“Why yes, it was. When he passed, his son, Michael, lived in it for years until he moved to Dallas to be closer to his grown children. My husband bought the house from Michael. We’ve lived here for the past thirty years. Or at least, I have. My dear husband passed away fifteen years ago. It’s been just me, ever since.”
“I’m sorry about your husband,” Avery said.
“Thank you, dear.” Mrs. Jordan sipped her tea.
“Does this house have a basement?” Grant asked.
Mrs. Jordan nodded. “It does. Though I haven’t been down there for a while. These old bones don’t make it up and down the stairs like they used to.”
“Do you mind if we check out the basement?” Avery asked.
“Not at all.” She nodded toward a door on the opposite end of the kitchen. “Would you like to see it now or after tea?”
“We’d like to look now and then come back to finish our tea together,” Avery said with a smile.
“Of course. I’ll wait for you here. If the stairs are too steep for you, there’s another entrance to the basement on the side of the house. They’re wider, and there are fewer of them. I think they used that entrance when they delivered supplies. Michael said they used to host parties here back in the roaring twenties. It’s your choice of stairs.”
Avery and Grant chose the stairs leading out of the kitchen. Grant led the way down, pulling on a string overhead to turn on the light over the stairs. Once at the bottom, he pulled the long string for another lightbulb above their heads. It blinked on, shedding a dull yellow glow over a basement large enough to house a still, but showing no sign of any such equipment or brewing supplies.
Shelves lined the walls with a variety of items, including old board games, a box full of ancient sports equipment, canning supplies, and empty Mason jars.
Avery crouched close to the floor and ran her hand over the concrete surface. “Only dust,” she said.
Grant nodded. “For someone who was a notorious bootlegger, you’d think there would be something left in a nook or cranny.”
“Those women weren’t brought here,” Avery said. “We’re missing something.”
Grant led the way up the stairs, where they joined Mrs. Jordan at the table. She poured hot tea into their cups to warm what was there. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Not quite,” Avery said. “John Stenson had a reputation for running beer and whiskey to the cities.”
“That’s what his son said. Not only did he run it, he made it, cutting out the middleman. Apparently, he made enough money doing all that so he could afford to build this big house. It also helped that he milled his own lumber.” She stared over the rim of her teacup. “Michael was sad to have to sell his father’s home, but when the big paper companies moved in and bought up large tracts of land, they put some of the smaller mills out of business, including Stenson Mill. His children had to move to Dallas to find work. He followed them there after he lost his wife.”
“That’s so sad,” Avery said.
“I’ve been around long enough to watch a number of businesses come and go. It’s always sad to see the empty buildings standing like ghosts. It didn’t help that the train quit stopping here.” She waved a hand. “But it’s not all gloom and doom. I got a lovely home I’ve enjoyed for all these years. Would you like more tea?”
Avery held up a hand. “No, thank you, Mrs. Jordan. We have to go. This is a workday for us.”
“Of course,” she said and pushed up out of the chair. “I hope you will come again soon. It’s been a pleasure.”
“The pleasure was mine.” Avery hugged the older woman gently.
They left the house, climbed into the car and headed for the station, where they found Melissa and Bree talking with Sheriff Taylor in front of the desk.
As soon as they entered, the sheriff nodded. “Good. You’re in time to hear this. Blade has shown signs of coming to. We were about to head out.”
Grant glanced down at his watch, surprised that the day had passed so quickly. “We’re coming with you.” He turned to Melissa and Bree. “Find anything?”
Melissa frowned. “Nothing.”
“Same,” Avery said. “What are we missing?”
“A pointed conversation with our hitman friend,” Melissa said. “Let’s do this.”
They left the station in three different vehicles. Sheriff Taylor in his service SUV, and Bree and Melissa in her red pickup. Grant and Avery climbed into the battered rental car and drove to the local hospital.
Once inside, they took the elevator to the floor where Robert Martin was recovering from the crash.
