NORTH ANDOVER — Sarah Murray spotted the money as soon as she pulled her car into the parking lot at Panera Bread in North Andover.
There it was, under a car, a big stack of bills.
Murray, 23, a substitute teacher from Salem, stops at the Route 114 Panera twice a week for coffee on her way to Lawrence, where she tutors in an after-school program.
Last Tuesday, she jumped out of the car, picked up the money and started counting it: $380 in $20 bills. She asked a woman sitting in a car nearby if it belonged to her. It didn't.
"You're so lucky," the woman said.
Murray told her she couldn't keep it.
"You're never going to find the person now," the woman said.
Murray dashed into Panera for the coffee and upon exiting saw another $20 bill on the pavement. Now she had $400.
"I figured that could be somebody's rent money, or somebody's grocery money," she said. "It was enough money that (losing it) could really mess somebody up."
Murray had to get to Lawrence but called her parents along the way for advice. What should she do? Where should she start?
Both parents, who live in Brockton, agreed with their daughter's first instinct: Don't hand the money over to a store clerk. Instead, check with all the stores in that strip mall to see if somebody reported it missing.
As soon as she got home that night, Murray started making phone calls. After several tries, she got a hit at Panera. A man had come in saying he lost a lot of money. He left his name and phone number.
Meanwhile, in Andover, Dan O'Toole had just about given up hope when the phone rang that night. He was putting his three daughters to bed, so he let it go to the answering machine.
When he finally played the message, he heard a young woman's voice: "I think I found your money."
It was a huge relief for the 37-year-old entertainment research professional who had spent half the day frantically searching for the lost money.
Shortly after 2 p.m., O'Toole had taken $400 out of an automatic teller machine to pay back his brother, who was recently laid off and had bought shelving and other supplies to help O'Toole fix up his basement.
After stuffing the money into a front pocket, O'Toole stopped for coffee at Panera.
"I think that's when the money fell out," he said.
He didn't know it was gone until he got home and reached into his pocket.
"I went crazy," he said. "I literally emptied all my pockets."
He also retraced his steps, all the way back to the strip mall. As he frantically searched under cars in the parking lot, he noticed an older woman staring at him and told her what had happened.
"In this economy, don't expect it back," she said.
He didn't.
Even though he prayed to St. Anthony, who helps find lost possessions, O'Toole had pretty much given up hope by the time the phone rang that night.
"The first thing out of her mouth was, 'If I had lost this money, I would want someone to call as soon as possible to tell me they found it.'"
O'Toole couldn't believe this young woman had looked up the names of all the stores and called them one by one. "She had to do some digging," he said. She also quizzed him about the stack of bills to make certain she had the right person.
They met two days later, in the same parking lot, where Murray again stopped on her way to work.
She handed him the money. He gave her a $50 gift certificate to Panera. They hugged.
"I thought he was really sweet," she said. "That wasn't something he had to do."
O'Toole said he wasn't sure how to reward her or what was the right amount. He just wanted to thank her for returning the money and restoring his faith at a time when the news is filled with stories of sickening corporate bonuses and Ponzi schemes.
Over the past week, he has told the story of Sarah Murray many times. It makes him feel good. It makes everyone feel good.
"When you hear the nightly news, it's just all so depressing," O'Toole said. "To hear something like this. ... It's beautiful to hear."
ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ
Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.
