Letters From Al by Pieper, Kathleen (i am reading a book txt) 📗

me, they were folded and stuck to some other folders. They date back to God knows when, 1925, I think, when Drake's grandfather ran the firm. Anyway, they indicated she owned over twenty thousand dollars in corporate bearer bonds. She filed this in 1952, acknowledged the interest in subsequent tax years and then all of a sudden, the year she took ill, they disappear from her records." Leland looked upset and frustrated. "I just hope the taxes and such have been kept up."

"These bearer bonds, are they good?" Maddy sat forward expectantly.

"Good? Good is a mild word for it. I wish I owned five hundred dollars worth. If they were bought in 1929, they bought cheap because of the crash. Those bearer bonds have multiplied in value by now. They could be worth a small fortune!"

Alec whistled and looked at Maddy, her father's friend was right. The bonds were still worth something.

"Well, I'm no mathematician, but I can tell you twenty thousand dollars worth of bonds will be six or seven figures today. But what's bad is--"

"What could possibly be bad about six or seven figures or more, Leland?" Maddy said excitedly, her voice high pitched at the thought of no more money worries.

"Let me finish. The bad thing is bearer means just that. Whoever has them can convert them into cash or transferred into common stock. And that means whoever has them can cash them."

The three of them exchanged looks. Alec placed a hand on Maddy's arm.

"So, someone else knows about this then?" Maddy said and sat down, her bubble popped in front of her.

"I don't know. But I used to think she destroyed them, and she might have but look around. She didn't spend anything frivolous on herself. Probably didn't know their worth, especially after they sold or resold the company. Then, she forgot all about them. We just don't know what she did with them. This is very unsettling."

"It might just be an old treasure story, you know, the old widow with wealth hidden under the mattress, especially since she didn't want the money, she might have gotten rid of it." Leland injected and then sighed and waved his hands.

"I lived about here all my life and I never heard any rumors like that, and I heard them all." Alec said and looked at Maddy.

"Well, I have to get home, I'm beat." Leland got up to go, "I'm going to call Jack Drake, her attorney in Omaha, tomorrow. Maybe he knows something. It's probably before his time, he didn't take over the practice until the late 60's, but maybe there are more records."

"Leland, I do appreciate your trying." Maddy extended her hand and he grasped it, smiling.

"It's my pleasure. It's the least I could do for Nielsen's newest citizen. Do be careful until this thing is straightened out. Someone might believe any story having to do with easy money."

Shutting the door behind him, Maddy looked at Alec, even more puzzled than before.

"One minute I'm sure he's in on it and the next one he's trying to help." Alec threw up his hands. "Maybe you're right Maddy and he's just an astute businessman."

"Do you think we should tell him about the Al Capone connection?" She asked tentatively.

"I don't trust him that much yet." Alec replied grimly, but shrugged, "I don't know. Let's wait a little while longer."

"Come on, we've got work to do." Maddy pulled him along.

"Work? What work? What I have in mind wouldn't be considered work, my Love." Pushing and prodding, Maddy made her way to the library and stood in front of a solid paneled wall. Patting the old wood, she smiled at him. "This is it. Start going over every inch of this paneling and see if there's a hidden compartment. It's the only thing we haven't tried." Alec rolled his eyes.

"Maddy, you watch entirely too much TV." But dutifully he started tapping on the polished wood surfaces.

Chapter 13

Maddy awoke the next morning with sore knuckles and the knowledge that Alec had wanted to do more than knock on wood last night. A good jog in the country would help clear her brain as she tried to figure out where they could look for her aunt's missing bonds.

It was already warm for early morning, so she put on shorts and a tee shirt, cinching up her worn running shoes she stretched and got ready to run. Good thing she was running early; later it was going to be really hot. She headed for her favorite trail, the one with softly rolling hills and little farmsteads tucked here and there.

Maddy was so intent on her thoughts she only casually noticed the sound of an engine behind her. She moved closer to the edge and kept up her pace. Only after it passed did she feel apprehensive. Two men in a beat-up old pick-up whistled and shouted, speeding by and leaving her in a cloud of dust. What a mean trick. Closing her eyes against the grit that settled around her, she suddenly saw the brake lights go on and the vehicle back up.

In her haste to get going this morning, she'd forgotten her mace can. The man hanging out the passenger window kept yelling and Maddy whirled and went the opposite way. They turned around and pulled alongside and leered at her.

"Hey, Baby, need a lift? I could go for a girl like you." Vile laughter and comments soon grew more and more suggestive until she panicked and changed direction again. They quickly followed and her stomach rolled with fear, she knew she was in trouble.

Pulling their rattletrap vehicle in front, they expertly blocked her way. Quickly she turned and went the other direction once more but they were too quick for her and blocked any escape route. Bending over to catch her breath, she glared at them and tried to think.

"If you’re thinking of screaming, scream all you want, Missy. There's no one to hear you way out