The Case of the Angry Auctioneer (Auction House Mystery Series Book 1) by Sherry Blakeley Read Free Book Online Page B

shakily out of her car, leaving behind her purse, pressed the lock button, and stepped up and into Jimmy’s vehicle. It smelled strongly of some musky male cologne.
    “What the hell took you so long?” he asked.
    “How are you this morning?” Jasper asked.
    Jimmy roared out onto Lincoln Avenue.
    The force of the car slammed her back against the seat. She scrambled for her seatbelt. Jasper realized that she had left her keys locked inside her car. She told Jimmy.
    “Don’t whine,” he said.
    “But I need my car. It’s all I’ve got.”
    Jimmy put in a quick call on his cell phone. "My brilliant stepdaughter locked her keys in her car. Open it for her, will you? Don't worry about it. It's a piece of crap." He tossed his cell on the dash.
    "Thanks. I think."
    "You see a yellow pad in here?”
    “A pad? You mean, like a pillow?”
    “Oh, for Christ’s sake.”
    “There’s no need to swear.”
    Jimmy swerved the SUV over to the curb. The car behind sounded its horn and pulled past. Jimmy yanked off his seatbelt, threw open the door and marched to the back where he retrieved a legal pad from among the packing boxes and paperwork, and brought it back inside. He threw it onto Jasper’s lap. There was an address scrawled across the top page.
    “Thank you.” She was nice to a fault.
    “Don’t be sarcastic, missy. Remember who’s boss here.”
    Jasper started to protest, but Jimmy cut her off. “We’re on our way to a look-see,” he said.
    “Is that like a looky-looky?” Jasper asked, trying for a light-hearted note.
    “Why don’t you just be quiet and learn something?”
    “Yessir.”
    Jimmy cut her a look. Even in three-quarter profile, Jimmy’s glares had always cut her down to size. He had aged since she had last seen him. But even with liver spots and thicker glasses over his rheumy blue eyes, Jimmy was still the Man in Charge. He ruled his auction kingdom the way any despot does. Absolutely, with few kind words meted out to anyone in close association – family, employees, auction-goers.
    He explained to Jasper that a look-see was an informal survey of stuff that a potential client wanted to sell on auction.
    “An appraisal?”
    “What?”
    Jasper reached for the radio knob to turn down the volume. Jimmy pushed her hand away. Jasper raised her voice. “A look-see? It’s an appraisal.”
    “No. We’re just gonna look at their stuff and see if there’s anything we want for the auction.”
    “Oh, a pre-auction estimate.” Jasper had heard that term on her CD from the auctioneering college.
    “No.”
    “An evaluation?”
    “Look-see. What’s our address?”
    Jasper studied the handwriting on the pad. “I can’t make it out.”
    Jimmy jerked it out of her hands. “311 Emerson Court. Or 811.” He called the auction house on his phone and soon they pulled up in front of a bungalow at 819 Emerson. “Come on,” he said. He was already out the door.
    “But what do I do? Do I bring the notepad?” Jasper asked. She wiped her palms down her dark slacks.
    “Yeah, bring the pad. Do what I tell you to do. Don’t say anything.”
    Jasper scuffed along the cracked sidewalk toward the squat frame house. She felt about five years old. Was this what having a job felt like? Or was it just working for her stepfather? When she had worked alongside her soon-to-be-ex, she felt old beyond her years. Would she ever feel simply like herself?
    The seven steps leading up to the front door were pink concrete, to Jasper’s delight. The doormat warned about a dog whom she supposed was long departed if there ever had been a pet with vicious tendencies here. She loved visiting other people’s homes. Jimmy took no notice. He raised his hand to knock on the wrought iron and glass door but the interior oak door swung open. A woman with ferocious black hair stuck her head out and barked, “Can I help you?”

Chapter 6
     
    “We’re here to help you,” Jimmy said, turning on the charm. “You look familiar.