Chapter 12
12
O nce alone, Ivy opened the cabinets again. She wanted to get a better look at them, so she ran her oiled cleaning cloth over the interior shelves. The cabinets were in good condition for their age, likely because the wall had shielded them from use.
She was glad Reed had a craftsman who could restore them. Working her way across the wall, she inspected every cabinet methodically.
Ivy bent to clean the lower cabinet where she had found the architectural plans. As she swiped the cloth across the back, a paper slid out and flew onto the floor.
What’s this? she thought.
Ivy picked it up, noting its sepia shade and printed handwriting. She reached into her pocket for her reading glasses—a new emerald-green pair that Bennett said matched her eyes.
The writing came into focus. This was a receipt for the plans they’d discovered earlier. It was dated November 1941. For the Library and Art Museum. The bottom part was torn. Before putting it aside, she absently turned over the paper.
The reverse side was covered in a flowing script, likely written by a different person.
Ivy recognized a name. It was Amelia’s father, Hans.
A little farther down was a street address, and on the following line, a string of numbers divided by spaces. Probably a telephone number.
Ivy’s heart quickened. Could this be the address to her father’s museum in Berlin? Maybe Amelia had sent him a copy of the plans. They might have corresponded, sharing artistic and philanthropic visions.
As she stared at the address, her chest fluttered with excitement. This wasn’t just a historical curiosity; this was an actual address. Was it to the museum? Or maybe to her father’s home?
She remembered that Lea Martin had visited the museum. Lea was Amelia’s great-niece from Germany who came to the fundraising gala and made the winning bid on the necklace Viola had found in San Francisco.
Closing her eyes, Ivy touched the jagged paper, willing guidance or inspiration from it, but she felt nothing aside from admiration for Hans. He helped his daughter Amelia save numerous masterpieces during the war. However, as Ivy and Bennett recently discovered on their honeymoon on Mallorca, Hans paid the ultimate price for this service during the war.
A thought struck Ivy. Modern technology could take her to almost any address virtually in seconds. Clutching the envelope, she hurried from the music room.
When she burst into the library, her niece was back.
Poppy looked up from her laptop. A marketing spreadsheet filled the screen. “What’s up?”
“I found this receipt for the architectural plans.” Ivy held up the torn paper. “There’s also an address written on the back that I want to look up. I think it might be Amelia’s father’s home or museum. Or something else.”
Poppy’s eyes widened. She pushed her chair back and made room for Ivy to sit beside her. “Let’s check.”
“Did you speak to your brother about Libby?” Ivy asked.
Poppy blew out a puff of air, clearly exasperated with Reed. “He said he was too busy. But I’m not giving up. We have a long-standing sibling pledge. We’re under oath to tell each other what we think of who the other one is dating. On the surface, I like Libby, but I feel like she’s not being truthful about something.”
“It’s nice to have someone looking out for you.” Ivy smiled at the idea. “Does that work for you guys?”
Poppy twisted her lips to one side. “It can be rough, but we’re usually right about them in the end. Guys see things in other guys, and we do the same with other women. So far, it’s been good, even if we don’t like to hear each other’s honest impression at first.”
“I can imagine. Shelly and I never agreed, but then, we have completely different taste in men. Even though Bennett and Mitch are close friends, they’re pretty different.”
“That’s for sure.” Grinning, Poppy said, “Let’s look up that address you found.”
Ivy typed the street address into the search bar, adding Berlin, Germany at the end. She leaned toward the screen, holding her breath in anticipation.
The results were immediate. However, the search engine pulled up the street address in Switzerland.
“That can’t be right,” Ivy said, perplexed. She shook her head and reentered the information, double-checking each character and adding the country, Germany. “Same result.”
Poppy frowned. “Try again.”
The next time, Ivy tapped DE, the abbreviation for Germany. Yet, the results were similar. Switzerland. She ran her hands over her face. This was more than a decade before Amelia had returned to Europe, with Switzerland as her last residence, so it didn’t make sense.
“Choose that,” Poppy said, pointing to an address that was somewhat similar in Germany.
This time, Ivy’s search revealed a modern manufacturing building in Berlin. “It’s not the same address, but it’s close.”
“Whatever was there might have been lost in the war,” Poppy said, squeezing Ivy’s shoulder. “Or torn down later to modernize the area. It’s been years.”
A wave of disappointment washed over Ivy. Another possible connection to the past had slipped through her grasp. But she didn’t give up easily.
“One more time,” she said. Yet again, the screen flashed the address in Switzerland.
“Wait a minute.” Poppy leaned in. “Enlarge the street image and swing the view around.”
Ivy tapped and zoomed in. “It’s in a business district, but that can’t be right. Amelia’s father lived in Berlin.” She sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I guess too much time has passed. Some things we might never know.”
“It was worth a try, Aunt Ivy.” Poppy brightened and switched tabs on her laptop. “Want to see the marketing plan for the inn? I have some great ideas for the grand reopening.”
“Sure. We’re all looking forward to that.”
While listening to Poppy’s enthusiastic pitch about social media posts, ad campaigns, and submissions to travel bloggers, Ivy’s mind wandered back to the receipt. Something about it still disturbed her.
After Poppy finished, she asked if Ivy and Bennett had plans for dinner. “Mom and Dad told me to invite you for supper. They know you’re packing up the place.”
“Thanks, but I’d planned to stay at home since this is the last night we have guests. But we’ll take them up on that offer next week.”
After Poppy left to visit her parents’ home, Ivy turned her thoughts back to the mysterious address. She tried again but failed to find anything online.
Always worth a try , she thought, tacking the slip of paper to the corkboard behind her computer for inspiration.
When Ivy woke the following day, Bennett had already left for his run on the beach. She rolled out of bed and stretched, taking her time. It was Poppy’s turn to lay out the breakfast buffet, and since they only had two guests now, it wouldn’t take her long. After dressing, she strolled across the car court, past Libby’s bookmobile, and into the kitchen.
Poppy wasn’t there, so she continued to the dining room.
Reed’s deep voice floated through the hallway. “These design elements are similar to this house.”
Ivy paused at the entrance to the dining room, where everyone gathered around the old set of plans for the library and art museum.
Libby looked particularly interested, but Poppy seemed upset, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“What architectural style do you call this?” Libby asked.
“A blend of Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean styles,” Reed replied.
“I heard Amelia Erickson marked a large sum of money for the construction,” Libby said with a smile. “Do you know anything about that?”
Ivy stepped inside. “The estate was settled and closed several years ago.” No wonder Poppy was on edge.
Libby whipped around, clearly surprised. Her wide-eyed gaze looked innocent enough.
Yet, after her conversation with Shelly and Poppy yesterday, Ivy hadn’t slept well. She didn’t trust Libby until she knew more about her. Questions from strangers about finances and money were red flags. And from the looks that Poppy and her brother were exchanging, their talk hadn’t gone as planned.
Ivy gave Libby a pleasant smile; she was still their guest, after all. “You’re up early. Will you be getting on the road soon?”
“She couldn’t leave without seeing these plans,” Reed said. “I told her all about them last night at dinner. They’re incredible.”
Libby’s cheeks colored slightly, and she glanced down at her hands.
Ivy turned to Reed. “How nice of you to join her bookmobile readers at dinner. It must have been fun.”
Reed raised his brow in surprise. “Libby, I didn’t know you had plans.”
“Everyone understood once I explained why I couldn’t make it,” Libby said quickly. “They all know you, so once they learned you’d asked me out, they were happy for us. And they shared the sweetest stories about you.”
It was Reed’s turn to look a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry we disappointed them. Had I known, we could have joined them. And don’t believe everything they say about me.”
Her mind racing, Ivy headed straight to the coffee urn for liquid reinforcement. Not a good situation, she thought, slightly panicked for Reed .
She turned back to Libby. “Traffic can be heavy on Sunday returning to Los Angeles. You should probably leave sooner than you’d planned so you can be fresh for your interview tomorrow.”
“That’s true,” Reed said, touching her shoulder in a protective gesture. “I hope you’ll return soon.”
“I’m planning on it,” Libby replied, beaming at him.
Oh, dear , Ivy thought. Reed looks far too interested. She glanced at Poppy, who was clearly holding back her comments. Her niece would have plenty to say later.
Libby glanced at the time. “I should get ready for my visit to the village.”
“Are you parking by Java Beach again today?” Reed asked.
“Mitch asked if I would. He told me the bookmobile is great for business, and I’m welcome anytime.” Libby gave him a timid smile. “I’ve heard that a lot. People love books, especially if they don’t have a local library. Many small communities don’t, so I feel like I’m providing a real service.”
“I admire what you’re doing,” Reed said, his gaze transfixed.
Her nephew was falling for Libby, even though there were cracks in her stories. Ivy refilled her cup and tried to sort out her issue with Libby.
“I should be going soon,” Libby said, glancing nervously at Ivy. “I’ve enjoyed my stay here. I wish I never had to leave.”
“You brought a lot of joy to our readers,” Ivy said. “I know they’ll look forward to seeing you again soon.” She meant what she said, and she liked Libby.
As for trusting her, that was another matter entirely.