Bruno?
Bruno Sinclair Bolet was an eccentric man in New Orleans, Louisiana who had many interests. He was born in 1912 and became a dentist, but he also liked collecting glass eyes to wear, had a pet spider, alligator and iguana, was a member of the Jolly Rogers Krewe and had a huge cemetery behind his house, complete with a scale model of it in his living room. Bruno won first place in Miniature Modelers of America in 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, and 1991.
At some point, Bruno bought a crystal skull and went to great lengths to hide it, creating a series of puzzles in his mansion and his cemetery that would lead to it. He had sent the skull to an authenticator and received a letter saying it was fake, causing him to have a heart attack and die at the age of 95 in 2007. However, the letter was faked by his housekeeper, Renee Amande, as the skull was indeed as ancient as it was said to be. Renee wanted the skull to herself and hoped that Dr. Bolet would let her have it if he thought it was fake.
Bruno's great nephew, Henry, lost his parents when he was eight, and was given to Bruno, who was his only living relative. In his eccentricity, Bruno didn't have very traditional ways of showing his love, and sent Henry to boarding school and military school all the time. When Bruno was dying, however, his "best friend", who was his doctor, Gilbert Buford, walked in, and he told him that he wanted him to hide the first clue to finding the skull, a painting of Henry's parents, in their crypt, so that Henry would be the one to find the skull.
Bruno with his dog, Grant, in 1921.
Iggy the iguana, whom Bruno trained to fetch different things based on how he dressed him
Bernie the alligator