La Photographie Moderne

by Neil Crenner

old house, with all these strange inside locks." Reason turned the lock and the handle and the door opened. They were on the first floor in a small room that looked like a wet porch.

  "Do you remember this area?" Reason asked.

  "Well I never got to see the entire house so I don't. Let's go back towards the kitchen and down thru the cave."

  "I am afraid the tide will be up and we won't be able to go that way. We will have to go out the back and just walk thru the vineyards. I am sure he is gone off the property."

  "Why do you suppose that he was here in the first place?"

  "Do you think someone spotted our car down by the lighthouse?"

  "Maybe that's what happened. He was driving thru the property and drove down by the lighthouse and saw our car and decided to come take a look at the house. Yet, he came right up to the third floor. How did he know to look there?"

  "Well the rest of the house is empty and so why search there? Go straight to the third floor to find the vandals."

  "I still find it fishy that he would head straight up there and how do they know that the third floor is full of furniture?"

  "That I don't know. Who could he be working for I wonder?" Reason said out loud.

  They were walking behind the house and thru the vineyards now, heading towards the lighthouse. It was getting to be late afternoon and Reason wanted to get back to their room to shower and have dinner and call Didier.

  "Maybe we can stop by the library tomorrow on our way out of town. I am sure we can find some old newspaper articles on microfiche about when your grandfather passed and what happened to the estate."

  "Well I do hope so," Catherine said with a sigh as she walked on next to Reason.

  "I have to call Didier and tell him of our escapades au jourdui," Reason exclaimed.

  "Yes, yes we must do that when we get back to the B&B." Catherine agreed. They made it to the van and saw that there were some other tire tracks next to the rental that looked fresh. The guard had come by and seen their vehicle parked there and went to see if there were any vandals or snoops up at the house.

  Was there anything particular about the property that would warrant a guard to be assigned to it? Here it had set all these years empty, with no one claiming it. Reason didn't want to ponder any more, he wanted to shower and change in to some fresh clothes and relax with a glass of wine. He knew Catherine was exhausted as well.

  They drove back to the bed and breakfast and went to their rooms. They would meet in an hour to have drinks and dinner.

  Chapitre 29

  Reason sat on the bed and looked at his watch.

  He wanted to just relax for a few minutes before showering. He felt exhausted. His body ached some, and he wanted to clear his mind. He sat there and stared down at the floor for a few minutes aware that he was glazing over. A few moments he snapped out of it and got undressed and slipped into the shower, warm, but not too hot, basking his tired body under the water.

  His mind was not thinking about the day's events, just on the lather that felt so good from the soft washcloth. He spent well over ten minutes relaxing under the water before exiting the shower. A soft, oversized towel sat on the sink waiting to absorb the water and keep his body warm. He was enjoying the experience so much he forgot about where he was and why he was there.

  Then he thought of Didier, he must call him. He flopped down on the bed and reached for the phone. He dialed the number and turned on his side, there he could see outside the window, it was dark and a light rain had started.

  "Hello," Didier said.

  "Hey, how you doing buddy?" Reason asked calmly.

  "I am fine, just waiting to hear from you, what else?" How's my mom? Did you wear her out mystery hunting?" Didier said sassily.

  "Yes we were mystery hunting and we found some great clues. Your mom is fine, she is just getting ready and we are going to meet in a half hour to eat. So this is what we have found out so far." Reason began to tell the days adventure. He tried not to sound too excited and he left out Catherine fainting in the closet part, and calmly told him all that he remembered.

  "So when are you coming home?" Didier asked quietly.

  "Tomorrow morning after we visit the local library."

  "I miss you. I also think that we should let lying dogs lie."

  "Yes how about that, just forget about your family and the estate and live our lives just as we have been? I believe this is fate Didier. The visions have never been of any value to me until now. I must pursue it," Reason said calmly. He didn't want to sound like he was being demanding and bossy.

  "Yes, well, you need to be careful. Remember your accident? Someone wants this property and they almost killed you trying to get it. Reason this isn't Murder She Wrote, this is real. You have to be cautious and I don't think my mother is fully aware of the danger she and you could be in. Babe, I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you and I am concerned."

  "Yes, wow, you are serious. We are just investigating. We haven't done anything illegal or dangerous. At least I don't think we have."

  "So what's your plan tomorrow?"

  "Tomorrow I am going to the Courthouse to find out about this and talk to the local authorities. Once they know who we are, I am sure we won't have to worry."

  "Reason, they may be in on it. Who was the security guard working for? The state? The county? I am sure he's working for the same people who stole your negatives," Didier said firmly.

  "I am going to be cautious and be aware Didier. Thank you for your concern and I love you too, however, I want to continue investigating this. I told you what we are planning to do tomorrow and then we are heading home," Reason said in a cool tone.

  "Well call me after dinner will you?" Didier asked.

  "I will and just relax and don't worry," Reason said calmly.

  "Okay, I'll be waiting for you call. Just going to do some work I brought home."

  "Okay, bye," Reason said quickly.

  "Bye," Didier said slowly.

  That man needs to calm down, Reason thought to himself as he looked over at his clock on the nightstand. Better dress, Catherine will be here soon. A knock on the door ten minutes later, Reason was ready.

  The restaurant was Italian and across the street. Very dark and had some classical music playing. Reason told Catherine about the conversation and the concerned tone of Didier.

  "Do you really think we are in danger? I wish you had told me about the accident and the negatives. This is really exciting. I hope I don't faint again!" Catherine exclaimed smiling.

  Reason smiled back and agreed that it was exciting. They ordered a bottle, had a couple glasses of wine to relax, and then ordered. Reason wanted something light and spicy. He ordered some Capellini pasta with pesto sauce, to make it spicy he asked for red peppers. Catherine ordered a big Cobb salad with ranch dressing.

  They discussed the adventure of the day and speculated about who the surveyors were and why and who wanted the land. They finished the wine and then had a cordial, which made them both sleepy.

  The rain had stopped earlier and now it was drizzling again. They didn't get very wet crossing the street, and were so ready for sleep it didn't matter. They hugged and said goodnight.

  "Call me when you wake up in the morning, but try to sleep in," Reason told Catherine.

  "Don't worry, I want to sleep in tomorrow. The wine, the wine," Catherine remarked gaily.

  "I am sure you will sleep in. Goodnight," Reason said. He went to his room and undressed, the rain was now coming down hard and he could hear it distinctly. He went to the window and pulled it up a few inches. He loved the rain. He crawled into bed and reached for the phone. He didn't look at the clock, he knew Didier would answer.

  "Hello," said a groggy voice.

  "Were you asleep? I'm sorry. You said to call."

  "Yes, no, it's fine. I dozed off watching TV How was dinner?"

  "Very spicy and light. We had a bottle of wine, it was splendid."

 
"You know my mom is a light-weight. Did she enjoy herself?"

  "Oh yes she did and it relaxed her. She thought this mystery hunting to be very exciting."

  "Well don't give her too much excitement. She might faint."

  "Faint? Your mother faints?"

  "She's from the south, she faints."

  "Well if she faints, don't worry I will catch her."

  "You do that. Well then, sleep well and call me in the morning. I love you."

  "You sleep well too, babe, good night, I love you." Reason hung up the phone. He laid there a few minutes and was asleep.

  Three forty-five a.m.

  The thunder sounded like a bomb going off. Reason woke as the lightening lit up his room. He loved thunderstorms more than the rain, but always wanted them at the same time. The thunder cracked and roared, afar off and close by. The rain came down harder. Wow this is a huge storm Reason thought.

  He got up and looked out into the night, a flash lit the sky. He turned and crawled back in bed, it wasn't as cold as he thought it should be. It must be the rain. He feel back to sleep after lying there listening to the rain awhile, the thunder had diminished and was far off.

  Chapitre 30

  Nine a.m.

  Reason was standing near the edge of the cliff, looking out at the waves, he saw the storm coming in, the sea was black and the wind howled. He couldn't look away from the darkness and the cliff was erect and pointed and he felt like he belonged there and then he woke up. He had dreamed it many times before, was it the bluffs at the lighthouse he wondered? If so, then he had had that dream ever since he was a child.