The Edenbury Chronicles - Vol 2 - Chapter 12

Eric Finch was suffering writer’s block for the third day in a row. Out in the front yard, he set up a small table for his coffee cup instead of using the rock as he had the previous day. Together with a folding chair, the growing ensemble of lawn furniture was attracting the attention of people passing by.

The warm breeze and sun were warming up the day, and Eric had already finished what he needed to do, although he was having difficulty writing anything meaningful.

“Rebecca’s got a talking tree,” Eric began. “What’s your story?” he asked the rock.

As usual, Eric's words were met only by silence.

“The girls are calling you Rascal Rock. Did you know that?” 

More silence.

“I’m having trouble writing again,” Eric confided in the rock. “Do you find that hard to believe?”

Eric laughed at himself. “Get it? Hard to believe?”

While Eric was composing other rock jokes, Henry Sheldon’s truck appeared in the street in front of the Chronicle office.

Eric rose and was surprised to see Zeke and Father Vance climb out of the cab. 

He approached the vehicle. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

Zeke shook Eric’s hand while Father Vance began removing a tarp from something large in the bed of the truck.

“Hello, Eric,” Zeke answered. “You might find this odd, but—”

“This is Edenbury, Mr. Hughes. Try me.”

Zeke turned and helped Father Vance pull down the tarp to expose a beautiful oak writing desk.

“It’s a gift,” said Zeke.

“Yup, that is odd,” Eric said as he walked around the bed of the truck. “And so beautiful.”

“I thought you could use a little something for the new Chronicle office,” offered Zeke.

Eric moved in for a closer look. “You’re kidding me. This is incredible. Did Henry Sheldon make this?”

Father Vance lowered the tailgate. “Yes, but it was Zeke’s idea and design.”

The men worked together to lower the desk from the bed of the truck. They all walked around it, admiring the finish in the sunlight.

“How about getting the door, and we’ll bring it in?” suggested Zeke. 

Zeke and Father Vance carried the desk down the path toward the door, keeping an eye out for Rascal Rock. Once inside the office, Eric directed Zeke and Father Vance to a large vacant spot near the window.

“I just don’t know what to say, Mr. Hughes,” said Eric. “I thought you all were going to hate me for writing that piece on the Heaven play last week.”

“Honestly, this may be a good experiment to help bring some clarity when you are writing.”

Eric was confused. “What do you mean exactly?”

The other men grinned.

“It’s made from Warren wood,” replied Father Vance.

Eric ran his hand across the fine grain. “This is unreal. There’s no way you could have known that I’ve been a little stuck lately with my writing.”

“Well, I hope it helps,” said Zeke. “Worst case scenario, you have some new furniture that I think we all agree belongs in this space, given the history of the Chronicle and Edenbury.”

“Hey, are you guys just trying to influence the media?” Eric joked.

Zeke looked out the front window at the boulder in the front yard. “I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

“I haven’t told anyone yet, but the boulder is really growing on me. I hope it stays.”

“Eric, I think what Zeke is trying to say with this gesture is you have a role to play in what is happening in Edenbury.”

“Thank you very much. And please thank Henry Sheldon for the beautiful craftsmanship on this. I'm going to start writing as soon as possible.”

Back outside, Father Vance and Zeke headed to the truck so they could return it to Henry.

“Do you think the desk will help Eric write better?” asked Father Vance.

“Either way,” Zeke replied, “he’ll believe he can.”

—

Pastor Greg was tall and thin, and his graying hair matched his jacket. He was polite yet direct, and Zeke could see that Greg was fed up with whatever was going on in Ames Hill. Father Vance joined them as they sat down for coffee at the nearly empty diner.

“Greg, what did you think when Father Vance called on the phone asking questions?” asked Zeke.

“I recognized the name from Andrea Glenn on the television, actually. I like her show,” he replied. “I’ve been following Edenbury and saw this as an opportunity to expose what has been happening in Ames Hill. Consider me an ally, although I'm not sure how much help I can provide.”

“I suspect more than you know,” offered Zeke. “But why don’t you tell us what has been happening?”

Pastor Greg looked around as if to see if anyone else was listening.

Father Vance interrupted. “You’re safe here,” he said. “Let’s talk about how we can make Ames Hill safe as well.” 

Greg opened up and began by covering much of what was already known from the newspaper article. “Everyone knew the nursing home on the hill was a special place,” he said. “Then, one day, a caravan of vehicles came unannounced and transported residents to other facilities. All the employees were fired. They shuttered the place, and it stayed like that until it came up for sale recently.

Zeke handed Pastor Greg the newspaper article about the closing of the nursing home.

“What’s your take on why that happened?” Zeke asked.

“The place was operated by a company with many other nursing homes,” Greg replied. “Ames Hill was performing badly. Not enough turnover to drive revenue for the place. If it was just a locally owned place, I’m sure things would have been different, but corporate wanted to make an example out of those who worked there.”

“What was happening, exactly?” asked Father Vance. 

“The staff really made an effort to treat the residents differently. Several people in my congregation were employed there. According to one statistic, residents lived on average ten years longer.”

“That’s quite a claim. What was their method for achieving such results?”

“In a word, dignity.”

Zeke put down his coffee cup. “Could you unpack that a little for us?”

“The staff engaged the residents with honor and respect,” Pastor Greg explained. “And they lived longer. Some of them, many years longer. But that didn’t work for the corporate business model. You see, once admitted, many facilities are obligated to care for residents until death, even if they run out of money.”

While Zeke and Father Vance let that digest, Greg continued. 

“The hill also had something to do with it. There’s always been something special about that property.”

“Lucy and I can attest to that,” said Zeke.

“You were there recently?” asked Greg.

“A few days ago.” 

Greg's face lit up with a smile. “Perhaps you know something about why the police are looking for a female who wears size seven shoes?”

Zeke and Father Vance couldn’t keep straight faces. It was only after they stopped laughing they were able to explain everything.
“That’s amazing,” said Pastor Greg. “But seriously, there’s a wanted poster hanging in the post office with a picture of the footprints.”

The men began laughing again.

“I’m not sure why the grass would want to point her out like that, but there was nothing we could do,” said Zeke.

“Wait till I tell Lucy the police are after her. She’ll never be able to show her feet in that town again,” added Father Vance.

“That leads me to my next question,” said Zeke as he flipped over the newspaper clipping. “These bizarre acts of nature, what can you tell us about them?”

Greg read what he could of the partial article on the back. “Yes, I remember those days well,” he replied. “Strange things were happening. Plants, animals, weather, you name it. Once the residents of the home on the hill were removed, however, it all stopped. Just like what happened in Edenbury, from what I understand.”

Zeke took the newspaper clipping back. “And the writer of the article, what do you know about him?”

“I fear he met the wrath of these industries,” Pastor Greg replied. “What I think you’re up against is more than the corporate office of a chain of nursing homes. Many other industries are also threatened. Like funeral homes, cemeteries, and any others that have built financial models around death.”

Zeke turned to Father Vance. “Things you won’t need in Heaven,” he said.

Greg was curious. “I beg your pardon?”

“Like insurance,” Father Vance explained, “those industries you mentioned—they won’t be needed when Heaven comes down to Earth for good.”

“For sure. I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Zeke noticed Anne and Rebecca sitting at the counter and waved at them to come over. 

“Pastor Greg, do you trust us?” 

“I wouldn’t have come all this way if I didn’t,” he replied.

Zeke introduced their new friend to Anne and Rebecca. “Girls, can you take Pastor Greg over to the park for a tour?”

“Is he a good listener?” asked Rebecca.

“Oh, I think he probably is,” answered Father Vance.

The girls walked Pastor Greg out the door and across the street. Zeke and Father Vance watched as they set the visitor down for a little exercise in listening. 

—

The new Miracle Council began to meet nightly in the library at Zeke and Lucy’s. The group closed the door and spread everything on the table.

After an update on the meeting with Pastor Greg, Zeke pointed out a business card on the table.

“You’ll find this interesting,” he said. “I called this real estate agent in Ames Hill today. The mansion came up for sale several months back, but buyers keep falling through. The attorneys for the seller have stipulations on how buyers can use the property.”

“Can they do that?” asked Father Vance. “Just say no if they don’t like an offer?” 

“Like Pastor Greg, this agent sounded frustrated,” explained Zeke, referring to his notes. “So far, they have turned down offers from an orphanage, a summer camp, and even a bed and breakfast.”

“A bed and breakfast? What kind of threat could that be?” Stephanie asked. “They just don’t want to risk anything good happening on that property, do they?” 

“And there’s still the issue of the dead reporter. We’re going to need to dig deeper there,” said Zeke. “What if we tried to get his research on the story?”

“A good start,” replied Sheriff Stephanie. “I can try to see if local law enforcement looked into that during their investigation. If there is corruption, we’ll find out quickly.” 

Zeke turned to Lucy. “I think it’s time we took a closer look at your book,” he suggested. “It’ll help to understand what took place in Ames Hill and why your ancestor started the town.” 

“It’s not what I expected,” she began. “It’s very spiritual. It even has some prayers in it.”

“How is the book organized?” Stephanie asked. “Can you just look up Ames Hill in the appendix?”

“One would think, but the book is organized by miracles. At the end of each chapter, it explains where the name came from.”

Lucy sat and opened the book as if she were about to read a Sunday School lesson.

“First, I looked at what it said about our town. The chapter on Edenbury is titled Rain,” she said. “It’s everything Grandpa Wilkes talked about. When the awful drought of 1860 took place in Kansas, people were suffering, livestock were dying, and crops were drying up. A group came along and had a prayer meeting at a farm, now the Warren farm. Then it rained for days. A.H. Greyson got word about what happened and started a town here. Most of the book is about his travels around the Midwest.” 

“And the chapter on Ames Hill?” asked Stephanie.

Lucy turned back a few pages. “Here we are. The title is Health.”

“That certainly goes along with what Pastor Greg told us,” said Father Vance.

Lucy continued. “The area was seeing a high number of people stricken with all kinds of ailments. When a tent meeting came to town, they set up on the hill, and people came from all around for weeks. Friends brought others in need of healing. The elderly left feeling refreshed despite long hours of lingering at the hill meetings. Those who needed assistance walking up the hill descended on their own. 

“Sounds like our mist,” suggested Father Vance.

Olivia appeared at the door, and Zeke motioned for her to come in. She carried a tray of glasses and a bottle of wine.

“What’s this?” asked Stephanie.

“Your evening wine,” replied Olivia. “The Miracle Council always had wine at eight p.m. sharp when they met above the pub. They said it helped them think.”

“Thank you. I guess we’ll have to test that out,” asked Stephanie. “I bet you miss working at the pub.”

Olivia poured glasses as Zeke continued the conversation.

“So who was Ames, then?” he asked. “Is he the guy that pulled down Heaven, as they say?”

“All it says here is A.H. Greyson left a large sum of money with a local man to establish a town,” replied Lucy. “He asked that the place be called Ames Hill.” 

“Ames comes from the word amie, which means friend or beloved in French,” said Olivia.

“That’s interesting, Olivia,” said Stephanie. “Maybe it had to do with people bringing their friends to the hill.”

“Our miracle started on a farm. Theirs began on a hill. Both had a tent meeting.”

“And the miracles continue, apparently,” added Father Vance.

“Yes, the miraculous hill with the green footsteps,” said Lucy. “And when combined with dignity, people live longer.”

“That leads us to our last point,” said Zeke. “Something we left out from Pastor Greg’s story.”

Zeke let Father Vance tell them about the wanted poster and the picture of Lucy’s footprints. 

After everyone had a good laugh, Lucy had a final question.

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

“You can make a motel reservation,” replied Zeke. “Because we’re going back.” 

—

Stay tuned for more next week!