by Dale Mayer
“Me?” Matt asked in surprise. “Or them?”
Connor considered the issue. “You picked these men to come here. If she trusted you before, this would likely have made her doubt that.” Connor nodded, indicating the men busily working. “She felt threatened by their actions, and I know she’s scared now that they might do something to get their hands on these documents.” He ran his fingers agitatedly through his hair. “For that I have to take some blame. This is her space. Her secret space. I’m now here, and I brought you here, and you brought them here.”
“And that has shifted the energy.” Matt winced. “I’ll make sure these men can’t find her place again.”
“But if you can’t get the idea out of their mind that these artifacts are here, they could hire other people to help find them.”
“I’ll do everything I can to prevent that. The biggest problem is they don’t see her as the rightful owner,” Matt said.
“True.” Matt was correct there. “If we can prove to everyone that the three sisters are the heirs to this place, the granddaughters of the last stargazer and one herself, then it would change their minds.” Connor thought for a moment. “She had DNA proof. Did she show you that?”
Matt nodded. “We need to take copies of that. And anything else that will help us to prove her lineage.” Matt leaned forward. “I have yet to see her proof of ownership of the forest.”
“There’s been so much brought out, but I don’t think I’ve seen that one, either. Keep an eye on these guys, and I’ll ask her.”
With a backward glance at the men busily working, he walked back into the bedroom.
“Hey,” he said quietly, watching her back stiffen and then relax again. At least she wasn’t mad at him. “Did you find the deed to the forest?”
She sighed and turned to face him. “Not yet. It might be in one of these boxes. That’s why I don’t want them to leave until I’ve gone through them all.”
“Would she have kept it in a random box like that? It’s pretty special. You’d think she’d have a second satchel for something that important.”
Genesis turned to him, her lips twisting on a sudden thought. “And maybe she did.”
Chapter 24
Genesis finished marking down the dates for the star charts on her bed and carefully laid them in an empty box to go into the vault. The rest of the documents needed to be gone through, but so far, she hadn’t found the other deeds. And she needed to. That proof was important.
In fact, according to Matt, it was everything.
She worked her way through the rest of the papers on the bed and sorted them into piles as ones to keep, ones to deal with, and ones that she could throw away. By the time she was done, the original stack had been decimated. She packaged the ones to keep. Then she reached for the first boxes Connor had brought down for her. They were all star charts. She marked the dates down and repacked the box, moving on to the next.
A cough behind her made her spin around. Matt stood in the doorway. “The agreed one hour is up.” He motioned behind him. “We will leave, if that is your wish. However, the men could use another half hour to finish the imaging. We had trouble getting the light set up properly.”
She nodded. “That’s fine.” She pointed to the four boxes she had packed up. “These can go to the vault. They are all star charts. I can go through them more thoroughly there.”
His eyes lit up. “Thank you.” He walked over and hefted a stack of two boxes. “I’ll take them out myself.”
With mixed feelings, she watched bits and pieces of her granny walk out of the cottage. Connor appeared in the doorway at that moment. He walked over and pulled her into a warm hug. “It’s the right thing to do,” he murmured.
“I know. It’s just difficult letting go.”
He smiled. “Caring hurts. But better to have loved and lost than…”
“Never to have loved at all,” she finished for him. “I know. I just wish Granny hadn’t had such a huge problem with the Center for Paranormal Activity.”
“That would have been the idiots who headed the center before me. Your granny and I got along fine.” Matt walked over and picked up the second two boxes. “I promise, we will get these records properly preserved and available for the rest of the world. Our digital capabilities are so much more than what she’d have known was available back then.”
That helped. Granny hadn’t had any technical knowledge, and knowing that Matt would preserve Granny’s work made all the difference. And she remembered that Granny had spoken well of Matt. She turned back to the remaining boxes. With Connor’s help, they zipped through all the ones he’d brought down. When they were done, he hefted several up, and with Matt’s help, moved the last of them to the hovercraft. She wandered behind them with the last load. The experts were still trying to take images of all the old vellum documents. The light glinted off one of the buckles on the leather satchel, and she suddenly realized that she’d seen the same kind of buckle before.
She went into her old bedroom and opened her old closet. Up top, in the very back, was an old, engraved wooden box. She pulled it down and took it back to her new bedroom, shutting the door for privacy. Now the tears started to pour. This had been her treasure box when she was little. Somewhere along the way, this elegant box had fallen out of favor and she’d started to use a brighter, more garish box. The stages of childhood.
With a deep breath, she opened the lid and spotted a teal satchel. Not as old as the one in the kitchen, but pretty damn close. She unbuckled the front latch and pulled out documents. Ornate scroll patterns decorated the top, and official seals in wax decorated the bottom.
This was what they – she’d – been looking for.
There were several similar documents in the satchel. She scanned them and realized they covered so much more land than she’d first assumed. Basically, she and her sisters owned all the land around and in town. She shook her head in wonderment. The people had hated and feared Granny and idolized Grandfather. And all along, Granny had been the wealthy landowner and Grandfather the liar. He didn’t own any of it. It was all theirs.
Jesus.
Had he known? He must have. Had he been behind the break-ins at her shop and apartment? Had he seen her chart in progress and wondered what else there might be? Had he been looking for these papers? The proof that he wasn’t the owner? He could have had new ones forged, but only if the originals no longer existed.
She sat back and tried to figure out what to do next.
*
Connor waited in the kitchen for the men to finish. Because they were rushed, things were going wrong and mistakes were being made. He kept one eye on Genesis’s closed bedroom door. He wanted to knock and ask if she was okay, but she’d been the one to close it. If she needed a few moments, who could blame her?
He settled back to keep an eye on the men. The quiet click of the door latch caught his ear, and he turned to see Genesis walking toward them. She said to Matt, “How much longer?”
He inclined his head toward the men and said, “They are almost done.”
“Good, ask them to step outside when that’s finished. We need to image other documents.”
She said it in such a low tone, Matt immediately straightened and his face grew serious. He walked over to the two men and a few minutes later, they reluctantly left, shooting curious glances at her as they went through the doorway.
Genesis looked at Connor. “Please stand by the door and keep them in sight.”
Interesting. He did as she bid and watched as she returned with a blue satchel. And more old documents.
“Jesus.” Matt shook his head as she held up the documents one at a time for him to read. “Well, as long as these are authentic – and yes, they will need to be checked – that certainly answers the question of who owns the forest.”
Then she held up the last document and he choked. “Oh, shit.”
Connor raced over to read the document. He raised his gaze to meet hers. “Really?”
“And…from the look on your face, you’re thinking he’s been responsible for the construction?”
She shrugged. “Think about it. Who else has as much to lose?”
Matt and Connor looked at each other, each listing off names. “Grandfather’s heirs. His sister, brother, their kids. Peter, even.”
Connor wanted to pick Genesis up and whisk her away from here. And from the look in her eye, she wouldn’t mind. She turned and walked away.
Matt had moved to the imaging machines and started documenting the papers. “As soon as I’m done, we’ll head out.” He made several adjustments, then started doing an electronic scan that would give them a digital and 3D reproduction of the document. It was something they could keep forever. The original would be kept as Genesis wanted it, but the naysayers would have their proof. They could shut up after this.
At least, Connor hoped this would be the result. As a worst-case scenario, she’d have to bring the originals into a meeting for one time only. Then the documents could go back into safekeeping.
If this was stressful now, he couldn’t imagine what a tribunal like that would do to her. He realized Matt was waiting for him to acknowledge his statement. “Good. She needs to get some rest. It’s been an upsetting day.”
“For all of us,” Fenwick growled from behind him. Connor shifted so that the man couldn’t see around him to understand what Matt was imaging. He turned around and glared the man back several paces. “You aren’t welcome in here.”
Fenwick sniffed but turned away. Connor stayed at the door to make sure he didn’t try to get back in. He wanted to believe Fenwick was simply concerned with the artifacts; he just wasn’t sure what lengths he’d go to preserve them.
“Okay, I’m done,” Matt said.
“Good. Let’s get everything put away.”
“That’s done, too.” Matt stepped behind him. “Let the men come in and pack up the equipment.”
Matt and Connor returned to Genesis’s small bedroom to find her sitting on the side of the bed. Connor squatted down in front of her. “Hey, do you want to stay a little longer?”
She raised tear-drenched eyes to him. “There’s so much to do here.”
“And there.”
“True.” She rubbed her forehead as if thinking hard. “Let’s go with the star charts so I can see them locked into the vault.”
“And leave the cottage.” He looked around. “Now that I know what’s here, I’m worried…”
That brought a real smile to her face. She said, “I can take care of that.”
Chapter 25
Genesis couldn’t help the pang of loss she felt as she watched the small cottage disappear into the mists below. At her insistence, they’d been the last hovercraft to leave, and they carried Granny’s star charts. She’d refused to let any leave in the other hovercraft as she no longer trusted the specialist.
Connor reached out a hand and said, “It will be fine, Genesis.”
As cheerfully as she could muster given the circumstances, she replied, “I know.”
Matt twisted in the front seat to take a look at her. “Are you still worried about someone finding the cottage? I can clear the data from the hovercrafts if that would make you feel better.”
She shook her head. “No, that won’t make a difference. Besides, no one will find my place again.”
And she resolutely looked out the window. She’d already taken the necessary precautions. Granny had been very specific on how to hide the cottage and making sure it was done every day.
Now that she’d seen herself how other people believed they had the right to Granny’s work, she understood why Granny had been so reclusive. To know all the land in town, around town, and the forests had belonged to her granny and now her and her sisters, well, that didn’t bear thinking about. The townspeople had shunned her family, mocked them behind her back, and yet they were living on Granny’s land. Free of charge.
It was going to get ugly.
Her sisters should be here.
Except it wasn’t the right time for them to return. She knew that. The charts said that, but the charts could also be wrong, as she well knew. Still, it didn’t feel like it was time for them to come home – but she wished it was.
The prime concern was seeing how the star charts would be looked after here at the Paranormal Center. If they cared for them properly, she’d consider bringing over more. There were hundreds, if not thousands, still in the cottage. It would be easier to leave everything untouched, hidden as Granny had. But she wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do, either. Also, she had to place her claim on the property to keep the forest safe. If Granny had done that decades ago, maybe they wouldn’t be in this situation.
But she couldn’t blame her beloved Granny. Genesis and her sisters would have been lost without her. Especially as she now knew about the adoption papers.
Or maybe she should call them purchase papers.
And life wasn’t going to be easy just because she wanted it to be.
They were approaching the Paranormal Center, and from their height, she could see the other hovercraft had already arrived and the equipment being unloaded. There were several other techs waiting for Matt’s hovercraft. They were also fully outfitted in special gear, presumably to handle the star charts.
With a pang, she realized she was going to have let go of her charts and trust these strangers. She was the first in the family to make such a decision, and it didn’t sit easily on her shoulders.
As soon as they landed, the hovercraft was swarmed by staff. Like a mother hen, she hovered as each box was removed from the hold in the back of the hovercraft, hating to see the boxes leave her presence. When the last box was removed, she trailed behind the group to the vaults.
Seeing the awe on the men’s faces, the reverence in the way they studied the contents of the boxes, she finally realized the star charts would be fine here.
“Are you still watching the men sort through the boxes? Matt needs to show you a few things.”
She shook her head. “I won’t leave until these are logged in.”
“They’ve been logged in already,” Connor said patiently. “You don’t need to be here.”
“The boxes have been logged in.” She gave him a tight smile. “I won’t be leaving until the star charts are individually logged in.”
The nearest tech turned to look at her, his expression shocked. She glared back. “Considering the behavior of one of your experts…”
There was a visible wince as the tech turned to see the experts poring over the images in their hands at the back of the room. The tech nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll log in everything first. Then we’ll image each one and keep the originals in the special air-controlled vault.”
And he proceeded to slowly remove each star chart, log it in, and set it to one side. He had the first box done in record time. A second tech brought over a second box for him.
Genesis could feel her tension easing as each chart was cared for. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but she watched as each box was opened and every chart went through the same process. When finished, each box was carefully repackaged and carried to a set of empty shelves in the climate-controlled vault, where they’d be joined by the others she still had in the cottage.
Hours passed.
“Granny, I sure hope this is okay with you.” She chewed on her lower lip as she worried through the problem. She wanted to do what was right. At least now Granny’s legacy could be preserved and her name cleared of all the mockery that had risen to the surface when it was mentioned before.
Her stomach grumbled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. Her emotions had been too off the wall all morning, and now it had to be well into the afternoon. The muffins and sandwiches were a long time ago.
; Hopefully the meeting with Matt would include food.
She walked into the large meeting hall to find Connor and Matt involved in heavy-looking discussions with several strangers. Then she caught sight of their faces. The men from her shop. The Portmans, father and son; and apparently an older Portman as well.
Instinctively, she hesitated just inside the room, not liking the look of the men. But at that moment, Connor saw her, his smile breaking out wide and happy. He stood up and motioned for her to join them.
As she walked toward him, the conversation stopped abruptly as the others turned to stare at her. Or maybe glare was a better word. They weren’t hostile, but they obviously weren’t happy at the interruption either. Well, she hadn’t asked to be here. She’d come to protect her heritage.
She glared back.
Matt introduced her, his voice full of humor. “Gentlemen, this is Genesis, and it is because of her that we now have several boxes of star charts in our vaults.”
“And she’s the one who brought the rock back?” the oldest of the three men – the one she didn’t know – asked, his white hair and beard waving gently with his movement of his mouth and jaw. His voice sounded doubtful, as if he believed she was too young to have done something like that.
“Indeed, she is,” Matt said, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I was there with her when she found it.”
The youngest of the strangers narrowed his gaze at her. She gazed blandly back.
Genesis tried to study the men covertly as Matt related the story of the stone. She was starving and was desperately in need of coffee when someone in a waiter’s uniform walked over and offered her a hot cup. She smiled and accepted. The local coffee was thick like chocolate and demanded cream or sugar to make it palatable. What it did have in common with the original stuff was its heady addictive properties.
There was a heavy silence as she doctored her coffee then took her first sip. She glanced from one to the other, keeping her gaze neutral. “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”