Part 1

Chapter One: The Auction Room

Joyce relaxed into her seat in the crowded room. It was so good to get sometime to her self and leave the dig behind. The last couple of months had been a constant battle against time and the construction crews. The auctioneer appeared and the murmur in the saleroom fell to a polite whispering. Joyce shifted in her seat and was able to get a clear view past the substantial man in front of her, she hoped he would stay put for the next hour. On the whole Joyce enjoyed being what the polite would call "petite" and the direct "damn short" but it did present a few problems from time to time.

The heavily bearded auctioneer began a deep practiced singsong chant

"Item one, a highly desirable fine oak chest..."

Joyce drifted; she had always had a fascination for sales, ever since her daddy had taken her to her first one aged four. Although he had passed on two years back she liked to keep up the tradition. Just like her father before her she seldom bought, but loved to watch the buying and buyers, she had no idea why. She remained in this blissful state for some minutes before the large man in front of her realigned his buttocks on the thinly padded seat to ease the numbness. Joyce tutted quietly and squirmed her slight form to regain her view.

"Item fifteen, an exciting one this ladies and gentlemen!"

The auctioneer fabricated, trying to generate some excitement for an item that had no pre-sale bids.

"Reputed to be from the beautiful, but dangerous home of Countess Bathory an ebony handled letter opener"

"Who will start the bidding at $50 for this slice of macabre European history?"

His greedy eyes scanned the room eagerly looking for a bid.

"Come now, at $20, this implement surely sat in that wicked palm"

Again the greedy stare.

"Twenty dollars I am bid, any increase on twenty, going once, twice, sold to the little lady in the forth row"

The bearded man grinned directly at Joyce.

"Number" he queried.

"I'm, sorry" Joyce replied in confusion

"Your bidding number, for the opener" He eyed her in a slightly old-fashioned way.

It suddenly came to her; she had raised her right hand without even realizing, embarrassed Joyce replied.

"Sorry, 378"

Quickly the impatient man noted the number and moved on smoothly to the next item.

Joyce waited patiently in line to collect her unintended purchase. Finally it was her turn.

"378, lot 15" the tall blonde teenaged boy called to his unseen colleague.

A second later a "Jiffy" bag was passed to the uninterested lad

"Twenty bucks, Ma'am" he uttered sliding the packet toward Joyce.

In return she placed a crisp bill in his waiting hand

"Enjoy your purchase" the boy attempted to smile, but failed.

Joyce walked in sunshine back to her downtown apartment, her handbag weighted down by her unwanted purchase. Closing the door behind her she sighed and dropped the jiffy bag unopened on to the hall table. She walked to the kitchen to make an espresso; she obliviously needed something to kick her into the real world.

Chapter Two: Serendipity

Joyce sat upright in bed and gaped at the sunshine streaming in though the green curtains. She'd forgotten to set the alarm! Glancing at the clock only confirmed her suspicion, shit it was 10 O'clock! As the hot water streamed down her body she wondered how she had slept so long. After making her coffee she had walked to the bedroom to change for her customary Sunday night stroll in central park. After stripping she had rested on the bed for a second, just to clear her head - and awoken a full eighteen hours later! Mind you she did feel great this morning, the stinging sports showerhead had certainly worked its magic today.

Wearing her white bathrobe she headed out of the steaming room and headed for the kitchen. Two strong coffees later she was ready to meet the world, and headed back to her bedroom to dress. On the way she noticed the pile of mail, wandered up the hallway and shuffled the pack of letters in her hands. All but one she placed in the "later" rack on the hall table, one unstamped, handwritten letter intrigued her in its thickness. She ran her nail ineffectively along the sealed edge, great! The sender's habit of sealing letters with scotch tape had just torn her remaining long nail. It was hard enough to get her hands to look like a woman's what with the archaeological work, now due to some fool her prize nail was split.

Her hand reached for the jiffy bag and slid out her previous days purchase, she truly loved serendipity. In a flash the contents of the offending envelope sat in her hands. Joyce read the flowing script with some difficulty. "Contained within provenance for lot fifteen; due to a staff oversight this was not supplied with your purchase, sincere apologies, Franklin Howard.

Serendipity wasn't that great after all; she dropped the now uninteresting wad of papers with the rest. Joyce went to put down the opener, but her hand wouldn't let go! In an instant the temperature of the hall seemed to plummet, her breath condensed before her eyes. Then just as quickly, everything was back to normal. The opener clattered to the table unnoticed as Joyce rubbed her goose-pimpled arms aggressively. Feeling as if someone had just walked across her grave she fled to the bedroom to dress. Slipping off her robe she caught sight of herself in the wardrobes mirror, her nipples stood ridgedly erect, larger than she ever remembered seeing them. A cold flush hit her again; quickly she pulled her sweatshirt over her head. Joyce made a mental note to get someone in to check the heating.