He pivoted, glanced at the chandelier, and experienced the same sense of need as yesterday. A hollow spot in his chest. Loneliness. He had the urge to talk to the crystals, tell the ceiling light he planned on shining it up. “You’re getting batty, MacKenzie.”
Areas of the house left him cold, while others imparted physical manifestations he’d not experienced before—why? No wonder he was off his game.
“I need to know more.” With the tape measure and notepad in hand, he stepped outside, locked the door, and strode back to his truck. He’d take his lunchbreak at the Joshua Historical Society. He’d never be able to concentrate if he didn’t discover the mystery behind the Big Purple House.
Luckily, as he approached the JHS on Main Street, a parking spot opened directly in front. He didn’t notice the closed sign in the window until his hand pulled down on the locked door lever. “Damn.” He looked at the hours. Nine to one, Monday through Friday. He just missed them. Peering through the door glass, he saw Wanda Byerson.
Wanda waved, came from behind the counter, and unlocked the door. “Why, hi, Harlan.
“I didn’t know the office closed at one.”
She peeked around him in both directions. “I’ll let you in.” Locking the door behind him, she nudged him forward. “Come away from the window before we attract anymore late-comers. Not that we’re ever flooded with customers.” She tightened her gray ponytail as she led him deeper into the office. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to do some research and don’t know where to begin. But I can come back. I don’t want to trouble you.”
“Nonsense.” Bright gray eyes sparkled in her round face. “I’ll at least see if we can be of any help, so you know if you need to come back. What are you researching?”
“The Big Purple House.”
“I heard Lolly’s sister is buying it from Phaedra. Isn’t that super?” She clapped once, and a toothy smile lit her face. “I’ve always thought that house should come to life again.” Her remark reminded him of what he liked about living in Joshua: close knit community, concern for the history and the city.
“I’m wondering about the original owners, the Herseys.”
“Ah, yes. The disappearing millionaire. Probably a billionaire by today’s standards.” As she talked, she climbed onto a stepping stool and stretched to take a book from a shelf behind her. “Probably something in here for starters.” She plopped it onto the counter.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a registry of sorts. Dates back to the late 1800s as to who owned what residential properties.” She opened the book and flipped a few pages then peered over black framed reading glasses. “What’s the address? And do you know the exact year the house was built?”
“1923.” He gave her the address and moved behind her to look over her shoulder.
She ran her finger down the print then flipped another page. “Here it is. Lilac End. Completed in June of 1923. Built and owned by John Carl Hersey.”
“Is there any more—”
“Oh, wait. Looks like ownership changed later in the year.”
He waited, anxious for her to find the section in the back of the book cross-referencing the change.
“Well, that’s unusual.”
“What?”
“Apparently, he added his wife to the deed as full owner in October of 1923.”
“Unusual?” He stepped aside as she turned toward him.
“Yep. For the times. Men were men and women were, well, not quite equal partners. I’m not saying it wasn’t done, but especially in the testosterone history of Joshua, these mining moguls gave new meaning to macho. Did you know it wasn’t until 1988 that women didn’t have to have a male relative co-sign on property? Took a federal law to change it.”
Wanda was always a wealth of little-known facts. “No, I didn’t.” No doubt she had more women’s rights details to impart, but he needed to keep her on track. “And so he added Lilac Hersey?”
She found the entry on the page again. “Yep. Lilac Louise Lambert Hersey.”
Lambert? “L-a-m-b-e-r-t?”
“Yes. That’s how it’s spelled. Does the name mean something to you?”
A curious twitch touched in his chest. “My mother’s middle name was Lambert.”
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