The Blood Spangled Banner: A First Ladies Mystery

by Barbara Schlichting

  “No one makes a burger like these, anyplace. The middle cheese layer is enough to die for.” Maggie took a huge bite. “There goes my diet.”

  “You have no worries, honey, you’re tall and thin. I’m the one who should worry.” I bit into my burger and swooned. It was delicious.

  As we ate, both Dorrie and Maggie received text messages.

  “I think the guys miss us,” I stated as I chewed. “They can’t live without us.”

  “Nor us, them.”

  “Tell me more about the wedding? Are you wearing your mom’s dress?” Dorrie asked.

  “I’ve had it fitted.” I grinned. “Aaron’s wearing something from Dad.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Maggie said. “I bet it’s the cufflinks.”

  “We’re donating them to Montpelier. I took another large bite of my burger and nodded.

  About the time that we were finishing our burgers, the waitress came over with three drinks from the bar. She set them down.

  “Who sent them?”

  “The guy wants to remain anonymous.”

  “We’re getting ready to leave,” I remarked. “Send them back. You can bring our tab.” I knew better than to accept drinks from strangers. Dating a cop, you learn about all sorts of date rape drugs.

  “If you say so, hon, but I’m sure he won’t like it.” She shrugged. “Be right back.” She walked away.

  The clock read eight when we stepped out onto the street-lit sidewalk. The December days were short, and the sun had already set.

  “Good night.” Dorrie stood beside her car.

  “Wish me luck.” Maggie opened her car door.

  “You won’t need it. I think it’s already in the bag. Night!” I waved to both, and then went behind the building to the back parking lot. Shadows covered the lot, which was now filled with trucks and cars. A loud crunch of gravel was startling. I wondered if someone was following me. I quickly turned to look. Were those footsteps I heard? I kept going, and the crunching became louder. I hurried my steps. My heart pounded, and with trembling fingers, I pulled my keys from my bag.

  Fear zipped up and down my spine when I reached for the door and quickly climbed inside, and immediately locking the door. I started the car and hurried home, sending a message to Aaron to meet me there. Headlights followed me home. It was an unrecognizable car. After driving around the block a couple times to veer them from my final destination, I lost them. My grandparents didn’t like for me to park in the garage, but I did anyway. As soon as I’d shut off the engine, I let out a very long sigh of relief.

  After climbing from the car, I went over to the back garage windows and peeked out. I didn’t see headlights or nearby cars so I sneaked out and raced up to the house.

  As I stuck the key into the door, I heard footsteps once again—and froze. What seemed like forever, I waited. When I didn’t hear anything I finished opening the door and slipped inside. Before I could lock it, the door crashed into me.

  “Where are they?” Wanda held me at knife point. “Now! Liv! You took the dolls. You have the cufflinks. Give them to us, now!”

  “Yes. What’s on that brooch?” Stone moved closer from behind. I felt his breath on my shoulders.

  “What are you talking about?” I started backing up, hoping that Grandma hadn’t cleaned up the kitchen. There has to be a frying pan in the sink. “My fiancé is due any time.”

  “You don’t have a clue, do you?” Wanda swung the knife, and jabbed me on the arm. “The secret.” Her voice shrilled. “Tell us.”

  “I don’t know.” I kept my eyes steady in hers. Stone reached out, and pulled my hair, snapping my head backward.

  “It was you. You assaulted me. The gorilla-man.”

  “Huh,” he chuckled, pulling my head back further.

  Wanda let her arm down and glanced around the room, and it gave me a moment to act. I kicked my foot up, connecting with his inner thigh, which loosened his grip so I could get away from him.

  “You bitch.” He slapped me across the face as Wanda held the knife against my throat.

  “I’m not through with you.” I thought I heard Aaron on the steps, but wasn’t sure. I dared a chance look in the sink, and saw the small fry pan used for an egg. Instantly, I reached for it, swung around and whacked her on the side of the head. The knife flew, hit the floor, and slid across it. Stone lurched for me just as Aaron opened the door and leaped for him, tackling him down to the floor. I stomped my foot on Wanda’s hair.

  At the same time, sirens blared, and stopped outside.

  Two officers entered, easily subduing the two and taking them out in handcuffs. Back-up squad cars came and hauled them away. In just a few minutes, it became question and answer time.

  “From the top, ma’am,” the officer stated.

  “You really need to contact Detectives Erlandsen and Mergens.”

  “Why’s that ma’am?”

  “Because they’re working a case which involves these two criminals.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “If I may interject,” Aaron cleared his throat, “I’ve contacted them. I’m a police officer.” He showed his badge. “They’re on their way.”

  “Good.”

  “We also need your statement, sir.” The line of questioning was diverted to Aaron.

  “May I contact my grandparents now? They need to know what’s happened. They’re at some kind of garden club meeting.”

  “Go ahead.”

  I went out to the living room and gave Grandma a call. “Grandma?” I drew in a deep breath before continuing, “Wanda and Stone followed me home.”

  “We’re leaving. That’s it,” Grandma replied.

  “The police have them already in custody. Aaron’s here with me. The police are questioning him at the moment.”

  “Sit down and put on I Love Lucy. We’ll be home soon.”

  “Okay.” We disconnected and I did as told, but couldn’t find the Lucy show. I was surfing the channels when Aaron entered.

  “The detectives are just pulling up.”

  “Let them in.” I got up. “I’m putting on a pot of coffee.”

  “Yes, I think it’ll be a long night.” He held me in his arms. “What a mess.”

  “Yes,” I responded. “Now it’s time to catch the killer.”

  “They just did,” Aaron said.

  “Not by a long shot.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  We’d congregated in the kitchen to discuss the matter when we noted the detectives arriving by the backdoor. The squad car was still parked and the attending officer met them as they’d parked and got out of their car.

  “They didn’t ask the right question.”

  “What are you talking about?” Aaron asked. “You don’t make any sense. They just carted away the killers. Now you’re saying that they aren’t the killers? Then who are they?”

  “They are Jackie Newell’s employees, hired to get their hands on the dolls and to locate the cufflinks, but Jackie didn’t steal the brooch from the museum.”

  I opened the door to allow the detectives to enter. “We’re having a discussion about the killers. I say that Wanda and Stone aren’t, because they didn’t ask the right question.”

  “How do you know that?” Erlandsen asked. He leaned against the kitchen counter. “I don’t understand.”

  “This case has me stymied, I must admit,” Mergens grumbled.

  “You’re not alone on that thought,” Aaron said.

  “Let’s go and sit down in the living room.” Grandma ushered us all to the other room. “Have a seat. I’ll bring out the coffee cups, and we can discuss this whole kit-and-caboodle. It has to be hashed out. That’s all there is to it.”

  “You’re right, Grandma.” I nodded at the detectives. “Sit down and Aaron can bring in more chairs. We have an awful lot to discuss here.”

  “Cookies, anyone?” Grandma asked.

  “We’re just fine, Mrs. Ott. A little confused but nothing else,” Erlands
en answered.

  “Don’t tell me this has to do with Dolley Madison,” Mergens said. “It’s over two hundred years ago.”

  “So? There’s plenty in history that’s unanswered to this day. Sit.” I pointed at the sofa. “We’ll get started.” Aaron brought in two chairs. When the men were seated, I said, “Let’s begin with the sampler. The one on the wall. Have either of you two truly looked at it?”

  “I suppose that we may as well start from the top once again,” Erlandsen said.

  Both detectives reached for their notepads.

  “Hold on a minute.” I glanced at Grandpa, who stood. “I’ll be right back.” I watched him go for the wall hanging and set it down on the table between us.

  “Thank you.” I was about to speak when Grandma entered with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and the full coffee cups. She set the tray down beside the framed sampler. “You boys must be hungry. Now, let’s get started.”

  “Here,” Grandma spoke to each individual as she passed the cups around. “Now listen to my granddaughter. She makes sense so keep your ears open.”

  “We don’t like chewing our cud more than once, sonny, so remember that.” Grandpa smiled at me.

  “Let’s hear it, Liv.”

  “Samplers? This must be what it is,” Mergens said, looking at it. “Go through this all and pretend that we’re kiddies.”

  “Here goes. You see these corner motifs? They mean something—but what? We’re not sure.” I pointed them out. “See? Now why is the flag in this corner? Any idea?” When they both shook their heads, I pointed to the side strawberries. “Why are there thirteen? Why thirteen seeds also on the individual strawberries?”

  “No idea,” Mergens said.

  “How about you?” I glanced at Erlandsen who shook his head.

  “All that comes to mind is the thirteen colonies,” Mergens said.

  “Bingo! I think you may have won this round.” I smiled, and they both slightly chuckled. “Also, now look closer you two, the four strawberries along the short side, they have the thirteen seeds.”

  “So? Four on either side. Thirteen across the top and bottom.” Mergens scratched his head. “Where’s this getting us?”

  “Moving on. We have also found out that at Alexander Hamilton’s house in New York City. You must remember who he is?” I glanced at them both.

  “You tell us,” Erlandsen said. “We’ll play along.”

  “He had been the first Secretary of the Treasury and was able to figure out how to tax the republic to pay our debts after the War of Independence. Remember the Whiskey Rebellion?” They looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “It’s time for another history lesson. Hamilton is the person who was shot in the duel with Aaron Burr.”

  “Oh yeah! Now it’s clearer. Go on,” Erlandsen said.

  “I’m sure. Never mind,” Mergens said, grinning. “Go ahead.”

  “The Grange, as Hamilton’s house is referred to, is original, as well as standing on its original property. There’s a similar patterned sampler hung on a wall inside of the house. The corners are the same except for the odd one. The three corners have a marigold, but the upper left has a rose.”

  “The other three have marigolds? Like this?” Erlandsen sketched a picture on his pad. “It’s odd. You’re right.”

  “There’s more to it than that.” I pulled out my phone and brought up the image of the sampler from Montpelier. “Look. Tell me what you see.”

  “Oh my,” Mergens whispered. “Another one, only not quite the same. Almost exact except for the corners again.”

  “Right. The fourth corner has the tombstone. From what I can tell, it says ‘Polly’. Why on earth would she have her bird’s name put on the tombstone unless she buried the bird there?”

  “We’ve also wondered why the gadroon says, ‘Polly’,” interjected Aaron.

  “I have yet to do much more research because there’s always been something getting in my way, but now that these two thugs are out of the way. Maybe it’s possible.” I slid my phone on the table. “Now you see why we’re curious about Dolley Madison?”

  “The sampler is also from her hand, did you know that?” Grandma asked. “Bet you didn’t.”

  “Nope.” Erlandsen sipped his coffee after eating a bite of his cookie. “Very good.”

  “I knew they’d be appreciated,” Grandma said, smiling.

  “But how does this have anything to do with the murder?” Mergens asked. “Explain this to me. To us. How is it relevant?”

  “The cufflinks,” Grandpa stated. “Think about it. Polly imprinted around both. Polly? Now the tombstone—Polly? When will it end? All of these coincidences?”

  “All these coincidences will add up to something, but the question is—what?” Aaron replaced his empty cup on the tray.

  “The cufflinks are in the bank with the letter from Dolley bequeathing them to the Putnam family is right beside it,” Grandpa said.

  “You have the original letter, but didn’t tell us?” Erlandsen said, knocking his forehead. “When will this end?”

  “Keep going,” Mergens stated.

  “Montpelier Estate is anxious to get Grandpa’s cufflinks to the museum. They plan to send the historian, Don Strowbridge, to fetch them, but he wants to make sure they’re original. The handwriting original, etc. They want us to have our attorney present for the exchange.”

  “I plan to wear them during the wedding ceremony, so it’s a bit dicey,” Aaron said. “We’ll need police backup.”

  “Duly noted.” Erlandsen looked at me. “There’s something else too, isn’t there?”

  “Yes. Besides the Putnam Family Bible. There are also letters here from Dolley.” I gave them a minute to digest all the information. “Don’t you see? It has to add up to the killer?”

  “And the family secret, which Jackie mentioned to Liv,” Aaron said.

  “Ahh, the family secret. Whatever is imprinted on the gadroon will lead us to it. The clues on the sampler, with the cufflinks, must tell us what it is. The clues are in front of our face, but what is it? That’s the mystery? What are we looking for? That’s what we’re after right now. The gadroon will tell us where it’s located.”

  “That still doesn’t tell us what the secret is,” Erlandsen said.

  “No, it doesn’t. We have to decipher the clues,” Aaron replied.

  “I might be forced to rip off that turban of hers to get to the bottom of this,” I stated.

  “You’ll figure it out, Liv. All in due time.” Grandma looked at me. “I’m sorry for not telling about the bequeath letter sooner, but we didn’t know about the other Dolley letters. I inherited them and they just came into my possession.”

  “I haven’t scratched the surface with reading the letters.” I leaned back, and wondered when this would end.

  “Before we leave,” Erlandsen said, “let’s discuss what we do know about Dolley Madison from history. Not a whole lot between all of us.”

  “During the War of 1812, Dolley Madison was left alone in the White House while Mr. Madison, who is the final president to fight in a war during his time in office, was with his troops. The White House was virtually undefended. Dolley would periodically climb on the roof with her telescope to look for British troops. Several times she was told to leave the ‘President’s City’ to avoid being captured. Finally, she entrusted her slave to help her load up personal items and, at the last minute, she made a quick decision to save George Washington’s portrait. It’s believed that that is the one on display in the White House. On her way out the door, she made sure that the table was set plus the prepared food was placed on the table. She hoped the British would be in a better temperament if they had a full stomach, but they burned the White House anyway. Dolley barely made it out of the city in time. She sent a letter to her sister. She liked people, had parties called ‘squeezes’ all the time and served good food. People loved her.”

  “We already know this.” Mergens glanced around the room. “W
hat in that leads you to believe that she’s hid something?”

  “A gut feeling plus the known clues.” I clamped my jaw tight.

  “There’s really nothing to go on,” Mergens said. “There’s no firm conclusion that these are clues.”

  “Then why did Stone ask what’s on the brooch?” Aaron asked.

  “This is pie in the sky,” Mergens said.

  “Listen to me, Liv. If there is a killer out there, he’ll slip up and we’ll get him,” Erlandsen said.

  “I’m firm. You don’t have the right people in custody.”

  “As it stands right now, we do have the two killers.” Erlandsen looked at Aaron. “You are to stay out of this investigation and keep your fiancé out of it too.”

  “Yes, sir.” Aaron looked straight ahead. “It’s clear.”

  “I’ve left a message with the Montpelier security officer and he’ll get back to me.” Mergens stood. “Tell you what. We’ll dig the best we can into this Madison stuff, or at least I will. It’s outdated by some odd years, but I’ve always loved a good mystery.”

  “We’ll continue searching for the suspects. But the cufflinks need to stay in the bank until the wedding. Armed guards will accompany you at all times the day of the ceremony. They’ll be undercover. As far as picking up the estate representative, we’ll take care of that. It’s now top priority. We’ll get the criminals, so don’t worry.” Detective Erlandsen stood.

  “That’s good news.” Aaron stood. “I’ll look after Liv. She won’t leave my side. We’ll stay out of the investigation.”

  “What’s the motive for Jackie’s murder?” I asked. “Do you have one?”

  “No,” Erlandsen shook his head. “Let’s hear what you think.”

  “We don’t know what we’re after, but the killers are definitely greedy. They know there’s a ‘secret’, but no one knows what it is,” I said. “However, they have a strong suspicion that it’s worth a fortune. I am in agreement.”

  “We’ll keep digging,” Mergens said.

  “Combine the known clues with the gadroon, and we’ll find the ‘secret’. I’m positive.” After moment of silence, I said, “The wedding is one week from now.”