looked like a lovesick
teenager. She said, “I’ll buy you a poster if you like, then you can stare at
him before you fall asleep.”
Still
without moving his head, Frankie lifted his phone up towards her and said, “No
need, I’ve got his picture on here.”
Grace
did smile then. The photo was of Frankie standing next to his hero, Sylvester
Sylver. In the photo Frankie had such a big grin on his face that his eyes had closed,
Sylvester smiled like a professional. Grace looked closer. Was there an actual
twinkle radiating off Sylvester’s tooth?
“You’ve
got some unread messages,” Grace pointed out.
“Yeah,
I know. Grace, watch Sylvester. He’s the best auctioneer in this programme. I
think he’s probably the best auctioneer in the world. I can’t believe we met
him! Do you think he’ll be there tomorrow? Do you think he’ll remember me?”
Grace
recalled how star-struck Frankie had been when they’d met Sylvester at an
auction the previous week. “I’m sure he’ll remember you.”
Frankie’s
phone beeped as another message came through.
“You
can’t just ignore your messages, I’ll read them out to you,” Grace said. She took
the phone and tapped the screen.
“No!”
Frankie leant over and ripped the phone from her hands. “Don’t, Grace, please!”
Chapter 2
Grace
studied her brother, the blood had drained from his face. He looked down at his
phone as if it were a messenger of death.
“Frankie,
what is it? What’s going on?”
Frankie
shook his head and tried to smile. “Just an ex-girlfriend, nothing important.”
He
stuffed the phone into his pocket and turned back to the screen. Even the
Hollywood sheen of his favourite auctioneer couldn’t bring the sparkle back in to
his eyes.
Grace
knew he was lying but she wasn’t going to push him. She said, “Tell me more
about Sylvester Sylver. Why has he come to England to do auctions? I wouldn’t
leave California if I were him, look, that storage unit facility is right next
to the beach.”
Frankie
nodded, “I asked him that. When I met him last week. He said he wanted a
challenge, he knew all the buyers in America, he’s been to all the states. He
said he could almost guess what would be in each locker by the state he was
visiting. He told me that he wanted to see the history that England had to
offer, see what treasures could be found.”
“Sounds
like he opened up to you.”
Frankie
gave a proud nod and sat up a bit straighter. “I think we could be friends. Did
I tell you I’m on his email list?”
“You
did. Why does he dress like Elvis Presley? That silver shirt he’s wearing even
has the collar pulled up.”
Frankie
snorted and said, “He looks nothing like Elvis Presley! He’s got his own unique
style.”
Frankie
stuffed the pizza into his mouth, followed by more lager.
Grace
didn’t say another word about Sylvester, but he did look like a silver-haired
Elvis, no matter how much Frankie denied it. She had expected him to burst in to
song when he’d hosted the first auction that they went to.
Thinking
of auctions...
“Frankie,
what did you do with that money?”
“What
money?” Frankie studied the picture on his can of lager.
“That
money that we made from our first locker? The coins that I found? You know,
those old coins that made us £23,000?”
In
an over casual voice Frankie said, “Oh, that money. I’ve got it somewhere.”
Grace
didn’t like the tone of his voice, or how he was looking too intently at his
lager.
“I
hope the money is in the bank, you know we’ve got debts to pay off.”
Frankie waved his hand dismissively, “I’ve got a better idea of how we can use
that money, one that will make us rich.”
Grace’s
heart sank, she was used to Frankie’s dreams of riches, and that’s what they
were – dreams.
“Tell
me what you’ve done with the money,” she said.
Frankie
beamed at her and said, “I’m going to invest it.”
“In
what? Stocks and shares?
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes