“Gotcha!”

“Hey, Linda. How are you?”

“I’m good, it must be 2:00 on Wednesday!”

“Well, yes, 2:00 your time, 3:00 my time. So how are things?”

“Well, I’ve got a whole list of things to discuss with you; it’s been a crazy week. Well, I guess I’m not sure how to tell you this. But, well, on Monday I was out at Shopko when I got a call from the security company. There was a breach in the system and both motion detectors were triggered and the alarm was going off.”

“Wait, so you weren’t there? Are you okay?”

“Oh yes, I’m fine. I was at the store so I wasn’t at home when it happened. But the security company wanted to know if they should send over a police car and I told them to send one. I hurried home and met the police there. They checked everything out and there didn’t seem to be anything missing or disturbed. I usually lock that storm door in the afternoon, but leave it unlocked in the morning so the mailman can deliver the mail in the slot.”

“Was there any indication that the locks were broken or the door was forced open?”

“No, it seems like someone opened the door with a key.”

Trying to piece everything together, I continued to question Linda to get all of the details. “Well, we had the locks changed, so do you think it was Marianne or June since they’re the only ones with access to keys? And maybe they didn’t realize they set the alarm off?”

“No, I know it wasn’t them because June has been stuck in her house with a broken arm and Marianne always calls before she stops by. Besides, we didn’t have those locks changed.”

“Hold on, I thought we had ALL of the locks changed the last time you thought someone was coming into the house.”

“No, just the ones on the back. The front lock, side lock and back lock are all on the same key and were never changed when we bought the house.”

“So do you think it was Allen Jameson?”

“Well, maybe. I just have no idea. And it was over a three-day weekend which is when he’s usually in town rather than up in the city.”

“Okay, the first concern is for your safety. We need to have the locks changed immediately…”

“Well, that was going to be a problem. I called Shorty Evans, the locksmith and he just had hip replacement surgery and can’t get here to work on them right away, but said he’d be happy to do it in a month or so.”

“Um no, they need to be changed immediately, is there another locksmith in town?”

“No, there’s not, but Shorty said that if we could get someone to remove the locks and take them to him, he could re-key them in a day. So Darrel came this morning and took the locks out and will have them back in later this afternoon.”

“How about you? Do you feel safe staying there? I mean, I guess this happened on Monday and now it’s Wednesday, so thank goodness you have a deadbolt on your bedroom door.”

“Yes, I do feel safe, I guess. I’ll be glad when all of the locks have been changed.”

“Well, I was under the impression that we had them all changed the last time, so I’m sorry I didn’t pick up on that. I would have recommended that all of them be changed at the same time just to be sure.”

“Oh that’s okay, I feel safe enough. You remember that the two yard guys are both police officers so they check on the place each day. And I’ve been taking a can of flying wasp and hornet spray to bed just in case he should get into my bedroom. I figure if it kills flying bugs it’ll at least bother his eyes a bit. And besides, it has a 10-foot spraying distance. So anyway, that was the excitement on Monday. Oh hey, did you see Dancing with the Stars? I can hardly believe Hannah got kicked off!”

“Hmm, nope, I didn’t catch that one...

Finally adjusted to the time change, it was harder to wake up on my last day in Maple City. As I wandered to the bathroom I smelled coffee and quickly started the shower.

"Good morning Susan!"

"Oh, good morning Linda."

"I put coffee on the dresser. How did you sleep? Boy I fell right asleep and didn't move the whole night."

"Good. I slept well too."

"Okay, well, I'll see you downstairs in a bit."

I finished getting ready and packed up my stuff to take downstairs. I stripped the sheets from the bed and grabbed my towels from the bathroom. The stairway is about as wide as a rollerboard suitcase and I risk falling every single time. Of course my risk only increased ten fold as I juggled a suitcase, purse, "accessories bag," towels, sheets and a coffee cup.

Linda poured me some more coffee and we sat down for a quick breakfast before I hit the road. I asked Linda what she would be doing for the rest of the day.

"Well, I go down the beauty parlor at 11:00 and then need to run by Save-a-Lot. Ever since EconoFoods closed the only story that carries my milk, Swiss Valley, is Save-a-Lot. I might run to the mall as well and find a wedding gift for my nephew. Get this, he's invited everyone to his wedding and they have specified that all guests are encouraged to wear a costume that reflects their ethnic background."

"Oh, well, what ethnic background is your nephew?"

"Well he's as white as day - just like me. So it beats me to figure out why he'll be in an Indian costume. But I guess it's no more strange than his first wedding. Well, it wasn't the wedding itself that was strange but his wife. Poor Michael, his first wife got on well with him, until she fell for a nun. Well, an ex-nun I guess, but she was a nun. Before she became a lesbian. Can you imagine? Off his wife runs because she's falling for a lesbian ex-nun. Of course no one really wanted to be around when Michael found out that she eventually left the ex-nun and got remarried - to another man.

Oh boy, and his second wife was not without drama. She was a weather girl. Okay, a weathercaster I guess is the proper way to say it. And that marriage was doomed from the start. Michael's a big hiker and we never figured out why he went for a weathercaster who didn't seem able to surive on a trail for more than a minute. He'd be out for hours, like even on Thanksgiving day, and wouldn't bother to call or leave a note. So it wasn't any surprise when that marriage ended.

So now he seems to have found his soulmate. Though I'm not sure what costume she's wearing to the wedding! Oh, and get this, it's pot luck! Can you imagine putting on your invitation - "bring a dish to pass, we're getting married?" Oh gosh, I only wish I could be there."

"Have you decided what to get them?"

"Well, of course they haven't registered at any stores that we have here, so I'm not sure what I'll find. Something earthy I suppose. Gosh, you're probably ready to hit the road, huh? Can I get you some coffee in a to-go cup?"

I expressed my regret at having to leave and thanked Linda for such a fantastic visit. I wanted to get on the road and beat the morning traffic on the way home. I agreed to let Linda know when I arrived home, but little did I know that we would chat at least twice more on the way. My trips to Maple City are always good for a story - at the very least.

“Um, good morning Susan, are you awake?”

“Yep, just brushing my teeth”

“Oh, okay, I put some coffee on the chest of drawers in your room when you’re ready. Pumpkin spice! Oh, and 48 degrees outside. Might break 60 again today!

“Great! Thank you! I’ll be out in a minute, just need to finish brushing and then iron my clothes.”

I finished my morning routine and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before heading off to the college. We had a 9:00 am meeting and it was already 8:30. I started to head towards the basement door to possibly slip downstairs and check my work e-mail. I managed to open the door unnoticed and checked a couple of e-mails.

“Susan? SUSAN? Susan?”

“I’m down in the basement Linda, I’ll be up in a minute. Just printing off some paperwork.”

“Okay, well June is here so whenever you’re ready.”

June and Linda have somewhat of a strained relationship so I knew my timely appearance would be appreciated by both. I finished up my work and headed upstairs for a quick bowl of cereal. The Silverman House was out of milk so Linda offered me some half and half. I’ve seen my Uncle do this before, so I accepted the carton and began to pour it on my cereal. It made a bit of a splash when the first clumps fell out onto the raisin bran in the bowl. I decided to stick with the English muffin Linda had toasted for me and washed it down with the last bit of coffee in my cup.

Marianne arrived a few minutes later and we took off with June and left Linda to get ready for the day. It was brisk outside and the smells of the packing plant and sewage treatment bogs were wonderfully absent. I wasn’t wearing a coat but had on a sweater and long sleeve blouse on with wool pants and heels. Walking the few short blocks to campus wasn’t a problem, but the breeze halted the carefully timed process of curling my hair and it became a bushy mess. I could feel it sticking to my temples and the product mingling with the sun and moisture still left in my undried hair. The President’s office is in a large building at the top of a hill and all three of us were slightly winded when we arrived. I attempted to use my sunglasses to tame my hair a bit, but I must have been a sight when I walked into the President’s office.

The awkward scramble for seats ensued and both June and Marianne chose arm chairs that flanked a giant leather couch. The President sat down on the couch and sort of waited for me to slowly walk toward him and sit next to him. It seemed so intimate to have this important discussion sitting side by side on a couch with a man whom I had never met. I longed for him to step behind his desk and offer me another arm chair. We had some polite discussion about our proposal and then some idle chatter about happenings on the campus. After 30 minutes we left the building and headed back to the Silverman House. My hair of course was totally dry and beginning to form tame waves and ringlets – about 30 minutes too late.

As I rang the doorbell at the Silverman House, I mentioned to June and Marianne that I would be making dinner for Linda today and they were both welcome to join. Marianne declined and June accepted as she walked to her car. We settled on a generic time and I hoped Linda wouldn’t mind my last minute invitation! Linda came to the door, ready for the day, and welcome Marianne and I into the kitchen.

Linda exclaimed “Well that was fast! How did it go? I’ve been getting ready and remembered something we needed to talk to you about Susan.” As I walked through the door Marianne followed and we all three convened in the kitchen. I presumed this was big since they waited until we were alone in the kitchen.

Linda started off with “Do you remember how there was someone coming into the house occasionally and we were sure it was June?”

Marianne piped up and added “yeah, I mean, a garbage can just doesn’t up and walk away!”

I was somewhat bewildered with where they were going with all of this. “Right, I remember. And I also remember that no one ever confronted June about this and we just had the locks changed. Which is fine, but if you think it’s happening again, we’re going to need to be a bit more direct rather than just making assumptions.”

Linda slowed a bit and continued with the story. “Well, yes, we had the locks changed and the security pad has been tinkered with. It keeps resetting its own clock but apparently that doesn’t affect the actual alarm. Well I’ve always been somewhat concerned about the garage and the side door here. In fact, at night, I always place a chair in front of the side door.”

“Oh you mean the door with the back step that was a grave stone?” I joked.

“Ha ha, yes, that’s right. Though nobody was buried there, we’re pretty sure” Linda said.

Marianne picked up the thread and continued. “Well Linda has wondered for some time if there isn’t something strange going on here. There have been a couple of false alarms, and several times the alarm was turned off when Linda woke up.”

“And I know I set that alarm, I do it every night and I do it the same way every night” added Linda.

I then wondered aloud if maybe she was tired or hit the wrong command after she entered the code on the pad. I then tried to cut to the chase and asked if they thought it was June again. Sensing my confusion, Linda walked to her desk to retrieve something from the bottom drawer. She brought something out and walked back to the center of the room saying “and I know I’m not going crazy, but it just seems that someone has tried to get into this house and we don’t think it’s June this time.”

With that she laid down a set of keys on the granite counter with a clatter. I looked from the keys to Marianne to Linda. All three of us laughed nervously and Marianne began with a theory. “You remember that there used to be two garages here before we built the handicap ramp. Well, there must have been two garage door openers which would require two remote openers, but we’ve always just had this one. Ever since we bought the house we’ve only had this one opener.”

Like trying to gather coherent witness statements, I stopped Marianne and pointed to the keys. “So where did these come from?”

“I found them in my car!” exclaimed Linda. “I have two key rings – one for the Silverman House and one for my car. When I go down the beauty parlor or the grocery, I always just leave the house keys in the arm rest. You’ve probably seen me do that before, right Susan?”

“Yes, I do remember that.”

“Well, one day I got in my car after going to get my hair done and headed back to Silverman House. When I pulled in the garage I reached into the armrest to get out the house keys and pulled out two sets. I didn’t notice until I got inside and it was then that I saw the Ford remote, key and house key.”

Marianne jumped in at this point and said “well and that same morning, Linda woke up real early and heard her car alarm going off.”

“Thank goodness I keep my purse in my bedroom, so I got my keys and just shut the alarm off” Linda confirmed.

“So wait, you found these random keys in your car, and your car alarm went off this morning? Did the house alarm go off? Did you go downstairs to check?” I asked.

Linda kind of stammered and looked to Marianne for confidence. Marianne continued the story. “Well, when we first realized there was only one remote for the garage, we got to wondering if there might be another out there. And when Linda wondered if someone was trying to get in the house we had the lock from the garage to the house changed as well. So now we want to know if we need to get a new garage door opener, and if so, do we have it in the budget?”

So bewildered by this story, I tried to answer their questions in order. “Well, first of all, have all of the locks been changed so that anyone who has ever had keys before can no longer get in besides you guys?”

“Yes”

“Okay, and now the issue is the garage? I mean, of course our first concern is your safety Linda. And then the safety of your property and our property of course. Was there any damage to your car? Have you ever noticed anything missing from the house? Have you noticed strange people around the house?”

Linda thought for a moment and then said “Well, yes. We think it might be Allen Jameson.”

“Allen Jameson?” I wondered. “The guy who sold the house to you with the crazy wife?”

“Yes, him. It always seems to happen on 3-day weekends or holiday weekends and Allen works in the city and really only stays here for those long weekends. His wife lives here all the time. And twice now I’ve seen him on the driveway or in the lawn walking his dog. I mean, it’s kind of weird place for him to walk his dog when he lives just three blocks that way. Doesn’t he have his own yard to walk the dog?”

Marianne jumped in again and suggested “We really think that these are Allen’s keys. They have two Ford cars and this key looks exactly like the key that used to work in the door from the garage to the house. And the morning Linda’s alarm went off on her car it was raining. We think he came into the garage, tried to get in the house and when the key didn’t work, he sat in Linda’s car to wait out the rain and forgot his keys there. Linda’s even driven by his house with the remote to see if it will lock or unlock one of their cars!”

“That’s so weird” I exclaimed. “I mean, why in the world would he come around here? I remember that his wife was mad he sold the house for such a low price, but I always thought he was a good guy. Is he kind of odd or what?”

Just then the phone rang and Linda scurried over to the desk to answer it. While she took the call, Marianne and I moved to the other side of the kitchen and talked quietly.

“Both of the Jameson boys are kind of odd. You do know about their Father don't you? Both boys were adopted and were always a little different growing up. Well one Friday while they were still living here, the newspaper reported that an arrest would be made by Monday – a suspect in a child pornography case. By Sunday their Father committed suicide and by Monday the case was closed. After that they hauled out several locked file cabinets.”

To be continued…

“Um, good morning Susan, are you awake?”

“Yep, just brushing my teeth”

“Oh, okay, I put some coffee on the chest of drawers in your room when you’re ready. Chocolate crème! Oh, and 44 degrees. That’s how cold it is right now. It might get up to 60 today, but not much warmer than that. Well, in the sun it’s a bit warmer, but not too much. Especially if there’s a breeze.”

“Great! Thank you! I’ll be out in a minute, just need to finish brushing and then iron my clothes.”

Each time I visit I wake up to the smell of coffee and the creaking of old wood (and not so old bones.) Just being in the Silverman House makes me feel old and creaky. I raised the old canvas window shade and glanced at the haunted door. My suitcase was still in place and my clothes were still tossed in there from the night before. Apparently the ghosts didn’t think it necessary to help me clean up the mess. This morning I would be meeting with the Maple City College’s Director of College Communications so we could plan a proposal that I would submit to the College President on Wednesday. Linda and I were then planning to visit a museum a couple hours away in Summerville.

After I showered and brushed my teeth, I ironed my clothes while Linda shared some details about the College President, in case they should come up in conversation. He and his wife have invested in a farm where they hope to retire. It does a brisk business in berries and vegetables, but no major cash crops to speak of. He’s been at the college for almost three years and is a dynamic fundraiser and amazing speaker. He took the helm of the college after the departure of the former President who may as well have been the prodigal son. The town has only just begun to recover from the loss of the former President.

After breakfast and coffee I headed downstairs to check my work e-mail. Working from a haunted satellite office isn’t quite as romantic as one would think. The office is in the basement for starters, and the basement recently flooded. So the constant hum of the dehumidifier and the flickering flourescent lights give it a sort of secluded government interrogation room feel. Each of the icons on the screen are 2 inches square and the keys of the keyboard are 1 ½ inches square. Linda has trouble with her vision so I have to modify the equipment each time I use it. Just as I was settling down to knock out some work e-mail I heard footsteps on the stairs.

“Oh, there you are! I remembered what it was I needed to talk to you about this morning.”

The conversation ensued and I never actually checked my e-mail. Just as I said, my pals in Maple City seem to put on this cloak of urgency every time I come to town. Perhaps they know something I don’t know, or perhaps they just forget that despite the distance, we always have telephones, e-mail and the written word for communication.

After a successful 10 minute meeting with the Director of College Communications, Linda and I piled into my rental and headed off towards the state capitol of Summerville. We were going to check out a new state-of-the-art museum and library that were completed just three years ago. The drive was nearly just over 2 hours and we arrived around lunch time. The capitol city is so much smaller than I imagined and gives you the feeling that time has literally stopped. Perhaps that was the intention, and if so, it sure works. Like Plain City, the buildings seem to be cast in miniature though the architecture is quaint and historic. And how can you not appreciate hitching posts throughout the town? You know, just in case you decide to saddle up the ole nag and save some gas on the way to work.

Despite our hunger, we immediately entered an auditorium and watched a presentation that gave a sort of orientation to the exhibits we would later see. There were strobe lights and sound effects that rivaled new rides at Universal Studios. As usual I was the youngest in the crowd and noticed that I fit right in with them. Just like every other older lady in the group, I turned to Linda when the presentation got dramatic and gasped in wonder. I felt like my Mom when I finally taught her the magic of the double click. With just the right speed, you can do anything on the computer with a double click. It’s amazing what these crazy machines can do!

After the introduction movie and presentation, we headed to the café for lunch where they offered all of the Midwest’s finest dishes. As I read the menu I noticed that hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches and chili topped the list. All of the salads were sold out (or so they say) and the only hint of green I saw was a banana left in the nearly empty fruit basket. For two of us lunch was around $18. This didn’t seem ridiculously high to me, especially for two of us, but perhaps I’m not as thrifty as I could be. Linda, however, leaned over and saw the total on the receipt and gasped. “Do you suppose the prices are so high because we’re in a big city or because we’re at a tourist destination?” I absent-mindedly nodded my head in agreement. The turkey sandwich on wheat that I ordered seemed a bit damp, so I buckled down and finished it as quickly as I could – and at the same time declined a taste of Linda’s pulled-pork sandwich.

There were models of famous buildings in the museum and a few wax figures of famous people posed here and there. We stood for a few photographs with the wax figures and then headed immediately to the gift shop. Linda can smell a gift shop from a mile away and loves to find trinkets for her grandkids or for display in the Silverman house. Earlier in the day she bought a black owl covered in real feathers with weirdly orange and black eyes. It was to be the twin of one she purchased earlier. Of the three hours we were at the museum and library, about an hour of that time was spent in the gift shop. The theme of the museum was pretty specific and the product development and tie-in was absolutely brilliant. Even I walked out with $20 worth of goods – postcards for friends, a magnet for me, pencil toppers for my coworkers and a book for my nephew. Linda hit the jackpot and found things for each one of her grandkids and a few things to decorate with at the Silverman House.

As we headed home to Maple City, the route seemed a bit longer and more desolate. Desolate is not entirely a bad thing, in fact it was possible to speed rather safely since you could see any speed traps for miles ahead. As the sun set over the corn and soybean fields I was thankful for a fun afternoon with Linda, but longing to get home and sit quietly. We decided to stop for dinner in the town just east of Maple City and found a quiet little restaurant that specializes in crepes. I later learned that the restaurant is owned by the same folks that operate the most popular and fanciest restaurant in the town – The Packing House. It was immediately apparent that during this trip in particular, the packing industry would rear it’s head on more than one occasion. Thankfully the Packing House only exudes the odors of grilled steaks, seafood and fresh baked goods, unlike the packing plant in Maple City.

We finally arrived back at the Silverman House in Maple City and it was already 9:00 and pretty close to bed time. Like a true farming community, it’s easy to get up with the sun and feel tired the minute it gets dark. Linda and I agreed on ice cream for dessert and I dished up a bowl for each of us. Looking at the time, I decided to take mine to the downstairs office and get some work done before heading to bed.

Just as I signed into the computer, I heard footsteps on the stairs. “There’s one other thing I was going to talk to you about…”

To be continued…

I met Linda in the parking lot and unloaded my stuff from the trunk. It's always good to see Linda but our hug lingered a little too long for my taste. Not because I'm against hugging - it really was good to see Linda - but because I couldn't handle the pungeant smell of bacon and something else and needed to get inside quickly. I couldn't figure it out what the smell was until she reminded me of the packing plant. That was it - blood and bacon with some hog manure thrown in for good measure. It was good to be back in Maple City.

Things were as I remembered at the Silverman house - an 1860s prairie house in the heart of Maple City. Thankfully it's far enough downtown that there are several blocks of trees and houses that at least filter the packing plant smells a little bit. It doesn't really help that the sewage treatment bogs are a few blocks between the Silverman house and the plant. Hot summer days are surely worse than this breezy September afternoon. Tiny blessings I suppose...

After I unpacked my things I offered to help with the surprise dinner that Linda was making. Since we work for a non-profit Foundation we're always looking for ways to do our part and save money. Eating in while on the road is one of those ways and I'm always happy to do my part. Happy until Linda asked me to get into the fridge and pull out the full rack of baby-back ribs that we were to have. I'm not really one to get my hands dirty while eating and I'm not a giant fan of meat on the bone. But it was dinner and I was flattered that Linda went to such trouble. Thankfully the Silverman house is sealed up tighter than a ziploc with cool and filtered air conditioning running through the vents - so I had forgotten about the packing plant already. I'm pretty sure I could never have stomached dinner otherwise.

After dinner and with the time difference I went to my room to get ready for bed early and carefully placed my suitcase in front of the haunted door and double checked that the key was in the lock. The bedroom I usually sleep in has hardwood floors and beautiful old oak furniture from the late 19th Century. It also happens to have a door that still locks with a skeleton key and I am convinced it's haunted. Perhaps the door itself is not haunted, but surely it's the door that ghosts would use should they decide to wander into my room at night - looking for something known only to them. You know, their souls or something. On the other side are two rooms that we use for storage. The one on the immediate side of the door has peeling and faded wall paper - some sort of floral pattern that looks as though it was hung when the house was built. On the ceiling is a thin thread of wooden molding with hints of the original gold paint that used to cover the quaint decoration. On the other side of this room is another bedroom that was intended for an ailing grandmother in the 1950s. I've been told she never lived to use the bedroom and my sister suggested that she's still in there. Included is a separate staircase that leads downstairs to the library. The library of course holds all of the old documents and photographs we have that detail the history of the home and it's family of owners. Nevermind that one of those photographs is of an 1880s funeral held in the living room just below my bedroom. Giant floral arrangements and open casket in all. And my friends wonder why I don't usually sleep well on my visits to the Silverman House.

To be continued...