A Ghost to Die For by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox Page A

day, I’ll walk with you and Atlas, same route you two took the other day, but on the way back I’ll show you the footpath that is the shortcut, okay?”
    “I’d like that, and I know Atlas won’t mind a bit. But what if Otis is not out in his garden?” I asked.
    “Oh, I’ll think of something. Leave that part to me.”
    I nodded my head in agreement and looked at my watch. “I’d like some time to go over the file you got on Ruby Red, then we can talk about it this afternoon.”
    “I’m finished, let’s be on our way. I’ve got a list of errands to do and you can have the house to yourself.”
    Alex dropped me off at home and then left with the promise to be back in time, with Atlas, for an afternoon walk.
     
     
     
    Chapter 16
    I got right to work on the file about Ruby Red. Audrey’s collection of notes were scattered, so it took me a few minutes to put the puzzle pieces in order, but once I did, it was crystal clear that Audrey was not being truthful, or she was incredibly obtuse in her detective work. There were several newspaper clippings about Ruby Red, and all of them were illustrated with a picture of Ruby in different poses. And even though these were black and white photocopies of old sepia-toned newspapers, it was crystal clear to me that Ruby Red was the red-haired woman in the Renoir-like painting hanging on the wall at Audrey’s home, the very same painting I took photographs of.
    I got out my flash drive and loaded the pictures into my desk computer. After bringing them up to full-screen image, it was even more obvious that Ruby Red had posed for this painting. Good grief, was Audrey blind to this fact? I sincerely doubt that. Now I wondered about Audrey’s motive of cooperation with us. As much as this idea nagged at me, I put it aside and concentrated on Audrey’s notes. After an hour of analyzing the papers I made a list of my conclusions:
       Ruby Red and Andalyn Dixon resided in San Diego at the same time span from 1888 to at least when Andalyn died in October of 1892.
    One newspaper reported that Ruby Red was taking leave to visit family and friends in Colorado for the Christmas holidays. The report was dated November 20, 1892.
    Audrey made a notation that this was the last report of Ruby Red in San Diego and that a search of newspapers from elsewhere in California turned up nil. There is no mention of a search of newspapers in Colorado.
    Another clipping from the real estate news section dated February of 1893 states that the law firm of Benson and Marciano were appointed to officiate the sale of Ruby’s home, the lovely Queen Anne-style cottage on Oak Fair Avenue. The picture that accompanies the announcement depicts the home. Good grief, I thought, it isn’t a cottage, it’s almost a mansion, nearly as big as Blackthorne House B&B. And it looks just like Otis Van Wyck’s home, but his home is not on Oak Fair Avenue. I bet the same architect designed the Van Wyck house. This could be a very important clue. And I wonder if there is a contemporary connection to the law firm of Benson and Marciano?
    I set aside my notes and grabbed the local Yellow Page Telephone Directory and flipped to the legal section. Sure enough, there was a law firm of the exact name. Would they talk with me? Would I have to pay for a visit? That could be expensive. I decided to approach Alex about this, what with his involvement in a myriad array of San Diego’s associations and committees, maybe he had a connection. I hoped so.
    Back to Audrey’s file and that picture. I studied the various newspaper illustrations of Ruby Red, holding them one by one up to my computer screen copy of the painting. No doubt in my mind, the red-haired woman in the painting is most certainly Ruby Red. Now, what about the other woman, the one with the dark hair? Her facial expression looked vaguely familiar, but for the life of me I could not figure out where I may have seen her face. And what was Audrey Sinclair’s