Wilmington, NC 10 - Much Ado About Murder

service ranger was most cooperative.”
    Jon said, “I’ve heard of the stone and have seen pictures of it.”
    “You have?” I said.
    “Yes,” he replied. “The design of the stone was covered in one of my classes at NC State, back in the day.”
    I gave him a smile, remembering him as a college student. “Yes, that was when I was in grade school,” I teased.
    Jon grabbed me, and gave me a rollicking hug. “You’re a cruel woman, Ashley Wilkes.” We all laughed.
    “Why is there a Thalian stone in the Washington Monument?” Melanie wanted to know.
    As a former professor and lecturer, Binkie was in his element. “In 1833 the Washington Monument Society was formed to fund and build a monument dedicated to the memory and honor of President George Washington. The funding would be raised from private donations.
    “It wasn’t until 1848 that the cornerstone was laid and construction began. However, the construction costs soon exhausted the funds. Then one of the states had the idea to donate a carved commemorative stone for the interior of the monument. The Society saw this as a fund raising opportunity. They would feature commemorative stones in the monument if a donation was made with each stone. Thereafter, stones were shipped to the capitol from around the country and around the world.
    “In 1851 the Thalian Association commissioned our stone. The artist selected was a local sculptor, James McClaranan . And I must say the stone he created is particularly handsome. And according to the park ranger is exceedingly popular with the public. It is made of white marble and measures two feet vertically and three feet four inches horizontally and is one foot thick.
    “The sculptor carved the profile of William Shakespeare in the demi- Relievo style at the center of the stone. And this is verified by an article printed in the Wilmington Commercial on December 20th, 1851, and also reported in The Wilmington Daily Journal on the same date.”
    Binkie continued his description of the stone. “Above Shakespeare’s head, there appears a graceful arch of unfurled Ribands , upon which the inscription ‘Wilmington, North Carolina, Thalian Association’ is carved. The letters of the inscription were bronzed. Most handsome, indeed.”
    “So you were able to examine it?” I inquired.
    “Yes, Ashley. And to my relief, it is in perfect condition. No damage had been done by the force of the quake.
    “As I said, the park ranger was most cooperative. Originally, the stone had been mounted at the two-hundred-fifty foot level which is on the twenty-third landing. However, in order for the monument’s repairs to proceed, the stones had to be dismounted, photographed and catalogued, and stored in a special unit provided for that purpose. The ranger escorted me to that site.”
    He went on, “Now here is the interesting point of my tale. The ranger was particularly excited to show me the back of the stone.”
    “The back?” I asked.
    Binkie smiled broadly. He loved it that he had captured our attention so completely. “Yes, the back, Ashley dear. He had two crew members turn the stone so that we could view the back. The ranger had discovered an inscription, previously unknown, on the back. You see, the stone had not ever been removed since it was set in position in 1888. No one had ever seen the back once it was set in place.”
    “What was on the back?” Melanie wanted to know.
    “An inscription. Words had been carved on the back of the stone when the stone was created here in Wilmington prior to sending it to Washington.”
    “What did the inscription say?” Jon asked.
    Binkie dug down into Aunt Ruby’s tote bag and withdrew a file folder. “Here, I’ve brought photographs.” He passed the photographs around to us.
    Jon studied one picture. “I can’t make anything out.”
    I studied another. “I can’t either,” I protested.
    “No. No one can,” Binkie confirmed. “When the original adhesive was removed from the back of the stone, a sort of scarring took place. The adhesive had settled into the indentations of the inscription. The stone was cleaned but still the letters could not be rendered legible.”
    I studied the photograph. “I can make out some letters. A lower case ‘e.’ A lower case ‘o.’ And a partial of something that might be a capital ‘W.’”
    “That is precisely what the ranger and I saw.”
    “And that is all I can decipher as well,” Aunt Ruby said.
    I passed the