“Go home. We’ll bring over a pot of chicken soup, and you can tell me all about it, dear.”
“We want you safe at home,” Grandpa butted into the conversation. “Listen to your grandpa.”
“Okay, Grandpa, but I have to wait for the police to finish their questioning.”
“Pay attention. Go home. Tell them you’re leaving. They know the way to your house by heart by now.” He hung up the phone.
“Yes sir,” I said to the empty line.
Aaron entered and said, “I’m taking you home.”
“Grandma’s coming over with a pot of soup.” I sighed. “The police will want to ask me more questions, I suppose.” Just then the back door opened and in walked Erlandsen. “Is it all right if we go home? It’s been quite a day so far.”
“Sure, but we’ll be over to question you later.”
I suddenly felt chilled. I didn’t like the feeling. “You’ve called the hospital?”
“Yes, I’ve filled in your husband on the details. Officer Reynolds,” Erlandsen added with a smile. “I think you’d better stay right with her until this gets sorted out.”
Aaron’s smile was Erlandsen’s equal, “Will do.” As soon as he left, Aaron handed over the hot beverages. “Here. Let’s get out to the car.” We settled inside and fastened the seatbelts.
“Can we make a quick hospital detour?”
“Nope. Inga’s being taken care of. Erlandsen told me she has a concussion, and they’ve sent for her daughter. Nancy should be there soon. She only lives a short distance away.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“She is pretty shaken up, but no broken bones, just a bump on the back of her head.”
“Do they have any idea what happened?”
“Not yet.” He drove down the alleyway toward the street. “Why Inga, do you suppose?”
“We’ve got to get this figured out fast before more people take a nasty hit.” I took a sip. “She must’ve grabbed the dress and was able to turn so as to not fall on her face.”
“Could be. Very possible.”
“This all sounds fishy to me. Someone knew I would be coming. Which reminds me—I forgot to pick up my toy bear.”
“I’ll let the detectives know. They can bring it with them when they come out to the house for more questioning.” He reached for my hand. “It’ll be fine. Inga will be fine.”
Will I ever figure out what this person was after?
“This all started when Blanche arrived to play Mary Lincoln.” Aaron stopped at red light.
“Right. Blanche talked about the diary, and also the Lost Speech. So we’re back to that.” I had another thought. “The Masonic signs must have something to do with all of this, don’t you think?”
“I do.” Aaron turned from Main Street and headed toward our house. “You’ll feel better now.”
“I just want to go to bed.” A cute snowman family in a neighboring yard made me smile. Two small snow children, with a daddy snowman. The sight took my mind off the Lincoln puzzles, at least for a moment
“We’ll get you settled on the couch,” Aaron said, parking in the garage.
“That’s right where I want to be.” I felt safe being in the house. The phone rang almost immediately.
Aaron answered and said, “Yep. She’s going to be here all day. We left the toy bear of hers on the front counter of Inga’s store. Please bring it with you when you come.” He disconnected. “See? We’ve already been tracked down.”
“I can be in a cave and they’d find me.” I continued to the living room, grabbed a small quilt to cover myself up with, and crawled onto the couch. Soon Aaron appeared with our warmed-up coffee and sat down beside me. “When do you expect them to get here?”
“Not for awhile. They’ve got a mess on their hands. The fingerprint guys will need to do their stuff. But they found footprints outside the back door, near where the desk was found. The snow was deep, so I’m sure they were able to make a cast of the prints.”
“That’s good. That should help.” I drew in a deep breath. “I want to call the hospital.”
“Let’s wait. Inga needs her rest, and Nancy needs to get there first.” Aaron made sure I was covered. “Let’s give her another thirty, then call. They’ll patch you through to her room if she’s been admitted. Now, you would speak with only a nurse. Talking to Nancy would be better.”
“You’re right. Call me impatient, but I’m so worried about her.” I thought for a moment and said, “Maybe in the morning, Grandma and I can both go up and see her?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Aaron went to the window and looked out. “They’re here. Marie is lugging a large pot.”
“I can smell it already.” I pictured a bowl of chicken soup and felt cozy.
Aaron opened the door, and Grandma and Grandpa kissed him on the cheek. “Let me take that.” Aaron took the pot from Grandma and headed to the kitchen.
“Tell me all about it, Olivia,” Grandma said. She held up one end of the quilt, then sat down, placed my feet on her lap, and covered us. Grandpa sat in a chair opposite.
“I went early to see Inga at her store, and then all this happened.” I proceeded to relate the story once again and finally brought Grandma up to date. “Something crazy is going on and we’re trying to figure what it’s all about. We think it has to do with a speech Abraham Lincoln gave a few years before running for the presidency.”
“And you think those symbols are part of the puzzle?”
“I think so.” Then I remembered the newly found Mary Lincoln letter and said, “Someone had to have hacked into the Lincoln House computer to get that, too. It wasn’t posted on their website. Who would do that? Who could do that?”
Aaron returned from the kitchen and sat down. “This is a mystery that dates back over a hundred and fifty years. We’re not exactly sure where to look next, though.” He raised a brow and looked at me, then Grandma.
“I go in to work at three. It’s still four hours until I report for duty. Can you stay with Liv?”
“We’ll stay with her.” Grandma squeezed my hand.
“Thank you.” I gave my grandparents a big smile. “I’ve checked to see if Mister Lincoln was a Mason, but he wasn’t. However, Mary’s family members were. Most of the men, that is.” I cleared my throat. “I also have discovered that Abe had planned to join the Masons after he left the White House.”
Did the Masons help hide the speech?
Chapter Fifteen
The detectives arrived as we ate our chicken soup, and Erlandsen placed the bear on our kitchen table.
“Thanks,” I said, reaching for it. We stayed seated at the kitchen table while the detectives leaned against the counter. “I suppose you have a few questions?”
“Yep,” Mergens agreed.
“Just a few,” added Erlandsen. “Can we talk someplace more private?”
“Sure. Let’s go to the back bedroom.” I got up and led the way, knowing my grandparents would finish eating and would be sitting in the living room watching TV when the questioning was through. Grandma would also have the kitchen cleaned up, except for my half-empty bowl, which would be waiting for me on the table.
“Right in here.” I steered them into the room, flipped on the light switch, and one of the detectives closed the door. “Fire away.” I sat down on the bed and looked up at both.
“By the way,” Mergens softly said, “just contacted the hospital. I’m happy to tell you that Inga is doing fine. She seems to be coming around. They figure by morning she’ll be in good shape and ready to talk. It’s possible she’ll be released later in the day tomorrow. It depends on her condition.”
“That’s really good news. I suppose a call before visiting is in order? Is Nancy, her daughter, with her?”
“Yes. We also have a security guard posted.”
“Oh. And what about the woman I found in the dumpster?” My eyes opened wider. “You think Inga might have been the next victim?”
“I knew you’d ask. It’s hard to say,” Mergens studied me. “This case seems to be all about the Lincolns.”
“Have you thought of anything else?” Erlandsen asked, poised with pad and pencil. His eyes seemed to pierce me.
“About Inga? No.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “She tried to speak, but I couldn’t understand her. It’s possible that she said ‘Lincoln.’”
“Anything else that’s struck you as funny or odd in the past few days?”
“Not really.” I frowned. “Except my computer was hacked. Someone messed up my Mary Lincoln file and deleted certain messages, but you know about that.”
“It’s all been scanned and cleaned, hasn’t it?” Erlandsen glanced at Mergens. “Won’t do any good to haul it in. Still, if it happens again, we need to be told immediately. Anything else?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.” I looked at Erlandsen. “Blanche mentioned that a newly found letter of Mary Lincoln’s was at the Presidential Library. I visited the website but couldn’t find it, so I messaged the contact there. He replied that the letter wasn’t for public view.” Mergens crossed his arms and motioned for me to continue. “I mentioned the letter to Holly. You see, once when I went to see Inga, she wasn’t in at the moment, so I talked to Holly a few minutes and mentioned the letter. Then I got an anonymous e-mail with the letter as an attachment.”
“You think it came from her?” Mergens asked. “Very interesting.”
“Who else from the block could have known about the letter?”
“You’re narrowing it down, eh?” I raised a brow and studied them. “Possibly Luke and maybe, Inga. However, Holly is the only person I spoke to about it being not for public display.”
“How about in email? Did you mention it to anyone in a message? Remember, someone hacked your computer and has been reading all your emails.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Wow, I guess it could be anyone.”
“All right, I guess that’s everything,” Mergens said, walking to the door. “By the way.” He opened it up with Erlandsen following.
“Yes?”
“Inga’s Pennies for Our Troops jar wasn’t taken.”
“Then it wasn’t a robbery for money. It’s back to Lincoln, though I’m not surprised.”
“I’d like to take Blanche’s dress for a look myself.”
“Sure.” I took it out and gave it to him.
I flipped off the light switch and as I entered the hallway Aaron joined me in uniform.
“Aaron,” Erlandsen said. “Off to work, I take it?”
“Yep.” Aaron cocking his head. “Anything new to tell?”
“Not really. We’ll keep you updated.”
“Right.”
They opened the front door and walked out. The sudden chill sent shivers down my spine, but the warmth when the door was closed again chased the shivers away.
“Sit down, Olivia. I’ll warm your soup.” Grandma got up from the couch. They’d been watching an Andy Griffith rerun.
“He wanted the dress?”
“Yep. He wanted a look at it himself.” I shrugged.
“I’m going, hon,” Aaron said. “But keep the doors locked and shades drawn.”
“I will.”
“I’ll call or text later.” He kissed me, said “Goodbye,” to Grandpa, and headed toward the door.
My grandparents stayed for another hour, passing the time by watching I Love Lucy. Grandma’s head nodded a few times while Grandpa’s eyes glazed over once or twice. I was happy to see them leave as dusk descended upon us. Now I had the needed alone time to put my thoughts together.
The events left me wondering if I shouldn’t just stay home until the murder was solved. I turned on the History Channel to see what was on. I got lucky—they were showing a program about President Lincoln’s rise to the White House. I had missed only the first ten minutes. When the program ended, I did a Google search for “the Lost Speech” again and found several more websites. I clicked onto each, but none of them had anything I hadn’t already discovered. Maybe the speech was well and truly lost.
Did his office partner, William Herndon, keep it? Could he have given it to Mary for safekeeping? Possible, but for what reason?
I let that thought percolate and work its way around in the recesses of my mind. Since the discovery of the Star Spangled Banner manuscript, I knew anything was possible. With this fresh thought in mind, I shut off the television and headed to bed.
As I tossed and turned, my thoughts circled to images of that tall, lanky, young man full of hopes and dreams and promise as he delivered the speech. As was customary, only men attended political speeches. Although Mary had most likely prodded and pressured him into the political arena, she saw the intelligence behind his homespun words. She was very interested in politics and could hold her own during any conversation. She was not only well-read, but she was also brilliant in her own right. The old saying, “Behind every good man is a good woman,” came to mind.
I also recalled Grandma’s comment about bodies dropping all around me, which made me frightened at every little sound in the dark. I got up several times to look out the front window, out into the street, apprehensive about what I might find. At one point, I fixed myself a small cup of hot chocolate. Sometime during the early morning hours, Aaron crawled into bed. I curled up against his warm body and fell asleep dreaming about times long ago, and how hard it was to eke out a living. That thought was still on my mind as I woke to sunshine streaming in through the window blinds.
Aaron was still asleep. I kissed him lightly on the cheek before softly slipping out of bed, making sure the blankets covered him well. I tiptoed into the hallway, jumping into the shower. When I was dressed, I headed toward the kitchen resolved to turn over a new leaf. I wanted the perfect breakfast, including bacon that wasn’t two stages past crisp. Aaron also liked his eggs sunny-side up, not cracked-yolk style. I hoped to not burn the house down.
It was striking eight o’clock when I tackled the bacon and eggs. I tried to cook exactly as I’d seen Aaron do it. Shortly after, as I sat eating my burned egg and overdone bacon, I scanned through some old recipe books I had collected over the years. At the sound of Aaron’s footsteps in the hall, I closed the book and brought my dirty plate to the sink. After cracking two more eggs into the pan, I asked, “Hard night?”
“Sort of, but not really.” He hugged me. “How are you doing?”
“Didn’t sleep well.” I yawned.
“Let me take over.” He grabbed the spatula from me, but I kept a close eye on how he fried the eggs. “I checked on our store on my way home. It seemed fine. I didn’t go inside but probably should have with the way things are shaping up around here.” He flipped his eggs onto the plate with ease. Men! “I’m staying at the store with you today.” He yawned. “At least until I need to leave for my shift this evening. I’ve already talked to Max. Someone will be there with you at all times.”
“Bodyguards.” I grunted. “I hate to admit it, but I feel better.” I crossed my arms, shivering. “I’m worried I’ll be the next victim.”
“Nah, I’ve got your back.”
“The creep doesn’t stand a chance.” We sat for a few minutes, giving me time to check my e-mail account since that had not been done yesterday. I found a note from the university that read:
Dear Liv,
Today, Wed, would work out great. Call me first thing when you get this message.
Call me,
Dr. Bill Williams
His telephone number was included under his name.
I reached for my phone, saying, “Dr. Williams wants me to call,” and quickly dialed. Aaron gave me a thumbs-up. The phone was answered. “Doctor Williams?”
“Liv? Good to hear from you. Come over to my office at two today. I’ll try to be there, but if I’m not, I’ll leave a message with my secretary and she’ll take care of it. You won’t mind leaving the necklace with me a couple days, will you? We’ve a ton o
f course work we’re preparing.”
“No problem.” I disconnected and told Aaron what Dr. Williams had said.
“We’ll meet him together. I’m not letting you or the necklace or anything out of my sight,” he said, crossing his arms.
“Fine with me. You chauffeuring me around? Couldn’t be better.” I smiled. “Now, let’s get moving. I want to stop in to see Inga for a minute.”
“Can’t. Until things get sorted out, the detectives don’t want anyone to go near her, except for her daughter. They’re taking no chances about anything.”
“I’m not a suspect, why would they prevent me from being there?”
“Just because. Rules are rules.” He frowned. “Now let’s git.”
I headed to the bedroom and retrieved the small safe box with the necklace from the closet. I placed the box inside my bag and headed out to the kitchen. Hearing the car’s engine running, I knew Aaron was waiting. I pulled on my coat and went out to the car.
“I’m sending a message to the detectives alerting them that we are taking the necklace to Doctor Williams this afternoon,” I told Aaron.
“Makes sense.”
My phone dinged with their reply. “They’ll drop off Blanche’s dress when they’re finished with it.”
In less than ten minutes, we were inside the store and our jackets removed. Together we strolled through the workroom and showroom, not something I cared to do alone.
“Nothing seems out of place,” I said with relief.
“However,” Aaron said, nodding over at the First Lady pictures, “aren’t they a little crooked?”
“Maybe a little bit, but these old buildings shift and creak.” I thought of a listening device, because that was how the killer learned about the hidden manuscript of the Star Spangled Banner and me almost being murdered on my wedding night. Kind of natural that I might be a little anxious.
The morning flew past. Since Aaron and I weren’t very familiar with the campus layout, we left early to go to the university.
We found a parking spot and took an elevator down to the main level, walked out into the street, and headed for the closest university building. From there, it didn’t take us long to find Dr. William’s building and his office on the third floor.
Word to Death Page 14
