“Aaron!” I called but then remembered he was showering. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I gave Inga a call. “Inga?”
“Oh! Liv!” I could hear the television blaring in the background. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Yes, yes it is. I won’t keep you, but I wanted you to know…” I told her about the hatbox and having the dress in my possession now. “What do you think about the hatbox bottom? What should I do?”
“Make sure it’s the same coloring.”
“Thanks.” She gave me a couple of other suggestions, and we hung up. Just then, Aaron entered the room, fresh from the shower.
“What’s up?”
“Look at this, will you?” I pointed out the inconsistencies in the box, and then turned it over. Sure enough, closer scrutiny revealed the bottom was a slightly different shade and there were glue marks around in a hodge-podge fashion. I shook the box. “Did you hear that?” I held my ear closer and said, “Hear it? Something rattled.”
“That must be the noise they heard.” Aaron massaged his chin. “Course, on the other hand…” He held up the box and shook it. “I wonder what it is?” He shook it again, keeping his ear right next to the bottom. “It’s almost like a baby rattle.”
“Look at this staircase.” I pointed it out on the lid lip. “See? The name is Mrs. Tindall, which was Mary Lincoln’s alias.” I looked at him. “There’s something here, but I’m not sure what. Don’t you think so, too?”
“Oh, brother. We have to be really careful,” he said and kissed my forehead. “I’m calling the detectives.”
I listened to the one-sided conversation. When Aaron disconnected, I asked, “Well?”
“We have to wait until he contacts the Mary Lincoln House and also his superior.”
“Oh,” I said, frowning. I reached for a cookie. His phone rang almost immediately.
“Okay,” Aaron said into his phone. Turning to me, he said, “Put some water on to boil. Big pot.”
“We’ll steam it, then?” I went over to the cabinet and took out the largest pot we had. I filled it with water and placed it on the stovetop. I turned the dial to high, so it’d boil quicker. “Never thought of that.”
“We don’t want to ruin it. We can fold the paper back and settle this once and for all. The detectives and the spokesperson from the Lincoln House are willing to go along with it as long as it’s restored to its original shape,” Aaron said. “This might be tricky. If there is something inside, we don’t want it dropping into boiling water, either. You’ll have to be careful and kind of guide me as we steam it.”
“I will. Don’t worry. Another worry is this paper. It’s older than the hills. Is it going to crumble from the moisture? Or will the design or top layer peel off?” I stood beside him. “I don’t know what to think.”
“Hopefully, it’ll work out just right.” We both noticed that the water was starting to steam. “Before we get started, let me call the detectives to keep them updated. This has to be done properly.” Aaron found his phone and he didn’t have to talk long. Looking at me, he said, “I’m to let them know what it is. It may or may not have anything to do with the investigation, so we can proceed.”
“Good.” I had been worried about the decision. “How should we do this?”
“Let’s try loosening it together. It might be better than the hard, heavier steam. The glue may give way easily anyway, simply from the age.”
“True.”
Slowly, Aaron turned the hatbox around over the steam. After each complete turn, he moved to the counter and turned the hatbox upside down. I tried to loosen the glue as he held the hatbox. After two rounds, I hadn’t been able to budge any of it. When the water was boiling harder and the steam became hotter, I began to notice a loosening of the glue, and soon I was able to ease the paper away from the side. Eventually, I curled it back far enough for us to decide if it was worth our while to continue.
Poking the tip of a knife along the side, I said, “There seems to be no resistance.” I thought for a moment. “Should we give it a shake again, just to make sure?”
“Good idea.” Aaron listened as he shook it. “It’s louder.”
“I agree.”
I worked my fingers gradually around each of the angles. Eventually, I released the bottom platform, which turned out to be two layers thick of cardboard-like material. I heard a muffled clink as I shoved the knife farther under the platform. “I wonder?”
“Keep going. This has my curiosity now.” Aaron went to get another knife and helped remove the platform. We each went in separate directions, so we could meet allowing us to lift the platform from its base without a hitch. “Almost ready.”
“What do you think is hidden in here?” I asked, noting that his fingers were moving just as carefully as my own.
“No telling what we’ll find.”
Finally we lifted the platform, exposing a lump of wadded paper. I picked it up and questioned, “What in the world is this?” I set it aside. The small, yellowed bit of newspaper was dated, May 29, 1856.
“What the heck?” I gasped. “Look at the date of this.” I held it up. “It’s incredible. I wonder if the date means anything.”
“No idea.” Aaron shrugged. “What are the headlines?”
“They say, ‘The Speech of Abraham Lincoln.’ Then it reads: Among the ‘appealing’ details was the token Lincoln had from Rose’s small brother and which he concealed in his pocket during the speech—a stiff little fish. With rare sense, the author wonders where it’s disappeared?” Puzzled, I stared at Aaron. “What on earth does that mean?”
“No idea. You’ll have to do research. Who was Rose? The way they wrote and talked back then leaves me confused sometimes, sweetheart.”
I set the yellowed newspaper aside, not wanting to place it inside the box again. “I should fold up one of ours.” I went after a newspaper, halving it until it became equal to the size of the latter one. I formed it to the right size then set it in. “All set.”
“Let’s hope the glue is still moist.” Ever so gently, we placed the platform back and carefully folded the paper edging into place. “Hold on, a sec.” Aaron smoothed his thumb across the seam. “Good as new.”
“I wonder…” Sitting down by the table, I gently unwrapped the package. The brittle paper broke into small pieces at the corners, making me work at a slower pace. At last, the paper was off. We stared at the contents. “A necklace?” I held it up and said, “It looks like an acorn, doesn’t it?”
“A silvered acorn necklace?”
“I’m calling the detectives.” Aaron made the call. Disconnecting, he said, “It looks like I have to list it on the docket as evidence tomorrow. I’m to contact them later if there’s more evidence.”
“What’s the point in having an acorn, if it is truly an acorn, silvered and strung to wear as a necklace?” And do we have a killer after an acorn?”
Chapter Five
It was time to get ready to go to my grandparents’ house. They didn’t live too far away, over by Lake of the Isles, one of several chain lakes in the heart of Minneapolis. They’d sold their house right after my wedding.
“I’m sending a message to Frances because she should know about the acorn,” I said to Aaron. The message explained how we found the necklace and would like to investigate further. Also, I told Frances the police wanted me to examine the dress because the hem felt odd. “Done,” I said after pressing the send button.
“I’m sure the police are in contact with her. Let’s keep the necklace in an evidence bag and secure it in our lockbox,” Aaron said.
“Grandma knows several university professors through the Garden Club, and one may be an expert in analyzing and dating historical pieces,” I said. “We must discover what the necklace is about, such as, is it relevant and why?”
“I’ll ask the detectives if we can have help in identifying it,” Aaron said.
“Here.” I handed it over. “It’s time for me to get dre
ssed.”
After dressing into a pair of jeans, top, and pullover sweater, I asked, “How do I look?”
“Gorgeous.” When he kissed me, I felt beautiful.
“Thank you,” I said. “Not to belabor the subject, why would Mary, if it was she, have kept it hidden in the bottom of the hatbox?” The hair on the back of my neck seemed to twitch, which wasn’t a good sign. “I’m going to find out if there’s really a nut inside the silver or not.”
“The detectives are eager to gain as much information as can be gleamed from it. Mergens is befuddled. All the clues are convoluted, and they don’t have the time to figure out nuts. They have a strong idea who the killer was but without a motive, they’re at a loss.”
“Let’s hope we’ll be able to ask someone a few questions about silver-plated jewelry.”
“It’s possible. We have to keep the police and the Mary Todd Lincoln House updated.” Aaron’s phone dinged, and he read the message out loud: “The hockey practice tonight has been moved to Longfellow Park. Burgers at Matt’s afterwards. Five o’clock.”
“It’s time to load up the gear. We’ll have to go right from Grandma’s to practice.”
“Right. How about you grab your outside clothes, and I’ll run downstairs for my equipment?” Aaron suggested.
“Got it.” I hurried to the bedroom, grabbed an extra heavy Norwegian knitted sweater—a Christmas gift—as well as leggings. The boots, extra mittens, and cap, I grabbed from the closet.
After Aaron used auto-start to warm up the car, we put on our outerwear and went out to the car. As we pulled out of the garage and out into the street, I noticed that the neighborhood children weren’t outside. No flying snowballs for us to dodge.
“Now that it’s colder, it’s gotten more slippery, I see,” Aaron stated, turning a corner.
Reaching Lake Calhoun, we made our way past the Calhoun Beach Manor and soon turned the corner of my grandparents’ block in a newer development geared for senior living. The bushes in front of their townhouse were still lit up with lights, lingering remnants of the holidays that had just passed. Icicle lights cascaded from the rooftop, and the front lawn hosted lit reindeer and a family of snowmen, complete with a bulb lit up on the end of the carrot nose of one of them. It was unmistakably theirs, even if we hadn’t seen it before. We parked in front of their house.
We walked up to the house, opened the front door, and marched inside.
“We’re here!” I called, knowing full well they’d be busy getting things set up in the kitchen.
Aaron and I hung our coats on the coat tree in the hall. I hadn’t been to their house in a couple weeks, not since the Christmas holiday and the weather becoming so incredibly cold. I did feel a little guilty but vowed to make it up to them. I stopped at the glass-door cabinet that showcased Grandma’s First Lady dolls and peered closely at them. First in line, of course, was Martha Washington. Grandma had the entire set—including former First Lady, Mrs. Obama.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” I smiled at Grandma.
“I’m going after a cigar,” Aaron said, sidling off.
“August is in the back room, smoking, Aaron.” Grandma told him. To me, she said, “Luke just arrived with the salads I ordered. The guests will soon be here. Oh, dear. First time we are entertaining this bunch. How do I look?” Grandma stood back, smoothing down her skirt.
“Beautiful, Grandma. Dazzling.” I smiled. She stood at about five feet, one or two inches tall, and her green, dancing eyes always seemed to twinkle. Her hair was always perfect and in the latest style. Boy did she have energy! Even at her age, she could run circles around me, plus multi-task! She was remarkable. I hoped to be half the woman she was when I got to that age—about ninety. Today, she was like a fireball as she waited for her guests. “You’ve met most of the neighbors, haven’t you?”
“Yes! They all seem to dress so fancy, though.” She narrowed her eyes at me and said, “I can tell by that smile of yours that you have something up your sleeve. What is it?”
“I must be grinning from ear to ear.” I felt my cheeks burn. We found a trinket in the bottom of a hatbox that belonged to Mary Lincoln. I can’t say much more because of the investigation. Aaron has it secured.”
“Let’s go into the kitchen and you can tell me about it. The food needs supervision. Luke has another new helper with him.” She started heading to the kitchen but I grabbed her arm.
“Another helper?” I whispered, puzzled. “What happened to the one he had working for him?”
“No idea.” She began walking. I was right beside her. “He gave us the best deal on these salads.”
“I love his food and coffee.” I followed her. It bugged me that so many young female employees came and went from his café. Luke held knives and sliced veggies like a machine. A large platter, with a dipping bowl in the center, looked delicious. Plenty of full serving bowls and plates were set on the table.
After snatching a cold shrimp, I dipped it into cocktail sauce before eating it. “Everything looks delish.” My eyes lit up when I gazed at the uncovered bowls of dip. I couldn’t help myself, and I dipped a carrot into the vegetable dip. “Great. Spinach dip.”
“I didn’t realize these were your grandparents,” Luke said, glancing at me. “Should’ve known because you’ve been in for coffee together, or she’s come down and bought two cups.” He went back to the food preparation.
I spent a moment watching Luke’s new helper chop celery sticks. Like her predecessor, she looked Asian.
“You’re new,” I said to her. “How are you enjoying Minneapolis?”
She looked up at me for a moment but didn’t appear to understand my words. I turned to Luke. “What happened to your other assistant, your cousin? Do you have enough help?”
“She moved back home. This girl is a big help, also my cousin. No need of another.” He looked down at the dish he was preparing, dismissing further questions.
“Everyone needs family,” Grandma stated, coming in at the end of the conversation and lifting out silverware. “We’re using paper plates since I don’t want to put my chinaware in the dishwasher. It’s too old. I’m not up to standing and washing dishes anymore. Enough of that nonsense.”
“Great! About time.” I nodded approval and sat down.
“Tell me quickly about your found trinket before the guests arrive.” Grandma glanced at me. “I’m sure there’s a story behind it.”
“Remember the hat and period dress Blanche, the murdered woman, wore when she impersonated Mary Lincoln?” When she nodded, I continued, “Well, there was a rattle coming from inside her hatbox. The dress hem stitching is odd in places also.” I watched while she counted out forks.
“Go on, I’m listening,” Grandma said. “You shouldn’t be messing with it, though.”
“The historical society recommended me to study the dress for anything amiss plus to do the same with the hat.”
“As long as the detectives know,” Grandma said.
“They do. You see,” I swallowed, “it seemed as if there was a false bottom to the hatbox. We used steam and peeled back the ends of the paper covering it, allowing us to lift out the bottom. I can’t say what was inside the ball of paper.”
“How strange,” Luke said with a puzzled frown. “Are you saying that Mary Lincoln hid something in the box lid?”
“It appears like it.” I popped a chunk of cantaloupe into my mouth. “The newspaper lining the hatbox bottom dated from when Mr. Lincoln gave the Lost Speech.”
“I wonder? Where would Mary have been comfortable hiding the speech, if she had?” Luke asked, setting some mixing bowls in the dishwasher. He then reached for the serving bowls. “Ever researched it? I don’t have much time for stuff like that. Anyway, history wasn’t one of my strong points.”
“Never heard of it before Blanche mentioned it to me.” I shook my head. “I’d like to know more about it myself. How can someone lose a manuscript of an important speech? That’s what baff
les me.”
“You’ll have to keep me informed, honey.” Grandma smiled at me.
“Me too.” Luke nodded and looked at his assistant. He placed a spoon in her hand and whispered something before going back to work.
I recalled Luke dressed as a butler that day at the diary reading, wearing just a modern day suit since they didn’t have “tails” handy for his dress attire. His helper that day also seemed very quiet. I wondered if either of them spoke English. If they didn’t understand what we were saying that would account for their not talking. Aaron and Grandpa’s voices drew my attention. “You nearly ready to put the salmon steaks on the grill?” I asked as they came back into the kitchen.
“Yep. We’re heading out to the garage to move the grill outside.” Grandpa puffed on his cigar as he shrugged his arms into coat sleeves.
“Minnesota and all its natural cold. What better time to have a barbecue than wintertime to shed all the mid-winter blues?”
“You two are goofy,” I said and watched them walk out, shutting the kitchen door behind them. The blast of cold air made me shiver. I decided to make sure there was plenty of open wine on the table and enough chairs for everyone.
“Liv, here’s a short list of things for you to help me with before the guests arrive,” Grandma said. She handed it to me.
“Okay.” I read the list, crumpled it and stuffed it in my pocket.
Aaron found me straightening out the doilies over the furniture a short while later. “The grill is ready for firing. August made sure it’s parked outside away from the garage and cars.”
Word to Death Page 5
