The Hidden Room

by C S Joseph

  “To work on the garden? Absolutely. It’s a beautiful day outside.” Helena had already changed her clothing. Reese looked over and saw a large suitcase sitting in the corner of the room. “I hope you don’t mind me staying for a few days.”

  Reese shook her head and smiled.

  “Good, let’s head out.”

  They walked out to the garden where Reese had staged some potted plants. She handed her mother a spade and told her where to start digging holes for the few winter squashes she intended to plant along the western edge. Reese started on the east side and began digging holes for the other vegetables and companion plants. She was about halfway down the line, when she noticed her mother was struggling a bit with the shovel.

  “Mother, what’s the trouble?”

  “Oh, the shovel just won’t work.” Helena shoved the metal blade into the earth a few times. “I can’t dig this part out.”

  “You’ve probably hit a rock or something. Here, let me help you dig it out.” Both women changed their positions. They guessed how big the rock was and dug around it. Finally, Reese got her shovel under the edge of the rock and told her mother to place her spade in a similar fashion on the other side. “Ok, on the count of three. One, two, three.” They both pushed down on their handles and slowly lifted the rock out of the earth. Helena screamed, dropped the shovel, and took a few steps backward.

  Reese reacted in the opposite manner. She remained quiet and bent down to take a closer look. That was not a rock. As the dirt fell away, it revealed a human skull. Reese examined it for a few moments and calmly told her mother to get her phone. She needed to call the local coroner’s office. They’d just found human remains.

  Before the coroner’s van appeared, Reese had cleared out an area she determined to be where the body would be buried, based on angle of the skull. She found no other bones.

  She watched an investigation team unearth a variety of bones and arrange them on a sheet. One by one, they pulled bones out of the dirt. They found ribs, vertebrae, and arm bones. It was an adult. Reese was upset for finding this grave but also sad. There was no way to tell if this was Clara, Emma, or Mrs. Hartley.

  They laid out the radius and ulna. From her position behind the yellow tape, Reese saw no indication that this person had ever broken a wrist. She realized it could not have been Clara. She thought about poor Emma, whose only crime was to fall in love with a beautiful woman. There were shards of clothing but nothing that would indicate who was laid to rest in this place.

  Helena picked up Zachary at school. Once home, it was an argument to get him to stay in the house. He wanted nothing more than to go outside and witness this exciting thing happening in his own backyard. Reese was in and out throughout the evening. Zachary begged her to allow him to see the bones. She refused.

  This prompted a discussion about ghosts, and Reese rolled her eyes as her son insisted he was now seeing ghosts all over the house. Helena attempted to indulge him a bit, and Reese went back outside. Eventually, they were able to locate most of what they thought was left in the ground. They found a deteriorated pelvic bone and a broken right fibula. The technician made a comment that an animal had probably scavenged pieces a long time ago.

  It was dark when the coroner’s team and detectives packed up. Reese was exhausted. At least Mrs. Hartley or Emma could be laid to rest properly.

  Reese went inside as the van rolled away. She went into her room and lay down beside her son. She held him tightly and fell fast asleep.

  †

  Reese was grateful that her mother had decided to stay for a few more days. She was able to help a bit with Zachary. Reese was free to go to the County Morgue and ask them about how they processed the bones that were found. It had taken a couple of days to finish cleaning and identifying the bones. Luckily, the medical examiner was a big fan of her latest novel series.

  “Can you tell anything by the bones at all?” Reese wanted any and all information.

  “Right now, we know that they are in fact human. Being in such a shallow grave for so long, the decomposition is severe.” He sat at his desk and looked over at her adoringly.

  “Can you tell if it is a woman?”

  “No. The size and shape of the skull offer clues, but we can’t confirm anything at this point. The pelvic bone has substantial deterioration. I can tell you that, aside from the shovel damage to the zygomatic bone, there seemed to be a significant break in the back of the skull. It doesn’t tell us much. Anything could have happened to it through the years. It is possible that the break was the cause of death. We still do not have a determination on the age of the bones. We should have a better idea this afternoon. We have enough soil samples to compare with our radiocarbon test on the bones.”

  “When we cleared the land of the garden, I wondered why no weeds had grown in that spot. It was strange.”

  He sat up in his chair and turned his computer screen to show a photo of the cleaned bones displayed on a table.

  “I told the detectives that I found some journals inside the house. They have dates in them. The last journal was from 1923. There was a woman who lived in the house with her two servants. Her husband was abusive. I’m concerned that he murdered her.”

  He closed his mouth and tilted his head. “I’m sorry that there isn’t more that I can tell you. When the detectives follow up with you after their initial investigation, if you have journals, they may be helpful. You could be correct. We will let you know if we can get a close enough date. This isn’t exactly accurate to the year, but we would most likely get close to the decade. If this did happen in the 1920s, there may not ever be closure.”

  She thanked the medical examiner for his time. She allowed him to take a photo with her and gave her autograph. She hadn’t done that since her last book signing. It was not too often that she was recognized by someone. Graciously, she made her exit and headed to pick Zachary up from school.

  †

  In the two short days until Julia was due for her visit, time slowed to a snail’s pace for both women. Julia sat in meetings that felt like an eternity. She even wondered if she would be stuck there talking about grant funding until she died. Reese had a call from her editor about the first round of edits. As she started to go through them, she realized the mountain ahead of her was going to avalanche if she didn’t start putting in the time. Page after page, she went through and made the required changes.

  Finally, it was time. Julia made it to their house late on Friday night after hitting rush hour traffic out of the city. No one was more excited to see Julia than Zachary. He ran up and jumped into her arms. Ollie jumped at Zachary’s leg until he bent over and picked him up. The puppy licked his face and seemed to wag his entire body in the boy’s arms. Helena stood on the porch and nodded her hello, as Julia made her way toward the matriarch. “Helena, it’s nice to see you again.” She held out her hand.

  “Good to see you too.” Helena smiled.

  Julia looked around and saw no sign of Reese anywhere.

  “She was having wardrobe issues. It seems she couldn’t find the perfect outfit for your arrival.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me what she wears. She’s always beautiful.”

  “I know that, my dear, I raised her. However, my daughter prides herself on her appearance. She wants to look her best for you.” Just then Reese pulled up. She got out of her car, wearing a pair of jeans and a green shirt that enhanced the color of her eyes. Julia gulped at the sight.

  “Julia, you made it.” Reese stepped forward and the two women looked over toward Helena and awkwardly hugged each other. Julia stepped back quickly when she caught Helena’s eye, then turned her attention back to Reese. They stood there smiling at each other.

  “Reese, why don’t you bring Julia inside. I’m sure she needs something to drink.” Reese didn’t move, neither did Julia. They stood still looking at each other. Helena grabbed Zachary’s hand and pulled him inside. She closed the door loudly.

  The soun
d startled Reese. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too.”

  Reese suddenly pulled Julia in for a kiss. Julia wrapped her arms around her waist. She pulled her head back and raised an eyebrow. Reese reiterated that she was, indeed, getting divorced. Julia leaned forward and kissed her again.

  Julia smiled. “Maybe we should go inside?”

  Reese leaned forward and kissed her again. “Okay,” she breathed, as she grabbed Julia’s hand and pulled her inside. It was late enough that, after a small amount of chitchat, everyone was ready for bed. Even the puppy ran upstairs and jumped on Reese’s bed, ready to go to sleep.

  Julia closed the bedroom door. Reese was standing in front of her dresser, looking into the mirror. Julia knew not to push anything further. They easily slipped into the nightly routine they had established.

  †

  After a full day of playing in the yard with Zachary, Julia went upstairs to shower. The four ate dinner, then sat at the dining room table playing card games, until it was late enough for Zachary to go to bed. There was whining for an additional twenty minutes. He finally acquiesced and went upstairs.

  Julia grabbed an envelope out of her briefcase and began laying out photographs of buildings on the kitchen island. Reese and Helena walked in and sat down on the stools. “Okay, this group over here are buildings where Arthur Dumas is the architect of record. He did mostly warehouses down by the docks. He also designed a few residential houses and a church. They all look similar. This house is the only one that looks different.”

  Helena spoke up, “That’s because this house is closer to a hybrid of styles. It’s as if he saw the Georgian style and peppered in some with the Queen Anne Victorian. You can see here that this was Arthur’s earlier work. Strictly Beaux-arts proportioning and ornamentation. For simple warehouses, he almost is Richardsonian in his later aesthetic. As if some type of significant experience altered his style preferences.” She motioned to a few photos and separated them. “If he was spending time in Europe, it suggests that he bought into the theories of the Bauhaus movement. These are more mechanical, simpler lines, stronger presence along the base.” She picked up a couple more photos and put them in a different pile. “I would venture to say that these designs were a bit closer to the time period of those journals.”

  “Actually, in the journals, Clara mentioned that Arthur’s mentor was Richardson. I agree with your assessment.”

  Julia nodded. She wanted this conversation to go somewhere faster. She was getting rather bored, as Reese chimed in with her own two cents about the man’s sense of design and style. She realized that she was playing with her hair and stopped midtwirl. She didn’t want to give Reese the impression that she was sexually frustrated. She grabbed all of her hair into a handful and wrapped it around itself, until she formed a loose bun. She didn’t have a hair tie. She looked around and saw a pencil sitting between the photos. She grabbed it and shoved it tightly through her bun.

  She realized that she had stopped listening. She looked between the two women; it didn’t seem like they’d noticed at all. Reese interrupted her mother, “Actually, you can see that he was beginning to push away from ornamentation. He was using much simpler lines. I agree with you that his design ideology was altered from his time in Europe.”

  “Julia,” Helena asked, “when and where was Arthur when he went to Europe?” Julia grabbed the folder that her cousin had sent along with her. She flipped through a few pages and found the sheet she was looking for.

  “Um, travel logs show that he left in 1922 and came back in 1923. He was in Germany. Some place called Weimar.” She didn’t understand why this suddenly seemed important.

  “Ah! Well, there you have it. The rest of these photos won’t mean a thing. If he was an architect in Weimar, he most certainly was in contact with Walter Gropius. He was the head of the Staatliches Bauhaus. Arthur would have been living amongst philosophers and artists who were into expressionism. He would have come home and begun working on Modernist designs. He would have been some of the early generation to have brought the style and ideology to America.”

  “So, basically, we won’t be able to look at buildings of the same style and find Arthur under an alias?”

  “I’m afraid not. It would be difficult to pin down.” Helena stifled a yawn. “I must apologize. I am quite tired and will need to retire.” She kissed Reese’s forehead and nodded at Julia.

  “Thanks for your help, Helena. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. See you both in the morning.” She took her leave and went upstairs.

  Julia moved over and stood by Reese. They leaned over the island and looked through more of the scattered photos. “You know, all modern architecture is founded on the ten books of architecture by Vitruvius. He describes what makes architecture beautiful, based on the Roman classical orders.”

  “I actually know that the orders are columns. Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.” Julia smirked.

  “Impressive, Julia. Do you know why the front of this warehouse holds to his description of proportion and symmetry in regard to the orders?” She pulled on a photo and slid it in front of Julia.

  She leaned forward and squinted at the photo. She grabbed the pencil and allowed her hair to cascade gracefully over her shoulders. She caught Reese looking at her. Julia pointed to the various portions of the building facade and described them. Julia paused and looked at the photo again.

  “Actually, this building is still standing. It’s down on the waterfront. It’s part of a renovation plan some company is developing. I wonder if they are going to tear it down. I wonder if anyone will know that they are tearing down a building designed by a murderer.” Reese grabbed the photo.

  “Julia, Aiden is the developer. He currently owns this warehouse.”

  “What are the chances? Do you know what he’s planning on doing with the building?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  Julia suggested a glass of wine. She wanted to get the full story of what had happened with Aiden. She also wanted to know what the hell Helena was doing being so loving. They found themselves comfortable on the couch in the living room.

  †

  As Aiden got in the car, his phone rang. He smirked figuring his payday was finally coming in. He’d already reviewed the divorce documents from Helena. The settlement was fairer than he’d anticipated. All that needed to happen was for Reese to agree. In a few months, it would be finalized and legal.

  “Aiden Davis?”

  “Speaking.” He wiped his hand over his face in annoyance.

  “This is Richard Hodgkins. I am Helena Iverson’s attorney. I’m sorry for calling at short notice. I was hoping you and your attorney would come to my office and go over the details of the settlement.”

  “I can come in around nine. I’ll make sure Bob will be there.”

  “Great, we’ll see you then.”

  Things were starting to go in the right direction for Aiden. He pulled into the driveway and walked inside. Janice was sitting on the couch, watching a movie. He kissed her and asked if the real estate agent had stopped by. She gave him the details, and they discussed when they wanted to sell. That led to a discussion about what kind of small house they wanted to buy. He was grateful that Janice didn’t have expensive taste. A simple three-bedroom house with a pool in the back was all she asked for. Things were going better than he’d ever expected.

  Chapter Twenty

  Julia was sitting at the counter with sheets spread out in front of her. She’d woken up early and made coffee and started going through everything that her cousin had found. There was nothing in the local newspapers around that time about missing persons or murders. The census data revealed that Mrs. Hartley’s first name was Elizabeth. However, there was no census data for Elizabeth Hartley after 1920. Nothing for Clara Dumas or Emma Hartley either.

  Grace Catherine was found in a 1940 census. Her age was 19. This was the biggest lead that her cousin found. There was also a m
arriage certificate with her name and a man named Ken Gillen.

  “You’re up early,” Reese said, as she kissed Julia’s cheek.

  “I’m trying to see if I can understand everything that I’ve got here. I think that Grace survived. There is no information on Clara, Emma, or Elizabeth after the journals ended. I think you’re right. Arthur probably murdered them and raised Grace. She married a man named Gillen.” She shuffled through a few more sheets and paused to read one. “They had three kids: Karen, Joshua, and Emma. She remembered Emma. Wasn’t she only three years old? Do you think that was a coincidence?”

  “Maybe?” Reese looked at the piles. She looked through a few and took a seat next to Julia. The two of them continued to read through the papers. “Hey, Joshua died when he was fourteen, and his father died two months later. Oh. Karen died in 2013.”

  “Here it says that Emma has a daughter, Joan Foster. She lives in Portland. There’s an address. We could go and try to talk to her.” Reese nodded. She went over and grabbed a cup of coffee. They continued talking about the information they found.

  †

  Helena walked into the kitchen. Reese and Julia were standing next to each other and laughing, with cups of steaming coffee on the counter next to them. Papers were scattered about. She stopped for a moment and watched the two women. Reese pushed back some of her hair behind her ear. Julia was smirking and leaning in toward her, with her eyes on Reese’s mouth.

  “You know, you are the only person who can make me laugh at your terrible humor.” Reese looked up shyly and smiled at Julia.

  “Good.”

  Reese leaned forward and gave Julia a quick kiss.

  “I could get used to that.” Julia smiled

  Reese leaned forward and kissed her again. Helena cleared her throat. Julia slowly looked over to where Helena was standing, while Reese spun around. A blush spread over her face. “Mother!” Helena was very amused.

  “Don’t worry, darling. I thought you two were adorable. It’s nice to see you both feeling at ease with each other. I just spoke with my attorney. Aiden just left his office. He agreed to the terms of divorce. Darling, I think it’s time we talked. Both of you have a seat please.” Julia and Reese did as they were asked. “At some point today, someone will be stopping by to serve your divorce papers. If you agree to everything, we will send them back to Richard. He will file them with the court. After a hearing, it will be all over.”