Death at the Door Read Online Free PDF Page B

were up here and I’ve made this French toast several times. It never tastes as good as it does here,” Ann said as she handed her menu to the waitress.
    â€œJust the fact that someone else cooks it makes it taste better to me.” Lacey looked around the room at all the vacationers.
    â€œCan you tell me about the case you and Joel are working on?”
    â€œA string of burglaries. We’ve been here with an evidence team since last Wednesday working our asses off. People have started coming up to open their homes for the summer. So far twenty-one summerhouses have been broken into and several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of antiques and high-end collectibles have been stolen.”
    â€œSeveral hundred thousand? Did I hear you right?”
    â€œYou sure did. Who would have thought there was that much loot up here in rustic Door County?”
    â€œI thought you and Joel worked homicide cases.”
    â€œThat’s usually what we do. I worked a homicide up here last winter and got to know Sheriff Skewski pretty well. When the burglaries were reported, he called me. Our boss sent us to help out since I already know the area. Unfortunately, I don’t know a lot about what’s been stolen. I’ve talked with some of the insurance companies involved and they are thinking about hiring an investigator who specializes in thefts like this to try and recover the stuff. Meanwhile I need a crash course in antiques and collectibles.”
    â€œI’m your girl.”
    Lacey pulled a notebook out of her purse and flipped though the pages. “Let’s start with something you know a lot about, carnival glass. A Mr. and Mrs. Johansen from here in Fish Creek had $343,000 worth of carnival glass stolen.”
    Ann’s mouth gaped open in shock. “They lost $343,000 worth of carnival glass? They must have an enormous house to keep that many pieces. We’re approaching two hundred pieces and it feels like we’re a little out of control. Our entire collection isn’t worth anywhere near that kind of money.”
    â€œIt was sixty-three pieces.” Lacey pulled a typed list from the back of her notebook and slid it across the table to Ann.
    Ann scanned the list. “I’ve never even seen most of these pieces. An aqua opalescent Acorn Burr punch bowl and twelve punch cups valued at $69,000; an aqua opalescent Peacock at the Fountain punch bowl and sixteen cups valued at $61,000; a blue Peacock at the Urn ice cream bowl, $31,000; a white Strawberry plate, $23,000; a green Trout and Fly plate, $20,000; two red Stag and Holly plates, $7,000; an aqua opalescent Wide Panel epergne, $28,000; an amethyst Gay Nineties pitcher and eight tumblers, $17,500; an amethyst Inverted Feather pitcher and eight tumblers, $11,5000; and a green Frolicking Bear pitcher and eight tumblers for $76,000. My God, where did they get these pieces, a museum?” She looked over at Lacey. “Are you sure they actually had them and didn’t just make up this list?”
    â€œThey had them insured and they also have a time-and-date-stamped video showing all the pieces in their house in Fish Creek.” Lacey shoved her notebook out of the way so the waitress could deliver their French toast. They took a few minutes to dig into their breakfast.
    â€œI still can’t believe that kind of carnival glass was up here in a summerhouse!”
    â€œYou’d be surprised what’s up here.” Lacey swallowed a bite of French toast. “You’re right, this is delicious. I can hardly cook but I’m going to get a cookbook before I leave. If mine tastes half as good as this, it’ll be wonderful. What can you tell me about carnival glass?”
    â€œIt was made from 1905 until around 1930 in the U.S. as well as five or six other countries. It was designed as a kind of poor man’s Tiffany glass.”
    â€œMy parents had a few pieces but I knew nothing about it prior to