by Marja McGraw
“That makes sense. Maybe you should specialize in old cases.”
“I seem to have developed a reputation for solving them. This one has me stymied though. How the heck am I going to come up with new information on this one? Other than newspaper articles, there’s little information. I’ve been making telephone calls and so far I can’t even find the old police reports.”
Again, it only took me five minutes to reach my destination. I liked that everything seemed so close to town.
When we arrived, the coffee house was packed. We placed our orders and had to wait for someone to leave before a table was available, which thankfully didn’t take long.
It gave Felicity a chance to look the place over. “It’s interesting that a church became a coffee house.”
While we waited for our order, I tried to relax and let go of my investigation. It didn’t work. “When we get back to the B&B, the first thing I want to do is go through the papers I found in that wooden box.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t already looked through them,” Felicity said. “I couldn’t have waited. Who knows what you might find?”
“It’s interruptions. It seems like something happens to hold me up every time I have something important to do.” That was true, even in my personal, non-business life.
Felicity smiled. “By the way, we checked on Bubba and Dolly before we left. He’s just fine, but then you know how seriously Dolly takes her time with him.”
“She and that dog are good friends. She always feels safer with him around. Too bad her cat isn’t thrilled with him.”
My friend laughed. “Who wouldn’t feel safer? He’s as big as a small bear. Nobody’s going to bother that little old lady with Bubba around.”
A woman delivered our sandwiches and took the time to stop and chat for a moment. I had a feeling that she might be either the owner or the manager.
I asked her about the history of the church building that was now a coffee house.
She said there was a book somewhere on the premises that explained the history and said she’d look for it when she had time.
I told her not to bother, that I knew how busy she was and I’d look for the book myself – later. Maybe on a return trip.
“You know? This is the friendliest little town I’ve ever visited. I could really grow to love it here. Pete feels the same way.”
“Uh huh. Take a look out the window.” Felicity pointed toward the street outside.
It was raining. Again. I could get used to the rain, couldn’t I?
Before we finished eating, the sun was out and the street was drying.
We finished lunch and headed for the library. Again, I found someone as friendly as they come. She showed me where the microfilm was kept and how to install the film.
“Felicity, why don’t you take the first turn? I’d like to take another look and see if I might have missed some history books on the area.”
“Sure.”
I wandered around the aisles for a while, but didn’t find anything I hadn’t already seen, so I returned to the microfilm machine and Felicity.
“It appears we’ve got a problem, Sandi.”
I chuckled to myself when I saw that Felicity had talked someone into giving her a pillow to sit on. She was too short and couldn’t get a good view of the screen.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“This is all social information. There’s news about Miss Alberta Stein of Kelso spending a few weeks at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Hans Bergman and her family. That kind of thing. There’s a column called ‘Dairy Facts’ and one about chickens. There’s a serialized fictional story, and children’s stories. There’s a recipe column. I found one column called “News of Interest”, and it’s about hay, wheat, cattle and hogs. Can you believe this?”
“There’s nothing about crime?”
“Not really. It reads like a society page. The only piece of news I actually found was a story about Oliver Wendell Holmes death and the Supreme Court. Okay, I take that back. There was a one paragraph story about Bonnie Singleton’s death with no details.”
I was frustrated. “The books I’ve looked through, in general, deal with the late eighteen hundreds and the early twentieth century through the twenties. It seems like they jump to the forties. It’s like people lived through the twenties, moved on to the forties, and skipped the nineteen thirties. I wonder if it had something to do with the Depression and Prohibition.”
“Maybe… I just don’t know what to tell you. Maybe we’d better look at a larger newspaper that covered the area.” Felicity started rewinding the microfilm. “I printed a couple of pages from the paper, just so you can see what I was dealing with, but the printer quit working. A nice lady who works here came over to help, but it’s such an old printer that all she could do was pull it apart to find a paper jam. She made me laugh when she started pulling parts out of the printer.”
“Okay, let’s go home. I mean, back to the B&B.”
We arrived back at the Mossy Glen Inn to find a big truck unloading gravel while Bea supervised.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“After your fall in the mud last night I decided I needed to at least put down gravel in the parking area. I don’t want to pave it because I want things to stay as natural as possible. So I called and set things up this morning. Greg will come out and spread it tomorrow.”
As we talked, a car pulled in. Bea walked over to greet the newcomers.
Sasha and Kimberly came running out of the house, ready to help with luggage, and they did. Each woman carried two bags into the house, with the new couple slowly following.
I watched as they took in their surroundings on their way to the house, and I heard Bea telling them about the walking paths, the lake, and all of the things she’d told us about. She’d said no one else would be showing up until the weekend, so I was impressed with her patience and welcoming attitude.
Pete and Stanley walked up the path and joined Felicity and me.
“Where’s the ghost?” the new visitor asked.
Bea stopped dead in her tracks. “What ghost?”
“We heard that Bonnie Singleton’s ghost walks the halls in this house.”
Pete stepped forward. “There aren’t any ghosts here, but you’re going to love the countryside. My wife and I are here on a honeymoon and we’ve enjoyed every minute of our time.”
He turned to Stanley.
“Stan, you haven’t seen any ghosts around here, have you?” He was needling his friend and yet he wanted him to back him up.
“No, all I’ve seen are the living persons you see before you.”
Pete put his arm across my shoulders. “Sandi? Have you seen anything like a ghost?”
“No, but I sure have enjoyed my visit here.”
The woman glanced at her husband. “Huh! Are you sure we want to stay here, Phil?”
He rolled his eyes. “I told you there weren’t any ghosts, and yes, I want to spend the weekend here. I’m not driving all the way home today. Now let’s find our room and get comfortable.”
He placed his hand on his wife’s back and gently pushed her forward. “Let’s go, Gloria.”
“I’ll bet there is one and they just won’t admit it.” We could hear her grousing all the way to the front door. She was disappointed. She wanted to have a ghost in residence.
“Well, if you see a ghost, just tell me and I’ll scare it away.” Her husband took hold of her arm and helped her up the front steps.
I held back my laugh until they were out of earshot. “Poor Bea. This is exactly what she doesn’t want; ghost hunters. At least the husband has a grip on things.”
Pete held the walkie talkie in his hand and Stanley had a tight grip on one of the metal detectors. Apparently they’d been out searching again.
Static preceded Sam’s voice on the walkie talkie. “Come quick! You’re not going to believe this one.”
“What now?” I asked the question of myself.
Stanley’s eyes took on a shine of excitement. “Maybe he’s found the weapon.”
“Or maybe he’s found more loot.” Pete knew how to push his friend’s buttons.
We started walking down the second path.
“I vote for more loot,” Felicity said.
“Nothing would surprise me.” I couldn’t decide if my hopes were for loot or the murder weapon.
I’d be happy with either.
Chapter Twenty
We found Sam by the side of the path, staring at the ground. You could almost see his excitement, and you could certainly sense it.
“Knife,” I said, taking hold of Felicity’s hand.
“Loot,” she replied.
“None of the above.” Pete thought he was pretty funny.
When he heard our steps, Sam turned and grinned at us. “I found another package wrapped in hides. This one is different. You’re gonna love this.”
My friend squeezed my fingers.
We stood in a circle and looked at Sam’s find. There, lying in an old hide, were gold and silver pieces. Coins, dollars – you name it.
“I think Bea is about to become very rich.” Pete squatted down and examined the money. “I remember when we had Sandi’s gold and silver authenticated and appraised. It came to a nice, tidy little sum. There’s more here than she found, if you add the other findings to these.” He picked up a five dollar gold piece. “There seem to be quite a few of these.”
“Did I call it or what? I believe you’ve found the money from the bank robbery,” Felicity said. “Brad told us about a bank in Little Creek that was held up and neither the robbers nor the loot were ever found. I think you just found it. I wonder if there’s any way to tell who stole it.”
“Probably not,” Pete said. “We found a note in the first bag that briefly outlined what they intended to do, but there weren’t any names or other clues. The only chance we’d have would be if we had something to compare the handwriting to, and that’s not likely to happen.”
My detecting skills stepped forward. “It seems the robbers hid the money and were never able to come back for it. Or maybe they forgot where they hid it.”
“Ya think?” Pete gave me a look that, for once, I didn’t want to read. I had a feeling it had something to do with my intelligence.
So maybe my detecting skills were simply common sense.
We helped Sam carry the latest treasure back to the house to give to Bea, setting it on the kitchen table for her to find, and waited in the dining room.
Bea descended the stairs with the new couple following her.
“I’m going to start dinner, so you can introduce yourselves or go about your business.” She sounded tired. “Food will be served at six o’clock, if you wish to partake.”
I had a feeling the woman had been giving her the third degree.
The gentleman stepped forward. “Hi. We’re the Stewarts, Phil and Gloria. We’re just here for the weekend, but I hope we have time to do some hiking and sightseeing.”
We introduced ourselves and invited them to sit down at the table.
“Thanks, but no. Gloria and I are going to drive to the lake before dinner and take a look around.”
They left before Gloria could comment on ghosts or anything else.
I heard a loud gasp coming from the kitchen and grinned. Bea had found her fortune.
She hurried out to the dining room. “I walked right past it to the refrigerator, and when I turned to set a bowl on the table… It took my breath away.” She put her hands to her mouth, now speechless.
Sam started to laugh at the look of shock on her face. “It’s yours, Bea. After all, it was on your property.”
“Oh, my! I’ll have to call the authorities to make sure I can keep it. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my! I can’t believe it.” She started to cry.
Kimberly and Sasha descended the stairs and joined us.
Sasha saw Bea crying and hurried to her side. “What’s going on, Aunt Bea?”
“Go look on the kitchen table.”
Sam stood and escorted the three women into the kitchen.
“Oh, my gosh!” Kimberly yelled.
We could hear voices while Sam explained what happened and the two women asked questions.
“What else did the old man have to say, other than telling you about the bank robberies?” Pete asked.
“Yes, you women need to keep us informed. How else can we investigate?” Stanley was anxious to hear the story, so we obliged him.
We told him everything we knew about Brad and Bonnie.
“So he found her body.” Pete looked thoughtful, and I had a feeling I knew where his sometimes suspicious mind was going.
“No, Pete, he didn’t have anything to do with it. He was visiting friends across the street when they all heard her scream. He needed to prove his manhood to his little girlfriend, whom he later married, so he ran over to check on Bonnie.”
Felicity narrowed her eyes and looked at each of us in turn. “I could be wrong, but even though he was only fourteen or so at the time, I think maybe he thought he was in love with Bonnie. It’s just a feeling I got from listening to him.”
“You could be right,” I said. “Maybe the next time we see him we’ll want to ask a few more pertinent questions.”
“I find it interesting that he told you about the Little Creek robbery and then we found the treasure.” Stanley studied his fingernails while he spoke.
“Oh, Love Bug, it has to be a coincidence. He couldn’t have known Sam would find it.”
Bea hurried out of the kitchen. “I’ve got to take this upstairs and hide it. I have a handyman coming out to fix a water leak, and Greg is coming back to start spreading the gravel. He was coming tomorrow, but I called and he can come today. I wouldn’t want them to see what you found. Wait! I’ll hide it in my bedroom. I don’t want the guests to find it.” She sounded frazzled.
Sam, Pete and Stanley helped carry the loot to Bea’s room while Sasha and Kimberly went to work on the computer, looking for information about the Little Creek robbery. In the meantime, Bea worked on dinner.
I heard her speaking to someone and figured the handyman must have shown up.
A few minutes later, Greg pulled into the driveway and started spreading the gravel.
Felicity and I walked outside and sat on the porch, going over everything we’d learned, commenting on how little we’d found on the microfilms.
Bea came around the side of the house with a tall and slender fiftyish man in tow. “This is Bob Rogers. He does odd jobs for me. If you run across anything that needs fixing, let me know and I’ll call Bob. I swear, he can fix anything.”
Bob dipped his head in greeting and excused himself to get to work.
The Stewarts returned, we had dinner, and everyone seemed to be ready to call it a night. Well, Phil and Gloria decided to watch an old movie first. Needless to say, she picked out a ghost story.
While Pete and I got ready for bed, we discussed the trip home.
I stood in front of the mirror, brushing my hair out. “I think we’ll want to stay a couple of extra days. This is just getting good. We’ve got two mysteries to deal with, meaning both the murder and the bank robbery.”
“For once I agree with you.” Pete put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around, giving me one of his comforting bear hugs.
It didn’t matter if I needed comforting or not, his hugs were one of a kind.
~ * ~
I woke up during the night and saw Pete standing by the window, watching something.
I rubbed my eyes. “What’s going on, honey?”
“There’s someone out there. I can see a flashlight by the path.”
That woke me up. “Are you sure?”
He moved to a chair where he’d left his jeans, and he dressed, putting on a black shirt.
“Are you going out there?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’ll get Stan to go with me.”
He left
the room and I heard light knocking on the door to the Hawks’ room, followed by a sleepy Stanley asking what was up.
While they whispered back and forth, I found a pair of flip flops and my bathrobe and joined them.
“I’m going, too,” I said.
“No.” Pete’s reply was short and sweet.
“Yes.”
He sighed and headed for the stairs with Stanley following and me bringing up the rear.
We stopped at the car and Pete quietly opened the door, pulling a flashlight out of the glove compartment, while I prayed the guy in the woods didn’t see the car light go on.
We started up the path, toward the light.
Crack!
Pete stepped on a twig. It couldn’t be helped.
He stopped suddenly and held still while Stanley walked into him.
I grabbed Stanley’s arm or he would have fallen.
We each held our breath, watching the light off in the distance. It snapped off quickly, but after a minute or so it went back on. Obviously our intruder was listening for more noises. When he didn’t hear anything, he must have figured it was an animal stepping on the twig.
Pete slowly moved forward again.
Stanley and I followed him, but there was another crack when I stepped on a twig.
The light ahead of us shut off and we could hear running feet.
Pete switched on his flashlight and took off running.
Stanley tried to follow but tripped in the dark.
I tripped over Stanley.
I sat on the ground and laughed. The more I thought about it, the harder I laughed.
“Some detectives we are,” I said.
Pete walked back to us with a metal detector in his hand. He glanced from Stanley to me before holding out his hand to help me up.
“This could only happen to you two. He got away, by the way.”
Stanley grinned and stood up, trying to brush mud off his pants. “Yes, indeed, it could only happen to me and Sandi.”
I laughed even harder.
Chapter Twenty-one
