"I'm saying, let me pick something out of your junk, and the safe is yours. Keep it in your family. Pass it along to your son."
He processed that information, and I saw the relief ripple through him and his shining aura. "Are you sure?"
"As sure as I've ever been."
"But aren't you a little bit curious what's in the safe?"
"More than you know," and as I said those words, I briefly closed my eyes, and expanded my consciousness throughout the room, and as I did so, two things made me gasp.
The first was the contents of the safe, which I saw clearly. The second was what I saw resting inside a wooden box deep under a pile of newspapers.
Charlie was watching me curiously. "Are you okay?"
"Er, yes," I said, then patted him on the shoulder. "I would suggest you find a much better place for your safe."
"I will."
"A very safe place."
"You think the contents are valuable?"
I thought of the two old spirits, Charlie's father and grandfather. I thought of Charlie's own son and the unique bond that kept the generations connected. The safe. I also saw in my mind's eye the tightly rolled vellum document that might just be the rarest of all American documents, a document signed by our founding fathers, centuries ago. A document thought to be lost...until now.
Then again, I could be wrong.
Next, I moved through the piles of junk and headed to the far corner of the room. There, I began moving aside old newspapers and magazines, until I finally uncovered an ornately carved box.
I picked it up carefully, my hands trembling.
Slowly, I opened the lid...
Unbelievable.
Inside was another golden medallion. This time, the three roses were cut from brilliant amethysts.
Charlie was looking over my shoulder. "Oh, that. I got it at an estate sale a while back. In Fullerton. Get this, some old guy was murdered by some nut with a crossbow. Anyway, it's gold, I think. Probably worth a lot. I've been keeping it for a rainy day." He paused. "Truth be known, it kind of gives me the creeps. You can have it if you want."
I closed the lid and held out my hand. "Merry Christmas."
But Charlie had other designs on me. He wrapped me in a huge, smothering hug. "Merry Christmas, Ms. Moon!"
Chapter Fifteen
With the box sitting safely on the seat next to me, I had just pulled out of Charlie's mobile home park when my cell rang. It was Fang.
"Merry Christmas," I said.
"That sounds odd coming from a vampire," said Fang.
"Why, because I'm a creature of the night?"
"Something like that."
"I'll remind you that Santa does his best work at night."
"Santa isn't real."
"I thought the same about vampires," I said. "And someone recently told me that if people believe in something hard enough and long enough, it becomes true."