Dillard Beach Mystery – 70

They remained sitting in comfortable silence for several minutes. Jacinda stood off to one side carefully watching the pair.

It was the Captain who finally broke the silence. He directed his remarks at his cousin.

“Jacinda, tomorrow I will accompany our guest to her home in Dillard. Will you be so kind as to see to little Ezra while we are gone? Perhaps one of the maids can keep an eye on the boy.”

Rebekah could see Jacinda was annoyed at the Captain’s request but she did not object.
“It is very late, cousin. You must be tired after your travels. I think it time we all retired for the night.”

She made this declaration with such conviction neither the Captain nor Rebekah could argue.

“You are correct, Jacinda, we have taken up too much of your time.” Rebekah commented. “Come along Ezra.” She nudged her son awake, and taking him by the hand led the boy towards the grand staircase. “I will meet you at first light, Edward. Sleep well.”
…
Dillard village was quiet as Edward drove the small two person cart along the shore road to Rebekah’s property the next morning. Though she had only been gone a few weeks, it seemed to Rebekah as if a full year had passed since she had seen her small cottage. A few shingles on the roof had shifted, but little else was out of place and as it had been a cold autumn, the grass had grown very little in her absence. Perhaps it was the early morning fog that crawled along the ground as Rebekah and Chapman approached, or the tree branches stripped of all leaves which added to the impression that no one had lived in the house for a very long time; the place looked abandoned.

Chapman helped Rebekah down from the cart. “Let me enter the house first, Rebekah. In case you have uninvited guests.”

“It is unlikely anyone would take over my property, Edward. I have not been gone so long.”

“I was thinking more of small, woodland guests, Rebekah. In the manner of skunks and raccoons.”

As he said the words he pushed the front door open and a squirrel raced out the door, across the grass and into the nearby woods.

Rebekah moved closer and poked her head through the front door. “Is that the last of them?” she asked.

“Probably not, but the rest will have to wait until we are done.” He turned and took Rebekah’s hand. “I think it is safe enough.”

She stood and looked around the large room. She could see mouse droppings across the hearth, and a bag of grain she had left on one of the shelves had a large hole where some animal had gnawed his way through the canvas. A few grains of corn were scattered about.

“I thought I stored that bag safe in the cupboard.”

“Nothing more determined than a hungry rodent, Rebekah.”

She sighed. “It could be a lot worse, I suppose. I stored most of our vegetables in the root cellar.”

“I’m sure your food is perfectly safe, Rebekah. But we should probably focus on finding that document. Where should we look?”

“John showed me the location after we moved into the cottage. He placed it in a small tin box and hid it behind one of the bricks inside the chimney. It has been some time, but I should be able to find it. Just bring me that stool and help me up so I can see.”

“You will need a light.” Chapman said.

The Captain found the box of tinder Rebekah kept near the hearth, and selected a bundle of thin sticks. He removed two small fire stones he always kept in his pocket, struck them together and within moments he had a small flame.

“Have you a candle near at hand?” he asked.

She handed him a small lantern with a candle fixed in its center. He quickly lit the candle and handed the lantern back to Rebekah.

“Do you remember the location of the hiding place?”

“I remember it was at least a foot above John’s head. He marked the corner of the brick with his initials so we could find it again.”

She stepped into the center of the fireplace, lifted the lantern and began to search the firebricks. Two feet above her head she saw a brick with scratches in one corner.

“I think I see it, Edward, but I will need the stool to be sure.”

“Let me do that.” Chapman grabbed the stool and switched places with Rebekah. He lifted the lantern.

“Which brick is it?” he asked.

“Look for the one with scratches along the bottom.”

“There is so much soot on these bricks it is hard to tell what is a scratch.”

“Look for the initials “JR”. The scratches will be deep.”

Chapman moved the lantern back and forth across the bricks and was about to give up when the light caught a deep gouge in one of the bricks in the center of the wall.”

“I think I see it. I will need something to help pry it loose.”

Rebekah looked about the hearth. She grabbed a long iron poker. “Will this do?”

“Perfect,” Chapman responded. “Hold the lantern while I try to pry the brick loose.”

Rebekah took the lantern and held it high above her head, keeping it as steady as she could. Chapman began to dig into the mortar that filled the space between each of the bricks. After two or three strikes with the poker, chips of the mortar began to crack and fall away.

“The brick is coming loose,” he declared. He continued to poke and pry at the old mortar until he had removed all but a small portion of the grout that kept the brick in place.

“Nearly there.”

He struck the mortar one last time and the brick came loose and fell to the floor of the hearth.

“Give me the lantern, Rebekah so I can see.”

He raised the lantern and peered into the empty hole left in the line of bricks. He expected to see the edge of a small metal box: A box that contained the legal documents declaring Rebekah as owner of the cottage and its lands.

The space was empty.