Page 73 of Threads of Kindness
“I’m glad we turned the car around and I came back with Anita.”
“Do you mind if Sam and I bring Judy and Joan here in the morning?” Jeff asked. “We told them we found something interesting in the basement. As soon as we tell them what it is, they’ll want to see it.”
Anita chuckled. “Of course you can.”
“Unless,” Sam added, “you’d like to keep this a secret.”
“A secret? In Westbury?” Anita laughed. “You know better than that, Sam. Everyone in town will know this news by lunchtime tomorrow.”
She turned and headed for the stairs. “I’ll text Maggie tonight. If she’s still up, I’m sure she’ll call. As soon as I know more, I’ll let the two of you know.”
The four of them stepped out into the crisp winter night and said their goodbyes.
Anita and Gordon climbed back into her car. The street was quiet, the stars faint behind a veil of clouds.
“And people say New York City is exciting,” Gordon scoffed. “It hasnothingon Westbury.”
CHAPTER 37
Anita hovered by the front window of her new building, watching the activity on the street in front of her. The familiar figures she was waiting for soon came into view. “I knew you’d be here first thing,” she said, hurrying to meet Judy and Joan on the sidewalk. Their husbands trailed behind them.
“I wonder if Charlotte knew there was a mastodon in her basement,” Joan said with a grin.
“She probably didn’t know about the hidden room or the bootleg operation, either,” Judy added. “Those secrets have stayed buried for decades.”
“We’re not positive that whatever is sticking out of the ground down there is a part of a mastodon,” Anita reminded them.
“When will you know?” Joan asked.
“I spoke to Maggie last night,” Anita said. “She’ll contact the head of Highpointe’s geology department first thing this morning. She doesn’t know what’s on Dr. Locke’s schedule, but she’s certain she’ll rearrange her schedule to come out and look.”
“That’s Dr. Fiona Locke, isn’t it?” Judy asked. “She’s one of my customers—smart as a whip. I’ll bet she’ll know just by looking at it.”
“I hope so,” Anita said. “I’m on pins and needles.”
“Okay, ladies,” Sam said. “Enough talking—let’s get down there and see this thing!”
Jeff handed out flashlights, and they followed Sam and Jeff down the steep basement stairs and into the hidden room. They approached the protruding object slowly—almost reverently.
“Would you look at that?” Judy whispered. “The exposed part is—what—two feet long? I wonder how big it’ll be when it’s excavated.”
“Who knows,” Sam said. “It may not even be in one piece.”
Joan looked down at the ground beneath her feet. “I wonder if we’re standing on its skull or something.”
“Oh, I hope so,” Judy said. “Imagine having a complete skeleton—wouldn’t that be incredible? What would you do with it?” she asked, turning to Anita.
“Whatever’s down there needs a new home,” Anita said. “If Highpointe wants it, I’ll donate it to the college. Gordon and I were talking last night—he suggested an exhibit down here that details the excavation. We’d post photos of the process and recreate the dig site. He even suggested we reproduce some of the bones.”
“That sounds really interesting,” Joan said.
“We’d use half of the basement for that, and the other half to display the still, the desk”—she pointed to the other side of the room—“and information about Prohibition and bootlegging. He suggested calling it theHidden Histories Room.”
“Genius,” Judy said. “Love that idea.”
“He’s not only my biggest supporter, but a tremendous help,” Anita said. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
Judy and Joan exchanged a knowing look.
