Chapter Seventeen

When Vicki joined Liz on a last inspection of the guest bedrooms, they discovered Emily in the attic. She was bent over a stack of old bills. The space smelled of old clothes and dust.

“This is Vicki,” Liz said. “Nate’s sister. She’s brought one of her patients for the weekend and wants to help with the inn guests. She claimed it will be a break from work.”

Emily studied the tall, slender woman with her soft green eyes. “You look like him,” she said softly. “Only prettier.”

“Thanks.” Her expression showed her pleasure. “Why are you up here?”

“Searching for records from the Deerbourne family. And I’m opening some skylights for air. It was cooler when I came up.” She proceeded to do just that. “No matter how long I let in air, the stuffy smell comes back.”

“What a mess,” Vicki declared when she walked around the furniture. She peered under sheets and over dressers. “You’d think the old pieces were multiplying like rabbits. There must be over a hundred. How can you find anything?”

“Mostly by looking in the right places.” She shrugged at Vicki’s snort. “There is a method to my madness. I look for desks, then anything with drawers, like those old dressers. And trunks. People pack away the darnedest things.”

“Now you’ve got my curiosity aroused. Can we hunt for a few minutes, Liz?”

“Sure. Nate is busy in the kitchen and doesn’t need anyone. Guests aren’t due until after three. Let’s see what we can find. Emily gave me a paperweight from one of the trunks yesterday.” She headed for the next trunk and flipped open the lid.

Emily winced. “I checked that one already. If its labeled, it’s done. Find another.”

Liz bent over a steamer trunk stuffed with winter clothes and laughed while she lifted them into the air. The styles were so old she didn’t recognize the era.

After searching for a few minutes, Vicki pulled a round-topped trunk from behind a tall-boy dresser. Moving it into the light, she carefully opened the lid. She gasped with surprise. Wrapped in yellowed tissue, a wedding dress nestled on top. Sequins twinkled on the heart-shaped bodice and rained over the full satin skirt. She ran her hand over the fabric.

Liz and Emily peered over her shoulder. Emily’s heart stuttered with excitement.

“How beautiful. And here’s the veil,” she cried when she lifted the skirts aside. A delicate tiara matched the sequined bodice. Emily gulped when Vicki’s action revealed old photo albums in the trunk’s bottom.

“Let me,” she cried. Removing the top one and opening the first page with care, she held the album so Liz and Vicki could see the image: a formal color portrait of a beautiful young woman.

“That’s Bertha,” Vicki said. “Much younger, but the eyes are right. Like the photo downstairs.”

Emily plopped on her bottom. “Jackpot,” she whispered before turning the pages slowly. Her fingers trembled. “I wish more of these were in color, not black and white.”

“This has to be Bertha’s wedding dress,” Vicki murmured before folding the fabric with care. “Never worn.”

Liz spread a sheet on the floor to lay it on. They carefully removed the albums. The covers were decorated with intricate hand embroidery, another hint of their age.

Altogether there were five albums. The pictures covered childhood years, and Emily knew finding out more about the older ones would take detailed research. A few were labeled with names and dates, but not all. She eased to her feet and grinned at the others. “These need to be taken downstairs. Nate will want to see them. I must check the names that are mentioned. Many are so brittle they’ll break if I’m careless.”

Vicki ran her hand over the embroidery decorating the album cover. “What a treasure. Nate will preserve them I’m sure. Without Bertha, he’d still be in New York. We both owe her.”

Each woman carried two albums with Emily taking one and her folders. Agreeing to leave them in Nate’s room, they placed them on his bed.

“What a surprise. We’ll tell him later,” Vicki said. “He won’t have time today to enjoy them.”

****

Chief Karen Burke found Emily seated at the desk in the parlor, going through the folders. When Karen tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, she looked peeved.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in my territory?”

“What? Oh, last night. I’m sorry. Jack asked me to direct traffic. I didn’t think.” She pulled her thoughts from the letters she’d been reading.

“It might have helped when the mayor called with a list of complaints from vendors. Seems an officer threatened to have them arrested. A female officer. And since I don’t have any women on patrol, I couldn’t give him an answer.” Karen scowled at Emily.

Emily broke into laughter.

A second later so did Karen. “What a mess. I told him they were mistaken, maybe having imbibed during their trip. He liked that. It didn’t take me long to figure out who they meant. So are you here on business?”

Emily wiped her streaming eyes. “No, not business, personal. I’m researching the history of the inn and Bertha Deerbourne. It’s something I do part-time. Nate has given me access to the attic. The place is full of old records.”

“Sounds interesting.” Karen hitched a seat on the desk. She studied Emily with clear cop eyes. “What are you really looking for?”

“When I find it, I’ll let you know.”

“Does it have anything to do with the skeleton we found?”

“Damn. You’re good. It might. Bertha’s fiancé went missing. Rumor says he committed suicide, but what if he had an accident?”

“Or it could be a solo hiker.” Karen bit her thumbnail. “Call me in a couple days. I’ll share what we find.”

****

At three o’clock, Nate took the time to greet his inn’s first guests. Pride and satisfaction warmed his heart.

The Greens, both father and son along with their wives, were avid fishermen. The amount of fishing equipment they hauled to their rooms would have stocked a store. Pride welled when they complimented him on the inn. He’d had Jared assign them rooms on the third floor to avoid the noise from the café.

“We plan to be up by four in the morning. The trout bite at sunrise and we don’t want to miss them,” the older Green said.

“No problem,” Nate replied. “I’ll be up baking breakfast rolls and muffins.”

“Shame to miss it if it smells as good as what you’re cooking now, but we’re used to doing without.”

“How about hard-boiled eggs, muffins and jelly, with a thermos of hot coffee? I can prepare a picnic basket. It will be on the counter for you to grab on your way to the lake. Breakfast is included with the room. The locals tell me the trout are really active.”

“Thanks. We’ll take you up on that. Since we’re going to bed early, we’re going to explore the town and grab something simple. We hear the locals are holding a market and fair on the town green.”

Nate waved cheerfully and returned to the kitchen. He tied his hair back in a short pony tail. He never did get to the barber shop. He finished closing up and headed wearily to bed.