by Jeulia Hesse
“He’s Ada’s attorney. He has been overseeing things, apparently well before she died. He’s interested in developing the property. I got a very well-prepared presentation last night; it appears he has done quite a bit of research on the property’s potential for sale.”
There was a silence on the phone. “Estate planning is not my area of expertise, but this seems like an extension of the role of an executor,” he stated. “How well do you know this attorney?”
She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I am trying to feel that out. He was Ada’s nephew on her husband’s side, so there is a relationship there. I do know him from growing up, but only peripherally. He wasn’t part of our group of friends because he was a few years older, so I really don’t know him well. I need to wade through that a bit. I’m not fully sure of how he fit into Ada’s life after I left.”
Victor was silent for a long moment. “If I recall correctly, your mother once told me that there was some family turmoil when Ada’s husband died and left the property to her. It had been in the family for generations and traditionally, it should have gone to her husband’s brother. That would have been Jeremy’s father, Daniel. I think he had some trouble with alcoholism, and he went away for treatment not long after Annie went missing.”
“So then Jeremy would have been the heir, instead of me,” she replied.
The line crackled with the transcontinental connection, and she thought she had lost him. “Victor?”
“I’m here,” he replied, the connection skipping in and out. “I am going to have an old friend contact you, my dear. He’s an attorney in Burlington. This situation is making me a bit uneasy and I’d like for you to have some impartial advice. I’ll email you his information.”
She agreed to the assistance, feeling a bit of relief, but also, some new anxiety. It was a double-edge sword to have her unease be justified by someone with vastly more experience.
“And Christina, my dear, please be careful.”
Her nerves tensed immediately at his words, and unease grew in her belly. She wondered to herself if he had a specific concern that he was not sharing.
They said their goodbyes. He had to run to his next meeting. It was likely he would be in England for the remainder of the summer, but she had planned to have everything taken care of by then. She knew she could handle things, but it relieved her to have some additional help and guidance. She hadn’t planned for the mess regarding the financial files. That would make her business projections more challenging.
She began sorting through the files on the desk, making organized piles of years of statements and receipts. It was a dusty and arduous task. It was obvious that Ada had not been the best businessperson, but she had done what she could. Christina found that the files grew to be more disorganized in the most recent couple years. The focus stopped being on the business when Annie disappeared and was even more removed when she did not reappear.
She pushed the power button for the ancient desktop, and it reluctantly started to come to life. There had to be some useful files on this computer. As the desktop booted up, a password entry screen popped up. She groaned to herself. There had to be a way to get into it. She immediately thought of Shawn. If he couldn’t get in himself, it was likely he may know someone who could get to the files. It was not illegal; she owned the property and had the right to access the business information.
She shuffled more papers, looking for anything useful that would identify a bank or an accountant. She pulled open desk drawers, leafing through files of paperwork, and growing increasingly discouraged by the volume of disorganization. She found a file of bank records, which she pulled out and opened on the desk. A red envelope with the words “past due” stamped on its front fell out onto the desk. Her stomach dropped. The envelope was unopened, which struck her as odd. Opening the letter, she found it was from a mortgage company and dated late last year.
This made no sense. The inn would not have needed a mortgage, as it had been in the family for generations. She thought, maybe a mortgage has been taken out for the funds used for renovations and the ‘swanky’ cabins.
She pulled out her phone to write Victor an email regarding the bank details. She noted there was no cell service. She wondered if there was an internet connection, but at least the land line had been working. She had not looked for a signal since she arrived, unused to having any service at the inn as a rule. Hoping her aunt had upgraded from dial up, she used her cell phone to verify the presence of any Wi-Fi connections. There was one, labeled “Stone House,” but it stated that there was no internet connection. It looked like it may have been a satellite link, given the name of the provider. She would need to see if Jim or Maude knew where the modem was, since there was nothing resembling a modem in the office.
A board squeaked in the hallway outside the door. The dog issued a low warning growl, rising to position himself between whomever was approaching and Christina. She shoved the folder into the desk drawer and turned to the door. Jeremy leaned on the doorframe.
“Looks like you found your way in all right,” he said, his eyes darting around the small office. Finally, they rested downward, inspecting the office door lock for damage. “How did you manage to get in?” He reached in his pocket and tossed her a set of keys. “Never mind. I thought I saw the police cruiser when I pulled in.”
“Just helping out a friend,” Shawn interrupted from the hallway, joining Jeremy in the doorway.
Jeremy shifted subtly away from the Sheriff’s proximity in the doorway.
“Actually, I could use a bit more assistance from either of you,” Christina implored of the two men, “I wonder if you know the password to the computer? Or maybe you could help me figure out a way to get in?”
They both jostled past each other from the doorway to stand over her shoulders to view the computer screen.
“Hmm I am surprised it even turned on,” Jeremy sniggered. “I can’t recall Ada ever really using it for bookkeeping.”
Shawn nudged Christina from the desk chair and sat in front of the computer. He typed a few keystrokes, which were not successful. He made a few more attempts and suddenly, the entire screen went completely blue. “Uh oh,” Shawn muttered.
The room became silent.
“Sorry Crissy,” Shawn said, rising from the office chair shrugging his shoulders.
“Like I said, I don’t think she used that much, so I doubt you’d find anything you’re looking for there.” Jeremy spoke to the group with annoyance.
“And now you won’t get anything from it,” Shawn said. “Anyway, I should leave before I make anything worse. I’ll let you know if I find anything out about the dog.”
Once Shawn left the two of them in the small office, Christina felt vaguely uncomfortable to be in such close quarters with Jeremy. After their exchange last night, it felt awkward to be alone with him. She was glad the dog had positioned himself between them.
He gestured around the office, saying, “Not sure what you may find in here to help you out.” His tone was a mix of impatience and annoyance.
She shifted her focus to the tasks at hand, asking, “What banks did Ada use for the business?”
“I have those files in my office. Sorry, I didn’t think to bring them with me,” Jeremy responded. “But her business checking account was set up through the local co-op. I am sure you’ll want to continue there if you decide to operate.”
“I’ll drop off the checkbooks and such later. Or you can stop by the office if you are in town.”
Jeremy’s words irritated Christina. Of course, she would like to have the checkbooks and “such.” That was the reason she had come all the way to the inn at his urging. She wanted to take care of matters, and now he was lukewarm about her getting the information she needed to do any kind of due diligence. The whole situation was beyond irritating for Christina, topped with the computer’s ‘blue screen of death’ and the fact that she had had no breakfast and only a few sips of her coffee this morning. This
project was not starting out well.
Just as she was opening her mouth to tell Jeremy what she really thought of his plans, Gina entered the tiny office a food tray in hand, stocked up with coffee and heavenly smelling muffins. “I thought you might like a little breakfast, because Maude said you hadn’t eaten.” She chuckled to herself and added, “and I thought preventing murder would be a clever idea.”
Christina fell onto the coffee and sipped the hot liquid gratefully, digging into a warm pastry. She mumbled her thanks to her friend through hearty bites. Jeremy’s expression morphed into one of disdain as he observed the woman gobbling down the food.
Gina piped in, noting his expression, “This one – she can eat like no woman I know, and yet she stays so thin. Unlike some of us rounder and shorter ones.”
Jeremy looked from one woman to the other, obviously growing uncomfortable in the small space and with the topic of conversation. His discomfort increased twofold as Gina ran her free hand down her body from her breasts to her buttock as emphasis to her words.
Next, Gina spotted the computer. “Oh nice, is there internet here?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes, we upgraded a few years ago with a new satellite provider,” Jeremy answered. “Likely it needs a reset since no one has been using it for a while. I’ll go take care of it; the modem is by the front desk.”
Jeremy exited and both women exchanged a humor-filled glance. “Thanks for the food –much appreciated.” Christina smiled at her friend.
Jeremy’s comment had not fallen unnoticed by Christina, and instead, was striking a chord. ‘We’ upgraded... Victor’s comments regarding Jeremy were fresh in her mind. She wondered how involved he had been in the day-to-day management of the inn. Had he gone too far in acquiring responsibilities?
“I heard the commotion with all the men’s voices in the hallway, back when they were getting the office door open. That’s when I went down to the kitchen. I’m not sure what I said, but it put Maude in a better mood today. Eager to get you to eat your breakfast, she said she didn’t want any bloodshed. Guess she knows you just as well as I do. We’ve bonded over the need to feed you.”
Christina laughed. It was true that low blood sugar and her temperament did not go well together. Both ladies would know this well, having both been subjected to it at one time. “Well, as Aunt Ada used to say, ‘nothing to be ashamed of to have a healthy appetite.’”
Gina noted the ominous blue screen on the computer and suggested that they take it to a local business supply store to see if they could retrieve any of its documents. Christina recalled that there was one in town – if it was still in existence. There was also a chain store, a bit further away, which may have more options for retrieving the hard drive if the local option didn’t pan out. Christina had her own laptop that she had planned to use to do business projections, so maybe the information could be transferred to an external memory drive.
The two women discussed the options and made plans to have lunch and visit a few local sites. Gina wanted to see a covered bridge and take in some other scenery, reminding her friend that she was on vacation after all. She also wanted to stop by the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients for a couple meals she wanted to experiment with. Now that she and Maude were no longer at each other’s throats, she should get a good opportunity to do some cooking.
Christina secretly wondered if Gina’s morning truce with Maude would last into the dinner hour, but she didn’t put anything past her friend. She knew that Gina had a way of achieving miracles in the kitchen.
Chapter 11
The two women made their way down the mountain later in the morning, after all the male visitors had left to go to their own jobs. Kevin went into the woods; Shawn went off to patrol and Jeremy went back down the mountain to his offices. They had located the wi-fi router and had gotten the internet going. The email from Victor regarding the connection in Burlington arrived, conveying that Christina should hear from him directly.
“I know that I am not used to being outside of the city, but this road seems steep,” Gina commented as Christina drove down the mountain. Gina was gripping the door handles and the center console so hard her knuckles were white.
Christina laughed at her friend. “Yeah sorry – I learned to drive on this road, so I am pretty confident. I’ll slow down, no worries.”
She slowed her speed and her companion relaxed.
“You know,” she continued, “this road was not the original way to get up the mountain – the path we walked on yesterday was the original road to the inn. It’s a lot longer, but it’s also a lot less steep on the other side.”
Gina nodded, glad for the diversion of the conversation. “Where does that old road go?”
“Well, it meets up with the Long Trail and the Bald Mountain trail. There also used to be a road that went over to Woodford and Bennington that forked off of that road. And there is another intersection that used to take you to Glastonbury, but that’s a ghost town now. Wilderness had completely taken over.”
Gina stared at her friend with a horrified look on her face. “Where have you brought me? A ghost town in New England? I used to think that those were all out west, with tumble weeds and scorpions.”
Christina laughed at Gina’s vibrant image.
“This is sure an interesting place,” Gina continued, tut-tutting. “It’s not at all what I expected, especially with the talk last night about the woods. What did Kevin mean when he mentioned the trouble that they were having in the woods now? I didn’t quite get all that.”
Christina noted her friend’s clear avoidance of mentioning the missing persons topic that had also occurred as part of the conversation last evening. She knew Gina was curious and wanted to know more about the circumstance of Annie’s disappearance, as well as the other stories of missing persons. Gina must have known that it struck an emotional chord with her friend and took pains to not mention it.
Christina nodded, concentrating on the road in front of her. She tried to choose her tone carefully as to not upset herself, and also, so she would answer Gina without further freaking her out. “There have been some stories about the area, through some documentaries and a few novels, about missing persons and weird occurrences. Most of them specifically take place over the mountain in the area of the Glastonbury wilderness.”
Gina listened intently as she continued to grip the door handle.
“Over the past 70 years or something, there have been quite a few people that have gone missing. And as a result, some people try to promote the area and its stories by sensationalizing them. You know that movie about Shirley Jackson? She lived in North Bennington when a girl from the college went into those woods and was never found. I think with that film coming out, as well as the other obscure legends, there has been more activity on the trails. The locals – well some of them, anyway – try to capitalize on the increased traffic. Typically, it’s mostly college kids hiking through and planning to be in the area for the summer solstice. There are always a bunch of parties and group camping events in the woods. Invariably someone gets lost or hurt.
“Practically speaking, it’s a remote area and it’s easy to get lost here, even if you know your way. If you aren’t prepared for it, you can get lost easily and die in the elements.”
“You sound like Kevin,” Gina replied. “He said the same thing last night. And by the way, he is pretty hot. Any plans to tap that while on vacation? You know, for a little old time’s sake...?”
Christina glanced at her friend and burst out laughing at the teasing look on her face. She knew she was making light of the situation and the conversation, so she smiled despite herself. Heat rose in her cheeks at her friend’s comments.
“Oooo girl... you were thinking about it!” Gina teased at her friend’s blushing, “He’s a fine-looking man and so is his friend, the cop.”
Christina picked up on her comment, taking the opportunity to turn the conversation away from herself. “Shawn is pret
ty nice. I still can’t believe he’s a cop though. He got in so much trouble when we were kids.”
Gina nodded her head, notably relaxing her grip on the door handle as Christina guided the car onto more even road. “He is nice. He had all sorts of questions for me this morning. Honestly, it almost felt like I was getting interrogated.”
“Really?” Christina asked, interested in this information. She wondered about his motive to question her friend. Perhaps there was a mutual attraction there as well?
“Yes ma’am. While you were in the office, he was looking over that camera box in the kitchen and talking to Jim. He asked a lot of questions about you and me, and I couldn’t get away from him for a few minutes. It was all very intense.”
“That’s curious,” Christina replied. “I’ve known Shawn for years. He knows everything about me.”
“Well darling, now he knows everything he missed.” Gina chuckled. “Where we work, where we live, and both our dating statuses. Hell, I think I told him our new favorite songs!”
She laughed out loud then. “I am sure he was not at all interested in me, sounds like he has taken a shine for you. You should check into that.”
“Well to tell you the truth, I really didn’t mind the questions,” Gina stated. “I was trying to get to know him as well.”
“Ahh, I thought you were watching him with interest,” Christina replied. She smiled sideways at her friend. “Actually, your mouth was even hanging open.... but not judging here.”
“No! Tell me I wasn’t. Did he notice?” she asked. She slumped into the car’s seat, mortified. “It’s been a long dry spell, what can I say?”
The two women laughed together. “I was wondering about what they mentioned as his less than stellar past. Just being curious, as now he’s a cop,” Gina asked.
“Oh, I think he is well reformed now. He had a tough upbringing, spent a lot of time at the inn when he and Annie were dating. My aunt and a female State Trooper took interest and helped him to mend his ways. Nothing horrible, if that’s what you are asking,” replied Christina. “Are you interested in him?”
