A Barlow Lens by Elizabeth Noble Read Free Book Online Page A

from the car since he had no idea if there were lighting inside. He rolled the door up along its tracks and stood staring at the contents.
    â€œHoly crap.” Val stood next to him, bag of food in one hand.
    Wyatt snorted. “Well, that’s accurate.”
    The unit was probably twenty by twenty. There was a clear path down the center and some furniture along the back. Stacked floor to ceiling along both sides were crates and cardboard boxes. Loose items were scattered about, lying on top of some of the larger boxes.
    They looked at one another. Val asked, “Where do we start?”
    â€œI don’t think it matters. Don’t let anything fall on your head.” Wyatt wandered through to the back of the unit, where some chairs were stacked beside a few benches, tables, and stools. There was a three rung painter’s ladder leaning between the benches. Wyatt pulled it to the center, unfolded it, and climbed up to get a better look.
    There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the collection. Items were simply stacked randomly where they would fit. Hung on the wall between the two doors was a fire extinguisher. There was a large tool box that looked fairly new tucked under one of the benches. Wyatt opened some of the boxes within reach, looking inside.
    â€œI found these.” Val held up several large, plastic zip bags. Inside was clothing and what looked like other items that had probably been with the bodies. “How would this stuff survive the fire?”
    Wyatt handed a few boxes down to Val. “They probably died of suffocation or smoke inhalation. The floor dropped through and trapped them, but the fire didn’t get down there is my guess.” He climbed down and picked up a box, carrying it to the back, and set it on a bench. “That’s what it looked like to me anyway. That furnace was dented and mangled, so it was disrupted from where it had originally been in the building. Those things were made solid back then. You didn’t just kick one and put a dent in it.”
    Val laid the bags on top of another box and followed Wyatt. They moved some stools around and cleared places to sit. Val extracted the sandwiches they’d bought and bottles of iced tea from one of the bags, handing Wyatt’s to him.
    He waved at one box, sat down, and pulled it between his feet. “I’ll start here.”
    As they sifted through all the things, Wyatt began sorting them according to perceived importance. Items from the speakeasy in general went on one bench, those that were more likely connected to Tom and Philip on another.
    â€œDo you think Lily wanted you to look into this more because you’re gay and less because you have archeological experience?” Val asked.
    â€œYeah, I do. I think she drummed up those qualifications and insisted upon them because she knew Kevin would be forced to accept me working this case.”
    â€œWhen do you suppose the term ‘beard’ came into use?”
    Wyatt looked up. “Huh? That’s random. Long after the practice began, I’ll bet. Why?”
    Val held a photograph in one hand and turned it so Wyatt could see. There were two young men with two young women standing between them. They all had their arms around one another. He handed that off to Wyatt and pulled another out of his box. This one had the same four people, but it was a summer scene. “This one says ‘The gang at Euclid Beach, August 1927,’” Val read the back of the picture. “I wonder who these girls are.”
    Wyatt squinted at the white border around the actual photograph. In small, neat handwriting along the bottom were names. “Emma and Nancy with Philip and Tom.”
    â€œInteresting way to write down the names of what looks like couples,” Val pointed out.
    Wyatt nodded. “Sure is. Another interesting fact: that school fire happened in September of ’27.”
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    Cleveland,