Chapter 75

Annabel introduced us and then said to her husband, "Let me tell you quickly what is going on."

And then, in the fastest French I have ever heard, which sounded like a-shoo-blah bahn-swah-blah, voo-lez-blah, cush-evec-blah to me, except everything sounded like she was speaking through her nose, Annabel caught Anton up on the story and brought him up to speed.

Anton and Annabel turned to us and smiled.

We all walked into the kitchen.

"Look at the tiles," Anton said. And I did. They were all very light blue except for six large tiles that were paintings of different famous Paris landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, the carousel, the Louvre Museum, etc.

"I will go get my tool kit," Anton said.

“What are we going to do?" Mia asked.

Arthur looked at her. "We’re going to carefully remove the tiles."

"How?"

"Well, I’m gonna take a chisel to the mortar and gently tap the chisel with a hammer until the mortar crumbles."

"Can I do it?"

Arthur winced. "We need to be very careful; this isn’t our house. But you can hold the chisel while I tap the end carefully with a hammer. I could use a good helper."

"Goody! Which one should we do first?"

"This one is a little bit loose," Annabel said, showing us one. It had a tiny spot below the tile where when she brushed the mortar and some of it fell away.

"So why don’t you start here?" Annabel continued. "And considering this is the smallest one..." Then she walked around the large kitchen and placed her forefinger on each decorated tile in size order. "And they get a little bit bigger each one, why don’t we do them in size order, from smallest to largest?"

"What do you think, baby?" Arthur asked me.

"Sounds good to me."

"I have a second set of tools," Anton said, offering me a chisel handle first. "If you ladies want to get started."

Anton looked at me, then Annabel, and back to me again. “The men and a little vegetable gourd could work on the smallest one with the loose mortar while you beautiful madames work on the next size up."

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

"That sounds like a plan to me too. I love this plan. It’s perfect. Let’s get started!" Mia said.

Arthur and Mia set to work on the tiniest tile, chipping away at it with tiny hammer taps and a brush. Annabel and I got to work on the next tile up, which was slightly larger than the first one. With gentle care, we removed more of the mortar around it before Anton passed me an even bigger chisel.

"This is so that when we are ready for the big reveal," he said in his heavy accent, gesturing how I would use the larger tool, "you can use this as... how do you say… leverage against prying off this gorgeous tile, which is a piece of art, from its foundation without causing any damage."

We paid close attention not only to our hand placement but also our speed in order to tap out each stroke cautiously so we wouldn’t break anything or cause too much debris while still managing to remain efficient.

After placing thin towels along the tile edges, careful not to ruin whatever valuable treasure awaited us behind these tiles, Arthur let Mia jiggle the smallest painted tile until, finally, the old mortar crumbled. However, it was still staying in place from the well-made fit.

"Let me remove it. Let me! I want to take it out!" Mia said loudly.

"Okay, pumpkin, but be careful."

Mia removed the tile, and inside was a wooden box small enough to fit in the palm of Mia's hand.

She looked at her dad and then at me. "Can I open it?"

We both nodded.

Mia carefully opened it. We all gathered around her to see what was inside. A few pieces of blue lapis lazuli and four small sapphires.

"Wow," Mia said, fingering the gems. She stared at them for a few minutes before looking at me.

“What’s behind your tile, Mommy?”

"I don’t know." I looked at Annabel. "Let’s find out."

Annabel and I removed the last of the mortar.

"Can I take out that tile too?” Mia asked.

"Sure, sweet girl."

This tile was a little higher, so I had to hold Mia's waist and lift her up. She removed the pretty tile, and behind it was a puzzle box. The puzzle was simple to figure out, with just a few pieces to slide to the side.

When we opened the lid it was clear it was a high-end music box with a dancing ballerina inside.

We continued to work on the tiles. We uncovered a pair of emerald earrings, five gold bracelets, a ruby necklace, and a diamond tiara.

Finally, it was time for the largest tile.

The four adults worked on it while Mia pretended to be a construction worker supervisor.

I carefully removed the tile, and behind it was a box about the size of my laptop case.

I handed it to Annabel. "It’s your house; do you want to do the honors?"

There was a wooden puzzle on the front of the box that needed to be solved first before the exquisite mahogany-colored box could be unlocked.

We all worked together to get it finished quickly. Then Annabel opened the lid.

"It’s a bunch of photographs," Mia said.

"It is," I said, "and some papers."

Annabel looked at the papers. "Deeds to land, birth certificates, death certificates. These are important."

In the corner was a tiny black jewelry box. Arthur grabbed and turned it so the opening faced me.

I lifted the lid. It was the most beautiful antique diamond engagement ring I had ever seen.

"I think we found Wayne’s treasure," Arthur said.

"All of these things are treasures," Anton said.

"They all belong to me because it’s my house," Annabel said.

We all stopped and stared at her.

"Just kidding. These are obviously family heirlooms and should go back to the duchess."

"I will write you a receipt for all the items so you have a record of what was taken," Arthur said. "And you can double-check with the duchess as she gets it all later in the week."

"We trust you," Annabel said.

I realized how lucky we were that Arthur knew her. Again, Arthur's connections saved the day.

Anton loaded everything into a large shopping bag while Arthur drew up a note about what we were taking. We said our goodbyes and left.

We walked to a busy corner until we found a taxi.

"Now, where are we going?" Mia asked.

"We’re going to where Wayne’s grandmother lives," Arthur said. "Wayne said she bought a smaller home after she sold the château, but recently she moved into an assisted living facility because she needs daily help."

After we returned all the treasures to Wayne’s grandmother, except for the engagement ring, which Arthur promised to deliver to Wayne, we went to lunch at a casual restaurant located on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.

While we enjoyed the beautiful panoramic view, Arthur told us what he had planned for the afternoon.

"We’re going to the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium. There’s an early hockey game, and I’m very interested in this team called François Volants de Paris."

"That sounds funny when you say it," Mia said.

"Well, hopefully, it won’t look funny when we see them. There’s one player in particular who I want to watch in action. If he plays as well as his reputation and has the maturity off the ice that I think he has, he may be the key to us starting a winning streak.”

“Arthur, that’s so exciting.”

“He’s a big guy, tough and fast. We’ll see him play and then decide.”

“Yay! Is he going to throw the other players up against the glass like the last game we saw?”

"I don’t know, pumpkin. But we’re going to find out."