"Geez, Mr. and Mrs. H, what'd you guys do, have a party and not invite me?" Max set his bags down on the drive and carefully skirted the damaged front portion of the house.
Hearing the taxi, Jennifer came around from behind the house to see who was there.
"Max," she said in surprise, "you're back early."
"Good thing too, by the looks of things. I heard about the earthquake but didn't think it would bother us. They never have before."
"This one must have been on an off branch of the fault. We're lucky we didn't get more damage. Some of the houses lower down the hill were really flattened."
Jonathan came around the corner just then. "There you are. Max! Welcome home, or, to what's left of it anyway. Darling, I got hold of a contractor who will send someone out to look at the house but we may be pretty far down the list. We still have a roof. He's going to have some plastic sent out so we can cover the windows and the worst of the damage."
"Y'know," Max said, "we're really lucky that tree didn't fall the other way. It would have done a lot more damage to the house. I bet it woulda taken out your entire bedroom." He didn't notice the look the Harts exchanged or the slight blush on Jennifer's face as Jonathan told him, "Yeah, we thought of that. It could have been even worse since we were still in bed when it happened. Recovering from jet lag, you know."
Max stifled a knowing grin. Sure, jet lag. he thought.
Long before the Harts moved into the big house on Willow Pond Drive a happy family had called it home. The Parker family bought the house after Lawrence Freeman died. Mr Dustin Parker was another self made man. He had worked his way up in the construction business until he was one of the richest men in Los Angeles. His companies had built much of the city but everyone who worked with him knew that money was not what was important to Dustin. He treasured his family. His wife Becky was a good, decent woman who loved her man. She was civically active when a good cause caught her imagination but her central interest was being a wife and mother and she devoted her life to those activities. Dustin and Becky had only one child, and she had been long in coming, arriving after many years of hoping and praying. Her name was Elizabeth. She was the apple of her Daddy's eye and he spoiled her unashamedly. It was all Becky could do to keep him from ruining the girl all together. Luckily, Elizabeth had been born with a pleasant disposition and all that attention merely made her more confident and charming. The little girl turned the successful, talented couple into a family that was nearly legendary for their generosity, their kindness, and for the richness of their love.
Unfortunately, all fairy stories do not have a happy ending. In 1947, during the summer that Elizabeth would have turned twelve the family went on an outing to try out the big new convertible that Dustin had brought home the day before. It was the finest car money could buy. Nothing but the best for his girls, he always said. The fine car ran smooth as a silk, the power humming under her hood, just waiting to be released. The odd part was, they weren't moving fast when the disaster occurred. They had slowed to take a corner when out of nowhere a large truck plowed into the passenger side of the car. Dustin was thrown free but his girls hadn't had a chance. The last thing he could remember before waking up in the hospital was his precious child's piercing scream of terror and pain.
"Okay, where do we start?" Jennifer asked, eager to get started on the mystery.
"With the windows." answered her pragmatic husband.
"Spoil sport!"
They spent the rest of the day and most of the next day "helping" the grounds and building maintence crews make what repairs they could to the house, sweeping up glass and branches and covering the many windows that had been broken by the quake. The front of the house proved to be more damaged than previously thought so it was roped off with bright yellow caution tape.
Next morning Jennifer called the realtor who had sold them the house.
"Joanna, this is Jennifer Hart."
"Hello Jennifer! How are you doing? I haven't seen you since the last community players show. What can I do for you? Please tell me you're in the mood to buy something big." she laughed.
"Well, no, not right now anyway. What I would like is some information. Do you know anything about the people who owned our house before we bought it?"
"Hmmm, let's see. It's been a while but I believe that we sold it for a businessman named George Riley. We're not really not supposed to talk about the clients but seeing as it's you, all I really know about him is that he had to sell the house because of a pretty nasty divorce settlement. Does that help at all?"
"Riley? Not Parker? Rats. We've found a letter signed by a Mr. Dustin Parker hidden in the house and we wanted to know more about him."
"What's the letter about?"
"It's all very mysterious. Who knows, we may have a buried treasure on the grounds!" She laughed.
"A treasure!"
"Yes, supposedly this Mr. Parker hid his entire fortune somewhere in the house."
"Jennifer! That's amazing. What are you going to do about it?"
"Well, to start with I called you to see if you knew anything about the previous owners." Both women laughed. Jennifer continued, "Seriously, you've lived here a long time. That name doesn't ring any bells?"
"No Jen, I 'm sorry, it doesn't."
"That's OK, Jo. It isn't a big deal. I just thought I'd take a chance and check with you. I'll just have to dig a little deeper. Thanks anyway."
"Well, I'm sure it's only a matter of time until you find what you're looking for. We all know that no obscure fact is safe from the research skills of Jennifer Edwards Hart. Happy hunting!
"Hardly. Even if there was a jinx you and I are happy enough there to override any old vibrations that might be hanging around. We've lived there long enough to establish our own vibrations."
"We didn't do to well with the vibrations that wandered through a couple days ago!"
"Oh yeah? I thought we did pretty good since they had to practically knock the house down to get our attention." His voice took on that lovely low mellow tone that drove her crazy. "We're going to have to reschedule Naked Day."
"Soon!" They said together. Jennifer laughed and continued, "I'm going to go open the safety deposit box to check our deed for previous owners and then I'm going to the library for the afternoon to see what I can dig up. I'll see you tonight. You have a good rest of the day. I love you."
"I love you back sweetie. You take care of my favorite girl, OK?"
Their deed confirmed that the house had had four owners, Lawrence Freeman, Dustin Parker, George Riley and Jonathan Hart. Parker had purchased the house in 1935 and Riley bought it in 1974.
Jennifer walked into the big building and felt welcomed by it. The researcher in Jennifer always felt as if she was coming home when she walked into a library. The very atmosphere inside seemed charged with information and knowledge lingering just under the surface. She spent a little time chatting with one of her favorite librarians about her search and the treasure and then got down to business.
She found Dustin Parker right away in the indexes of the Los Angeles Times. There was no obituary listed but Mr. Parker had been the subject of numerous articles. Jennifer copied the citations and went to find the rolls of film.
Dustin Parker had been a hermit during the last years of his life, seeing no one and only tolerating a few part time servants. He was a man of mystery. Then he had apparently disappeared from the face of the earth. His servants came to work one day and couldn't find him. This was remarkeable because the man rarely left his house. The police searched but could find no trace of him. Nothing in the house had been disturbed. None of his clothing had been found missing. The man was simply gone.
The newspapers had a field day with the mystery, milking the story for all it was worth. When it was found that the missing millionaire was really almost broke accusations of undue influence and insinuations of theft or even murder sprang up like wildfire among his relatives. The investigation was a tabloid editor's dream. More and more assets were found to have been liquidated and the relatives were certain someone, probably one of them, had been victimizing the old man. Public scenes and viscious arguments between Parker's presumed heirs turned the situation into a three ring circus. No sign of Dustin Parker or his missing money ever turned up. It was assumed he had been the victim of foul play but without evidence the suspicions could not be proved.
The news coverage of the whole affair was abundant and the reporters had done their homework. Jennifer found that Dustin Parker had been a famous man in his day. He had built much of the city, his company anyway, and had been a well respected and liked man. Nothing in articles, however, explained why and how such a popular man had ended up a lonely hermit.
Sensing there was more to this story Jennifer went back to the indexes. One of the articles had mentioned a wife and daughter that had proceeded him in death. Cross references in the index led her to 1947. On her way through the microfilm to the dates cited in the index Jennifer was amused as her eye was captured by advertisements from the 1940's with their low prices and innocent, wholesome style. No half dressed sex goddesses in these ads! Things had changed and she was sure that the people of the 1940's would have been shocked by the loose morals of the 1980's. Even the daily comics seemed sweeter and more innocent. She could get lost in the past while scrolling through old newspapers. Jennifer was a born researcher.
When she found the right page the source of Dustin Parker's sorrow became clear. He had lost his family in a traffic accident. Coverage of the accident was extensive. Rumors surfaced that the "accident" had been caused by a business rival who was known to be bitter and jealous at Parker's business success and seemingly charmed life. This rival's company was plagued by a shady reputation, poor workmanship and suspicions of Syndicate connections. They were consistently underbid by Parker Construction and their shady reputaion was not enhanced by suspicions of organized crime connections. As for Mr Parker, he had lost his reason for living and it changed him.
After the war ended Parker had turned over control of Parker Construction to trusted employees. He wanted to spend more time with his family. They were popular and well known, supporting many civic groups with their money, talents and time. The tragic deaths of Rebecca and Elizabeth Parker had shaken the town. Their funeral turned out to be the kind of spectacle that Hollywood did so well. Mountains of flowers and crowds of mourners lined the gravesite. Dustin, the bereaved husband and father endured the ordeal in a state of shock. When it was over he retired to his hilltop estate in Bel Air and was rarely seen again
Jennifer thought about how happy she and Jonathan were and felt tears prick her eyes. She couldn't imagine how she would survive if he were suddenly taken from her but she hoped that she would eventually find the courage to go on with her life. Jonathan wouldn't want her to seal herself away from life forever. She knew she wouldn't wish that on Jonathan. Hopefully God would be kind and let them live long happy lives and then bring them home together. "I'll bet old Dustin's Rebecca wouldn't have wanted that for her love either." Sadness and pity for the old man filled her. His love for his ladies had been so strong it had crippled him, isolating him and embittering him, bringing him to a lonely, mysterious end.
But, if what he had written in the letter they found was true, the anger and bitterness hadn't won him over completely. Even after all those years he had still remembered and valued the beautiful love they had shared.
Eventually, Dustin Parker was declared dead by the State of California. His heirs divided was was left of his estate. News reports told how his heirs had been unpleasantly surprised by the size of their inheritance. The only thing of real value left in the estate was the house on Willow Pond Drive. It was quickly auctioned off so the heirs could split the take. They squabbled and sued each other, stirring up all the furor again. The high profile case filled the papers with stories of the jealousy, suspicion, bitterness and anger. "No wonder he didn't want to leave anything to his family. They wanted money and then they sold the place the money is hidden. How ironic," she thought.
Jennifer had not noticed that her interest in Dustin Parker had drawn attention of it's own.
Jonathan arrived home and found a note from Max taped to the refrigerator.
"Mr. and Mrs. H,
Dinner is in the oven. It'll be done by 8:00. I'm off to Charlie's for a little gathering of pasteboard afficionados. Don't wait up. I feel lucky tonight.
Max."
Jonathan looked in the oven. Some sort of covered casserole was in there. It didn't smell like much yet. Max must have just left. "Hmmm, Max out for the night and Jennifer not home yet." The perfect chance to get up to some mischief.
Jennifer flexed her shoulders as she got out of the car. Long hours in front of a microfilm reader was hard on the neck and shoulder. She was hungry and hoped Max had something solid planned for dinner.
"Hello!" She called as she walked through the foyer and living room. "Where is everybody?" The kitchen was deserted too. Dinner was beginning to smell good and she went over to peek in the oven. That's when she saw the note.
"Find Me" It was Jonathan's handwriting. She smiled, wondering what he was up to. Calling out for him she went upstairs to see if he was hiding in the bedroom. That was one of his favorite games and it always led to pleasant things. Cautiously moving through the bedroom to the dressing rooms. No Jonathan. In one of the closets she found another note. "You are overdressed. Max has gone out for the evening."
"Well!" she said out loud. "That certainly makes things a little more interesting."
Back downstairs she went out to the utility area to look for her sweetie. They never had gotten to the washing machine the other day. Maybe that's what he had in mind. Sigh. Still no Jonathan. Another note was taped to the dryer. "You're all wet! No, wait, I'm all wet. Bring me a towel." Aha! Now she had him. Dropping her clothes a laundry basket she grabbed a couple of towels and went out to the pool where she found him waiting for her.
Secure in the privacy of their estate they didn't bother with swimsuits. The day had been warm and the water still held just enough heat to be refreshing without chilling them, inspiring a long leisurely swim and frolic with many a sea monster encountered and defeated by the lone sailor who bravely protected his shipwrecked Princess. After awhile the underwater play took a natural change of course and became more amorous than playful and swimming was abandoned for sport of another kind as the Princess rewarded her stalwart protector. Nestled in a pile of thick soft towels under the first stars of the evening and lost in each other they did not realize that their play had been observed.
Hunger and the evening chill had eventually driven the Harts inside. Jennifer went ahead as Jonathan detoured to put something away in the pool house. Jennifer couldn't believe her eyes when she walked into the house. It looked like a tornado had blown through. "What on earth?" Since she knew that the kitchen hadn't looked this way when they had gone out to the pool she prudently called for Jonathan and went back outside. At her call he came running. "Jonathan! Someone's been in there!" she told him about the mess inside. They carefully reentered the house and Jennifer rescued their forgotten dinner while Jonathan called the police. She hoped Max wouldn't notice they'd let it get a little well done. They were surveying the damage to the living room when they heard a thump! from upstairs. Jonathan sprang into action and ran up the stairs, Jennifer right behind him. The fact that he was dressed only in a loose towel didn't make him feel particularly invincible but no one was going to get away with creating this kind of havoc in his house! Jennifer wasn't so sure. "Jonathan, don't you think we should wait for the police? We don't know who or what is in there and I couldn't stand it if something happened to you!" she pleaded.
"No, I want to know who's in there. Nothing's going to happen. Besides, we've got to get in there somehow. We can't exactly greet the police dressed like this."
Oh!" her eyes opened wide, "I guess not. You know, this is getting to be a habit."
As they opened the door they saw that the window curtains floating in the breeze, Jonathan looked out and thought he saw a faint form running down the drive but realized he would have no chance to catch the person. After a quick check of the dressing rooms the discovered that the intruder had indeed escaped, leaving another big mess behind him.
"Damn! What could he have been after?" Jennifer asked.
By the time the police arrived the Harts were dressed and waiting for them. They explained what had happened and the officer called in for a detective and the crime scene lab and asked the Harts not to touch anything. They answered the detective's questions when he arrived and waited for the lab techs to finish their job. Jennifer fretted at the mess they were making on top of the mess the burglar had left. Although the technicians were careful the gray fingerprint powder was soon all over the place. She knew that she would have to call in a cleaning service to get things back to normal but that was a task for another day. It was getting late and they still hadn't had anything to eat. Being both hungry and tired was making them impatient for the law to leave them alone. Jonathan called the security alarm people to have them check into why the alarm hadn't gone off and was assured that a crew would be there first thing in the morning. He then called the security division of Hart Industries and requested a security squad to come and patrol the place until they could get the alarm fixed. He also alerted the Bel Air Security patrol and asked them to keep a close watch on the neighborhood.
The police finally finished their work and departed. Jennifer resurrected Max's casserole while Jonathan prowled the house like an aroused guard dog.
"Darling" she said, going over and taking him in her arms, "we've done all we can for tonight. Come relax and eat something."
"I'm sorry dear, it just bothers me that someone can come in here so easily despite our security precautions. We've had too many things happen to us to let me take your safety..." She gave him a look. "...okay, our safety for granted. I mean whoever this person was, whatever he was after, he was in here while we were out there totally vulnerable." His voice trailed off as he thought about what could have happened if the intruder had been a little more aggressive.
"Jonathan, we can't worry about what might've been. If we do that we'll be to frightened to live life. We're okay, the man isn't coming back today, not with all the security guards you have in place and tomorrow the workmen will be here to take care of the alarm. Please don't let it eat at you this way."
"You're right, of course." He smiled. "But you might as well not ask me to stop worrying about your safety. It's not something I can give up. You are my life and without you I'd cease to exist."
"You say the sweetest things." She reached up and brought his head down so she could kiss him. They stood that way for awhile until Jennifer remembered the food on the stove and ran to take it off the burner before it was ruined.
"Whatever it is smells divine. I'm starving." Jonathan grinned.
"Well, just make sure you leave room for dessert." Jennifer replied with that special sparkle in her eyes that indicated to Jonathan that dessert was going to be something special indeed.
