The Adventures of Dr. Fleaglebeak

The weather was nasty that day, very nasty, but Esther was going anyway. There was an estate sale in one of the more fashionable and wealthy areas of town and she was going to be there. Esther loves those sales and attends them on a regular basis. She especially likes the ones in the wealthier areas. Better chance of getting good books, she says. Besides, she just loves nosing around in other people's business. She spent several years as an investigator, she=s never lost the urge to check things out. She had planned to get there in time to view the items to be auctioned off, before hand. However, the weather did not cooperate and she missed the viewing, she got there just as the bidding was starting on the first item. So, she bought the box of books not having idea what might be in it. She and another guy were the only bidders n the box of books. He kept raising the bid. Why did he want that box of books so badly? She was certainly going to find out. She finally out bid him after fifteen minutes of heated bidding. He got up and left by a side door immediately after the bidding was over. Esther watched with amusement as he departed.

A few minutes later after paying for and picking up her box of books Esther noticed the man who had been bidding against her. There he was about half way down the street, he was leaning up against a car with a cigarette in his hand. Esther loaded the box of books into her car and got in. Esther eyed him suspiciously in her rearview mirror. Why did he want that box of books and why was he still here after being out bid? He was probably just another collector hunting for a gem in a box of rocks. He could not have known how Esther hated to be out bid at an auction.

That night with the contents of the box spread out on the floor, Esther figured that she had managed to buy a pretty much worthless box of books. She hates it when that happens, puts her in a bad mood for the rest of the day. She was staring at the contents of the box when I walked into the room.

"Anything good?" I asked.

"Not that I can see. I think that this trip was a bust, I can't understand why that guy was bidding so hard for the box. It's mostly dogeared paperbacks."

"Probably because he was just like you are and hates to be out bid."

Esther smirked.

"Let's see what we've got."

We spent the next hour going through the books.

We were just about finished when Esther pulled a small leather bound volume out of the bottom of the box. It was obvious that the books was in good shape, it was less obvious just how old the book was. Esther opened the cover, looked at the title page and handed the book to me. "Look at this," she said.

"What is it?"

"If I didn't know better I'd say it was a pristine first edition of Simon Buford's first book, The Powder River Plan, but I haven't heard of one of his books being around for years."

"Let me take a look. It certainly looks like that is what it is, and you thought the trip today was a bust."

"Can you tell for sure?"

"No, we are going to need some help with this one."

"So who do we take it to that won=t try and mess with us?"

"I think that our best bet is to talk to Willard, he has been collecting and trading rare books for a long time."

"Is he still at the university?" Esther asked.

"Yes, I don't think that he will ever retire. I'll call him tomorrow and make an appointment to see him. He should be able to tell us if this is authentic or not and if it is, how much it might be worth."

"You don't really think that you need an appointment to see him, do you?"

"No, of course not, but it helps to make sure he has enough time."

"I think that we ought to lock it up in the front case until then."

Simon Buford was a turn of the century author who had only written a half dozen books, but was immensely popular. This didn=t happen until well after his death when his writing developed a cult following of sorts. So, consequently, his books are very rare, even more so it you find one that is in good condition. He wrote historical novels with a style that could almost transport the reader to the time and place of the story. No one was much interested in his work at the time he wrote it. In fact, there was so little interest he was forced to publish the books himself to get them in print. This was no problem for him, he had more money than anything else. The self publishing explains why there were so few copies produced in the first place. He most likely gave most of them away rather than sell them. The copies that were printed were exquisite, he spared no cost when it came to the production of his books. All of them were leather bound and hand stitched with gold embossed printing on the covers, the pages were gilt edged. The book that Esther held in her hand certainly looked like the real thing.
Dr. Willard Ketz was one of my colleagues at the university. He is an English Professor, with more than just a passing interest in rare and hard to find books. I took the book and went to see him two days later. I could see the excitement in his face as I set down across the desk from him.

"So what have you got there Eleanore?"

Handing the book across the desk to him I said, "I was hoping you could tell me, Willard."

He took the book and ran his hands over it leather cover and savored the quality and softness of the leather. He opened the book and spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes slowly turning pages and getting lost in the book's world. He was definitely caught up in the magic and had entered another world. He closed the book and asked, 'Where did you get this?"

"Esther got it at an estate sale a couple of days ago. It was in a box of books that she bought sight unseen."

"Amazing."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, I believe this is an original Buford and it is in almost perfect condition. I haven=t heard about one of these being in circulation in a long time."

"That was my thought too."

"I think that you need to get this book appraised by a professional."

"I thought that=s what you were."

"According to the trade I'm just an amateur collector. Besides, I've never even seen an original Buford before."

"How much do you think the book is worth?"

"I would not even hazard a guess Eleanore, but I will say I believe that it is worth more than anything else either one of us has ever owned. Esther hit paid dirt this time."

I could hardly hide my glee and had trouble staying in my chair I was so excited. I wanted to jump up and grab Willard and give him a big hug, but that wasn't a good idea so I said, "I thought so too."

"Get it appraised Eleanore, I'm positive you=ve got a real treasure there."

"I will, Willard, and thanks for looking at it. I'm going to start checking with appraisers first thing tomorrow."

"Anytime, that is the only time that I get to see you anymore, you're so busy with the store these days."

"I know, it never stops, but we do love the store."

"Be sure to let me know what you find out."

"I'll call you as soon as I hear something."

"Good."

That afternoon after leaving campus I returned to the store and placed the book in the locking bookcase. I did not want anything to happen to it, like getting mixed up with any of the other books before I could arrange to have it appraised. Esther came up from the basement just as I was locking the book up in the bookcase.

"Well, what did Willard say?" She was almost jumping up and down and her eyes had the mischievous gleam to them that they always got when she was excited.

"He said that we need to have it appraised by a professional appraiser."

Esther looked confused and said, "I thought that he was a professional appraiser."

"Well, I guess that he feel that this is out of his league or something."

"Did he say how much he thought it was worth?"

"No, he would not even guess on this one."

"So he thinks that it is authentic?"

"Oh yes, that's why he wouldn't try to place a value on it. It's too rare for him to even try."

"Have you called anyone else yet?"

"No, I just got here, I'll start making some calls tomorrow."

"See I told you that those sales where a good place to find gems. I didn't waste the money I spent on that box of books. That guy that was bidding against me is lucky that he didn=t know what was in the box, he'd still be kicking himself for dropping out of the bidding."

"That's for sure, if he was any kind of collector and had any idea that is no way he would have dropped out."

"None at all, sometimes I get really lucky and then maybe I'm just good. Don't you think?"

"I think that you got lucky this time, and that you are going to keep going to those sales, no matter what."

"You're right and you'd have a good time too, if you would just go to some of them."

"No thanks, nosing around in other people's business is your area not mine."

"Eleanore, you're really missing a lot of fun."

"Yeah, right, Esther."

"Let's lock up and get out of here for the night, we can start in on the book again tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good to me."

"Don't forget to pull the key out of the bookcase door."

I knew the book had potential, but what kind, I had no idea. Potential for problems is what it had. My business partner and best friend Esther Sharpei bought the book in an unseen lot at an estate sale one Saturday. She's always doing something like that, she loves those sales. We have boxes on top of boxes, stored in the basement that we have used one or two books out of and the rest are just sitting there. Before I get into my story, I guess that I should back up and make some introductions.

My name is Dr. Eleanore Fleaglebeak, I=m a history professor, now retired with more than a passing interest in books of any kind. I=d been working for a good many years before it dawned on me one day that I could be doing something that I really liked. History is what I like. I more or less fell head first into a job at my own school just as I was finishing up my Master's Degree.

By the time I finished my doctoral studies, I was firmly ensconced at the university, so I stayed and had a wonderful time. These weren't always easy times, Esther helped a lot, we were closer than most sisters. We were always passing what money we had back and forth between the two of us. We share just about everything the good and the bad. She pushed me when I wanted to throw up my hands in surrender and later I returned the favor. We even had our kids at the same time, Esther's son being just six month younger than my daughter. They pretty much grew up together, often in the same house. It was always more economical that way, we had to depend on each other back then.

Esther is a law enforcement veteran of over twenty years and spent all of her time with the local sheriff department. She shares my interest in books, albeit out tastes have always been quite different ( this creates a rather large library between the two of us). Esther has always been interested in what makes people tick and she reads some really strange stuff sometimes.

Esther and I have been friends for more than thirty years. We went to school together starting in the seventh grade. We=ve been through a lot together in that time.

Neither one of us has very good luck with men and I have managed to stay single over the years. I think this is because I watched the horrible effects of a bad marriage. Esther went through two.

She'll tell you that she thinks my decision not to get married was a smart move. It wasn't until well after the second one ended that Esther realized that she ought to do something about her job situation, like find another line of work. Soon, she decided that she needed some kind of education to get herself a decent job. She had really grown tired of working for next to nothing tending bar and waiting tables. One semester and she was hooked. She discovered a passion for learning that she never knew she had. Seven years and several student loans later, she walked across the stage to receive her degree. This was something no one in here immediate family had ever done. I, of course, was the leader of her cheering section that day. By coincidence her job at the sheriff department started the same week she graduated. Graduate School was a natural progression, after a year at the department she started working on her Master's Degree. The people she worked with were her captive and sometimes cooperative subjects for one study or another she did for class. Although the often grumbled and complained about being her subjects, she usually got most of her surveys and questionnaires back. Esther also has a nose for investigation, she loves poking into things. In fact, her last few years at the department were spent doing just that. She had a wonderful time. Little did we know how handy that interest would become later on.

Now Esther and I own and operate our own bookstore, Books-n-Beaks. We planned, dreamed and schemed about this bookstore for years. That dream was always right on the horizon; one you could see, but not quite reach. When our kids were grown we decided that there was no time like the present. Our kids both being bookworms like their mothers heartily agreed with the decision.

Hunting for a place to locate the store was a bit of a pain. We spent weeks going in and out of empty retail buildings. Most of them pretty pathetic, others were downright dangerous. One day we happened on a Afor lease@ sign. We had stopped at one of Esther=s favorite coffee houses for a mid-morning snack. As we were walking back to the car Esther spied the sign, "Let's check this out," she said pointing to the sign.
"I'm sure the place is way out of our price range." Esther was busy writing down the telephone number and said, "It can't hurt for us to just look at it." And look we did.

The place was close to perfect. A little more expensive than we had planned, but we could manage. Esther was absolutely thrilled with the place and I have to admit to being quite impressed myself.

The building is a beautiful old home that has been remodeled into two small retail stores. Both stores have huge bay windows in the front. We fixed ours up as a window seat with big soft cushions just right for comfortable reading. Two red maple trees in the front of the building provide shade in the summer and tons of leaves in the fall. This provides an after school job for kids in the area. We both hated to rake leaves.
There is an antique store next door and the two stores share a common basement area. Or half is full of boxes of books, most of them from Esther's trips to the estate sales.

The store is located in an area of the city that has recently been redeveloped and refurbished after many years of disinterest and neglect. Several city agencies and the local community worked together on the project. A resurgence of interest in the nearby residential area by young corporate types did not hurt anything either. The residential area is crawling with these young business executives and they are snapping up the homes as quick as they hit the market.
The streets are cobblestone, restored by using what was left of the original stones as a guide. There are replicas of gas street lights up and down the entire business area. Wrought iron benches provide a place to stop and do some people watching or to wait for the bus. Our store is one of two bookstores in the area. The other businesses area comprised of two antique shops, several coffee houses, various theme restaurants, a craft store, two needlecraft shops and one small theater.

We spent several weeks remodeling the inside of the store to meet our needs. The bookcases were a major project. The had to be special ordered so that we got exactly what we needed and they had to be dark cherry, per Esther. I tried to convince her that a lighter colored wood would brighten the place up. She responded by suggesting that we install two skylights. We installed the skylights. The furniture was easier, overstuffed, chairs, love seats, one couch and lots of ottomans. We picked solid colors in what Esther called "heathered or misted" or some other Martha Stewart type of description. They look just pink, grey and lilac to me. Ceiling fans added that final touch and help keep the air circulating. I vetoed the cappuccino machine; we really had no place to put it. Besides I think that Esther drinks far too much of that stuff anyway. We still have to talk about it every once in a while, she hasn't quite given up yet. Outside, an old fashioned hand lettered sign announces the location of Books-n-Beaks. Esther got quite a deal on that sign; someone she knew from school was an artist trying to get established and offered to make the sign for us for a reasonable amount.

We soon discovered that we were not the only residents in the store. Watson was there when we were trying to move in. Watson is the resident mouse, and one of three resident house pets. Since I=m rather fond of mice and he wasn't the least bit afraid of us, I got him a house (don't say cage around him!) and he promptly moved in. His house is a very close replica of the store, done by the same person who designed our sign.

Actually, Herkimier and Heloise discovered him, he had ventured out to see what all of the commotion was about. He was not the least bit perturbed by the fact that his welcoming committee happened to be two very large cats and they acted like he was one of them, go figure! Watson has been known to startle more than one customer, but the regulars are all used to him now. He will often ride around on my shoulder and observe the activities of the store from there, but he tends to spend most of his time in his house which sits on the front counter. Herkimier and Heloise, Esther's Blue Russian/Alley cat mixes are the official store patrol and escorts. They are also all around busy bodies, nothing is sacred in the store, it=s all their territory. They are very large cats, with beautiful blue/grey fur and big bright yellow eyes. Esther rescued them from the pound. She had gone to get a kitten and came back with those two. She found them so entertaining and lovable that she did not look any further. They are brother and sister and she could not bear to separate them, so she adopted them both. They had already been spayed, neutered and declawed so they were perfect, she wanted inside pets. She used to haul them back and forth to the store every day, because we spent so much of our time at the store. They liked the place so well that we decided that they should just stay there. A room in the basement is fixed up for them, but they seldom use it, it's much more fun to be upstairs in the store. She also brought home a six month supply of my allergy medicine, yes I'm allergic to them, but thank goodness it's not severe. They are a wonderfully entertaining pair and the customers all love them. Herkimier and Heloise often sleep on the front counter by Watson and he has been known to nap curled up in the fur of one cat or the other.

They have been known to get into things and places that they do not belong. Herkimier, much to Esther's distress, did a particularly fine job of this one day. One of our regular customers had stopped by the store on her way to the dentist, she had her partial denture in her bag. Herkimier loves bags and had decided that this one needed some investigation. Esther just happened to notice the white napkin in Herkimier's mouth as he ascended a bookcase. Bookcases are not only a wonderful perch to observe from, they are also a great place to stash ill-gotten gains and trinkets.

Fortunately, the customer found the whole incident quite amusing. Soon they were both overcome by fits of laughter. The cats love the store because the love to be around people. Often one or both of them can be found curled up in the lap of a customer who has sat down to peruse a selection. Our regular customers always miss them if they don't show up to greet them when they come in the door.