The Mandie Collection (4 page)

Mandie grinned back at him and said, “Thanks, Uncle John, I won't let you down.”

As soon as the meal was over, Mandie and Joe left the adults sitting around the table talking and went to sit on the bottom step of the huge staircase in the front hallway.

“Now what do we do?” Joe asked her.

“We have to give Liza and the others time to eat and clear away the food,” Mandie replied. “Then we'll go back and talk to them.” She stood up and added, “And in order to save time, I'd like to begin searching the second floor.” She turned to go up the steps.

Joe stood up and followed. “But that's where everyone's rooms are,” he said. “We aren't going prowling through your mother's and your uncle's rooms, are we? And your grandmother's?”

“Why not? We won't disturb anything,” Mandie said as she climbed the steps.

“I don't like the idea, Mandie,” Joe objected.

“Well, you don't have to do anything. Just stand outside the doors and let me know if anyone comes up the stairs,” Mandie told him as they reached the top.

“And then what do you plan on doing?” Joe asked as he followed Mandie to the first room down the hallway. This was a guest room and was not occupied at present.

“Well, we'll have to search the first floor, and the attic, and the cellar,” Mandie told him as she pushed open the door to the room.

Joe frowned as he looked at her and said, “You are so positive the will is in the house somewhere, but I believe whoever stole it took it with them.”

Mandie looked back at him and said, “I have this strong feeling the will is still in the house, and when I get these feelings I'm usually right. So remember this when I tell you I told you so.” She grinned at him.

“And if you don't find it, then I will tell you I told you so,” Joe replied as they stood in the open doorway.

“That's fair enough. Now, let's get to work,” Mandie agreed as they entered the guest room and began their search again.

CHAPTER THREE

WHERE IS THAT WILL?

Mandie hurried through her search of the second floor with Joe helping out, but no clue to the missing will was found. They stood in the middle of the last room and looked around. This was an unoccupied guest room.

“Nothing!” Mandie exclaimed in a disappointed voice.

“What next?” Joe asked.

At that moment Liza came rushing through the open doorway. “Missy 'Manda, I been lookin' ev'rywhere fo' y'all,” she said. “We done got done in de kitchen, and I come to see if I kin help find dat will paper.”

“Oh, Liza, I was coming to find you so we could discuss that day Uncle John's office door was left open,” Mandie told her. “But let's don't talk on this floor because somebody might come to their room. Let's go on up the flight of stairs to the attic.”

Mandie led the way to the staircase, and the three sat down on the landing between the third floor and the attic. Joe pushed open the shutters on the window there to let in some sunlight.

“Now, Liza, tell me all about that day you left Uncle John's office door open,” Mandie said to the girl.

Liza looked at her and shrugged and said, “I done tole you I lef'
de do' open 'cause Mistuh John he be gone all day and I had work to do. I couldn't jes' sit dere lookin' at dat do' all de day long.”

“Was it open a whole day?” Mandie asked.

“I s'pose so,” Liza said.

“How long were you in there cleaning up the room that day?” Mandie asked.

Liza frowned thoughtfully and replied, “Mighta been two, three hour it took me.”

“Were there any visitors in the house that day? Did anyone come calling?” Joe asked.

“No, don't think so. Leastways I don't 'member seein' nobody, and I looked de house all over fo' Mistuh John. I went everywheres, even to Abraham's house in de yard, and he don't be nowhere, and den come suppertime heah he come. Been tendin' to bidness, he say, and he go lock de do' whilst we's puttin' de food on de table,” Liza said with a big sigh.

“Where was my mother all the time the door was unlocked?” Mandie asked.

“She stay in huh room restin' all de day. I took huh a tray at noon, and she jes' sittin' round readin' in huh sittin' room,” the girl explained. Then she looked at Mandie and added, “Miz 'Lizbeth, she ain't got plumb well yet from havin' dat fever.”

“I know, Liza. She probably won't be able to go with us to the courthouse in Swain County on Monday,” Mandie said. “But Dr. Woodard says she is getting better.”

“Liza, did you go with Mr. Shaw to see him lock the door?” Joe asked.

Liza looked at him in surprise and answered as she shook her head, “Lawsy mercy, no. He know how to lock de do'.”

Joe smiled at her and said, “I thought you might have gone up to his office with him to show him what all you had done in there.”

“I ain't done nuthin' in dat room but sweep de carpet and dust, and den I polish ev'rything,” Liza explained.

“Then how did you know he locked the door?” Mandie asked.

“I knows he did 'cause when he come in de front do' I tell him I'se done in his office room and dat de do' be unlocked, and he say I gwine right up dere right dis heah minute and lock de do', and he went up de steps. Dat's how I knows he locked de do',” Liza said, taking a
big breath. “I'm athinkin' y'all jes' ain't been alistenin' to whut I been sayin'. He went up dem steps and locked dat do' and den he come back down wid Miz 'Lizbeth to eat suppuh.”

Mandie smiled and said, “I understand, Liza. Now, where was Mr. Jason that day?”

“Mistuh Bond he be he'pin' Abraham build a new chicken coop dat day. You kin go see it. It's in de fur corner of de backyard 'cause Miz 'Lizbeth she don't want dem chickens crowin' and cacklin' too close to de house,” Liza explained. “Took 'em all day and then some mo' time aftuh suppuh.”

“And you didn't see anyone else come into the house that day?” Mandie asked.

“Nobody,” Liza said, vigorously shaking her head.

Joe looked at Mandie and said, “So if the desk lock was broken that day, your uncle didn't notice it until he went to get the will this morning.”

“I know he doesn't go in there every day, only when he has bookwork to do,” Mandie replied. Then looking at Liza, she asked, “Do you remember what day it was when you cleaned his office?”

Liza frowned for a moment and then said, “It be de day dis heah week fo' prayer meetin' night. I knows 'cause we all hurryin' up to go to de church and sang dat night, me and Aunt Lou and Jenny. Abraham he couldn't go 'cause he he'pin' Mistuh Bond make de new chicken pen.”

“And today is Saturday, so Mr. Shaw might not have been back up there in his office until he went to get the will this morning,” Joe said, looking at Mandie.

“Right. Therefore he wouldn't have known someone took the will if they did it the day the door was left open,” Mandie said. “I wonder if he checked his desk that day when he locked the door.”

“Probably not,” Joe said.

“Unless he had something to put in the desk or to take out of it,” Mandie said. Glancing at Liza, she added, “You said he had been in town doing business all day. You don't know what kind of business, do you, Liza?”

“Don't be knowin' 'bout dat,” Liza said, shaking her head.

“Would you remember if he had a pouch with him?” Joe asked.

“A pouch?” Liza questioned.

“You know, a leather case to put papers in,” Joe explained.

“I didn't see him carryin' nuthin',” she replied. “He had had his hair cut I noticed. 'Sides, Aunt Lou say he been to de barber shop anyhow.” She stood up and asked, “Is we gwine to do any lookin' or whut?”

Mandie rose as she said, “Let's search the attic next.”

Joe got to his feet and told her, “That attic is crammed full, or it was the last time I was up there, and it's going to take some time, let me tell you.”

“But we've got Liza to help us now,” Mandie said as she started the rest of the way up the steps to the attic door.

As Mandie pushed the door open, she stopped and looked at Joe, then said, “It's awfully dark in there, but if we open the shutters we probably won't have to use lamps.”

“Let's open the shutters,” Joe agreed as he walked across the room to one of the windows.

Mandie hurried to another window. Liza cautiously stepped inside the room and watched them. Then, as the light began streaming in through the opened shutters, she went to help with the last window. And Snowball, who had found them, came rushing in to smell everything.

Mandie glanced around the attic at the contents—trunks, boxes, old furniture, a pile of old dishes stacked on the top of a wooden crate, old clothes hanging on hooks in one corner. A huge beveled-edge mirror with a tarnished gilt frame stood on a stand near a window and reflected the jumble in front of it, making the attic look much larger than it was.

Joe ran his long thin fingers through his unruly brown hair as he also viewed the mess. He blew out his breath as he asked, “And where do you propose we start? How in this world do you think you will ever find the will if it is hidden in all this conglomeration?”

“It'll take time, but we can do it—the three of us,” Mandie told him as she walked over to a large trunk in a corner. She glanced at Snowball, who was watching her, and added, “And Snowball, you'd better behave or I'll throw you out.”

Liza frowned as she said, “But, Missy 'Manda, whut do dat will look like?”

Joe quickly told Mandie, “You see, Liza wouldn't know a will if she saw one.”

Mandie thought for a moment and said, “All right, Liza, you just help me open and close things, and I'll look for the will. It'll make things faster that way. Let's start with this trunk.”

“And I'll begin over here,” Joe said as he stopped by a huge box on the far side. Snowball followed Joe.

Soon the light began to fail. The October day was short, so they finally lit the two lamps that were kept on a table by the door to the attic.

Mandie realized it was quite a job to go through all the contents of the trunks, not to mention the boxes and the drawers of the furniture.

“I wonder why your mother or your uncle doesn't get rid of most of this stuff,” Joe remarked as he pulled some ancient clothes out of a wooden box.

“Oh no!” Mandie exclaimed as she straightened up from a trunk to look at him. “All this stuff is history, our family history. Why, I imagine Uncle John could identify every piece of everything in this room. I'm not sure whether my mother brought anything to put in here when she married Uncle John or not. Most of it is probably belongings of the Shaw family, my father's people, for several generations back.”

“Well, it may take us generations to search all of it,” Joe said with a laugh.

By late Sunday night Mandie and Joe had not completed looking into everything in the attic, even though they had worked every minute, except for time to eat and sleep. But now they had to stop and get some sleep. Mandie planned to continue with the search after the hearing was held the coming week in Bryson City.

Before daybreak on Monday morning, John Shaw, Mrs. Taft, Mandie with Snowball, and Joe began their journey to the Woodards' house. As Mandie had thought, her mother did not go with them. Dr. Woodard had already departed on Sunday to go by and get Uncle Ned. They were waiting at the Woodards' house when Mandie and the others arrived Monday afternoon.

“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Woodard greeted them at the front door. She stepped aside and motioned everyone into the front hallway. “Just leave your bags here in the hall. The Millers are working today and will take them up to your rooms for you.”

Mandie set Snowball down, and he disappeared down the hallway. Then she quickly removed her gloves and stuffed them into the pocket of her cloak, which she removed and hung with the others' wraps on the hall tree.

As Mrs. Woodard led them into the huge parlor off the front hall, Mandie hurried to greet Uncle Ned, who was sitting before the fire with Dr. Woodard. The two men rose as everyone entered the room.

“Uncle Ned!” Mandie said, embracing the old Indian as he hugged her back.

“Papoose, glad you got here all right,” Uncle Ned told her. He turned to greet Mrs. Taft and Joe and to shake hands with John Shaw as everyone took a seat.

John Shaw pulled out his watch, which was on a chain in his vest pocket, to look at the time. “Whew! We don't have long to get to the courthouse, do we?” he said. Then he added, “I would like to talk to you, Uncle Ned, before we go.”

“Don't worry about the time, John,” Dr. Woodard said. “A messenger brought word early this morning that the hearing has been postponed until nine o'clock tomorrow morning, so you have plenty of time.”

“I wonder why. Did they give you any reason for changing it?” Uncle John asked.

“No, the man said he knew you had told them you could be contacted here during the hearing, so he just said the schedule was running behind and it would be tomorrow morning,” Dr. Woodard explained.

“Well, in that case, why don't we all get out of these traveling clothes and get comfortable before we begin our discussion about the will? Is that agreeable with everyone?” Mrs. Taft asked as she stood up and looked around the room.

“Of course,” John Shaw said, rising from his chair. Looking at Dr. Woodard and Uncle Ned, he added, “This won't take long.”

Mrs. Woodard told them, “I'll go up and show you where I've put all of you.” She led the way up the steps.

All of the bedrooms upstairs were large and contained two or three huge, four-poster beds each. The Woodards' home was made of logs, like most of the houses in the area, but it was much larger than most, though nothing like the size of John Shaw's home in Franklin.