I wasn’t quite finished with the story I was telling by the time 2025 ended and so decided to continue it until it reached an ending point. Then I will start a new one. Besides, I kind of want to see where Penelope ends up. And so we have…
Day 191: “Speaking of the greenhouse,” Michaelson said. “I had a chance to talk to Peter Sinclair.”
“Speaking of the greenhouse,” Michaelson said. “I had a chance to talk to Peter Sinclair.”
Penelope nodded. “How did that go?” she asked.
“It was,” he paused as though searching for the right word. “Interesting.”
“And interesting things you can share?” Penelope asked.
“Well, you know how he was trying to get something from you?”
“Something Jerome stole?”
“Except that he didn’t actually steal it,” Michaelson said. “From what I can gather Peter was playing poker with Jerome and some others. Peter was holding a charm of some sort for other people. He was very hazy on the details of the charm and what it did. I suspect it was something illegal but have no proof and he was not providing details.”
“I suppose providing details of an illegal charm isn’t smart,” Penelope said.
“Probably not,” Michaelson agreed. “However, as the game progressed, Peter felt he had a winning hand. It caused him to bet in ever increasing amounts and at some point, the pot became too high for his pocket so he added the charm to make up the balance.”
“He bet with someone else’s property?” Penelope asked.
“He was certain he wouldn’t lose,” Michaelson said.
“Still, it seems a bit risky,” Penelope added.
“From what we’ve learned Sinclair seems to be a chronic gambler and most of his gambles don’t pay off. He owes quite a lot of money to a lot of people.”
“And they gave him this charm to hold? That seems rather stupid then.”
“The debts came later. At that point it was known that he enjoyed the occasional card game but he hadn’t yet incurred debts,” Michaelson said. “He lost the bet, Jerome won and claimed the charm as part of the prize.”
“So he didn’t steal it, he won it?” Penelope said.
“You see it that way and I see it that way. I suspect everyone involved other than Sinclair sees it that way as well. Peter Sinclair claims Jerome cheated. Therefore, he told everyone it was stolen and in truth fully believes it was stolen now.”
“He seemed pretty convinced,” Penelope replied thinking of Peter as she saw him in the greenhouse.
“He is convinced,” Michaelson said with a nod. “He is also convinced that if he retrieves the charm then his world will go back to the way it was before.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he considers the card game the start of his losing streak. He seems to think the streak will break if he gets the charm back. Also, since he lost the charm, he has more or less been shunned by the people who asked him to hold it for them. He believes that retrieving the charm and returning it to them will fix that.”
Penelope frowned.
Ten til Midnight 