Free The Forever Stone by Gloria Repp

survived the night.”
    “We did. And Hey-You showed me how to get here.” She patted the dog’s head and turned away, saying, “I don’t like to run off, but Aunt Lin will be back soon. Thanks again.”
    “You are most welcome,” Timothy said. “Remember, he’s here any time you need him.”
    She smiled into the warm brown eyes. “I’ll remember.”
     
    Aunt Line arrived before noon, and Madeleine help to unload her suitcase and cameras. The first thing her aunt noticed was the cake. She lifted its foil covering. “You didn’t! Bless your heart, Madeleine.” She tasted a smudge of icing from the foil. “It must be pretty good if you’ve eaten three pieces already. Mmm—it is!”
    “I had some help, but I’ll tell you about that,” Madeleine said. “There’s cold chicken and tomatoes for sandwiches.”
    “Wonderful.”
    While they were eating, her aunt asked, “Did you get outside?” At Madeleine’s nod, she said, “Are you enjoying our pine woods?”
    “Very much.” How could she put it into words—the way these silent trees helped to smooth her splintered edges? “The other day when I took a run, I poked around in the ruins for a while,” she said.
    “The family’s been pretty secretive about that place, but there’s not much left, as you saw.”
    “Old stones are always interesting,” Madeleine said. “Did your photo shoot go all right?”
    “So far,” Aunt Lin said. “We were half done when the owner suggested a different perspective, which means more research and another shoot, but it’ll be worth it. I have to go back.”
    She took a bite of her sandwich and gazed out into the trees. “Wednesday. For who knows how long. I don’t like to leave you again.”
    “I’ve got plenty to keep me busy,” Madeleine said. “And Bria too. She’s good. Her little brother came over, and I put him to work.”
    “From what I hear, that family can use the money. Did you find anything interesting upstairs?”
    “Decoys. They might be antiques.” Madeleine wanted to ask about Bria’s family, but Aunt Lin was getting up.
    “Let’s go see.”
    On the way, her aunt stopped to look into the parlor. “What a difference!”
    She paused beside the boxes in the hall. “Discards from the library? Good. I’ll phone the Truck Guys.” She eyed the worn green carpet. “I wonder what’s underneath this old thing.”
    She tugged on a loose edge and it came up easily, revealing dusty planks of pine. “This goes too. Now show me the decoys.”
    Madeleine opened the trunk and lifted out the duck with a black-and-white head. “Jude called this a hooded merganser.”
    “Beautiful!” her aunt said. “I don’t know about such things, but it looks valuable.” Her green eyes glowed. “Your first project?”
    “I’ll check them out.” Bria and Jude might be willing to help.
    Aunt Lin gazed at the stuffed owl. “When I first met Cousin Henrietta, she was already in a nursing home, and rather strange,” she said slowly. “She used to go to auctions just to talk to people, and then she ended up buying whole boxes of stuff.”
    On their way downstairs, Madeleine asked about the locked room.
    “I noticed that,” her aunt said, “and it made me laugh. Every old house has to have its mysterious locked room, doesn’t it?”
    “If you have a key, we could find out,” Madeleine said. “Maybe she stashed boxes of jewels in the closet.”
    Aunt Lin smiled. “I never did find a key, so we might have to get a locksmith. It was a family joke, the way Henrietta loved jewelry, but I haven’t seen a single bit.”
    “I’ll keep my eyes open,” Madeleine said, and they both laughed.
    The phone in the kitchen began ringing. “They must have fixed the lines,” her aunt said. “Hello? Oh, hi!” Her voice took on a lighter note. “Yes, had a good trip.”
    After she put the phone down, she said, “That was Kent. He wants to come over tonight with Remi, said you’d suggested an ice-cream party.