Spring Lake continued

I am adding to the Spring Lake story.  It is a work in progress.  The scene at the end of the story takes us forward in time to events that we presuppose will happen. This scene demands action and provides one turning point in the story.  I have re-posted the original writing plus the new writing.


 SPRING LAKE


CHAPTER ONE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonah sat slouched in his new ergonomic office chair twirling a paper clip on the tip of his pencil. The sun was streaming through the south facing window of the office he shared with his partner and long time friend James Fortescu. The sun was hot yet Jonah basked in it after the long Minnesota winter. He hated winter. He often asked himself why he was still living in Minnesota.

“Whatsa matter Jonah ole boy? Can’t play with yourself so you’re playing with a pencil?” James, JF to simply everyone, walked into the small office and plopped into his own new ergonomic chair. “Crap, these chairs make my spine feel like it’s in knots. Ergonomic my ass.”

“Shutup J, if I wanted to play with myself, I would wherever, not your business. Speaking of business, where have you been?”

“Went out to Shepherds again.

“The guy who was sliced and diced?”

“Yep, that’s the one. To talk to the wife.”

“That’s three times now. What’s the deal? Interested in a September, December thing?”

“She’s not that old you pup. And if I am, what’s it to ya?”

Jonah chuckled and stopped twirling his pencil and paper clip. “I don’t know, maybe I don’t want to be hearing all the details of a play by play between old and older.” He tensed slightly waiting for the inevitable roar and smack that would come. It did. After the playtime was over, Jonah and J sat back down and the rhythmic activities of daily paper shuffling began.

After an hour, the ties came off, shirt collars were unbuttoned, and shirt sleeves were rolled up. Jonah was a pristine dresser. He carefully folded his tie and placed it over the third chair in the office. J just slung his on the same chair. Jonah often gave J a hard time about his slob like life. J conversely, along with the rest of the squad, would not let up on the fact that Jonah wore ironed shirts and pants. He kept them in matched sets in his closet. The thing about Jonah was that anyone who knew him could tell what mood he was in by looking at his tie. Jonah wore ties the way some people wear smiles or frowns. If he was in a good mood he might wear his cool breeze tie or his musical tie (it sang having a good day when its tie tack was pressed). If Jonah was having a bad day, he would wear his blues tie, or one of his other sad ties, and then there was his I’m tired coffee tie, his holiday ties, and his smiley face tie when something special had happened. Everyone thought it was just a little weird, but no one voiced their feelings especially around J unless they wanted to get their heads knocked off.

They had been shuffling papers and writing reports about two hours, when Commander Polinski, their boss, came in. He was a tall man standing in his socks 7 feet. He was a runner, slim, wiry, and he ate like a horse. He ran the Get in Gear ½ marathon 10K every year, was on the precinct baseball team, played on a soccer team, and a basketball team every winter. This year he was branching out to compete in a marathon in Wisconsin. He always wore a blue button down oxford, with navy or black trousers, and a rotation of three ties. Polinski was good natured and took all the ribbing about his choice of wardrobe with a smile. The gold wedding ring on his left hand flashed in the light as he waved his hand in the air.

“We caught a big one. Just came in. I’m throwing it to you.”

“Yeh? Well that’s life in the big cities. What’s the fish?” Jonah said as he stood up and gripped the back of his new ergonomic chair. He tried to ignore J in the background cussing out the printer as he cleared the paper jam for the zillionth time.

Homicide in the Reardon apartments near Rosemount.”

“Rosemount? What’s the deal?”

“Weird goings on. I don’ know much. Special units called and asked for you two specifically. Know why?”

Jonah looked over at J, who shook his head, and shrugged. “No reason we know of Cap.”

“Well, head over there, here’s the paperwork. Keep me informed.”

J grabbed the paperwork out of Jonah’s hand as he walked past and began to read it. “Says here that a smell was stinking up building A of the Rearden Apartments. When they figured out what apartment it was, management opened her up and found 2 DBs, both male, been dead about a week.

Even avoiding 35W it took an hour to get to the apartments. Neither of them could figure out why they were on their way to this crime. They were just regular detectives, and Rosemount was not in their jurisdiction, or in their county.

Reardon Apartments was a seedy complex built in the early eighties. It stood in start contrast to the rest of the small, upscale community. The scene was still bustling when they arrived. Yellow tape was everywhere, police coming and going. An ambulance was waiting to take the bodies to the morgue. Jonah and J flashed their badges to the police officer standing guard at the entrance door of the building. People were being checked by the officer as they entered and left the building. This told Jonah how far along things were in the processing of the scene. Initially, no one would have been allowed into the building, and an officer would have been stationed on every floor to facilitate flow. The officer standing guard at the front, told them to go on up to the third floor, a Captain O’Donnell was up there waiting for them. Jonah’s knee twinged as they took the stairs to the top floor, a constant reminder of the takedown and subsequent arrest of the Silent Night Killer.

When they entered the apartment, the smell was strong and offensive. The apartment consisted of a tiny kitchen with a tiny stove, sink, and mini fridge. A hide away bed opened into the center of the tiny living room. A sad attempt at decorating with early thrift shop had yielded the effect of a junk yard. The worn out chairs with torn slipcovers, scratched end tables, and a faded bedspread enhanced the effect.

Jonah walked the 2 steps past the tiny kitchen, and to the bed. Two stiff, decomposing bodies were spread out over the bed. Blood had congealed and dried in puddles and spatter was on every wall. It was obvious to Jonahs trained eyes that there had been a struggle. It seemed appropriate that the only real place to end up in this tiny room would be on the bed. The bed held the largest space in the room, more than the floor space. Jonahs attention had been drawn to the bed, but it was when he looked on the wall, that he felt the blood drain out of him. He stared at the wall, shocked. This was why he and J had been called.

The walls of the apartment were painted the normal, run of the mill, apartment beige. Above the bed written in large, bloody letters was a cryptic message that Jonah did not understand, but what Jonah did understand was his name and Js written under the message, Jonah Buteski J Fortescu.

J stood next to Jonah staring at the wall. “Well”, he said cryptically, “Now we know why.”

Behind them a voice spoke, “Hell of a thing isn’t it.”

They turned to face a man who judging by his age, must be nearing retirement. He was short, thin, gray haired with steel gray eyes. He wore jogging sweats and was plastered with dried sweat. Deep lines creased his tan face. Jonah recognized him from various communiqués and seminars.

“Chief Maher, how you doing?” Jonah stepped forward and shook hands with the Chief , J followed suit. “Good, good, Jonah, and J how are you and yours?” J pumped the Chiefs hand, “We’re fine, fine, the last kid is in college, St Kates, but still living at home. Karna is going to college with her. Imagine that, my wife is back in school with my youngest.”

The Chief tactfully extricated his hand from the Js clench and patted J on the back. “The wife is back in school too. It’s a trend these days. Lots of ‘non traditional’ students back in college. The economy and all.” Social niceties over, Maher became brusque. “What do you know about this?”

Jonah and J turned back to the wall. Silence ensued. Jonah answered. “Nothing. As in the words of Schultz, we know nothing.”

Chief Maher spoke. “The killer knows you. He seems to think you are involved. Now why would he think that do you suppose? Could be a she, but the violence of the crime suggests a he. What do you think of the message?”

The three of them stared at the message above Jonah and Js names. It was written in big letters across the blank beige wall. It made no sense.

Washington’s dream, find the letter, eternal springs even better.

J spoke, “New whacko on the block. I have no idea what this means. Drug crazed hallucination probably. Jonah?”

“Yeah, I don’t know.”

Maher nodded, “Well, you two are on this along with my girl KJ. This isn’t the first murder with this message.”

“What? We haven’t heard anything. Wouldn’t we have heard?” Jonah and J registered surprise in their faces.

“It’s QT. The first killing happened a week ago. Normally as you know, press is in on it asap. Odd details caused the powers that be to decide not to share with the public yet. Now we have this double killing with the same message and your names. Scene’s already been processed. Go over it til you are satisfied, then meet me downtown, my office. I’ll be waiting.” Maher turned and walked out.

Jonah and J looked at each other for a long moment, reading the same question in each others face.

Finally J spoke, “You know what they say.”

“No what do they say J?”

“No body like a dead body. Let’s get cracking.”

They each moved to opposite sides of the bed. Jonah stared a long moment at the bodies. Defensive wounds could be seen on the outspread arms. Jonah pulled out the plastic gloves and put them on. He reached out and grabbed a hand turning it over. The knuckles were skinned on the hands of both bodies. He looked closely at the disarray all around the apartment. Several pieces of broken dishware were on the floor.

“Not enough blood on the bed or wall for them to have died on the bed.” J said as he looked around.

Jonah walked around the tiny room, then into the kitchen. Tolliver, their answer to CSI’s investigators, walked into the apartment. “Hi, Jonah, J. It happened in the bathroom. Looks to have been a fight. They were dragged into the bathroom and stabbed with something sharp, knife probably, in the tub. The stopper was in and the blood collected. They were undressed and the killer cut off their penises and used them to write on the wall. He or she then sewed the penises back on. At some point the bodies were washed and placed on the bed. The bathroom floor was cleaned up with the DBs clothes. Blood is still in the tub. Shower stall is separate from the tub and it’s still wet. There is some blood on the stall wall. That’s all I can tell you right now. They may have been drugged. Either that or there may have been more than one perp. Any questions? No? I’m outta here.” Tolliver waited for Jonah and J to shake their heads, spun on his heel and left.

Jonah and J walked into the bathroom. The tub was a mess. The bottom was covered with blood. Blood was smeared on the tub sides and bathroom tiles. The rim of the tub had large blood dried streaks.

“What a nightmare.” J spoke first. “Well, let’s divvy. You want the witnesses or the research?”

“Witnesses. I’ll take the witnesses since you’re asking.”

They walked out of the bathroom and began the tedious job of taking down every detail for their report. Tolliver’s crew would have already taken pictures. Jonah couldn’t say why, but he felt apprehensive. Why would the killer or killers have included him and J in this?
______________________________________________________________________________________
What was that sound?  This question kept repeating itself in Jonah's head as he slowly rose from the deep folds of sleep.  That sound was the alarm buzzer.  Jonah reached over and groped for the shut off switch.  As he cocked an eye open, he realized he was very, very, late.  J was going to be pissed.  Jonah shot out of bed and finished his shower, shave, and dress in record time.  As he sped through the kitchen, he noticed his unopened mail piled on the counter.  He hadn't opened it in days.  Well, now wasn't the time.  He poured himself a glass of juice, downed that, grabbed his keys off the same counter, and sped out the door.  Taking the stairs two at a time, he picked up speed until he could barely keep himself upright.  He shot out the door to the ground floor and ran headlong into another tenant, John McMurdock, nearly knocking him to the floor.  "Whoa, what's the rush?"  "Sorry John, I'm late for work.  You OK?"  Jonah asked as he righted himself and moved around McMurdock.  "Good, got to go." Jonah said in response to McMurdock's nod. 

Once Jonah was on the freeway, he began to relax.  He keyed in J's number and apologized for being late.  "That's fine, just get off the damn cell, you know that's dangerous" J said hanging up.  Jonah weaved in and out of traffic enjoying the challenge of getting ahead.  As he came to the I35 exit, he noticed a Lexus trying to budge into his lane in front of him.  No way he thought.  You get behind me or not at all.  He sped up and closed the gap between him and the truck in front.  The driver of the Lexus slowed and pulled back into his lane.  Jonah began the balancing act of keeping the gap closed enough to keep the Lexus from moving in front and yet keeping back enough to not ram the truck when it hit it's brakes.  The Lexus, not to be outdone, continued to try to move into the opening in front of Jonah.  As the two driver's dueled over the space behing the truck, a police car pulled up on the other side of Jonah.  Jonah looked over to see that the police officer was watching the duel between Jonah and the Lexus.  Oh well, Jonah thought, what's he going to do?  It was then that Jonah realized he had passed the exit off the freeway to take him to J's house.  Jonah slowed down leaving a larger gap in front of him.  The Lexus promptly moved into the gap.  Jonah put his right turn signal on and moved into the space the Lexus had just vacated.  He waved to the Lexus.  The driver did not wave back. 

At the next exit, Jonah pulled off and got back onto the freeway going the other direction.  He got off at the exit to J's house.  When he arrived at J's house, J's wife was standing out on the sidewalk beside J holding a plate of warm cinnamon rolls and a cup of steaming coffee.  J was just finishing a roll and wiping his mouth with a napkin.  "Well, it's about time.  What do you think this is, a vacation?"  Jonah shrugged as he stepped out of the car and walked over to H;s wife.  "This for me?" he asked as he reached for a roll and accepted the proffered coffee cup.  "Don't see anyone else around."  J's wife, Anna, smiled and turned her cheek up for the customary peck.  Jonah obliged and, cramming the roll into his mouth, took a few swigs of the coffee,  "Annie, you're a peach as always." Jonah smiled at her as he climbed back into his car.  J waved at Annie as they sped away.

"Took you forever to get here and you can't stay long enough to even eat the rolls Annie made." 
"I ate one."  Jonah protested indignantly. 
"If you can call that eating." J seemed like an over protective mother at times.

____________________________________________________________________________________








Revision of chapter submitted previously

The sun beat down on Jonah’s head as he trudged across the part dirt, part alley behind the dilapidated building that passed for a store in town. The wind blew grits of sand into his pores competing with the sweat that poured out of them to create rivulets of grime running down his face. He longed for a cold drink right about now. As he came to the end of the alley, he turned and trotted around the corner of the store, stepping onto the hot pavement that ran along Main Street. He hesitated, slinking back into the alley and slipped into the shadow of the store building for a moment thinking furiously. To get to his car he had to cross Main Street, and this was as good a place as any. Main Street, there was a Main Street in almost every town in America. Man, he wanted a drink of water, like NOW.

Jonah stepped out of the shadow, rounded the corner of the building and began to trot down the sidewalk feeling the pressure to get off of Main and back out of sight. Lucky, he thought, that downtown was deserted. So early and already so hot. He wished he hadn’t left his Ruger in the car. He was almost there and no sign of them. As he neared the side street where his car was parked, he slowed and slipped behind the bushes in front of the Tool & Die building. Thank God for landscaping!

Jonah crouched, looking the nearly empty street over. He scanned the rooftops, peering at the windows of the buildings for movement, and tried to ignore the cloud of gnats that had surrounded his face. He swatted at the gnats and tried to decide whether or not to step out into the open. If he waited and A&B were not out there now, they soon would be and he would blow his opportunity to drive out of here. If he stepped out into the open and they were already here waiting, they would blow him away. The tension showed in his locked jaw, a tic pulsed in his temple making his eye twitch. This was ridiculous! He had to just make a decision. He stood slowly, scanning for movement. There was none. He stepped out from the bushes and began running for the car, digging in his pocket for the keys. Almost there. He saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and began to zig zag as he sped up. He felt a burning sensation across his right temple. Ahhhhh! Pain. He pressed the unlock button on his car remote, pulled the door open and started the car. Bullets were flying, hitting his car. He put the car in gear and hit the gas. In his rear mirror, he saw the A&B agents standing where his car had just been, they were aiming for his tires! “Please don’t let them hit the tires, gas tank, let them miss. Please!!” It was as if a veil had dropped between his car and the bullets. No more hit him as he sped away.

It took three hours of driving before he began to feel hope that he was not going to be found. He had made sure they would not follow him by disabling their vehicles when he first arrived. It was easy to recognize their rides with their special plates. They had not expected him to be there. They thought he was too stupid to realize they would be watching every place he had ever been. He felt confident that it would take them too long to get reinforcements and he would be long gone. Gone, but where? He knew of one place he could go, but he did not want to take the chance of anyone finding the spring. Nothing was as important as protecting the springs secret. Not his family, not his own life. As he drove, he began to plan his next move. It was a sure bet that A&D would be at his apartment, agency headquarters, O’Donovan’s, anywhere they thought he might show up. He wasn’t that stupid. He felt a stab of fear that A&B might find his parents, but reassured himself that he’d done a good job of hiding them. The problem at hand was where to hide himself. He had to protect the spring. He was blind with no means to communicate. He could not use his cell or attempt to contact any of his usual contacts. He had to assume that A&B would have already thought of them.

As he drove, Jonah tried to come up with some place he could reach and hide. He turned all the places he had ever been to over and over in his mind. Then he tried to think of places he had heard about. Every place he thought of had something wrong with it. Mostly too exposed, too likely to be seen, perhaps recognized. Finally, he came back to the spring. The more he thought about the spring, the more he found ways to make hiding there work. If he were careful, he could get the supplies he needed by driving from place to place and purchasing them in pieces. This way he would not be noticeable. He had plenty of cash on him. He was glad of that forethought. He soon had talked himself into it. The risk of discovery would be minimal if he were very, very careful. The longer he was out on the road, the higher the chance of discovery so he needed to get his supplies and disappear as fast as possible.

Jonah looked for a car like his as he drove through the small towns until he found one. He waited until he could switch the plates between the two vehicles. In town after town, he stopped to buy gas cans and fill them up with gasoline. He purchased toilet tissue, paper towels, jerky, cans of food, and of course a can opener, beverages, and other assorted items. He was careful to hide his face underneath the wide brim of the baseball cap he now wore. He avoided the roads and intersections where the traffic cameras were as much as possible. Once he had enough supplies, he backed the car into a grove of trees on a dirt track off of a county highway. It was only then that he slept.

Jonah awoke to the sound of his cell phone alarm. It was dark, but a full moon was providing enough light through the trees to let Jonah see. Jonah relieved himself, ate a cold hoagie and chips, then started the car and drove back to the highway. Refreshed, he drove for hours without stopping. The roads gradually changed from highway to gravel, then dirt. So far so good, he thought. He listened to country 101 as he looked for the unmarked dirt road, path really, that would take him to his destination. Not another traveler around in this wilderness. His next problem would be where to stow the car. As he turned off the road onto the dirt path, he slowed down, came to a stop 300 feet in. Breaking off a branch, he walked back to the road and carefully brushed away the tire tracks. He repeated this three times so that someone would have to drive in quite a ways before seeing the tire tracks. He hoped that by the time anyone came in that far, the tracks would have disappeared.

By the time Jonah had come to the end of the dirt path, daylight was approaching. He continued to drive the car until the ground was too rugged. He had been looking for a place to hide the car and drove until he came to another stand of trees. He pulled the car under the trees and covered it with the camouflage tarp he had purchased. He then scrounged for brush and branches and covered the car further. It was then he realized that he had not taken out his gear.

Jonah set out with a full pack on his back. He had stacked the rest of the gear under the tarp on the ground. It would take a few trips, but it would be worth it to have what he needed and be off the grid. The sun was hot and the pack on his back was heavy. He kept thinking about the first time he had come here. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that this place would get his partner killed, start a full scale manhunt, and put everyone he loved in danger. He knew that if he remained here long enough he would outlast the hunt for him. He was not sure he could last out here as long as he would need to, but if it meant that his parents, his family would be safe, he would have to find a way.

It took him 6 days to get all the gear from the car and make the trek back and forth. He saw no one during that whole time. On the last trip he removed as much evidence as possible of his tracks. It took another day to organize his camp and establish a perimeter. It was then that the reality of his decision set in. That first day when he and his partner, J, had answered the homicide call to Rearden apartments, he had thought that he would be looking at the newest in a string of robbery homicides. He had wondered why he was even being told to go to Rosemount when he was a Minneapolis detective. When he realized the killers had deliberately included him and J, he had felt apprehensive. As the case unfolded and the meaning of the message on the wall became clear to him, and the events unfolded, he had wished he could go back. He would have done everything differently if he had just known.

Now, he would have to wait here….for how long? It wouldn’t matter when the food ran out. His parents would die and not know what had happened to him, but they would be safe from the killers. A&B would only go after them if it looked like his parents could be used to draw him out into the open. He was pretty sure he had taken care of that problem. The world would go on and his name would disappear from the rank and file. He knew that at some point someone would find the car. He hoped later than sooner. He was sure that no one would ever find this place without help. It had been a well kept secret for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. As dusk settled in and the cicadas sound off became almost deafening, Jonah walked to the stream, filled his cup and drank deeply. He stood and waited for the rush. When it came, he realized that his knee was no longer hurting. After twenty years of pain, the absence of pain was proof in itself. He looked at his reflection in the water of a small pool that had collected. The lines in his forehead were gone already. He walked back to his folding chair and camp table, pulled out one of the notebooks and a pencil. He began to write. He began the wait.

Rebekah Buteski sat in the rain. The wind whipped her hair as the water ran in rivulets down the strands of hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. She shivered, but did not move. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and her cheeks were chapped a light pink. Blaine walked up to her, throwing a wool blanket over her shoulders. He reached down and buttoned the black coat she wore. Rebekah didn’t even notice. As Blaine opened an umbrella and positioned it over her and himself, she continued to stare at the two freshly dug graves. The full weight of being alone pressed down upon her. There were no other Buteski’s in the world, except maybe Jonah, but if her were alive, he would have contacted them by now. He would have come to the funeral if he had been alive. He must be dead after all these years.

After an hour, Blaine spoke interrupting Rebekah’s thoughts. “Ree, we have to leave and get inside. You need to get inside where it is warm and I can’t hold this damn umbrella any longer. We both need some hot tea. Come on Ree.” Blaine reached down squeezing Rebekah’s shoulder. He took her hand in his and pulled on her to get up. Ree resisted, but only slightly. She was cold even with the blanket and her coat. Besides, the folding chair had begun to sink into the wet ground. As they walked toward the Harley, Rebekah considered all that was left to do. Her grandparents, her last living relatives were now dead, murdered by the EU forces when they took Milwaukee. The fighting had been intense. She remembered the horror, the destruction, the armed reserves fighting alongside the men and women who lived there, the death. It seemed like things would never be the same again. Blaine spoke, again interrupting Rebekah’s thoughts, “Home, Ree, to your grandparents house?”

“Yes, to my grandparent’s house. Home.”

The drive was short and quiet. Ree remained lost in her thoughts. The drive way to her grandparent’s house, now hers, was off a gravel road 20 miles from a small town outside of Milwaukee. The mile long drive wound through woods opening up onto a meadow. The driveway circled the meadow and ended in front of a house cleverly nestled in the trees. The house was truly an architectural wonder, complete with wind and solar power, a greenhouse, water storage tank, and a survival bunker. There was even a gasoline tank. The reason Ree could still get around in this gas deprived, dollar defunct new world. Ree marveled at how well her grandparents had planned. The house and the drive could not be seen from the air.

Blaine opened the garage door and motored the Harley into the garage, parking next to the antique Ford Mustang. Once inside the house, Ree walked into the kitchen and began filling the tea kettle. She turned on the burner and set the kettle on to heat. It felt good to fill her mind with familiar routines. She filled the watering can and began watering the plants that dotted the kitchen. These plants were the only ones that needed watering. Ree and Blaine had brought the plants with them. The greenhouse plants were watered by an automatic system as well as fed by an automatic feeding system. The system had continued on it’s own. The plant growth was out of control but that would quickly be taken care of. Blaine sat and watched her moving about. “Ree, what next?”

“I don’t know. Pack up their things I suppose. It’s not like we can really go anywhere. This is the best place for us for now.”

“It’s for the best you know.”

“I’m glad we could finally lay them to rest where they had planned on being buried.”

Ree shrugged her shoulders, moving to take the kettle off the stove. She turned off the burner and spooned loose tea into the tea strainer, setting it into the porcelain tea pot. She poured the hot water into the strainer watching it seep through the strainer into the pot. She continued to slowly pour the water as she spoke. “It took long enough. I thought I would carry their ashes with me forever. After we have gone through the house and packed their things, I want to take stock of what supplies we have. We’ll see if we can afford to stay here. Ok with you?”

“Yep, ok with me. This place is the best place for us now. Even if we don’t have all we need, we’re still better off here.”

As the week passed, Ree and Blaine pulled dust covers off of furniture, assessed their supplies, took control of the overgrown green house, and rounded up some of the livestock gone wild. Packing her grandparents personal possessions was pushed back day by day as they went about the business of living. Before she realized it, a month had gone by. Spring was in the air and Ree and Blaine knew that if they were going to eat next winter, they needed to grow food this summer. Her grandparents had been smart and had stored plenty of seed. Together they brainstormed the best way to plant. They could chase down the Morgans and use them to plow. So it was that they began the task of planting for their survival. It was hard work and Ree realized how little she had appreciated the food she used to get from the grocery store. They got most of the seeds into the ground when a rainy spell hit.

It was the third dreary day of rain. Blaine looked out the window of their bedroom. “I am already tired of this rain. It can let up anytime now.” Ree stretched and rolled over on the bed. “Good for the crops.”

“Not crops yet, Ree, just seeds.”

“Seeds become crops. I’m hungry, gonna make me breakfast in bed?”

“You don’t look like the Queen of England to me. How about we spend the day packing up your grandparent’s personals. After we do the chores.”

“ I suppose. I have to admit I feel, I don’t know, sad I guess when I think about packing up their stuff. I keep thinking I should be ok with it by now, but when I think about starting I just am not sure I’m entirely ready to deal with it. Does that make sense?”

“Ree, we don’t have to do it today. It can wait as long as it need to.”

Ree climbed out of bed, stretched some more and headed for the bathroom. Blaine jumped on the bed and stretched out on his back. He waited for her response. When it came it was almost muffled by the water running in the sink.

“No, I think it’s time. We should do it while we have time.”

After breakfast and the chores, Ree and Blaine headed to the bedroom that had been her grandparents. She had not been in this room since before the War. When Blaine opened the door an odor of mustiness assailed them. “Even with the great circulation this house has, we still get musty smells.” Ree said as she moved to the window to open it.

“There’s so much stuff. Hey, what do we pack it all in?” Blaine exclaimed as he looked around.

“Yeah, I didn’t think about that. And what do we do with it after we get it all packed? The garage? It’s not like we can haul it to the local thrift shop. Well, we don’t need this room at this point anyway.’ Ree smiled and looked at Blaine in that intimate way. They shared a moment of expectation as both thought about the future together.

“Alright, let’s just clean up a bit and go through the room just to see what’s here.”

“Ok. I get the dresser.” A jewelry box sat on the dresser. One wall of the room was filled with books and knick knacks on cherry wood shelves with framed glass doors. A door on each side of the shelving led to the bathroom and the walk in closets. On the adjacent wall was a large window and an expanse of wall that ended with French doors. It was comforting somehow to Rebekah to know that her grandparents had shared the large bed that dominated one wall.

“You always get the good stuff.”

Ree laughed, walked to the dresser and began opening drawers.

Hours later, Blaine exclaimed. “Ree! Look at what I found.” He had been going through the different books and folders on the shelving. He pulled the books off of the shelf to clear a space so Ree could see what he was excited about. There on the wall was a safe. The safe door was small, about 2 feet square. It had a keypad lock with a turnstyle handle. They stood and looked at the door for a long minute.

“Well, what do you suppose is in there?”

“I didn’t know my grandparents had that.”

“We won’t know what’s in it if we can’t find the code to open it.”

“What about busting into it?”

Blaine shrugged, “I bet it’s one of those safes that are foolproof. It would be like your grandparents to put something like that in.”

“Aren’t all safes foolproof?’

“Some more than others. Maybe your uncle, wasn’t he a cop? Maybe he had them put this in.”

“Yeah, whatever. There has to be a code, something written down somewhere. New game, find the code.”

The rest of the day and the next, Ree and Blaine tore the bedroom and the house upside down looking for something to tell them the code to the safe. It was at the end of the second day when Ree yelled excitedly.”Blaine, Blaine, I think I found it.” She came running into the greenhouse where Blaine had been going through the storage shelving holding an empty jar and a piece of paper which she waved excitedly in the air. “I think this is it.”

Blaine grabbed the paper out of her hand. “It’s a code alright. Did you try it?”

“Yeah silly, I just came running in here telling you I think I found it after trying it and finding out it works, or doesn’t?”

Together they raced to the safe. Blaine entered the numbers on the paper in the sequence they were written. He turned the handle. It clicked and the door opened. The inside of the safe was larger than the door. There were shelves on the left and the right. On the shelves were various small jewelry boxes, larger boxes, and stacks of gold and silver coins. On the bottom of the safe was a plain manila envelope. As Blaine handed the boxes one by one to Ree, she opened each one. There must have been a fortune in diamonds and precious stones. Ree and Blaine just stared at the jewels and coins.

“This stuff is barterable. We can get more supplies, things we need, gasoline. Blaine, we can….”

“Ree, look at this” Blaine had opened the manila envelope. Inside was a document, it was elegant, handwritten word in Script, it looked to be quite old. Blaine laid the document on the bed and emptied the rest of the contents from the manila envelope onto the bed. They sat on the bed side by side and began to read the pages. As they read, they realized they were reading the writing of Ree’s uncle Jonah Buteski. The afternoon passed as they read with incredulity and fascination the story of Jonah, a vision come true, and a spring.

The sky was darkening when Ree looked at Blaine with a look of finality. “We have to go. We have to go there Blaine. This just can’t be true, but we have to go there.”

Blaine sighed, “Here we go again.”