Wilmington, NC 10 - Much Ado About Murder

animals lived. She said the tree had tried to heal itself by growing a scar over the wound.
    Dalton remembered that rough spot. He had been fascinated by it too. Even now he could feel its texture against his hand as he stroked it.
    And then, as if a flash of lightning had seared his brain, he knew! He knew where the treasure had been hidden two centuries ago.

18

    As Susan Matthews pulled away from the curb, Melanie pulled up and parked her Cadillac. She jumped out and joined us on the sidewalk, giving us both hugs. “I’m going over to the hospital to see Dalton in the morning. Can you come with me?”
    I looked inquiring at Jon.
    “Sure, go,” he said. “I’ll be at home on the phone, trying to find a tree service that can come right away. You girls need some sister time.”
    He took my hand and we went back inside the house to contemplate the mess there and to wait for Linda Price.
    Linda was sympathetic to our predicament. “Can you do it?” I asked. “I know this is such short notice but we’ve got our general contractor coming on Friday to start demolition work. We’ve got to empty out these rooms.”
    “Also,” Jon interjected, “we’ve got to pack up Mr. Montjoy’s papers – musical scores and such – and store them safely. We’re hoping he’ll recover and when he does, he’ll want these personal items. Problem is , you’ll have to sort what’s worth keeping from things like old newspapers and magazines. As you can see, they’re all mixed up together.”
    “What are you going to do with the piano?” Linda asked.
    “It stays. We bought it,” I replied. “So, what do you think, Linda? Is this doable?”
    “Let’s look at those rooms upstairs again. Is the furniture staying?”
    “As I remember,” Jon said, “Melanie told us Dalton planned to donate the furniture up there to Goodwill. As soon as the tenants’ belongings are out of the drawers and closets, we’ll have our construction crew move the furniture out onto the porches where Goodwill can pick it up.”
    We went upstairs. Linda took notes as she studied each room. “I’ll bring in some helpers. We’ll get as much done as we can tomorrow. We’ll be here bright and early. But I think you’d better postpone your construction crew until Monday.”
    Jon leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed. “OK, that’ll work. I’ll call Willie right away.”
    I walked Linda out to her car where I gave her an extra key. “The locksmith is coming tomorrow but you can let yourself in with this in the morning. And I’ll get a new key for you then.”
    She opened her car door and said goodbye.
    “I can’t thank you enough, Linda. We’re desperate here as you can see.”
    “Don’t worry, Ashley. It’ll all work out. Things usually do.”
    “What a nice lady,” I told Jon as we locked up the house. Although I didn’t know what good that would do to keep the tenants out until we changed the locks.
    As if reading my mind, and he often does, Jon said, “I’ll walk over here a couple of times this evening and check on things.”
    “You’re my hero. Now we’d better get on home to our boys. It’s almost dinner time and Tanya said she had to leave at five.”

19

    Dalton Montjoy

    Dalton knew he had to wake up. He had to warn Ashley before the tree service cut down the tree and hauled away the pieces. They had to look inside that tree. He felt sure that was where the first Dalton Montjoy had hidden the family treasure. Perhaps he had told no one, so no one knew but he . Or perhaps he had confided in another person who had died without sharing the secret. All Dalton knew was that his great-grandfather, who had told him the story of the family treasure, had not known where it was hidden.
    Dalton knew he was waking when he heard voices. Their voices. The two who had tried to kill him. Where was he? Was he still in his home, trying to escape from the gas fumes? No, that couldn’t be. He remembered that Ashley Wilkes had dragged him from the house, had administered CPR. Had saved his life.
    Dalton remembered that fateful morning well. He had met Ashley, Jon, and Melanie at the lawyer’s office for the closing of the sale of his house. Then Dalton returned to the family home with mixed feelings. He was glad that his house was sold to someone who would restore it to its greatness. Ashley and Jon had the resources and the ability to make the house beautiful again. They would probably show it on the candlelight tour. Or maybe