When would I have time to examine the journal Dina brought with her? Soon other treasure hunters would follow in Enid and Suzanne’s footsteps. Dina was giving me all kinds of signs. When can you look at the journal? More time with Gilda didn’t rate high on my list of desirable activities.
To my surprise, I heard myself saying, “Actually, I expect a busy afternoon. I could use an extra pair of hands. Maybe you could start a fresh pot of coffee.”
After Gilda disappeared into the office for supplies, I whispered my findings to Dina. “I read through the pages Brad let me copy this morning. Nothing stood out to me.” Something hovered on the edges of my consciousness, but I couldn’t place it. I locked the garland back in the display case.
“Okay.” Dina looked discouraged. “I did talk with Noah. . .”
“Did I hear my name?”
Noah Brodie had never entered my store before, but he looked right at home among the psychedelic ’60s numbers. He ignored the clothing and headed straight for the garland in the display case. “‘She will give you a crown of splendor and set a grace garland on your head.’ May I see the grace garland, please?” He gave me a saucy grin and for a second I could see why Dina found him so attractive.
“Silly. You got the verse wrong.” Dina repeated it with the correct wording.
Gilda reappeared and turned on the coffee maker.
“Close enough.” I studied him while I gave him the next clue. He looked overdressed for the mild fall day, and he sneezed.
“Too much ragweed.” He blew his nose.
Allergies—or something else? With my new insight, he could pose for a poster warning against drug abuse. Did Dina know? Guess? Could he hide it from her? For her sake, I hoped he did indeed have a cold.
“I didn’t expect to find you here.” Noah kissed Dina, the kind that was a little embarrassing to watch. I didn’t want to intervene, but I didn’t have the same excuses not to speak up about Noah that I did with Danielle. My internal struggle gave me insight into why families might not step in sooner. Not that Noah was family, but his relationship with Dina was altogether too close for comfort. First step, I needed to talk with Dina about it.
“So you decided to go for the treasure hunt after all.” Dina said when she and Noah broke apart. “I thought your students decided against it.”
“The scene at the Garland Café inspired me. My muse, do you want to follow me while I go ahunting?”
“You know I can’t do that. I’m the neutral reporter.” Dina kissed him on the cheek.
Noah turned around slowly, surveying the showroom. “You have a nice store here.”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Gilda acted pleased at the compliment. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He also took one of the pumpkin muffins. He picked up the jar of Dustin’s honey. “So the Murks have pulled you into their web, have they?”
“Dustin came by to talk about costumes for the hayride.” Their web? The beekeeper had certainly made an impression on the town in the short time since her arrival.
Noah set the jar down. “I’d better go. I’ve got a class at 2.”
Dina looked at me, and at Gilda. No chance to talk in private. “I’ll see you later.” They walked out the door arm and arm, and my heart walked out with them. What to do, what to do.
“Does your sister realize he’s into drugs?” Gilda asked from my elbow.
“What?” I hadn’t expected my mother-in-law to be so intuitive.
“You know Audie went through a bad spell in high school.” Gilda made a face. “Praise the good Lord he straightened out, but I educated myself on the danger signs.”
We didn’t have an opportunity to discuss it further. Mayor Ron came in a moment after their departure. Since he rarely visited my store, he might as well have posted a sign over the door saying “third clue here.” I sighed.
Like everyone else, he headed straight for the Grace garland. He stared at it as if he had never seen it before. “My wife is telling me she wants to wear it later. I just don’t know. I kinda think Frances should have it.”
“Either one of them will be lucky to have such a beautiful piece.” I wouldn’t put myself in the middle of that debate. “You might like to know that I’ve had three treasure hunters come by in the last half hour.”
The mayor’s eyes lit up. “Who?”
“Enid Waldberg and Suzanne Jay, practically at the same time. Noah Brodie just left.” I glanced out the window. “And here comes Georgia Hafferty.”
The mayor frowned at the mention of his lone opposition in the last election.
The lawyer swept into the store. She had the figure for the ’60s styles, but I doubted she would buy anything. She wouldn’t want to appear in court in a dress that looked more than forty years old.
“Hello, Mayor Grace. Mrs. Howe.” She joined us by the display case and repeated the familiar words. I told her the next clue.
Georgia and the mayor chatted amiably when they left a few minutes later. The afternoon continued in the same vein, with someone coming in every ten or fifteen minutes to give me the clue. Of the four clues, the one about the Grace Garland had been the easiest to solve. When the time after school rush started—girls still looking for homecoming outfits—Gilda’s assistance proved invaluable. In between customers, my mind wandered back to the journal. What was bothering me about it? I kept hoping it would pop into my conscious mind.
Gilda left at six to fix supper, and I went to the MGM for a few quiet moments with Audie. Before I left, I grabbed the pages from the Larry Grace journal. Maybe Audie could help me identify the trouble spot.
Nearly a dozen pictures lay scattered across Audie’s desk, giving it a messier than usual appearance. One featured Bob giving Mary the garland. He had photos of the other founding families. Another showed a Sac-Fox maiden in full tribal regalia. Others included families that arrived in later years.
“‘To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.’ I doubt the good folks of Grace Gulch will agree with Wilde, however. Who would have thought it would be so hard to tell the story of one small town?”
“That’s the problem.” I smoothed down the cowlick he had mussed in his hair. “In a small town, everyone expects their story to be included.”
“Suppose so.” He grumbled then smiled up at me. “How are my girls today?”
“Junior and I are fine.”
He held me on his lap, or at least tried to. For a few moments I felt dainty and feminine instead of like a pregnant whale. When he shifted his weight, I moved to another chair. “This morning I looked at my copies from Brad’s journal, and I keep feeling I’ve missed something important. I thought maybe a second set of eyes?”
“Of course.” He skimmed over pages where I had lingered over the detailed drawings. When we reached the page with the sketch of the Grace garland, he glanced down the page and started to flip it over.
“Wait a minute! That’s it!”
Audie left the page flat on the desk.
“What does the inscription on the back of the locket say?”
Audie looked at me as if I had regressed to an age before I could read handwriting, but he indulged me. “‘To Mary, my garland of grace, 6.6’”
I could hardly contain my excitement.
“That’s the wrong date.”
18
Dick Gaynor always insisted that Bob Grace had cheated during the land run, a “sooner” who camped out on the land before the run started. He took his claims to court, where he lost, and the hatred culminated in an infamous gunfight in 1895. Neither man was seriously hurt, and after that Gaynor focused his enmity on trying to outdo Bob Grace in every endeavor. He founded a newspaper, The Sequoyan, brought in a preacher who started the Word of Faith Fellowship, and set up a prosperous mercantile in the center of town. He also established the town’s first ba
nk. His wife Lizzie taught Grace Gulch’s first school and pioneered in local education.
From A History of Grace Gulch
Tuesday, September 19
“What do you mean, the date is wrong?” Audie sounded perplexed.
“I looked at the garland several times this afternoon. Lots of people figured out the clue and showed up at the store. The date on the back of the locket was their wedding anniversary, which was also Mary’s birthday. January 25.”
Audie stared at the sketch again. “But why would Larry change it? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe this is the clue we’ve been looking for! What if 6.6 is some kind of key, like Jenna said?”
“I thought she said the seven pillars were the key.” Audie sounded a bit grumpy. “He wouldn’t have two keys.”
“It was Larry’s secret, not Brad’s. He wrote 6.6 for a reason. I’m sure he did.”
The phone rang, and Audie picked it up. “Yes, Mother?” He smiled at me. “We’ll be right there.” He hung up. “She wants to know when the two love birds will be home. I know you want to figure this out right now but. . .”
“Can’t keep supper waiting. I know.”
We continued our discussion about the unexpected 6.6 reference but came up empty. Seven was a very symbolic number, but six didn’t ring any bells for either of us.
“Is it possible Larry just got the date wrong?” Audie asked for the third time as we walked into the house.
“That’s about as likely as the beast from Revelation 13.” Gilda already had the table set. A woman could get used to this kind of service.
“I didn’t know you were interested in the end times.” Gilda removed a platter of ham, left over from Sunday’s dinner, from the oven and set it on the table.
“Oh, that’s not what we’re talking about.” Audie explained. He piled his plate high, more than he would have taken if I had served the same fare.
Stop, I reminded myself. It’s not a competition. So why did I feel like it was?
“Oh?”
I found myself telling Gilda about the appearance of 6.6 in Larry’s rendering of the Grace garland. “Since it’s the wrong date, we think it might hold some kind of clue to the mural. If Brad figured it out, maybe he used it in the mural.”
“Didn’t I hear you talking about the seven pillars of wisdom from Proverbs?” Gilda asked.
“We think that’s a possibility, because Brad drew seven pillars in front of city hall. But apart from the ‘six things the Lord hates,’ there aren’t any references to the number six in the Proverbs that I know of.” And since Audie had the book memorized chapter and verse, I took his word for it.
Gilda shook her head. “What if it’s not a quote, but a reference?”
“What? ‘Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise.’ I don’t see how that helps us.” Audie didn’t see any connection.
I pictured the plans for the mural spread across Jenna’s work table, and I knew exactly how Brad used the ants. I stood up from the table.
“What’s the matter?” Audie jumped to his feet. “Is it the baby?”
“We’re fine.” I motioned for him to sit down again. “But I’m calling Jenna to meet us at her office after supper.”
~
Dina and Noah arrived at Jenna’s office before us. I resented his intrusion on “our” adventure, but I reminded myself that Audie hadn’t always been part of the family. Of course, Audie didn’t use drugs either. Tonight Noah seemed perfectly normal; I would never have guessed at a problem if not for our recent discussions. I hoped Dina would snap out of her infatuation with the man without intervention—or that our suspicions were unfounded.
Jenna was tacking the plans for the mural across her workstation.
Noah bent over and lifted his sunglasses long enough to look at a corner with his artist’s eye. “No wonder he won.” He spoke sotto voce. In spite of his previous jealousy, he appreciated the beauty of the work. “Of course he’s a professional. Not local, though.”
“He did his research.” Jenna retorted.
I ignored the exchange but studied the seven columns in front of city hall and found what I expected. “There.”
Audie bent over the table with me and drew in a sharp breath. “Ants.”
Two columns of them, in fact, six apiece.
“Six point six, in fact.” Audie hugged me and we danced a few steps.
“Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?” Jenna turned her annoyance on us.
I explained again about the discovery of 6.6 in Larry’s rendering of the Grace garland in his journal.
“But that’s wrong.” Dina was puzzled.
“We think Larry did it deliberately.”
“Another key.” Jenna caught on immediately. “And Brad repeated it in the mural, with the ants.”
“Mother thinks 6.6 is a reference from Proverbs. You know, the sixth verse of the sixth chapter? Solomon tells us to go to the ants. And my brilliant wife remembered the ants on the columns.” Audie kissed me again.
“Those aren’t the only ants.” Noah held a magnifying glass over a section at the far left of the design. “I noticed them the first time I saw the design. They’re all over the mural. Look here.” He pointed to two columns of ants marching by the old Kirkendall farm.
“I found some more!” Dina pointed to a stand of trees by the Circle G.
The excitement of the chase had all of us breaking our backs bending over the table to locate ants. Noah and Dina concentrated on the left side of the mural, where they could see the Grace and Kirkendall lands. Jenna studied the right, which showed Route 66 winding its way northeast towards Tulsa and the state line. Audie and I focused on the center, which showed downtown and a number of local businesses. One column meandered down Main Street, and two more marched across a small park at the edge of town.
“I found some.” Jenna pinpointed the silhouettes of ants crawling against the backdrop of the rising sun. “And here.” Sun poured honey-gold across the plains.
“There aren’t any more on this side.” Dina was disappointed.
“Wait.” Audie stopped. “Dina, you found one. Noah, you found the first one. Jenna, two. We found three. And that makes. . .”
“Seven!”
“Like the seven pillars of wisdom. I don’t think we’ll find any more.” Audie straightened from the table.
“Okay. So what do the ants mean?” Jenna tapped her index finger on the edge of the mural. “You think the ants at city hall refer to a verse in Proverbs. Because there are two columns of six ants, like the ‘6.6’ on the sketch of the necklace.”
Dina raced ahead. “There are two columns in the trees. They’re not the same length, though. One. . .two. . .” She continued counting under her breath. “One line is much longer. 19 if I’m counting it right. The other column has eight.”
“So Proverbs 19:8 or 8:19?” Audie suggested.
Jenna was already flipping through the pages of her Bible. “Proverbs 19:8 says ‘He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.’ Does that suggest anything to anybody?”
One by one, we shook our heads.
“Let me look at 8:19, then.” Jenna flipped a few pages back. “‘My fruit is better than fine gold.’”
“Mary Grace’s fruit orchard!” Dina exclaimed.
We bent over the mural again and counted the ants. “We really are going to the ants tonight, aren’t we?” Audie whispered in my ear, and I giggled.
“No more of that.” Jenna wagged a finger at us. “You’re interrupting my concentration.” She started over again “One. . .”
Soon we had our pairs of numbers: three and eighteen; eighteen and four; thirteen and twenty-four; twenty-seven and twenty-one; and once again, eighteen and four.
“Eighteen and four, twice?” Jenna frowned. “Count again, will you?”
Audie dutifully counted again. I couldn’t. Junior and I had had about as much bending as
we could stand for the moment.
“It’s still eighteen and four,” Audie announced.
“Me too.” Dina chimed in.
“Could he have made a mistake?” Noah asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.
“That doesn’t sound like Brad. At least not the Brad I knew.” Jenna shrugged. “Let’s check it both ways.” Jenna opened her Bible again.
“Let me get my Bible.” Audie headed for the door. We always kept a Bible in the car.
“Just a sec.” I pulled out a notebook and wrote down “Proverbs” at the top. I should have done it sooner. Then I added 6:6. Wisdom of the ants. 8:19. Fruit better than gold. Mary Grace’s fruit orchard? “Okay. I’m ready.”
“I’ll start with chapter eighteen, since three of the references come from there.” Jenna read the third verse. “Brad could have been describing ol’ Larry. ‘With shame comes disgrace.’”
“It doesn’t suggest a specific place, though.” I pointed out.
“No. Well, let me look at the next verse. ‘The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.’ Now, that sounds promising.”
I scribbled in my notebook 18:4. deep waters, fountain, bubbling brook.
“There’s a fountain in the city park!” Dina’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
I thought of Mayor Ron’s explanation about the treasure hunt, that deep waters could refer to the town pool, which just happened to be located next to the city park. “There’s also the pool.” I explained my reasoning.
Audie returned with the Bible and I told him what we had found.
“Since the verse is in there twice, maybe he’s talking about both places.” That was Noah’s idea.
“Or he could be talking about 4:18.” Audie found the reference. “‘The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn.’ That fits in with the ants silhouetted against sunrise on Route 66.”
“But that’s not a specific place.” Dina pouted. “I think Noah might be right.”
I wrote down 4:18 anyhow and added dawn? Route 66?
“I’ve got 3:18.” Jenna announced. “‘She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.’”
Darlene Franklin - Dressed for Death 03 - Paint Me a Murder Page 12
