Skeleton Keys (on hold)

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Dad pulled the car into a spot in front of an old building, and parked it. Old may have been too kind a description. The place looked deserted and on the verge of being condemned. The brick face was worn, cracked, and even crumbling in some places. A broken sign hung on the front of the building proclaiming 'Brooks' Antiques'. This couldn't be right. Grandpa took so much pride in everything he did. This whole situation just seemed wrong.

"This can't be his store," I said, turning to look at my dad. He wore a sad expression on his face. The crows feet at the corners of his eyes seemed to have deepened since the last time I'd been home. There was more gray in his hair too.

"It-" he started, but stopped himself, looking away from me. "I know the store doesn't look like much, but it's really not what it seems like at all. I can't explain it right now. Let's just go inside and wait for Mr. Ward."

He opened his door and climbed out before I could say anything. I watched him for a moment, as he walked up to the store front. He turned back, waiting for me to get out of the car so he could lock it. I sighed and followed him.

When I'd joined him up by the front door of the store, he pulled a separate set of keys out of his pocket. These were out of date, looking like the keys from an old western jail cell, on a big key ring even. He opened the door, bells chiming overhead as he held it for me.

Stepping into the shop was as bad as I'd feared. The place was packed with old, dusty junk. It was just piled everywhere! There didn't seem to be any sort of organization. Jewelry and nick-knacks littered every flat surface. The furniture was dirty, stained, and some was even broken beyond repair. I eyed one of those horrible Purrbee toy pets that were so popular when I was a kid, looking at me from underneath a mangled bicycle. I really hoped the batteries were good and dead in that thing.

There were little pathways throughout the mess. One headed to the back of the store, while another seemed to meander off to the right somewhere.

Maybe Grandpa had forgotten about this place. It certainly looked abandoned. But...

I turned and bumped into a standing lamp. I caught it before it could fall, but started coughing on the amount of dust I'd set loose in the air.

"Dad, what the hell is this?" I asked after I'd replaced the lamp. "And please don't tell me it's my inheritance."

He frowned at me, debating on whether or not to call me out for using a cuss word, I think. I just glared at him, putting my growing anger into that look. He caved a little.

"I really can't say," he said, and headed off towards the back of the store. Running away from me was more like it.

I wanted to scream in frustration. He was always like this! Couldn't he just talk to me for once, instead of brushing me off?

This wasn't right; Grandpa was a perfectionist. He'd even taught me to organize puzzle pieces by their shape before starting to put the damn thing together! There was no way he'd let a place he owned fall to this level of disrepair. He wouldn't have forgotten about something like this!

The bells on the door behind me rang again as it opened. I turned as Mr. Ward entered, pulling the door shut after him.

"Good morning, Ms. Brooks," he said with a smile. "Is your father here as well?"

I took a deep breath. As much as this whole situation seemed wrong, I'd better at least see what the lawyer had to say. I could argue with my father all I wanted later. "Yes, he headed towards the back."

"Ah, good." He motioned for me to lead the way.

I followed the path towards the back of the shop. It led us straight to an old, musty curtain hanging up across a doorway.