Author's Note: Sorry for the delay with this one but I got stuck but I promise that you will get the last three chapters in the next three weeks. So sit back and enjoy.

Letters and Leads

Later when Nathan and Audrey arrived back at Nathan's bungalow, the two of them sat down to study the letters. Audrey chose one from the top and opened it. As she pulled out the old yellowed paper, a folded up piece of newsprint fluttered to the floor unnoticed.

Careful of the fragile page, Audrey read it over while Nathan thumbed through the journal. "It's a love letter from a woman named Adeline Beauchamp to Markus Hansen." Audrey compared the handwriting on the front of each envelope. "I think they're all from her. What about the journal?"

"Yes it's hers, too. She was obsessed with Markus Hansen. Every entry I've scanned mentions him."

She looked up to see Nathan's reaction to the mention of his birth family once more, but his head was turned away from her. Audrey hated the fact that Nathan's other family was tied up in this new lead, but he had to face his roots eventually. Swallowing, she asked, "Do you know anything about the Hansens in...," she looked at the date of the letter in her hand, "1853? Beachamps, that isn't a name I've heard around here. I'd remember a French name in New England."

Nathan turned to face her with his hand clenched into fists. "The Hansens used to be very wealthy, the town elite. At that time they owned the cannery, but soon after, they lost it all. There was some kind of scandal. I can't remember just what, and the head of the family gambled and drank away all the wealth. The family went downhill from there. The Beauchamp family came to Maine to escape the removal of the Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755, but the name has died out in the mid 1850's." He shuffled his foot catching the sheet of paper and bent down to pick it up and studied it. His expression changed from anger to confusion.

Audrey reached out to him. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He caught her hand as he held out the paper to her. "It's you. I mean, one of the women, she looks just like you. There are three people in the sketch: Adeline Beauchamp, Elizabeth Crocker, and Markus Hansen, 1852. These names were written in pen below the drawings; I think this came out of the Herald. But which woman is which?"

"I would assume Adeline is my double; after all, these letters are hers. If Lucy had them, they must have been connected with one of her... my past lives." Her hand trembled as she reached out to take the paper. "Is this me or someone who looks like me? If it is, how many lives have I led? This is insane! Am I really over 150 years old?"

Nathan's face creased with concern. "I don't know, Audrey, but there is nothing more we can do tonight. Let's go see what we can scrounge up for dinner and tackle this in the morning. We'll go see the brothers at the Herald and see if they know anything about more specific about Adeline, Elizabeth, or Markus." He held out his hand. "How does that sound?"

Audrey folded the letters up and took his hand. "I agree. We'll shut out the questions for the rest of tonight and face them with the sunrise. Now how about I give that cinnamon pancake recipe a try?"

Nathan smiled as he pulled her toward the kitchen. "I can't think of a better idea. After all, a way to a man's heart is definitely through his stomach."

The two of them were seated at the table enjoying the pancakes when Nathan's phone rang. Getting to his feet, he moved across the room and spoke quietly into the phone.

"Are you kidding me?" His voice rose and then he sighed. "All right, let me know if something turns up." He looked across the room at Audrey. "No, I'll let her know what happened. Hopefully it will sound better coming from me."

Hanging up the phone, Nathan returned it to the counter and ran his hand through his hair. "That was Stan. He's at the morgue. It seems that Other Audrey's body has disappeared. There's no security footage; someone tampered with the cameras. No fingerprints, no leads; there's nothing to follow."

"What? I can't believe this!" Audrey dropped her fork down on to her plate. "Why would someone take her body?"

Nathan sat down across from her again. "I don't know, but Stan's investigating and he does know what he's doing. There's nothing for me or you to do. The best thing is to head to bed and we'll see what we face in the morning. My guess is tomorrow will be a long day. We have our own leads to follow."

Gathering up the plates Audrey sighed. "Sounds about right. There are moments when I just feel like walking away. Nathan, I..." She shook her head and turned away, clutching the counter so hard her fingers turned white.

Wrapping his arms around Audrey, Nathan pulled her close. "We have to believe there is an end to this, a light at the end of the tunnel." She turned in his arms and lay her head on his shoulder taking shelter from the storm for the moment because she could.

Early the next morning, Audrey and Nathan arrived at the newspaper office just after opening. The two brothers looked up as the bell above them tinkled.

Vince looked startled to see them, but Dave smiled, waving them in. "What can we do for the two of you?"

Nathan and Audrey exchanged looks before Nathan asked, "Can you tell us about the Hansens, Beauchamps, or the Crockers in the 1850's?"

Dave cleared his throat. "That's an interesting choice of people and time? Not a lot of coverage at that time. The Herald was a monthly publication, except for special editions, and there weren't too many of those."

Audrey held out one of the letters. "This letter came into our possession from Adeline Beauchamp to Markus Hansen. She thought they were going to run away together, but another woman came between them Elizabeth Crocker."

Vince shook his head, but Dave clapped his hands together. "Adeline Beauchamp and Markus Hansen...? I think there was something about them somewhere." He dropped into a chair in front of the computer and began to type. "Yes, here it is. In June of 1853, Adeline Beauchamp was accused of murdering Markus Hansen and Elizabeth Crocker. Their bodies were never found, but bloody rags were discovered in a boat owned by the Beauchamps. A bloody knife wrapped in one of Markus's shirts was found in Adeline's bedroom.

"Later that year in September, Adeline was executed by hanging for the murders." He laughed harshly. "These articles talk about her being a witch. It says here that with her last words Adeline cursed the town because she was innocent. She claimed that the couple wasn't even dead." He scrolled down a bit more and whistled. "The plot gets even thicker. The morning after the hanging, Adeline's body vanished from the mortuary, and it was never found."

Audrey leaned forward. "Really? Isn't that strange?" She looked at Nathan. "Bodies routinely go for strolls in Haven?"

Nathan shook his head. "Not as far as I know, but I've learned there were many things going on without me knowing about it."

The two brothers held up their hands, but Vince spoke, "We've had strange things happen here, but no Zombies that I know of."

Dave sneered. "She's not thinking that, Vince! No, Audrey, I've been over the achieve numerous times and body snatching isn't common, even with the Troubles."

Wanting to change the subject, Audrey asked, "How far back do the recorded cases of the Troubles exist? Is there any correlation to Adeline's curse or was it just an excuse?"

Vince looked startled, and Vince sat down at another computer and began to type in passwords. "I'm not sure. I'll have to look in another file. We don't keep that information public. It's too dangerous if anyone found it." His face looked grim as he studied the screen. "It's right here: 27 years after Adeline was executed, the first Troubles appear. All of the afflicted have ties to the Crocker and Hansen families. That's strange." He looked over at Audrey. "One of the listed names is Elizabeth Hansen."

"Did you know about this?" Nathan asked looking over Vince's shoulder at the computer screen.

Dave frowned. "No, I'd heard the story before but not the part about the curse. It does seem very intriguing. What year was that, Vince? I'll take a look at the articles that year and see what I can find."

"1870."

Dave punched some more keys and scanned the various articles. "This is interesting. It seems that was the same year Markus and Elizabeth showed back up in town with their family." He stopped. "They claimed that they had no idea anyone thought they were dead. They had left town to avoid Adeline who thought she was in love with Markus. I wonder what her trouble was?" This time Dave looked right at Audrey. "Two years later Elizabeth disappeared and was never seen again."

Audrey rubbed her arms feeling chilled. Was she Adeline? "It can't be a coincidence. These events are too connected, but how do we reverse the curse? I can't believe they convicted that woman on that circumstantial evidence and to hang her. Is there a way to find out exactly what she said before she died?"

"There wasn't a direct quote in the article but if you want to know more there should be a file on the trial at the courthouse and the execution. They just finished scanning in all the old documents a few months ago. I wrote a story about it for the Herald."

Audrey pushed away from the desk. "Well, I guess our next stop is the courthouse. Thanks boys, I'll see you soon."

Thanks for reading and leave me a review and make me smile. More is on the way. The next chapter is up on my site if you want to check it out. Google my penname and you'll find me.