The sound of a car’s engine could be heard in Viv’s driveway and a few minutes later the doorbell rang.  Libby Hartnett, carrying a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates, and Anton Wilson holding a bouquet of flowers, stood on the front stoop and called greetings to the two young women through the screen door.

“We brought some things to help you recover from the ordeal.”  Libby placed the wine and sweets on the coffee table in front of Lin.

“And some flowers to brighten the day.”  Anton placed the vase of blooms on the side table.

Lin thanked them both for their thoughtfulness.

“Please sit.”  Viv invited Libby and Anton to join them in having a mug of tea and they accepted.

When everyone was settled, the tale of Greg, and Bill, and Leonard was recounted once again.

“How are you feeling?”  Libby asked.

“I’m fine, really.”  Lin lifted her mug.

“We’re thankful that the killer is behind bars and things can go back to normal.”  Viv pushed her hair behind her ears.

Libby eyed the young woman with skepticism and then looked to Lin.

“You can speak freely,” Lin said.  “Viv knows everything.”

“And many things I wish I didn’t know.”  Viv frowned.

Libby adjusted in her seat.  “What about Sebastian Coffin?”

“I haven’t seen him since the night Bill attacked me.”  A twinge of sorrow grabbed at Lin’s heart.  She wanted to thank the ghost for alerting her to Bill’s attempt to attack from behind.  She wondered why he’d disappeared without saying goodbye, or at least a wave of his hand, since he never spoke.

Libby looked crestfallen that the ghost was gone.

“We’d hoped that Coffin might stay around and that perhaps you could learn to communicate with him.”  Anton stroked his chin.

Lin gave a tiny shrug of her shoulder.  She had no idea why ghosts came and went as they did.  She glanced across the room to the fireplace.  She guessed she wouldn’t see Sebastian again and it made her sad.  “I guess we’ll never figure out what that old key from the leather pouch opens.”  Lin’s voice was tinged with disappointment.

“A key was in the pouch?”  Libby asked leaning forward.

“What pouch?”  Anton looked confused so Lin relayed the information about the hidden cupboard, the words written under the shelf, and the leather pouch that was found containing a key.

“May I see it?”  Libby asked.

Viv went to the kitchen to retrieve the pouch and when she returned to the living room, she handed it to Libby.  Libby gently removed the key and turned it over in her hand.

“Can you sense something from holding it?” Lin’s tone was hushed.

Libby let out a sigh.  “I’d hoped I would.”  She shrugged and placed the items on the table.  “But, nothing.”

“Ours to thee.”  Anton pondered the words.  “Certainly seems like whoever left the pouch in the cabinet intended that the key and whatever it opened should go to the person who found it.”

Lin told the historian that the “t” on the word “to” looked almost like a fancy “s”.

“Ours so thee?”  Anton frowned.  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Viv chuckled.  “Maybe it’s a puzzle.  Lin’s always doing word puzzles.”

Nicky and Queenie sat at attention staring at Lin.  Nicky whined.

An idea flashed in Lin’s mind.  She jumped from her seat.  “I need a piece of paper and a pencil.”

Chapter 24

Everyone in the room watched the young woman with interest as she hurried to the small desk in the corner where she pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from the drawer.  She wrote the words from the cupboard on the paper.

“What are you doing?”  Viv walked to her cousin’s side to look over her shoulder.

Lin was breathless.  “Ours to Thee.  Is it an anagram?”  She flipped the letters in her head and wrote new words down.  She crossed things out and then let out a yip.  “If I change the fancy letter on the word “to” and make it an “s” I can get the word “storehouse.”  She straightened and grabbed Viv’s shoulder.  “The storehouse.”

Viv blinked.

“Gram called the ell at the back of the house the storehouse.”

Viv still looked blank.

“The ell on the back of the house.  The ‘storehouse.’”  Lin’s voice shook with excitement.  “The ell is original to the house.  Sebastian must have hidden something in there.  It’s in the ell, not in the shed.”  She took off with the dog and cat chasing her.

Anton and Libby were on their feet and rushed after Lin leaving Viv in the living room looking puzzled.  She shook herself, grabbed the old key, and hurried to the back of the house with the others.  Lin was already inside the storage space.  Over the years, the ell had been used for storing household items and there were suitcases, furniture, Gram’s old painting easel, canned goods, old trunks, and odds and ends stacked along the walls and scattered over the floor.

“I guess I need to take this stuff in hand.”  Viv eyes roved over the mess.

Lin walked around the space crawling over things and pushing boxes out of her way.  Queenie and Nicky followed her every move.  After several minutes, Lin stepped into a cold current of air and her breath caught in her throat.  Moving her feet slowly, she moved around trying to determine the coldest spot.  In the far corner, she bent and reached out her hand to touch the old stone partial foundation.  Her fingers felt like they’d touched snow and ice.  Queenie let out a trill and Nicky howled.

The four people took turns digging in the spot.  When it was Viv’s turn, she moved the shovel a little to the side and everyone heard the thud of the tool hitting something heavy.  After five more minutes of digging, a medium sized chest was pulled from the crevice between the rows of stones and the floor.  They all stared at it.

The chest was fashioned of wood, rounded along the sides.  Two inch wide metal bands trimmed the edges, and the sides and bottom of the chest were overlaid with thin sheets of metal.  Decorative knobs were hammered along the metal edges and a heavy handle was embedded in the top of the chest.  A decorative lock held the top lid closed.

Lin nudged her cousin.  “Do you have the key?  See if it fits.”

Viv’s hand trembled.  “Not me.”  She pushed the key into Lin’s hand.  “You figured it out so you should do it.”

Lin held the key suspended over the lock for a moment and then she inserted it and turned.  It clicked and the lock loosened.  Slowly she lifted the lid.

The first thing they saw was a gold chain and pendant resting on top of other items wrapped in linen.  With shaking fingers, Lin touched the necklace and took it from the box.  “Look.”  She held it up for the others to see.  “There’s a tilted horseshoe in the middle of the pendant.  Like on Viv’s chimney.”  A white gold upside-down horseshoe was centered on the gold circular pendant.

Libby and Anton leaned closer.  Libby’s eyes widened and a smile spread over her face.  “It was rumored that Emily Witchard Coffin wore such a necklace.  This must be hers.”  She ran her finger over the piece.

“What else is in the chest?”  Anton peered inside.

Viv reached in and pushed some of the linen cloth to the side to reveal large leather pouches.  She lifted one and handed it to Anton who opened it and tilted the contents into his hand.  “Gold Guineas.”

The wood and metal chest held five leather folders each one with a piece of artwork inside.  Viv inspected one of them.  “This looks like a woodcut print.”

Anton noticed the monogram signature of the letters “AD” with one letter over the other.  He gasped and leaned closer.  “These look like the work of Albrecht Dürer.”

“Who?”  Libby was not familiar with the artist’s name.

“He was a famous painter.”  Viv stared at what the folder held.  “He also did woodcut prints and engravings.”