said, “Let’s start the bidding at ten thousand dollars.”
Russ Timberlaine bid and Tracy smiled. He was, as she’d expected, one of those bidders who both gestured and spoke. He raised his hand and said, “Ten thousand.”
On the other side of the room, Melvin Burdett rose to his feet. His smile was a challenge. “Fifteen,” he said.
There was an audible reaction in the room, a common intake of breath. A five-thousand-dollar jump was by far the largest raise of the afternoon.
Timberlaine scowled.
The auctioneer frowned. “I have a bid of fifteen thousand.”
“Sixteen,” Timberlaine said.
Burdett smiled at him from across the room, turned to the auctioneer and said, “Twenty.”
“Twenty-two.”
“Twenty-five.”
A pause.
“I have twenty-five thousand.”
“Twenty-six.”
“Twenty-seven,” Burdett said promptly.
Another pause.
Timberlaine took a breath. From way across the room, Tracy could see the fire in his eyes. She expected him to bid.
Then he slowly blew it out again. Clamped his lips together.
“I have a bid of twenty-seven thousand,” the auctioneer said. “Do I hear twenty-eight? … Twenty-seven thousand going once … Going twice … Sold to Mr. Burdett for twenty-seven thousand, mark it down.”
Tracy leaned over, grabbed Steve’s arm. “Why’d he let Burdett outbid him?”
Steve shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him.”
“Don’t you know?”
“I would assume Burdett bid higher than Timberlaine was willing to pay.”
Tracy made a face. “That’s obvious. I mean-”
“I know what you mean. The answer is, I don’t know. You can ask him at the break.”
“The break?”
“It’s a long auction. There’s an intermission.”
“Oh.”
Tracy settled back in her seat to see if anything else interesting would happen. Nothing did. Neither Timberlaine nor Burdett bid again, and the rest of the bidding was decidedly lackluster.
At the intermission, Steve and Tracy got up and went out in search of Timberlaine, who had actually slipped out before the end of the bidding. They found him on the patio talking with his daughter.
“I hope we’re not interrupting,” Steve said.
“Not at all,” Timberlaine said. “We were talking about the Mets.”
“Oh. How was the ballgame?” Steve asked.
Carrie made a face. “Terrible.”
Timberlaine smiled. “She says terrible. The Mets won, one nothing. A great pitchers’ duel.”
“Oh, men,” Carrie said. “That’s what Donald said too. Pitchers’ duel. You know what a pitchers’ duel is? It’s a game where nothing happens. Boring, boring, boring.”
Steve and Tracy laughed, and Timberlaine smiled indulgently.
“So,” Timberlaine said. “How do you like the auction?”
Steve pursed his lips judiciously. “It’s a pitchers’ duel.”
Timberlaine laughed. “Glad to see you’ve got a sense of humor. You’re right. It’s been pretty dull.”
“Except for the derringer,” Tracy said. “Hope you don’t mind my asking, but why did you let it get away?”
Timberlaine frowned. “Because it was a no-win situation. That’s the way it is with Burdett. Yeah, I could outbid him, but I get too high, see? I have to pay much more than the gun is worth. See why it’s no-win? I’m either a fool for paying way too much for the gun, or I’m a loser for letting Burdett outbid me.”
“I see,” Tracy said. She frowned. “That’s terrible.”
“Yes, it is,” Timberlaine said. He smiled. “Now you see my problem.”
“Yes, I do,” Tracy said. She looked at him. Frowned again. “But I don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Pardon me, Mr. Timberlaine, but considering Melvin Burdett just outbid you, and considering what you just told me, you don’t seem that upset.”
Timberlaine smiled. “Is that so.” He looked around the patio to see who was in earshot, then leaned in conspiratorially, said, “Well, just between you and me, the auction ain’t over yet.”
11
Tracy Garvin was on the edge of her seat for the second half of the auction. Russ Timberlaine hadn’t said what he meant by the auction not being over yet, but Tracy knew damn well he must have some surprise in store for Melvin Burdett, and the way Timberlaine was acting, she figured it was going to be good.
What that could be in the course of an auction, she had no idea. The only thing that came to mind was Cary Grant making ridiculous bids in the auction in
As the auction progressed, Tracy had no idea. Because a Timberlaine-Burdett confrontation simply did not materialize. In fact, Timberlaine bid on no guns at all. Neither did Burdett, until nearly the end of the auction. That was when the auctioneer announced what sounded like a particularly choice item, a pistol reputed to have been carried by one of the cavalry at the battle of the Little Big Horn. Burdett bid ten thousand and Tracy perked right up. Surely this was the gun where Timberlaine was going to take him on.
Only he didn’t. Mr. Crumbly was the only other bidder. He bid twelve thousand. Burdett came back with fifteen. Crumbly offered sixteen. Burdett bid twenty thousand. Crumbly bid twenty-two, Burdett twenty-five.
Tracy was annoyed. It was the most spirited bidding of the afternoon, but without Timberlaine in the auction it seemed dull.
There was a pause while Crumbly conferred with his wife. Since that was obviously what he was doing, the auctioneer waited, did not prompt.
Crumbly turned back. “Thirty thousand,” he said.
Once again there was a common intake of breath. A five-thousand-dollar jump at that level was somewhat unprecedented. It was to all intents and purposes a close-out bid.
Not to Burdett. “Thirty-one thousand,” he said.
A murmur of voices greeted that bid. Burdett was bidding over and above Crumbly’s close-out?
Crumbly frowned.
The auctioneer repeated the bid, asked if he heard higher, did not, went through the going once, going twice routine and said, “Sold to Mr. Burdett for thirty-one thousand, mark it down.”
Tracy wasn’t watching the auctioneer at the time. Nor was she watching Crumbly, nor Burdett. She was watching Timberlaine.
His face was murderous. Earlier, he’d been angry when Burdett had outbid him for a gun. But that was nothing compared to this. The man was furious.
As the gun was marked down, Timberlaine turned on his heel and stalked out of the grand ballroom.
“What was that all about?” Tracy said.
“Damned if I know,” Steve said.
