may be a fake?”
“A source says he knows where the real Moon Egg is.”
“A reliable source?”
“I think so, yes.”
“Have you seen this alleged Imperial Egg?”
“Not yet.”
“Nor will you. It does not exist. These are very serious accusations that you are throwing around here, Ms. Slater. I suggest that you be very careful.”
Chapter 45
Olga sat huddled on the side of the worn sofa in her small living room, nervously fingering the pearly buttons on her gray cardigan. Her lined face was troubled as she listened to the earnest pleading of her surrogate grandson.
“Really, Olga. This will be all right. You haven’t done anything wrong. You won’t be in any trouble.”
Olga’s cloudy eyes searched Peter’s young face. What was it like to be so trusting?
“How are you sure I won’t be in trouble?” she asked. “The police are everywhere. Even when you cannot see them.” She wrapped her arms tight around her torso, trying to warm herself in the suddenly cold apartment. This American boy was so naive.
“Olga, I’m not telling you that the police are not everywhere,” Peter answered, undaunted. “It’s a good bet that they are in places and know things we can’t even imagine. I agree with you on that. But what I’m trying to say is that you haven’t done anything wrong, and you don’t have to worry. No one is going to put you in prison or send you into exile because you have the Moon Egg.”
Olga slowly lifted herself from the sofa and slowly made her way to the kitchenette. She switched on the electric burner beneath the tea kettle and opened the fridge, taking out ajar. Peter quickly came to her side.
“Mmm. The caviar! I was hoping you’d have some of this for me!”
Olga smiled as she watched Peter spread the sweet eggplant mixture thickly over slices of white toast. He could never get enough of it. Olga’s mother’s recipe from the Old Country. She loved watching him enjoy it. “I make more eggplant caviar for next time you come. You can bring to school with you.”
As Peter ate, with relish, Olga considered his arguments. Maybe it was time to come forward, she thought. Time to lift away the heavy burden that she had been carrying for as long as she could remember. What would it be like not to live in fear?
“You say this woman from the television can be trusted?”
Peter nodded solemnly, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “I promise, Olga. Farrell is an old friend of Mom’s. She grew up here in Westwood. She works for KEY News now and she’s sure you won’t be in any trouble. She’s in a position where she can find out what’s going on. Somebody paid six million dollars for a fake. That’s not fair.”
Olga smiled ruefully. Ah, Peter was so young. He thought the world was fair.
Suddenly Olga was very tired. Tired of hiding, tired of worrying, tired of covering up the truth. She knew it would not be long before she would pass to the next life. She knew it would be best to go with no unfinished business behind her.
She didn’t have the energy to live with the secret any longer. Perhaps Peter’s coming to her like thiswas a sign, a sign from God to make things right. While there was still time.
“Okay,” she said finally, in her thick accent. Peter looked astonished for a moment. He had actually gotten her to agree! “Okay, Peter, you bring television lady to take pictures of Moon Egg.”
Chapter 46
Farrell gazed out the taxi window as it crawled across midtown. It was lunchtime, and traffic was in its usual miserable state.
Where to go from here?
Without the actual egg as evidence, Farrell could not advance the story. From everything Peter had told her about Olga, the old lady was not about to bring her Fabergé egg in for any sort of inspection by Clifford Montgomery, or any authority figure, for that matter. Olga was terrified of the police. But without authentication, it could well be that it was Olga who had a fake egg.
Authority. The
“A source says he knows where the real Moon Egg is.”
“A reliable source?”
“I think so, yes.”
“Have you seen this alleged Imperial Egg?”
“Not yet.”
“Nor will you. It does not exist. These are very serious accusations that you are throwing around here, Ms. Slater. I suggest that you be very careful.”
Chapter 45
Olga sat huddled on the side of the worn sofa in her small living room, nervously fingering the pearly buttons on her gray cardigan. Her lined face was troubled as she listened to the earnest pleading of her surrogate grandson.
“Really, Olga. This will be all right. You haven’t done anything wrong. You won’t be in any trouble.”
Olga’s cloudy eyes searched Peter’s young face. What was it like to be so trusting?
“How are you sure I won’t be in trouble?” she asked. “The police are everywhere. Even when you cannot see them.” She wrapped her arms tight around her torso, trying to warm herself in the suddenly cold apartment. This American boy was so naive.
“Olga, I’m not telling you that the police are not everywhere,” Peter answered, undaunted. “It’s a good bet that they are in places and know things we can’t even imagine. I agree with you on that. But what I’m trying to say is that you haven’t done anything wrong, and you don’t have to worry. No one is going to put you in prison or send you into exile because you have the Moon Egg.”
Olga slowly lifted herself from the sofa and slowly made her way to the kitchenette. She switched on the electric burner beneath the tea kettle and opened the fridge, taking out ajar. Peter quickly came to her side.
“Mmm. The caviar! I was hoping you’d have some of this for me!”
Olga smiled as she watched Peter spread the sweet eggplant mixture thickly over slices of white toast. He could never get enough of it. Olga’s mother’s recipe from the Old Country. She loved watching him enjoy it. “I make more eggplant caviar for next time you come. You can bring to school with you.”
As Peter ate, with relish, Olga considered his arguments. Maybe it was time to come forward, she thought. Time to lift away the heavy burden that she had been carrying for as long as she could remember. What would it be like not to live in fear?
“You say this woman from the television can be trusted?”
Peter nodded solemnly, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “I promise, Olga. Farrell is an old friend of Mom’s. She grew up here in Westwood. She works for KEY News now and she’s sure you won’t be in any trouble. She’s in a position where she can find out what’s going on. Somebody paid six million dollars for a fake. That’s not fair.”
Olga smiled ruefully. Ah, Peter was so young. He thought the world was fair.
Suddenly Olga was very tired. Tired of hiding, tired of worrying, tired of covering up the truth. She knew it would not be long before she would pass to the next life. She knew it would be best to go with no unfinished business behind her.
She didn’t have the energy to live with the secret any longer. Perhaps Peter’s coming to her like thiswas a sign, a sign from God to make things right. While there was still time.
“Okay,” she said finally, in her thick accent. Peter looked astonished for a moment. He had actually gotten her to agree! “Okay, Peter, you bring television lady to take pictures of Moon Egg.”
Chapter 46
Farrell gazed out the taxi window as it crawled across midtown. It was lunchtime, and traffic was in its usual miserable state.
Where to go from here?
Without the actual egg as evidence, Farrell could not advance the story. From everything Peter had told her about Olga, the old lady was not about to bring her Fabergé egg in for any sort of inspection by Clifford Montgomery, or any authority figure, for that matter. Olga was terrified of the police. But without authentication, it could well be that it was Olga who had a fake egg.
Authority. The
Similar Books
