Chapter 10

After they got back from Montgomery, Megan was waiting at Harold's shop. She was quite surprised to find Edmond and Persephone landing a King Air A90 Turbo Beech at Sharpe Field.

"Violet is so mad at you," she was speaking to Seph.

"I don't know why ... we bought our ticket ... like she said we would." Ed answered instead.

"Well ... someone ... who we suspect has the initials, PH and EH, bought 99 additional tickets and gave them away."

"This would be untrue," said Seph.

"Yeah ... we gave away all one hundred tickets. One went to the Gypsies' at home and the rest we passed out on the street ... all except one. We gave the last one to Harold."

Harold nodded.

"Speaking about Harold," she turned to look at him. "Where's the people who own the boat? You called, Harold. Where have you hidden them?"

Harold indicated the possessors were Seph and Ed ... pointed in their direction, anyway. It wasn't his fault it took Megan a couple of minutes to figure out that there wasn't anyone hiding in the shadows behind them.

"You?? You own the boat?"

"Ayup," said Ed. "We own the monster and we don't want it. You offered 14 million for it. We won't stand for that."

"I could go 15 ... although that's stretching it." Megan suddenly smiled. "Thank you, Pyewacket. My cat said we could go back to New Orleans and win some more."

"Here's what we'll take ... seven in debit cards and a new Beneteau Oceanis 34 ... with a trailer, toter and wide load banners. At the marina in Pentwater." Ed paused..."Cat?"

"She's a mind melder." Megan laughed, "Meddler fits too. Oh, Pye ... don't get upset ... we love you."

"Oh ... we want the boat named "Vellamo" painted on the stern only and painted eyes on both sides of the bow," Ed explained. Right at this moment a mindreading cat was a little much.

"Oh heck ... you can have it ... just get us the boat, trailer, toter and wide load signs. We really don't want a boat that big ... we already traded a Baltic Ocean Racer for a Baltic 50 ... and that's still too big." Seph was trying to make sense of it all. "Ed's the only one who sailed before."

Ed said, "Yeah, and that was a homebuilt plywood19 foot Lightning ... damn thing weighed a ton ... like sailing a lead weight."

The girls laughed.

"No really, the plans said 1/4 inch marine plywood. I thought that was kinda thin so I used half." He grinned, "Damn heavy boat ... slow."

"So ... you're just going to give it to me?"

"If Seph wants you to have it ... it's yours. Let me find the title." Ed headed for the Van. "They're in one of the chests."

"Which one?" asked Seph.

"Damned if I know ... one of them."

"You mean, we're going to have to look in the chests? Finally?"

"How long has it been? Six months?"

"Since I found the coin sets? Just about ... how time does fly."

They had parked the Dodge in the hangar towards the opposite side from the boat. Ed fired it up and drove over to the long workbench. He shut down and opened the double doors at the back. They started unloading the assorted bags, boxes and crates so they could get at the trunks. The chests weren't in the trunks ... the chests were under the plywood the trunks were sitting on.

Everything was piled neatly when they finally got to the plywood. Ed pulled out a chest, took it to the bench and asked, "Seph? The keys?"

"I have them?" She was only slightly dumbfounded. "I thought you had them?"

"I put them in your bag before we left ... and forgot about it."

Seph fumbled through her voluminous catch-all humorously referred to as her 'bag.' It was, you know ... a bag. Once upon a time, it had been home to 25 pounds of fancy basamatti rice.

One of the things they did on their honeymoon; they went shopping for a 'different' rice. Lansing had an Indian supermarket ... the place smelled marvelous.

Rice took up an entire 20 feet of shelf space ... from top to bottom ... big bags, little bags, bags in between. Bags of yellow, of lavender and packets green. Plastic bags, burlap bags, canisters and buckets, there was so much rice they almost said 'fuck it.' Enticed by exotic rice they had never heard of, the shelf dazzled them.

In one corner of the very bottom shelf, Seph had discovered a hand painted leather bag of basamatti rice. As prices go, it wasn't the most expensive nor was it the cheapest ... but it was in a leather bag. 'Genuine Hand Tanned Water-buffalo Leather' the label said. It had a brass YYK zipper closure. Imagine that.

"I want this one," Seph told Ed.

"Good choice," piped the clerk, "excellent flavor ... aged three year."