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When I do, my voice is rough. "Next time you want to kiss me like that, do it before I"m walking out the door."

16

Josie

"I'm sorry. What did you say your name was?" I pull the phone away from my ear and put the man on speakerphone.

"My name is Dieter Engelmann. I work with the Delmont Auction house," he says. "Your colleague Dr. Mary Zimmer sent me some pictures from your collection. I'm a numismatist—a coin specialist."

"Oh, right!" I remember she seemed fascinated by one coin in particular. "I only took pictures of the ones that looked important," I say. "I mean, the ones in special cases and the like. There are quite a few more at the penthouse."

"I'm very eager to see the rest of your collection. Could I meet you there at your earliest convenience?" Hesoundsvery eager.

"I have an hour or two this afternoon, but not until after five. Or I could meet you Thursday early afternoon. I'd need to be back at the university by four, though. I teach labs in the evening."

"I would be able to meet you this afternoon. Would five-thirty work for you? I'll bring a professional photographer along, and we'll take some pictures. I might be able to give you an idea of the value of your collection—or at least pieces of it."

"I have dinner plans at seven. Can we be done by then?" It wouldn't be the end of the world to miss my evening with Florence, but we agreed on Tuesdays and Fridays at a minimum. I'm sure she'd be fine to get off the hook for the evening, but that was part of our deal. Plus, I enjoy spending time with her.

"We'll do our best. If we're not finished by then, we can come back another time to finish. It'll give us a place to start, at any rate."

Good. The sooner I can sell some of the pieces, the better.I'd like to get the judgment against the place settled as soon as possible. "I'll see you at five-thirty then," I tell him.

When I arrive five minutes early, he and the photographer are already waiting for me. "Come in," I tell them, unlocking the door. It's still strange walking into this place that is—will be—mine. "I'm afraid I don't have refreshments to offer."

"Never mind that," he says, following behind me. Once inside the foyer, he stops dead in his tracks. He looks around at the first floor—the paintings, the sculptures, walls of books.

"Wow."

"The coins, stamps, sports cards, and gems are upstairs in a special room. Let me show you."

When we get to the landing of the second floor, he stops again. "This place is incredible." His eyes are stuck on the east-facing window. The entire wall is glass, and the view of the sunset over Lake Michigan is stunning. After a long moment, he motions to the photographer toward the sunset.

"Of course," the man replies. He glances at me. "Any profit from the photographs we take on your property will be split fifty-fifty with you, ma'am."

That's an interesting thought. I turn back to Mr. Engelmann, motioning for him to follow me down the wide hallway to the first door, and flip the light on.

He digs a pair of gloves out of his bag and pulls them on. "If you have valuable coins here, they need to be handled with the utmost care." He glances at the five coins encased on the wall with an impressed whistle before focusing on the fifteen laid out on the top shelf.

"Jeeves," he says loudly, "five minutes! I'll need you soon." He lowers his voice, his eyes still on the coins before him. "You have quite the collection here, madam."

"You'll find hundreds more in the drawers." I hope their value will be enough to cover the judgment against the property.

He pulls the drawers open carefully, taking a cursory glance at the contents. His brow furrows at what he sees in the second drawer before he closes it. Reaching for the gold coin on the wall, encased in its own glass frame, his hand stops short—almost reverently. He pulls a magnifying glass out of his bag before he turns to me. "May I?" he asks.

"Please." This isn't the one that Dr. Zimmer was fascinated with, but Engelmann appears almost afraid to touch this one, even though it's in a glass case.

"What is it?" Besides the obvious $20 gold eagle coin, it's fairly innocuous.

He gingerly takes it down from its perch and studies it, turning it over and looking at the back. He sets it down on the top shelf. "Jeeves!"

The photographer comes running. "I'm here, Mr. Engelmann."

"I want close-ups of this from all angles. Tell me when you're ready for the back side."

Mr. Engelmann steps back to let the photographer work. "Who is your grandfather, Ms. Mueller?" he asks stiffly.

"Was," I correct him. "His name was Karl Schneider. He passed away recently."