Letters From Al (15 page)

"I'm a librarian. I'm always telling people to whisper." She countered.

A big, long cobweb draped over her and she fought with it, bumping into him. "I don't know. It just seems you should whisper in here, is all."

At that rationale Alec laughed out loud and promptly bumped his head on a swinging light bulb.

"Ow, here's the light fixture, such as it is. If it wasn't broken then it probably is now. Let me check it, hand me a light bulb."

Maddy gave him a new bulb and heard the twisting sound as the old one went out and the replacement went in. Suddenly light filled the room and Alec snapped his flashlight off. He looked quite pleased with himself.

"There. That's better. Just a burned out bulb is all. Add a new light bulb and it's as good as new."

"No thanks to your hard head, deputy." She moved past him and looked around. Everything was dusty. A dirty window covered by an even dirtier curtain stood high up on the peak of the roof, filtering any sunlight that tried to get in. Gingerly Maddy pushed the curtain aside, but could see little.

Old furniture, boxes and two big steamer trunks caught her eye. A full-length mirror on a swivel stared back at them. A dress form stood silently with other old attic regulars. A wire birdcage and empty picture frames hung haphazardly around.

"See anything interesting?" Alec dusted off his hands.

"Check the bureau first and see if anything is in the drawers like papers or books. Otherwise, this just looks like a dusty old attic to me." She went to the steamer trunk.

Alec saluted and opened the top drawer, "As you wish." Rummaging through old clothes he called out after a few minutes. "Maddy, I found something. A book, I think. It looks old. Do you want it?"

"Yes." Maddy stumbled over boxes to get at it. "Look. It says Diary on the front. That's great. Is there anything more?"

Frowning, he handed the book to her and rummaged through the rest of the drawers. "No. That's it for the dresser. The diary is locked. Do you want me to pry it open?"

"No, there's a whole bunch of keys I found downstairs, we'll try them first before we break it. What a find."

Eyes sparkling she clutched the book to her chest and looked excitedly at Alec. "This would make good reading curled up in front of the fire this winter, if I could wait that long to read it, which I can't."

"That sounds like you are serious about staying. Nebraska winters can be pretty long." Alec dropped the last of the rotten clothes in a trash bag and turned to look at Maddy. She stood in the swaying light of the naked light bulb, her face smudged, and a cobweb in her shiny copper-colored hair. The genuine happy look she gave him, her face turned up to him so sweetly, full, red lips, eyes the color of emeralds. At that moment it took his breath away.

"Are you kidding? I live in Chicago. Now that's a tough winter place. I know what winter is like. I told you I was serious, but you're so hardheaded about one showing of the house, you don't even notice how serious I am." Leaning against the old bureau, she nodded smugly.

"So then, I don't have to lock you up here to keep you from going back to Chicago?" He grinned mischievously and leaned on the opposite side of the bureau, staring intently at her.

"No. Unless Leland gets a big offer I can't refuse." Returning the teasing she rested her chin on her hand.

"You know where Leland can go as far as I'm concerned. All I need is something to eat once in a while, a little rest now and then, and a beautiful woman to kiss."

Edging around the bureau, he stepped carefully to avoid the garbage bags full of junk, keeping a wary eye on Maddy who tempted him by just being around him.

"You want it in that order?" She shook her head. "Now Alec, we're not done up here, yet. Come on. Don't goof around." Laughing and giggling, they put all arguments aside and faced each other until Maddy tripped and they collapsed on the old fainting couch. A puff of dust went up around them and instead of kisses, they came up coughing. He threw back his head and laughed as they dusted each other off.

"Oh, brother," she sputtered, "if you're not allergic to dust before, you will be now. This is awful."

"It's awful fun." He quipped, wiping a cobweb from her hair. He dusted down her arms and let his hands settle on her waist, pulling her close.

"I'm going to feel this grit until I take a shower. And you’re even worse."

"I can't seem to get enough of you, Madeline Morris. I don't think, no, I'm quite sure I've never felt like this before, unless it was fifteen years ago when I kissed you right after the Homecoming Dance."

"It's probably the dust, Alec. I feel a little strange myself." Maddy's hands gripped his upper arms with a strength she didn't know she had. His muscles tightened in response and refused to relax.

"Alec, don't say that. Not yet. It takes time, and I don't want you to say what you think I want to hear. Not yet, I don't know where this is going to lead us."

"I know where I hope it leads us." He said and kissed her again, his breath caressing her face tenderly, his fingers running through her silky hair.

"I hate it when the situation calls for 'understanding,' it usually means 'waiting.'" Groaning, he closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair.

"If being understanding will keep you here, then I'll do it. But, it's not going to be easy, I'm sure."

That wasn't much for him to ask, she thought. Her heart gave a little lurch. Larry would never have reacted like that. Alec's unselfishness lifted a great weight from her shoulders.

"Okay, maybe some time later. Not now, if you don't mind. I don't want anything to spoil the way I feel right now. So, come on. I'm dying to get into those old trunks next."

"Okay, come on." Giving her a hand up he wiggled his eyebrows menacingly at her, making Maddy laugh.

Opening the heavy trunk lid revealed nothing but more old clothes and some newspapers in one. The period clothing Maddy decided to keep since they were in better condition from being in the trunk. The second trunk was beautiful with dull brass hinges and rich leather. Inside, more clothes and she felt her heart race. Alec lifted the heavy tray and underneath was several bundles of letters tucked away. One bunch was tied with a faded red ribbon and the others were tied with plain string.

"Oh, my goodness, Alec, look." Maddy whispered excitedly, holding up the two packets of yellowed letters.

"There you go with the whispering again. Is that what you're looking for?" Rocking back on his heels he paused and squinted.

"I don't know, but they've got to be as good as the diary. Do you see any documents, like stock certificates or anything?"

"When I read these it will be like seeing what great Aunt Madeline thought and felt. See, the ones with the red ribbon must be from her husband." Eyes wide, she stared from the letters to Alec excitedly. "The others, I don't know. There are initials A.C. in the return addresses. I can't tell until we get in some good light, they're so faded."

"Well, at least it's something." Alec said as he looked through the rest of the trunk but found nothing else.

"Come on. I can hardly wait to get downstairs and see what they say." Standing up, she was startled when the attic door slammed shut with a loud bang.

"What was that?" Alec said, frowning. The loud slam sent the slender cord with the light bulb swaying back and forth.

"Could that have been the wind?" Maddy asked in a small voice, clutching the letters and diary tightly.

"What wind, in an attic?" He replied tersely.

"It was just a suggestion. Besides, what else could have caused it?" They both made their way to the attic door. It was shut tight as if were locked.

"Alec, can you get it open? I know we didn't lock it when we came in. Is it stuck?"

"Well, it's stuck good. Could someone have locked us in?"

"Who would lock us in? That's silly, it must have slammed shut accidentally and then locked, didn't it?" Maddy was reaching for explanations as she stood closely behind Alec.

"If it slammed shut accidentally, someone had to lock it, Maddy. You didn't happen to bring any of those keys up you were talking about, did you?" She shook her head.

"I haven't gotten that far, finding out which keys go where. Do you have your cell phone?"

"No. What a time to leave it in the car." He belittled himself.

She went over to the dirty window and used the bottom of the curtain to wipe the grime off and was shocked to see movement below in her yard.

"Alec! Come here. Look! There's a strange man in grubby clothes running down the sidewalk away from the house."

Maddy pulled him closer to the window and pointed to the little clean circle she'd rubbed on the dirty window.

"Do you know him?" They watched the young man with long, stringy hair trying to hide something under his arm as he ran away. "What's that he's got in his hands?"

"Alec, he's got the leather briefcase, my Aunt's leather briefcase. Aunt Polly and I found it stuffed behind the old desk in the library. How could he know about that? Alec, we've got to stop him, maybe the missing bonds are in there."

"Well, it would help if we could get out of here." Alec said in frustration.

"It's locked remember? Besides, he just jumped into a van and drove off. We'll never catch them now." Alec joined her at the door, testing the hinges and finally leaning against it. Agitated Maddy flailed away at the door until he pulled her down to sit next to him.

"Maddy, settle down, I don't think it's locked, I think it's jammed or blocked from the outside. We can't move it. What was in that briefcase, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. Papers, I think old receipts. I hadn't had time to look at them closely. We found the case when we were cleaning and it didn't look like much more than bills and things so I thought I'd look them over later. I can't imagine anyone taking old papers, for goodness sakes. Oh, Alec, the briefcase was in my bedroom, I hope he didn't take my purse and cash. Why would anyone steal old papers unless they knew what they were?"

"Like what?" Alec said uneasily.

"Like old stock certificates that my aunt had misplaced. But how would anyone know about that particular briefcase?"

"That's a good question, Maddy. Come on, we have to get out of here somehow. I've got to call the office and get an APB out on the van. I wish I could have gotten the license plate number."

They looked out the window once more hoping to see someone passing by they could call to, but no one was around. Alec went back to work on the door while Maddy sat on the window ledge holding the letters and diary.

"You're just raising more dust with all that activity, Alec."

"Okay, we're going to have to break out this window, then and signal for help. Stand back." Just then she saw a familiar sight below. It was Tommy. Tommy the boy from the grocery store was coming to mow the lawn, she'd forgotten. He rode up on his ten-speed bike and leaned it against the garage, looking around. Yelling and screaming, they pounded on the window and managed to raise it a crack. Looking up, Tommy squinted into the sun and finally waved back.

"Tommy! Tommy! Up here, we're stuck. Come up stairs and let us out!" Maddy yelled. He nodded and they waited patiently, the sounds of something heavy scraped against the door and then it opened.

"Hi, you guys. What are you doing locked in the attic?" Tommy stood grinning at them.

"Tommy, you're a lifesaver." Alec rushed past him, patting his arm.

"I am? Cool." Tommy's grin grew. Maddy agreed and ushered him down behind Alec. A heavy chair was beside the door, it had been propped under the door knob locking them in. This was no accident.

"How'd you get the chair under the doorknob and still be inside, Maddy?" Tommy asked innocently. Suddenly another thought hit her. What if Tommy had come over earlier and confronted the strange man? The thought of anyone hurting him sickened her.

"Oh, it was kind of a game, Tommy. Someone tricked us, is all. But it wasn't very nice. Just forget it and get started on the lawn, okay? You know where the mower is?"

"Yeah, I used the same one for Miss Madeline." The sounds of the mower buzzing softly in the distance could be heard a few minutes later.

"Maddy, check and see if anything else is missing besides the briefcase." Alec said in a professional tone.

After checking to make sure no one else was in the house, he picked up the phone and called his office. Maddy was still frightened at the brazenness of the burglar.

"He went through things, I can see that. But I don't think he took anything else. Oh, my goodness." Maddy looked in her bedroom. The dresser drawers hung with clothes draped over them, her suitcases were thrown about the room with linings ripped out. The dressing table drawers lay on the bed upside down, books, papers and even the mattress had been pulled off. Aghast, Maddy looked around, stepping gingerly around the shambles in shock.

The little red costume jewelry box was empty and open and she bent to pick it up.

"Don't touch anything." Alec barked and her hand stopped in mid-air. "I called the office. They'll be right over. Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be some fingerprints." She nodded and stepped back, rubbing her arms. Suddenly she felt very cold.