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Edna Blake was just as I remembered her, and she answered all my numerous questions about Pat Nixon and other First Ladies. Questions about Alice or Edith Roosevelt stumped her, but she promised to send me the address to someone who would know about land sales in or around Medora, North Dakota. Even better, this person actually had ties to Edith Roosevelt.
Once I’d arrived home, I no sooner poured myself a glass of soda than Aaron returned home. I gave him my glass and poured another for myself. “Do you want to go sit outside right away, or shower?”
“Shower and change. I’ll meet you in back.”
He gave me a kiss, and I watched him go with the glass in hand. I turned and went out back to sit and think. Edna wasn’t privy anymore to White House matters, and hadn’t been invited for tea in a number of years. She’d now reached her late seventies, and didn’t travel much, but she still summered in Cross Lake, and wintered in Florida. She also had a small apartment in Minneapolis. Edna had told us that Mrs. Nixon was quiet and shy, and hated politics, as did most of the First Ladies. I thought of what she’d said about Alice, who was known for carrying her pistol, in her purse – the same purse I now owned. Unlike most women of her generation, she drove her own car.
She also hosted many weekly parties attended by senators and congressmen and enjoyed the political talk in which then engaged. She rarely spoke during such conversations, but absorbed everything they said, and kept many secrets. Invitations to these gatherings were prized, in part because she made certain their glasses were filled and there was plenty to eat. I went back inside and fetched the purse and pistol, bringing it outside.
“What do you have there?” Aaron said.
I held Alice’s Colt Pocket Pistol and admired the sleekness of it and how well it fit into the palm of my hand, like a glove. I looked up as he walked toward me.
“Alice Roosevelt’s pistol. Remember? It was in the purse I’d purchased a while ago from Inga,” I said, and handed it to him.
“You’ve got that look about you,” he said, taking the gun in hand. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “You can’t do any investigating, hon. There isn’t anything to warrant an investigation at Gina’s house.”
“I know, but that doesn’t stop my worries. Something’s not right, and I don’t know what it is.” I gave him the pistol, handle first. “I’m sure it’s not loaded, but take a good look at it.”
Aaron clicked open the chamber and confirmed that it was empty.
“It’s clean. Put it back in the purse and tell me what’s eating you.”
“There is quite a bit that doesn’t make sense; everything that I’ve told you and then more.” I took a deep breath and told him about Alice and how her interest lay in the area around Medora where her father ranched. The small cabin of his that had traveled the country until President Truman put a stop to it, and signed a bill stating that it belonged in the park. “Edna plans to send me the address to someone who can tell me more about land ownership back then.”
“You think this all ties together somehow?”
“Yes, but there’s more. The two impersonator’s cars were parked outside of Pracna this morning. Don’t you find that odd? It’s Sunday morning!”
“They’re not breaking the law as long as no liquor is sold. I’ll make sure that the beat patrol is aware of this, but that’s all that can be done.”
“No one has cleaned out her house, either. Makes me wonder...”
“You haven’t seen any cars or lights, have you?”
“No.” I sipped my soda and thought about what a beautiful day it is. “Should we go for a stroll over to the house?”
“We could, but can’t enter. We can walk around it just to make sure that it’s secure, but that’s all.”
“Okay. Let’s put this stuff away.” I brought the purse and pistol inside, placing it in a kitchen drawer. Aaron followed with the soda glasses and set them on the counter. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
Aaron ushered me out the door and across the street. The neighborhood children scooted on their skateboards and bounced balls in the street. Smaller children ran around in swimming suits and jumped in wading pools. At the front of Gina’s house, I said, “We should try her door to make sure that it’s still locked.” I glanced at my frowning husband but still reached for the doorknob. He brushed my hand down and turned it.
The door popped open exposing a room full of topsy-turvy furniture and papers strewn all over the floor.
My eyes opened wide as Aaron pulled me to the middle of the yard. Quickly he removed his phone and called it into the police station as a breaking and entering. Next he gave Detective Erlandsen a call.
“Gina’s house has been ransacked.” He hesitated a moment before continuing, “Liv hadn’t seen anyone around and we thought we’d make sure it was secure. We haven’t entered. I’ve reported it as a break-in.” After another minute, he disconnected and looked at me. “Go home. I’m staying here until a team shows up.”
“Nope.” I saw him roll his eyes and stare upward.
“Can’t you ever listen?” The flicker of lights became a police squad car with flashing lights.
“Never mind.”
I held my ground. I wanted to take a look inside. What could they be after? What’s missing? I stood to the side, and watched as the officers went inside to secure the home and then return to speak to Aaron. During that time, the detectives arrived. They saw me, and Erlandsen crossed his arms and looked upward.
“I want inside.”
“I bet you do.”
“You’re just going to have to wait it out,” Mergens fired back.
“Shoot!” I knew then that I was sunk.
I went back home and plopped down on my front steps and watched from across the street. First after the patrolmen, the detectives entered. After a few minutes, they came back outside and talked for a while, all the time looking over at me. Aaron stayed with them for a while, and then found his way home, and sat on the steps beside me.
“Well?”“The family’s being notified.”“That all you’re saying?”“For now.”I growled, went inside for my soda, and brought it back out with me. “Bet you wanted yours too?”
“Yeah.”
I handed him my glass and went back in for another, and resumed my watch. “Now what are they doing?”
“I think they’ve called forensics to check for prints. No one knows why this happened but since it’s on record that the owner was murdered, the investigative team plans to come on board.”
“St. Paul police?”“Jurisdictions have to be worked out.”I continued staring across the street. By now it was getting hard to tell what was happening because of the spectators. It seemed like the whole neighborhood had turned out. I drank my soda in silence and thought about it. Why would someone break into her house and ransack it unless they were after something. What on earth would they be after? My phone buzzed with a message from Erlandsen. It read: get over here.
“He wants me.” I got up and we left the glasses on the steps to be picked up later. Aaron walked beside me as we made our way through the gathering crowd. The patrolman guarding the main door ushered us inside where the detectives stood waiting.
“We meet again,” Erlandsen said. “Since you were probably the last person inside here, how about helping by telling us if something is missing?”
“This is kind of getting a little ridiculous with you two, but let’s get started,” Mergens said.
“Sure.” I smiled. I knew he spoke about the other two cases and didn’t actually mean me. “Lead the way.”
“You already know the way.” Mergens looked at Aaron. “How about giving your statement while you wait?”
“Okay.” Aaron walked away.“Follow me.”The detectives began the walk-through with me in tow. First we stepped into the living room which was a mess with the papers scattered across the cushions and ripped magazines. We walked down the hallway and I stopped at the bathroom. “You’ve already taken the shoe?” I looked around quickly. Gina’s mattresses were overturned, and all the dresser drawers dumped out. I gasped. “Why would they do that?”
“They were after something in particular.” Erlandsen looked at me. “Anything missing or unusually placed, that you can see?”
“From what I recall, the jewelry is as it was except slightly spilled out. That bottom drawer of the chest, of course, is overturned.” I glanced down at the small chest beside the bed. “She had papers on top, but they’re scattered all over.”
“Let’s go downstairs.”
I followed them to the kitchen, and then down the basement stairs. I noted that the drawers were overturned in the kitchen, too. “Definitely looking for something, but what?”
The basement had very little in it besides an old bookcase, laundry room, and an old furnace. However, the bookcase was empty, and all the books were piled on the floor. “What on earth?” I bent over to have a look. Most of them were quite old.
“Any books catch your attention?”
“This is what Ida wanted me to find, but I never went downstairs.”
“Did she mention one in particular?”
“A ledger.” I started reading the covers and picking through the pile.
“Right here.” He picked it up. “I think I’ll keep this with me.”
“I’d like to look through the old ledgers and plat books. There are two or three other books I’d be interested in taking a look inside of. This one here about how Medora started, it tells more than the plat book, and this old school ledger. Maybe this one about the old church.” I picked them up, and looked at the detectives. “Maybe I can find some clues inside these?”
“Okay. We’ll let the family know.”
We went back up the stairs and I continued out the door. I held the books with one arm, while the other swatted some horrible mosquitoes that had arrived with the sunset. I raced right across the street and into our living room, where I found the TV blasting and Aaron watching it. “Look at what I brought home.” I placed them carefully on the coffee table. Old books can be fragile.
“Oh.” He glanced at the titles, clearly not impressed.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” I smiled over at him. “The house was sure a big mess. Yikes.” I shook my head. “I didn’t see anything missing, nothing that I knew about.”
“That’s good. I’m sure the family will be around soon. I’m anxious now to meet them.”
“Me, more than you. Why leave the house for so long? Wouldn’t the police let them start packing up since it’s not the crime scene?”
“It is now,” he said. “I also wonder who will take over the murder investigation. I suspect, we’ll know tomorrow.”
“Make sure you let me know.” I said, looking at him. “We’re in this together.”
“Yeah, if only we knew what we were going after—it would help.”
I picked up the plat book and tried to figure out where the farms were located and the proximity to
each other plus the Roosevelt property. It was difficult because of not knowing the counties and the pages were filled with complicated diagrams presumably because of the farmland ownership. I decided to put it off until later. I reached for the small church history book and found it interesting. St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medora was built by the De Mores family. I glanced through the pages enjoying all the pictures of the tiny church, but nothing popped out and caught my attention. I set it aside, also. The family Bible was among the pile of books. It was huge and the print was of old English style, so it was hard to follow. I must not be in the mood. I placed it on the table with the other books, and leaned back to sip my drink.
“What on earth would Gina have that someone else might want?”
“That’s up to the detectives to figure out.” He caught the pillow I threw at him. “What’s that for?”
“You’re sounding too much like a cop.” I stood in front of the window. “How crazy, really. I thought I knew Gina pretty well.”
“How well do you really know someone, though, until you’ve lived with them?”
“That’s true.” I shifted over for Aaron to join me at the window. “I don’t see anyone I recognize besides neighbors, but it’s getting dark.”
“None of her jewelry or expensive things were stolen, were they?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “It’s getting late.” I sighed. “I’m going to get ready for bed.”
Aaron yawned. “Me, too.”
I glanced outside one last time to find that the number of spectators had dwindled to almost none. “Do you think any of our leading suspects were in the crowd?”
Aaron crossed his arms and said, “You’ve been watching too much TV.”
It didn’t take long for the both of us to jump into bed and fall fast asleep. I woke about an hour later and glanced once more outside toward the street, and didn’t see the squad car. Back in bed, my mind kept going over the messed up rooms. What were they after? The intended find eluded me, and I finally fell asleep.
Rain pounded the windows and lightning crashed, which woke us to a grey day. “So much for walking to work,” I grumbled, and sat up.
“I can take you.” Aaron kissed me. “I’ll be there at lunch time, too. I’m going to hang-out with you as much as possible.”
“You’re worried?” I leaned over him and kissed him softly.
“You bet I am. The crimes are getting closer. They’re creeping in on us.”
“Hmm....” I got up and headed toward the shower. I heard Aaron’s phone chirp as I closed the bathroom door. I hoped he wouldn’t be called back to work another shift. When I’d finished toweling off and entered the bedroom, I found it empty. Aaron must be fixing breakfast, I guessed, as I pulled on a Tee-shirt and red capris. I ran a comb through my unruly, springy red hair, put a bow on the side to hold it back, slipped into a pair of black wedges, and headed to the kitchen.
Fried bacon was already on a plate and Aaron stood cracking an egg over a small frying pan as I entered. “Who was on the phone?” I sat in my usual spot and waited for our meal. Aaron loved to cook. I was getting better at it, but still burned eggs quite regularly so I cleaned up after he cooked. It seemed to work better that way. I sipped my apple juice.
“It’s like this.” Aaron poured a mug of coffee, and I had apple juice. He leaned against the counter and took a sip of his before clearing his throat.
I braced myself. Whenever he took this tactic, I knew it wouldn’t have a good outcome. The grave look in his eyes made me tremble. “Well?” I set my glass down to wait.
“Inga’s been burglarized.” He set his mug down and stared at me.
“Was she there when it happened?” I had trouble catching my breath. The last time this happened, I’d found her and called the ambulance. She’d been hospitalized for a concussion and had to stay a few days.
“Fortunately it happened before she arrived.”
“I was supposed to meet her this morning. She had something for me.”
“What?”
“A figurine of Teddy Roosevelt that went with my jingle dancer figurine to make a matching set.”
“Well, my dear, I do believe that the detectives will be around sometime today.”
“We best get moving.”
Aaron dished up the fried eggs, and we both ate. Each of us deep in our own thoughts. I wondered what the day would bring when my phone buzzed. It was Grandma, so I thought I’d better answer it.
“What’s this I hear about a break-in across the street? That Gina’s house?” Actually, it was Grandpa using her phone.
“Yes, Grandpa. Aaron and I found it open so he called it in.”
“You okay? No one hit you over the head, did they?”
“Nope.”“He’s going to be with you all day, isn’t he?”
“Yes. I don’t need a bodyguard, I have Aaron.”
“Okay. Grandma says we’re to come anyway.”
“We’re fine. Don’t worry.” He disconnected in mid-sentence. I looked at Aaron and let out a long breath.
“Don’t tell me, I already know—they’ll be at the store by the time we get there.”
“How’d you guess?”