on your way, aren’t you?”
    “What’s going on?”
    Mary Beth smiled and nodded at her unexpected visitor though the screen door. “No, of course we’re not going to cancel, Annie. Mr. Sanders from the shop in Portland just dropped by to see what else I had from my great-great-grandmother. I just figured you were running a little late and wanted you to know there was no hurry.”
    “You mean you want me to come over as soon as I can, right?” There was concern in Annie’s voice. “Are you OK?”
    “Oh sure. I’ll see you in a few minutes then.”

9
    Mary Beth hung up the phone and opened the door for Frank Sanders.
    “I don’t want to spoil your plans.” He smiled, already focused on the end table with the lions on it. “This is great. Judging by the age of it, I’d say you must have gotten this from your great-great-grandmother as well. What would you take for it?”
    “I don’t think I want to sell it right now,” Mary Beth told him. “As I said before, I’ll let you know when I’m ready. If I’m ever ready.”
    He laughed. “You have to excuse me, Ms. Brock. Sometimes I find a piece that just speaks to me. May I move these things off of it?”
    Mary Beth cleared the table for him, and he