The group took seats around the table in the room above the pub. Lucy could tell Mrs. French was relieved to have them all together.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” said Mrs. French. “How is Olivia?”
“She’s doing well,” replied Stephanie. “I wish you could have seen the look on all of our faces when she showed up at the diner and introduced herself.”
“I didn’t know what else to do when her mother disappeared. The police are investigating it as a missing persons case. They have nothing so far.”
“What about you?” asked Lucy. “Aren’t you in danger?”
“I guess I’m relying on the fact I didn’t visit Ames Hill as well,” replied Mrs. French.
“Why did Father Gregory and Loretta go there?” asked Father Vance.
“In the wake of Edenbury and the things you uncovered, Father Gregory wanted to start visiting the cities started by A.H. Greyson.”
“And that’s why Ames Hill was our first assignment?” asked Lucy.
“Yes,” replied Mrs. French as she took a tissue from her bag. “It was also the last trip the couple took together.”
Stephanie changed the subject by briefing everyone on the things she and Olivia talked about. Everyone found it humorous that Olivia had been able to slip the note into Zeke’s pocket undetected at the funeral.
“That’s so sweet,” said Lucy as she took Zeke’s hand. “You were thinking of me the whole time. And a teenager slipped something in your pocket.”
Zeke was next to redirect the conversation. “We should tell them about our trip to Ames Hill, honey.”
The couple shared the collection of items they acquired on their overnight visit. Lucy laid out the items on the table while Zeke talked about the motel clerk and the gas station librarian.
“The people of Ames Hill were very helpful,” he said.
“Almost too helpful,” added Lucy as she pulled out her prize possession and laid it in the center of the table. “And we found the holy grail at the gas station.”
Father Vance was the first to pick it up. “Sounds like my kind of book,” he said. Then he opened the cover and read the title to the others.
Stephanie leaned in to get a better look. “Seriously, where did you get this?” she asked.
Zeke spoke up. “Right after Father Gregory and Lonette visited Ames Hill, the town library burned down. They moved what books they could to a gas station. The Greyson book managed to survive. I suspect someone was trying to destroy it.”
“That’s amazing,” said Mrs. French. “I think we have to assume Father Gregory was asking questions at the library. We’ve heard rumors of such a book, but this is the first we’ve seen. And it may be the last.”
“Check out the library card,” said Lucy.
“The writer of the newspaper article,” said Father Vance as he looked at the card and then at the rest of the materials on the table. “What do you make of all this, Zeke?”
“I think Father Gregory and Loretta asked too many questions in Ames Hill,” he replied. “It may be that Father Gregory was getting threats which contributed to his heart failure, and now Loretta has disappeared.”
“Good thing we also asked a lot of questions in Ames Hill,” said Lucy as she looked at her husband. “And when I say we, I mean Zeke.”
“The idea was to get whoever feels threatened by our questions to come to us,” he countered. “And to lead us to Loretta.”
“If she’s in hiding, we won’t be able to find her,” offered Mrs. French. “She’s really smart and has seen enough real-life crime dramas to avoid trouble.”
“And the mansion, what did you find there?” asked Stephanie.
Lucy told the group all about the visit to the hill at night with the strange car and about meeting law enforcement the next morning.
“What did the policeman mean, ‘no one ever died’ at the nursing home? Seems like that would make it a popular place.”
“We didn’t stick around to ask questions,” replied Zeke. “When we left, they were pouring plaster to make a cast of Lucy’s footprint as evidence.”
“These acts of nature sure have a sense of humor,” said Lucy.
“Speaking of a sense of humor, I left something of ours in the motel room.”
“Do tell,” said Stephanie.
“A program from church,” Zeke replied. “You know, in case they want to visit.”
Father Vance dropped his head to the table with a loud groan.
“Anyway,” continued Zeke, “I suspect the policeman at the mansion just meant that people weren’t dying fast enough to keep the place in business.”
Stephanie was comforting her husband with a hand on his shoulder. “So something on that hill was prolonging people's lives? Seems like it would be a popular place.”
“Unless you didn’t want people to live longer,” suggested Lucy.
Zeke handed Mrs. French the map found under the mattress at the rectory guest house.
“Mrs. French, what about this map?” he asked.
“I’ve never seen this before,” she said, holding it up. “Sure enough, it goes to Ames Hill, but I don’t know when or where Father Gregory would have acquired it.”
Sheriff Stephanie turned to Mrs. French. “How do you recommend we handle all this with the priests of the Miracle Council?” she asked.
Mrs. French put down the map. “As exciting as all this is, Father Gregory was really the one holding the council together,” she said. “We have decided that you all are the next Miracle Council.”
Everyone else at the table looked around at each other.
“What about the priests we met? The old council?” Lucy asked.
“Ames Hill was a test, Mrs. Hughes. And you passed with flying colors,” replied Mrs. French as she lifted a large box from the floor to the table. “The priests left it up to me to decide when to turn this over to the four of you. They also wanted me to thank you for all your help. I think it is clear to everyone that this has gone beyond our capabilities.”
Speechless, Father Vance lifted the lid of the box to find file folders neatly organized.
Stephanie had another question. “And Olivia, what about her studies?” she asked.
“She’ll be excited to hear you are bringing her schoolwork back to her,” Mrs. French replied, handing her a book bag. “She’ll be done next month.”
Father Vance had his own question. “So what’s next?”
“A list,” replied Zeke as he referred to his notes.
What happened at the old nursing home mansion?
Why did the newspaper article writer check out the Greyson Book?
What’s in the Greyson book that someone wants to keep hidden?
What does the map show us?
“It sounds like you all have your hands full,” said Mrs. French. “One day, I hope to come to visit you in Edenbury. It might be best if we limit communications for now.”
“Understood,” said Zeke. “Fax machine it is, then.”
Mrs. French got up and walked toward a window. “Actually, I have something better,” she said.
“What’s better than a fax machine?” Zeke joked.
No sooner had Mrs. French opened the window did a pigeon appear on the sill. Mrs. French gently took the bird and brought it to the table.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Zeke said as he sat straight up in his chair.
Mrs. French showed the group a tiny cylinder attached to the bird’s leg. “Take this guy back home with you tomorrow, and he’ll find his way back here if you need to get me a message.”
Lucy had a broad grin on her face. “That is so much cooler than a fax machine.”
—
Early Tuesday morning, Olivia sat wide awake, thinking about her mother. With no word from the group back home, she was more concerned than ever. She donned her headphones and ventured out for a walk around the neighborhood. Edenbury was much different than the big city. Olivia didn’t find it difficult to imagine living in a place like this. It would take some real effort to get lost around this town, she thought.
The homes in the neighborhood had large yards with many trees. Most featured long driveways with fences and well-cared-for flower beds. Olivia made it to the end of the street when her cassette player came to a stop. After flipping the tape over, she looked up to see a massive beast standing in front of her in the road.
Stunned by its size, Olivia froze, gently lowered her headphones, and waited. The nearest thing she’d seen to anything like this was behind bars at the zoo. She was expecting dogs and cats on her walk, not an extra large wild elk.
Olivia thought to look for others but didn’t want to take her eyes off this one. Not when she was so close that in one move, the beast could trample her. She got the feeling the elk had no interest in doing so.
After a long moment, the giant elk tenderly moved toward her. With each step, Olivia took one of her own, and the distance between them quickly shortened.
Before she knew it, Olivia found herself slowly raising her hand. She was surprised to see the elk raise its snout to meet her palm. She tried not to flinch when they touched but instead allowed her hand to feel the animal’s dense fur.
Eventually, the gentle animal broke contact to visit a nearby mailbox and snack on some shrubbery. Olivia followed, wondering if the elk would eat from her hand. She knelt and pulled something green from around the mailbox post and offered it to the elk. He ate it just as gently as she had hoped, and she smiled.
In her mind, Olivia was keeping a list of things and people she was going to share with her mother. Meeting this elk just shot to the top of the list.
Slowly the elk moved on, leaving Olivia kneeling by the mailbox. She looked up to see the name painted on the mailbox.
Clemmons.
—
Eric looked out the front window of the newspaper office at his new lawn ornament. He was having trouble admitting to himself that the rock was growing on him. He considered the irony of the stone sitting in front of the Chronicle building. Both had been destroyed in the Heathrow scandal, yet here they stood, he thought. At this point, it almost seemed appropriate. Onlookers were regularly seen checking in on the stone, and Eric was enjoying the attention. He began to wonder if it could be registered as a landmark.
Eric went and stood on the step outside the front door with his coffee.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked the rock.
Eric did not receive a response. Perhaps a different approach would work, he thought.
“What’s a rock like you doing in a place like this?”
Still nothing.
“What should I write about today?”
When he stood long enough to run out of coffee, Eric turned back to the rock. “Good talk,” he said and went back inside.
—
Olivia thought about the elk all day and spent most of Tuesday at the diner. Edenbury was a pretty quiet place when school was in session. With her own graduation looming, she missed her friends but was enjoying the change.
Olivia sat at the counter eating peach pie when two little girls appeared on either side of her.
“I’m Rebecca,” one of them claimed.
The other girl waited for Olivia to look in her direction. “And I’m Anne,” she said.
Olivia turned back to her pie. “Oh dear,” she said. “I’m surrounded.”
“I heard your dad was a famous priest,” said Anne.
Olivia put down her fork. “You think so?”
“Well, he’s famous around here,” replied Rebecca. “And if the Famous Four think he’s famous, then he must be double famous.”
Cheryl approached with two glasses of chocolate milk. “Now remember, girls, Olivia is my cousin just visiting from out of town.”
“We remember, Miss Cheryl,” replied Anne, giving her a wink. “Miss Olivia, Cheryl told us about your situation. The Famous Four are going to get this sorted out for you.”
Olivia looked back at each of the girls. “Wait, you’re the little girls mentioned in that newspaper article about Heaven. The directors of the play, yes?”
Rebecca seemed frustrated by the mention of the article. “You know what they say; all press is good press.”
“We have bigger and better connections in the media,” added Anne. “It’s just not our time yet.”
Olivia returned to her pie, trying not to look like she was enjoying the company.
“Olivia, can you help us with our play?” asked Rebecca. “Maybe you know something about theater?”
“I’m a teenager,” she replied. “I know a little about drama. However, I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”
“You could play Andrea Glenn. She was a reporter for the Chronicle,” Rebecca said as she pointed at the television above the counter. “There she is now.”
Olivia read the name at the bottom of the news program. “Wow, she used to live here?”
“Sure did, but not anymore,” said Anne, pulling her notebook from her backpack.
The three girls sat at the counter for a while, talking through the set designs for each act of the play.
Olivia was quite impressed with the level of detail but had concerns. “Where are you going to get a giant tree?” she asked.
“All that will work out,” said Rebecca.
“And what’s the name of this production?”
Rebecca put down her chocolate milk. “How about ‘The Day the Rocks Died’?” she offered.
Olivia frowned. “That’s kind of a bummer.”
It was Anne’s turn. “How about ‘The Mayor Did It’?” she asked.
“A bit of a spoiler.”
“See, that’s why we need you, Olivia,” said Rebecca. “You can be the marketing department.”
“I can see there is a legitimate need. Maybe with public relations as well.”
“I don’t know what that means, but do you know how to drive?” Rebecca asked Olivia.
Olivia’s concerns were growing. “I have a license, but I don’t have a car.”
Rebecca leaned over the counter and yelled, “Miss Cheryl, can we borrow your car?”
Now curious, Olivia was ready for an adventure. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“To take me home,” Rebecca replied. “And to introduce you to a giant tree.”
—
Read chapter 11, when the Famous Four return to Edenbury and Olivia meets Lisa! 😲
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.