Prologue

"Stay back, lady. You don't want to see that."

"Just tell me," said Paige Griffin.  She was near tears.  "Is it my uncle?"

"Lady," said the plumber.  He himself was standing back. "That ain't nobody's uncle.  Not unless he wore skirts."

Relief washed over Paige.  It seemed so wrong, especially since someone was dead, but at least it wasn't Ted.

"I'm not a child," she said, holding her breath and edging closer to the corpse.  She saw long blonde hair surrounding a grotesquely desiccated face.  The body in the disintegrating blanket wore a long, black skirt with a black turtleneck.  There was rope binding her wrists and three of the fingers on her left hand were missing.

"I think you'd better call someone," said the plumber.  Paige picked up the phone.  In the back of her mind she knew the man had meant the police, but the first number she dialed was that of Wally Morris.

Chapter one

Two months earlier

Wally Morris sat beside Paige Griffin, daughter of her old college friend Marion, as she steered her SUV along the unpaved road to an enormous fieldstone house overlooking Lake Champlain.  Wally had never seen the old place that belonged to Marion's brother, Ted Verrill, a world renowned archeologist and author.  She looked on it with the same fresh eyes as Paige?s nine-year-old son, Mike, who had sulked in the back seat of the car during the whole ride from New York City.

His face lost some of its anger at being ripped out of Manhattan as he stared open-mouthed toward the mansion with its vast picture windows.? It stood up on a rise, with a wide veranda in front, and was surrounded by a lush lawn.

The second the car stopped under the portico and Paige opened her door, Balto jumped out.  The golden retriever raced around the lawn sniffing all the new odors that he had never smelled in the city.  Mike zipped after him, his sneakers a blur in the grass, yelling for the dog to sit still so he could attach the leash.  Paige was right behind them, laughing, looking happier and more relaxed than Wally had seen her in years.

"I don't think you need to worry about it, Mike," said Paige, stopping to catch her breath.  She was wearing just a tank top and shorts and her brown hair was in a ponytail.  She was an attractive young woman and to Wally she looked far younger than her thirty-one years.  There isn't likely to be much traffic up here.

The air seemed quite warm after the air conditioning of the SUV and Wally was glad she also wore shorts.  She pushed her chin- length Sable Mist colored hair behind her ears to get as much of it away from her face as possible and she looked at the huge house with trepidation.  If she had to admit it, she'd say it made her kind of nervous that Paige and Mike were moving here. Tamarack, although it was a charming and quaint nineteenth century style village, was a long way from Manhattan and this was a big difference from what Paige's life had been like only a year earlier.

"Hello," said a voice.

Wally shielded her eyes from the bright sun and looked at the house.  She was startled to see a woman, somewhat plump but all smiles, a few years older than Paige, just coming down the stairs from the porch.  As she came toward them she quickly wiped her hand on her sundress, then adjusted the brightly colored napkin in the big basket she carried.  "I see the city girl has arrived in the North  Country," she said, extending her hand to Paige. "My name is Jolene Valley.  I guess you could call me the welcome wagon."

Paige introduced herself and Mike, then looked toward Wally.  "This is my very dear old friend, Wally Morris, who has come for a few days to help us move in."   She smiled at the galloping dog.  "And that's Balto."

Considering the ages of the two younger women, Wally kind of wished Paige hadn't pointed out the old part.

"Pleased to meet you," said Jolene.  Now that she was closer, Wally could see that she was not so much plump as muscular, and she was taller than Paige, which meant she practically towered over Wally.

Jolene gazed down at Balto, who had finally come to a rest and lay panting in the grass at their feet, and frowned.  "Did you have any trouble finding the place?"

Mike rolled his eyes.  "I thought we'd never get here.  Mom got lost a few times.  She even got lost right here."

"I missed the road," Paige explained.  "And I don't know if I'm properly equipped to be here," she joked.  "I didn't bring a canoe."  Every third car on the Northway since they passed Albany had a canoe on top, Wally remembered.

"We have a lot of lakes up here in the Adirondacks," Jolene explained, laughing.  "People come up all summer to use them.  But don't worry about not bringing a canoe,your Uncle Ted has two down on the racks."

"He hasn't come back, by any chance, has he?" Paige asked.  "I thought he might try."

Jolene shook her head. "No.  He hasn't been around.  But we knew you were coming.  I think the whole town does.  That's why I came over, to see how you're doing and bring you some muffins."   She set the large wicker basket on one of the Adirondack chairs in front of the porch.  It looked heavy to Wally and the scents emanating from it made her mouth water.  "But you weren't here."

"We're here now," said Paige, reaching for Mike, who was just running by again after Balto.  "And thanks."

"Do you live nearby?"  Wally asked.  "I didn't see a car."

Jolene stared down at Wally.  "Not far."  But not walking distance on a hot day like today.  I parked my car around the side of the house, in the shade."

Paige looked at her watch.  "We should get unpacked."

"I'd love to help," Jolene offered.

"This is so nice of you, Jolene," Paige said.  "If everyone else around here is even half as thoughtful, I think we'll like living here." She opened the back of the car and starting pulling out boxes, suitcases and groceries.  Wally took as many bags as she could carry and started going up the steps.  When she got to the top she turned around, realizing that the door was closed.

"This car will come in handy when winter comes," said Jolene, grabbing several more shopping bags  "It hits pretty early up here.   And hard.  You can expect the first real snow in October and it goes through May, sometimes."

Mike's face brightened, but he didn't say anything.  He was determined to be miserable.

"It gets old fast," Jolene continued.  "But Foster, the fellow down the road who takes care of the house, has a plow.  He'll clean your driveway.  There would be no way for you to do it yourself."  Jolene picked up the basket of muffins with her spare hand."  By the way, his wife, who took all the dust covers off for you last week, will come in weekly, if you want."

The look on Paige's face told Wally that she wasn't sure that was in the budget.  Not for the first time did Wally wonder what happened to all the money Michael, Paige's late husband, must have made.

Paige unlocked the door.  As they stepped into the foyer, they all stopped for a moment while their eyes adjusted to the interior darkness.

"Wow,"  said Mike, looking around.  Wally had to agree.  The foyer was impressive.  Beside the door stood a table made from a cross section of a large tree with legs made from the roots of a smaller tree.  There was rough-hewn wood wainscoting on the walls, and at the rear a wide staircase branched midway up and became two narrower staircases leading to the second floor.  A chandelier made of the antlers shed by scores of deer hung down over their heads from the twenty-foot ceiling.

The upper hallway that went from the steps all around the second floor had doors spaced evenly along it.  Wally knew there were ten bedrooms and five baths in the house, which had been built as a summer home for a beer baron from New Jersey in the early part of the last century.

'Let's take these to the kitchen," Paige said.  "It's through here, if I remember correctly."

Jolene, who was walking past them with the basket of goodies, jerked her head in the opposite direction.  "That's the parlor.  The kitchen is the other way, through there."

They passed through the dining room with its birch-bark furniture and bear skin rug, then went into the morning room, which had a fireplace with several pictures of Ted on the mantle.  In most of them he wore a hat, sunglasses, and khaki clothing with many pockets, looking almost like Richard Leakey, and he was displaying some artifact or other.  There was also an artifact in the one picture of him in which he wore regular street clothes.  It was from his book jacket and showed his face clearly.  He had black hair, light blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to be hiding amusing secrets.

The kitchen featured an eight-burner professional stove, a walk-in refrigerator and a huge sink with a stainless steel counter, all legacies of the previous owners, Wally had heard.  The oak parquet floors gleamed as if just polished.

Balto came trailing in behind, sniffing every square inch of his new home.  When he got to the middle of the kitchen, he suddenly turned and went the other way, finding a comfortable corner along the far wall to settle into and watch the proceedings.  Wally shook her head and laughed.  Her dog, Sammy, was just the same.

"Those muffins smell wonderful," Wally said when Jolene uncovered the basket. There were also several packages of coffee, as well as cookies and doughnuts.

Jolene smiled.   "Thanks.  They're from my shop."

Mike was wide-eyed.  "You own a bakery?"

"Oh, it's more than just a bakery.  I sell everything from sandwiches and soups and salad to coffees and teas and lattes and chai teas and pie and cake and cookies.  All of it healthy."  She looked at Paige.  "All organic and all delicious. You'll have to visit."

"Can we Mom?"

"We sure can.  And we'll take Aunt Wally with us."  Based on the way everything in the basket looked, Wally looked forward to it.

"Where would you like me to put everything?"  Jolene asked.  I'm sorry, but I need to take the basket back with me.  I use it for my large take out orders. The muffins would keep better if they were in an airtight container anyway."

"Of course," said Paige.  "I'll find something."   She started looking through the kitchen cabinets and came up with some plastic containers."  She reached for the basket to unpack it, but Jolene waved her off.

"I'll do it," she said with a smile.  "I certainly didn't mean to make more work for you."

Wally went to get another bag from the car and returned just in time to catch Jolene as she stumbled, falling against the stove with a thud and a clink while trying to catch an errant muffin.   Luckily, though Jolene was shaken, she was unhurt and the muffin was saved.

"Thanks, Wally," she said when she'd recovered her balance.  "I can be so clumsy."  She straightened her sundress.  "Okay then.  I'll be off.  I hope to see all of you soon."  She picked up her basket, waved, and left.

Paige and Wally set about putting all the groceries away.  Mike started to look bored as soon as the snacks were stored.  "Maybe you'd like to see your new room," Wally suggested.  "I'll bet you'll like it."

"I'd rather be in my room at home," said Mike.

Paige frowned.  "We went over this.  We don't live in New York anymore.  Not New York City, anyway."

"Why couldn't we stay there?"

"Uncle Ted told me about a job here.  He was nice enough to let us use his house."  She sat down at the round kitchen table on one of the ladder back chairs and got eye level with her son.  "There really was no other way."

Tears welled up in the boy's eyes and his bottom lip quivered.  "But he isn't even here.  He wouldn't care if we changed our minds."

"We knew he probably wouldn't be able to get away from the dig," Paige told him.  "But I'm sure he'll be back before long.  And I need the job!"

Mike's tears spilled down his cheeks  I'd like to see my room now," he whispered.

Wally saw that Paige was biting her lip and fighting her own tears as she led him upstairs. It was upsetting that Mike was whispering again.  He'd gone through a stage like that after Michael passed away and only hours of therapy had him talking in a normal voice again.  But here, in only a few minutes, he'd been set back months.  And there was nothing Wally could do about it.

Paige put on an optimistic tone.  "Let's go find it.  There are a lot of rooms up here.  We'll have to see which one it is."  She held back, letting Mike go ahead of her up the stairs and along the hallway.  He put his hand on a doorknob and looked at her for an okay.  This timidity had also been acquired after Michael died, Wally remembered.  Before that Mike had gone helter-skelter into just about everything, with a joy that was contagious.

"Why don't you turn it and see?" she encouraged.

But it wasn't a young man's room, by any stretch of the imagination.  There was a canopy bed and the walls were lined with dolls.  Everything was pink.

"This isn't my room, is it?"  Mike sounded horrified.  Wally had to stifle a chuckle.

"No, of course not," said Paige.

"Does Uncle Ted have a little girl?"

Paige shook her head.  I think the dolls were from the former owners.  They were transferred to Japan and couldn't take very many of their old things with them.  They left the rest behind, and Uncle Ted hasn't given anything away yet.  She closed the door.  "Let's try another one."

"Can I see Uncle Ted's room?"  Mike asked.

Paige led the way along the balcony, opened the door and stepped aside.  Mike went in.  "Wow.   Look at all this stuff."

The room, which overlooked the lake, was filled with photographs of various digs.  There were many pot shards, and several bones, including one skull, on every horizontal surface.  There was also a small oil lamp, with a tag hanging from it, in a little glass enclosed box.

"Ted gets a lot of gifts from various governments," Paige explained closing the door.  "But don't worry.  None of these things are valuable antiquities.  Most aren't even old."

She moved further down the hall.  "Your room is right down here." They passed another door and Paige opened the next.

Mike smiled, delighted. The room was filled with old toys, some mechanical, some wooden, all antiques. Ted had been collecting them all his life, Wally remembered.  And he'd put all his old toys in Mike's room.

"There's a note," said Paige.

Mike tore open the envelope and read it out loud.

Dear Mike,

I hope you don't mind that I put these old things in your room.  I guess with all my archaeological work, I can't bear to throw anything old away.  Would you please take care of them for me?  I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Love, Uncle T.

"Can I unpack, now, Mom?"   Mike asked in a normal voice.

With a sigh of relief, Paige nodded.  "Let me show you to your room, Wally."

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