Chapter 15
CAMERON’S GOOD-BYE at school was much longer than usual, but Marty finally got him inside and to his classroom.
Marty returned home and checked that his clients weren’t having issues before heading to the historical society.
He wanted to do some research on the town, and maybe see if he could pick up on something that Grant might have missed.
After signing in, he continued to the library and requested a couple of books that had been put together about various houses in town.
Sharon approached as he was just sitting down. “Did your friend get what he needed?”
“I don’t know. But can I ask, you don’t check ID on anyone, do you?”
Sharon shook her head. “We’re a historical society open to all, not a top-secret repository of a nuclear arsenal.” She smiled, and Marty realized that if he were doing research to support activities he didn’t want discovered, he sure wouldn’t use his real name.
“I get that.” He thought for a few minutes. “Look, is it possible to tell me who else took out some library materials?”
She nodded slowly, skeptical. “Yes, I probably could, but I don’t think that’s something that I should do. How would our other patrons feel if they could have their information given to anyone?”
“I get it. And I’m not asking you to give me anything. But I have an idea.”
“Can I help you with something else?” she asked.
“Yes, you can. I got some information on my own home, and I was interested in looking at it once more. I also need information on this building on Bedford and this home on Ridge Street. Specifically if there are plans on file for those buildings?” He smiled, and she went in search of what he needed.
She came back with the book Marty had looked at before as well as a large folio that contained architectural plans.
“Thank you so much. Do you have plan books like this for all of the borough?”
“Not all of it. But a lot of the firms that were building homes and businesses in the late nineteenth century donated their plans to the society. There were also a number of architects who lived in town, and they donated their plans. So we probably have sixty to seventy percent of the plans for the core of the town.”
“That is awesome. Thank you.” He opened the folio and easily found his own home, which included an elevation for the cistern system, including the part that he’d found under his garage.
It was a rainwater collection system that had been cut off years ago.
He then went through the folio to find plans for the other building, and sure enough, the cistern was shown on the plans for the empty home where Bobby had been placed.
Excited, he paged through the book but didn’t find anything on the old empty store.
He found Sharon behind her desk and asked if there was anything else for that address.
She went in back and brought out four more books and a pair of gloves.
“You’re welcome to look through these, but be very careful.
Some of the pages are quite fragile. Though the plans are by section of town, it’s always possible that a mistake was made.
” She set them down, and Marty went through each of the books, plan by plan.
It wasn’t until he went through the fourth book that he found it.
The mistake had been listing it as North instead of South Bedford.
And sure enough, the plans showed ending the basement and walling it off because of the elevation of the bedrock, then using that rock as the basis for the rest of the foundation.
Shit, it was all here, everything that man had needed to hide Bobby and Cameron.
Every bit of information was in these books.
Marty closed the covers and set the books aside, then made a call to Grant.
“I think I found something,” he said softly.
“And you need to see it. I’m at the historical society, and I may have found a way for you to find this guy.
I have an hour, and then I have to go to Cameron’s school for field day. But I think I figured something out.”
“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He ended the call, and Sharon returned to ask if he was finished with the books.
“No. Look at this,” he told her and pulled out a seat.
“See this here?” He opened the first book and showed her the plans.
“The cistern in this house is where someone hid a little boy. And here, behind this wall is where they found my foster son, Cameron, a couple of days later. My theory is that someone has been doing research using these plans to find these places.”
Sharon put a hand over her mouth.
“I suspect that whoever was doing this research did it over the past few months.”
“These aren’t taken out all that often because they are so fragile.” She paused. “Louise, Kayla,” she called quietly, and two other ladies came over. “Do you remember anyone asking for or reviewing these sets of plans?”
“I haven’t gotten them for anyone in months,” Kayla said. “How about you?”
Louise shrugged and then nodded. “I had someone request plans for buildings in town maybe in February or March. I brought out a few of the books of plans, and he spent hours with them. He said he was an architect and was being asked to submit plans for a home to be built, and he wanted it to fit in with the others around it. I knew that was a lie because there isn’t space for building, but it was none of my business. ”
“Let me ask you a question. Was this guy really tall?” Marty asked, and Louise gasped.
Her eyes got huge. “How did you know? He towered over me, and I was kind of nervous around him. I got him what he wanted and then stayed away, hoping he would leave.”
Grant strode into the reading room with Dexter, and all attention shifted to him, not that Marty could blame anyone, because damn, he was sexy as all hell. “What did you find?” Grant asked, all business.
“These books contain the plans for where Bobby and Cameron were left, and Louise said that in February or March, a tall man who she found intimidating requested these books as well. Is there any way to narrow down the date?” Marty asked.
Louise seemed to think. “I don’t know. I remember him, and I made a note in the front pocket of the name he gave me.” She turned to the cover and pulled out a tag. “Benny Dogood.”
Marty groaned. “Well, that’s fake.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Benjamin Franklin wrote the Silence Dogood letters in the seventeen twenties, and they were published by his brother’s paper. So this is most likely a reference to that.” He turned to Grant. “Was there someone who signed in under that name?” He was really cooking at the moment.
“I can check,” Sharon said left them for a few minutes, returning with a piece of paper. “These are the dates that Benny signed in.” She handed the paper to Grant. “So that means….”
“That someone was doing research and using a fake name to do it. We also have the dates that this person was here.” Grant hesitated. “Is there any sort of video surveillance here in the building?”
“No… well, yes, come to think of it. We have cameras on the gallery space, because sometimes there are items in here of significant value and our insurance company requires it.”
“Do any of them cover the hallway?”
Sharon nodded. “I believe so. There is one out in the hall that records into the galleries, as well as others inside those rooms.”
“How far back do you keep any recordings?” Marty asked. They were asking about two to three months ago. There was a lot of space needed to save video feeds, and he really didn’t think they would keep them that long.
“It depends. We only have so much space, and the system will purge the old feeds when space is needed for newer files. I can check and see what we have.” She left them alone, and Marty shared a smile with Grant.
“You check on the video with Sharon. I have to get to the school. I promised Cameron I’d be there to watch him run his races, and he’s still scared from yesterday.” He started gathering his things as Sharon returned.
“The earlier dates are gone, but we have the video from the last time Benny came in. I have the system burning it onto a CD. It will take a little while, but if you leave me your number, I can call you when it’s done, and you can pick it up. We’re open until four.”
“Thank you. And if Benny returns, please say nothing to him and don’t try to take any action, but call right away,” Grant told her.
“You have been a huge help, all of you.” He flashed them one of his million-watt smiles, and Marty knew exactly what he was doing.
“I’ll stop back in a few hours.” They left the building.
“Where are you heading?” Marty asked as Grant paused outside on the sidewalk.
“To the school. I think a police presence there is going to deter anyone who might be watching, and I want to see Cameron race too. I’ll meet you there.
” He turned to the north as Marty went south and drove across town to the school.
He had to park a distance away before meeting Grant, who of course parked right in front of the building.
Marty waited for Grant to join him. “I’m going to walk the perimeter of the building, but then I’ll meet you out in the observation area in a few minutes,” Grant said.
“Okay. Find this bastard,” Marty told him, and then went around to the back where the parents were gathering at the fence line.
He couldn’t help looking around for a tall man, but didn’t see anyone in the crowd of maybe fifty people who had come to watch.
The kids were all in groups by class, with six stations set up and each grade getting their turn.