The Light Keeper's Legacy (A Chloe Ellefson Mystery) by Kathleen Ernst Read Free Book Online

door … ”
    Chloe asked every question she could think of, but an outhouse tour could only last so long. When she and Lorna ambled back around the hedge they found Herb and Sylvie glaring at each other. “Come along, Lorna,” Herb said. “There’s something I need to check in the Viking Hall before the Karfi arrives. Chloe, it was good to meet you.”
    When Herb and Lorna were gone, Sylvie gave Chloe a wry glance. “Don’t mind old Herb.”
    “With a project this large and complex,” Chloe said carefully, “it’s inevitable that conflicts arise.”
    “Herb simply doesn’t understand why some of us are interested in the big picture, and not just the lighthouse service itself.”
    “I do feel strongly about social history,” Chloe said. “The lighthouse stories have to be considered within broader contexts or they won’t make sense. The fishing village, the region—it’s all important.”
    “Couldn’t agree more,” Sylvie said cheerfully. “And we’ve got lots of local sources. In addition to the archives on Washington Island, there’s a farm museum, a traditional museum, and the new maritime museum in Jackson Harbor.”
    Chloe was impressed. A lot of local energy was going into historical preservation and interpretation. That said very good things about the community.
    “There’s also a small exhibit about Chester Thordarson—the guy who used to own this island—in the Viking Hall,” Sylvie added.
    Five days here were obviously not going to be enough. “I’ll do as much as I can.” Chloe promised.
    “In a day or so I’ll stop back with that potential donations list,” Sylvie promised. “And I should warn you, exterior work should have been finished by now, but Herb’s numb-nut contractors have put us behind schedule. The guy who did the tuckpointing around the stone did such a poor job that it had to be done over, and we still need to paint.”
    Chloe tried for diplomacy. “Bringing a building back to its original glory can be … complicated.”
    “Herb Whitby doesn’t know a monkey wrench from a monkey,” Sylvie said with a snort. Then her eyes grew serious. “Listen, I understand you found the body on the beach yesterday. Horrid way to start your visit.”
    “It was,” Chloe admitted. “But mostly I’m just sad to think of the poor woman who drowned.”
    Sylvie looked out over the water. “It’s not the first time a body washed up on that beach. Did you know that? There’s a little cemetery just up the path there—” she pointed to a trail Chloe hadn’t explored yet—“with the remains of a local family that drowned in sight of the island during a big blow back in 1853. And once seven strangers washed up on the shore. Never were identified.” She gave a fatalistic shrug. “Bad things can happen out there.”
    Chloe remembered Natalie’s comments: Rough water around here. Lots of tragedies over the years. Anyone who spent time on the Great Lakes had to accept their grim legacy of grief. Chloe thought about that, imagining the emotional toll that must have taken on lighthouse families. They tried to keep the passages safe. When disaster struck, they also confronted the wreckage.
    “Thanks for letting me know,” Chloe said. “I’ll pay my respects.”

Nine: May, 1872
    The afternoon sunshine was so inviting that Ragna decided to work outside. Cedar floats and stone weights had to be removed from the nets after each lift, and then reattached once the nets were dry. She had just started tying floats back onto the first net when she heard someone call her name. She smiled as Emily Betts appeared from the north path, swinging a basket.
    Ragna waved. “ Velkommen! I looked for you yesterday.”
    “The inspector came,” Emily explained. She put the basket on the ground, looking pleased. “And hard as he tried, he could find no fault with the station.”
    Ragna couldn’t imagine having a stranger arrive unannounced, set to poke through her cottage and fish shed, ready