“What does this missing book have to do with the house?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but part of researching for PEEPs is gathering all the facts and letting the team sort through what is valuable and what isn’t. For example, a bill of lading could show us what the occupants of the house consumed. In one case, a researcher found that there was way too much arsenic bought. A normal household would use X amount, but it was doubled. This is how the team involved found out that the woman of the home had poisoned her husband.”
“Wow. I see, we treat their murder like a cold case.”
“In our line of work, an ice-cold case,” Audrey said, studying the microfiche printouts she’d asked Mark to make. “In this report of Earl Wayne’s death, they list it as natural causes due to problems of the heart. He left his big house in Big Bear Lake – that’s where Mia is from, by the way – to the eldest son Wyatt. William was given the land and the old farmhouse. That’s pretty normal in those days. Had the father given everything to William or Wyatt, then this would have told us that there was dissention in the family.”
“Why would that help you in an investigation?”
“Mia needs background information when she communicates with the ghosts. Having little tidbits of gossip sometimes helps her to rouse the ghost into interacting with her. Sometimes a little too much, but Mia can handle most anything that comes up.”
Mark nodded. “Does it mention the gold coins?”
“No.”
“What if there never were any coins, and Wyatt murdered his brother and family for nothing?”
“Murdering for any reason is horrible, but greedy men can justify it. But if it were all for naught, then Wyatt could probably have lost his mind. Or not. He could’ve just been a psychopath.”
The head librarian walked over and placed a volume on the table in front of Audrey and Mark. “I found this stuck in a corner. It’s an indulgent, little self-published book written by the area’s parson at the time you are researching.”
“That’s wonderful,” Audrey said. “Thank you.”
The librarian nodded and walked away.
“Mark, I want you to read this. See if the pastor mentions the Waynes. If he was pompous enough to write a memoir, then he would have sought out the rich members of the congregation in order to better his place in the community.”
Mark opened the book and began to read.
Audrey smiled. It was good to be in the company of such an eager and fast learner. She wondered if this was what Cid was like as a child. He had such an appreciation for books. Ted was smart, but he was more mechanical. Although, his command of four languages was remarkable. Those guys intimidated her. She was more comfortable with plodders like Burt. He was smart but took his time to figure things out.
~
Mia was surprised by the Big Bear Lake connection. “Where was the house?”
“It was a large lake house. Here’s a picture. It’s kind of grainy,” Audrey apologized.
“It looks a bit like one of the mansions on the rich side of the lake,” she said and passed the picture to Glenda.
They decided to have lunch in town. Mia called, and Cid said he would throw something together for the guys and to enjoy her time away.
“They must be neck deep into a project,” Mia thought.
“I wonder what happened to the contents of the house.”
Mark pushed a copy of an auction notice in front of her. Mia squinted, but she could read that a roll top desk was included in the description of the items for auction. “I wonder if we can find out where that desk went.”
“After all this time, I doubt it,” Audrey said.
“Why are you so interested in this desk?” Glenda asked.
“There was a manuscript on the desk in my vision,” Mia explained.
“In those days, without air conditioning, papers would curl with the humidity. Any writer worth his salt would have contained it in something. A biscuit tin perhaps?” Glenda suggested.
Mia looked on the list. “It could be under household items or…”
“It’s there!” Mark exclaimed.
“Where?” Mia asked.
“I saw a stack of old tins in the cellar. Some of them are wrapped in oilcloth,” he said.
“When did you go into the cellar?” Mia asked him.
“I didn’t. The house showed it to me in a dream,” he said.
“Wouldn’t it have already been ransacked like the rest of the place?” Mia asked.
“Houses of that period would have the entrance to the cellar on the outside of the home. It could have been overlooked,” Audrey ventured.
“But not by Wyatt,” Mia reminded them.
“Wyatt was looking for gold not paper,” Mark said. “Mia, can we go into the cellar?”
“Murphy maybe. The house is in too great of disrepair for us to chance a person going into the cellar underneath. But a ghost? Sure. I’ll ask him when we get back. Or, better yet, you ask him.”
“Me?” Mark squeaked, putting his hand on his chest. “He’s got an axe.”
Mia smiled indulgently. “I assure you, there is no sweeter man in the ether. But when he has to be, there is no one more dangerous too. Approach him with respect, and he will return it,” she advised.
Glenda caught Audrey’s eye. She mouthed, “Good mom.”
Audrey nodded.
Chapter Twenty-four
Ted had the air conditioning cranked up in the command post. The computers were having trouble with the heat, so Jake demonstrated his irritation by having Marvin the Martian walking around in a tiny Speedo bathing suit.
Mia stood sweating under the awning. She had stripped down to a tiny tank and short, pocketed shorts. Mike watched her from behind his sunglasses. He foresaw a series of cold showers in his near future. “Damn it, Mia, just go naked,” he complained.
“Burt wants a PG rating or I would,” she snapped back. “Could it get any hotter?”
Today, the PEEPs were going to investigate the upstairs without Mark. Cid
