Crime Time

Betsy bit her lip. "We don't know if Quinn's paraphernalia has anything to do with your dreams. Maybe it's the room." Then she asked hesitantly, "Do you want to try it again after he cleans up?"

Martha glanced at the wall clock. "It's going to be late by the time he finishes."

"Maybe I'll just sleep there anyway and see if it happens," Howie said. I sensed he wasn't hopeful absent Quinn's equipment.

"Ben and I will keep watch, like this afternoon," Betsy said. Howie gave a token protest but agreed.

Betsy shared Howie's disappointment but she put on a good face. "Think of the possibilities if by the remote chance Howie is envisioning the past! He might witness something really exciting!"

"Life is remarkably commonplace, if you think about it," I countered. "How many times have any of us been involved in an event remotely exciting? If Howie drops into ten or twenty minutes of anyone's life, chance are all he sees is them picking their nose, reading a book or working. A third of the time, we're sleeping! So far, the only possibility benefit is Howie being the world's foremost expert on July, 1932 in West Virginia!"

"What was going on back then?" Howie asked. "I don't remember much history."

"Let's see," I answered. "1932 was between world wars, in the middle of the depression. Franklin Roosevelt was elected. Millions were out of work. Not a really fun time. That accounts for the boarded up places you were seeing. I'm surprised the clothing store was open." I turned to my fiancée. "Can you research obscure businesses that far back?"

The phone rang before Betsy could respond. Martha jumped to answer it with Betsy following. Martha handed her the phone and I could tell by the look that quickly appeared on her face, it was not good news. The search of a detailed West Virginia map and the internet yielded no reference whatsoever to Alder's Bridge, West Virginia.

Virginia. I'm on the road with West Virginia behind me, taking a brief rest from my hobby. How I love the open country, away from city police and cameras at every intersection. Oh, you little ones; be careful and don't talk to strangers! Beware of the ghost in the night that comes a creeping with cat's-paw silence into your bedroom to steal you away!