Treasure Sleuth by Amy Shaw Read Free Book Online Page B

sat in silence, her eyes welling up. She opened her mouth to speak but her brain shut down and she just sighed.
    Mark continued. "This was for your eyes only. Not your Mum's, she has her passion. Not your Dads and certainly not your hair brained relatives who only care about themselves and money. This is for you because I think your Grandpa believed in you and thought this might stir something inside you. So yes, it's your decision Abby."
    It was too much. Abby began to cry. Mark immediately stepped forward and leaned into her putting his arms around her body and his hand up to cradle her head. She put her arm around his waist and held it there and absorbed the moment.
    "Do you really think that coin is worth as much as the lighthouse?" she softly asked, pulling away and looking into his deep soulful brown eyes.
    "I'm not sure, but it could be close."
    "I thought we'd need a whole bag of them, I've never heard of a single coin being worth more than a thousand or so."
    Mark shook his head slowly. "This coin is not like other coins. It's an Edward III Gold Double Florin. Mega rare. Known as a Double Leopard, it was issued in 1343."
    Mark put the writing book back down on the desk and picked up the gold coin. Looking at it pinched between his finger and thumb, he said, "There are only two others known and both of those are in the British Museum. I could imagine a few people wanting to get their hands on this."
    "What do you think it's worth?"
    "Hard to say for sure. Maybe somewhere in the region of three hundred thousand. Maybe three fifty."
    "Dollars?"
    "Pounds."
    "You're kidding? For one coin."
    "What's the guide price on this place?"
    "Four hundred thousand pounds."
    "Have there been any interested parties that you know of?"
    "A few. Mainly locals. But it doesn't matter because I can just tell my Mom to pull the listing. If you think we should sell the coin, she can use the money from that and I get to keep the lighthouse."
    "Yes that's true." Mark thought for a moment. "Tell me about your Mum's brothers and sisters. If they found out what was in here, and your Grandpas secrets, would they try and contest the will?"
    "What, you mean if they found out Grandpa left Mom a lighthouse which contained a four hundred thousand dollar coin?"
    "Pounds. Four hundred thousand pound coin."
    "That's like six, or seven hundred thousand dollars then? Yeah, they'd go crazy."
    "Not to mention what's in the safes."
    "Oh my goodness. What is in the safes?" Abby asked, her eyes widening.
    "Probably best you didn't know at this stage."
    "I don't get why we can't just stop the sale and transfer the lighthouse into my name and sell the coin and transfer the money to mom."
    "Because of your uncles and aunts. They might be watching the auction and will see that it's been cancelled."
    Abby nodded, "Then they'll assume Mom wanted to keep it after all."
    "Yes, and then they'll see that not only has your Mum not lost her rescue center, but that she somehow managed to have a new rehabilitation room built. They might just get curious and wonder if anything of value was in this lighthouse that they didn't know about."
    "And if it's in my Mom's name, or even mine, they could come and surprise visit anytime I guess."
    "Right. So better to let the sale go ahead and buy it back under a different name. Keep it separate. Keep it hidden."
    "Okay. But doesn't my Mom need to be on the paperwork."
    "Not your mum. You."
    "Me?"
    "Sure. You could sell all of this, the lighthouse and the coin and take all the money back with you. Or you could use the coin to buy the lighthouse, send money to your mum and you get to keep the lighthouse. It's all your decision remember. Keep it only if you feel a sense of calling or if you want to come back to England for a holiday. You fancy another drink?"
    "I fancy some air."
    As they got up to leave the underground room, Abby stopped and looked back at the row of metal detectors that belonged to her Grandpa.
    "Will you show me how to use