Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

his guests and then pointed at a photograph.
    “This is a Ku Klux Klan medal,” he said. “They’re also called tokens. This is a very rare item that it was only available for purchase during the Klan’s march through Washington, DC, in 1926.”
    Olivia was stunned. “The Klan?” She moved to the edge of her seat to get a closer look. “Are you sure?”
    Fred touched the PC’s screen. “This image shows the reverse side of the medal. A triangle sits atop a cross that’s surrounded by sun rays.” His eyes met Olivia’s. “The rays are what first tipped me off. You don’t see this many on coins.” His finger moved to the lower half of the onscreen medal. “The Klan motto, ‘One Country, One Flag, One Language,’ curls around the bottom edge. “
    “What does the acronym, the AKIA, inside the triangle stand for?” Rawlings asked.
    “‘A Klansman I Am,’” Fred said, maintaining his professional neutrality. “These other initials in between the rays are KIGY, and mean ‘Klansman, I Greet You.’”
    Olivia glared at the medal. “I almost hate to ask what was on the front.”
    Fred scrolled to the top of the screen and pointed at another image. “In the center is a blood tear and the year 1866, which is probably when the Klan was founded, but don’t quote me on that. The tear is set inside a hero’s cross and the mottos on each side read, ‘Without Fear’ and ‘Without Regret.’ Along the bottom edge is the date and place of the march. See?” He indicated the text. “Washington, DC, 1926.”
    “I’m not familiar with the Invisible Empire’s demonstrations,” Rawlings said, failing to keep the disgust out of his voice. “What was the Klan doing in Washington?”
    “Having their sheets dry-cleaned?” Olivia asked snidely.
    Fred pulled up another website. “Look.”
    When the black-and-white photograph filled the screen, Olivia gasped. Hundreds of Klansmen, dressed in white robes and peaked hoods, marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in a calm, orderly fashion. The costumed men carried banners bearing the names of states. The two states depicted in the photograph were Connecticut and Rhode Island, and Olivia was shocked by the sight of so many white-robed figures. Row after row stretched all the way down the avenue.
    “There were so many,” she breathed, both horrified and fascinated. “My God. So many.”
    Rawlings looked from the image to the memory jug, his forehead furrowing. “So Munin’s medal is a KKK token?”
    Fred nodded. “I believed it the moment I made the rubbing, but I wanted to take measurements and compare it with the real thing. I know the dealer who posted these photos online and he helped me confirm my hunch.” Brushing the gold medal with his fingertips, he cast a sidelong glance at Olivia. “Of course, the only way to be sure is to break the jug. I’m willing to bet the token’s obverse side is in better shape than the reverse.”
    Olivia put a protective hand over the jug’s spout. “No. The real question isn’t about this being a genuine Klan medal or not,” she said. “The real question is why Munin put it on the jug at all.”
    Rawlings stroked his chin and stared off into the middle distance. Olivia could see that he was searching his memory for a clue. When his eyes came back into focus, she knew that he’d come up with a hit.
    “Do have a copy of yesterday’s
Gazette
?” he asked Fred.
    Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, Fred said, “In the kitchen. I’d just spread it out on the table when you knocked. Would you like to see it?”
    “I can probably find this needle in a haystack on the
Gazette
’s website instead. There was teaser on the Coastal Carolina Food Festival in yesterday’s paper and a few lines about the Lumbee Indian powwow. I remember seeing a sentence or two about an event the tribe was celebrating.” He shook his head, as if willing the memory to sharpen. “I could have sworn it had something to do with the KKK.”
    Olivia had looked through yesterday’s paper too, but without the same attention to detail. She always read Laurel’s articles word for word, but often passed over other pieces if she had a busy day ahead of her.
    Fred vacated his chair and invited Rawlings to sit in front of the computer. Within seconds, the chief found what he was looking for. “Here it is. Saturday evening at the Cedar Point campground—that’s where the Lumbee events are being held—will feature songs, dancing, and