Uncovering Secrets: The Third Novel in the Rosemont Series by Barbara Hinske

it, to see if there’s any more?”
    Maggie
tore her attention away from the array on her dining room table. “That’d be a
good idea,” she answered. “Do you need me to go back up with you?”
    “No.
I’ve got it. And I know to be careful. I’ll make sure we brought all the silver
down here, and I’ll organize stuff for when I come back on spring break. That’s
if you still want me,” he added hastily.
    “Of
course I do,” Maggie assured him. “You’ve been extremely helpful, and I
appreciate how careful you’ve been with all of this.”
    “It
looks pretty cool. Hard to believe anyone ever really used all of it.” He
paused, eying the table. “Glad I wasn’t a butler,” he continued, and Maggie
laughed. “Me, too. You go do your thing in the attic. I’ll start polishing all
this.”
    Maggie
tuned to the classical music station on her radio—somehow, that seemed
fitting for the task at hand—while David returned to the attic. He found
two additional boxes of silver, which he ferried downstairs to Maggie. He spent
the rest of the afternoon in the attic moving the furniture to the area in
front of the windows and arranging boxes and trunks in neat rows along the far
wall. In the center, he created an area of items comprising the miscellany of
lives lived at Rosemont: dress forms and golf clubs, curtain rods and tennis
rackets, plant stands and drying racks. He never noticed, in the dim light of
the incandescent bulbs, the folder labeled F.H./Rosemont that slipped to
the floor and was trapped underneath an old steamer trunk.
    ***
    Maggie had barely made a start on the items covering the
table and would soon be out of polish. She was heading upstairs with cookies
and a soda for David when she spotted John’s Suburban swinging to a stop by her
front door. She opened it as he stepped out of the car.
    “Just
checking on my best girl. You’ve got some bad history with that attic. I wanted
to make sure we didn’t have a repeat of that unfortunate incident.”
    Maggie
smiled and wrapped her arms around him. “Aren’t you the most thoughtful fiancé?
Everything’s fine here. You won’t believe what we’ve found up there!”
    John
steeled himself for a lengthy discussion on vintage silver—a subject he
had no interest in, but one he knew she loved talking about. “I have a
suggestion,” he said, brushing a kiss along her hair. “Why don’t you call Judy
Young to come over after she closes up Celebrations? She’s an antiques buff.
I’m sure she’d be excited to hear all about it.”
    “And
you wouldn’t, would you?” Maggie asked, rocking back to look at him closely.
    “You’ve
got me there. It’s not one of my core interests.”
    “Your
loss. Lots of fascinating stuff there. But now my lips are sealed. I need to
run out for more silver polish. I’ll swing by Celebrations and talk to Judy. I
may need her expertise.”
    “Is
David still here?”
    “Yes—working
like a maniac. He wouldn’t even stop for lunch. I was just taking him a snack.”
    “Let
me see if he needs a hand,” John said. “And I think it’s time to let him take
his kitten home. I talked to his mother today, and she agreed.”
    “Wait
till you hear the name he’s chosen for him,” Maggie said as they climbed the
stairs.
    “What
do you think, Ms. Martin?” David asked, turning as he heard her footsteps on
the stairs.
    “You’ve
done a marvelous job,” Maggie said, stepping into the attic.
    “Hey,
David,” John said, extending his hand. “How would you like to take your kitten
home today? Your mother says it’s okay.”
    David
beamed.
    “Let’s
go get him. Maggie tells me you’ve picked out an unusual name?”
    “Namor,”
David said proudly. He paused and watched John’s puzzled expression change to a
grin. “Very fitting. Roman would like that. Let’s go get Namor. I’ve got a cat
carrier for you and some food, litter, and a litter box—to get you started.”
    “Thank
you, Dr. Allen,” David