Chapter 64 [Crane Household—Fifteen Minutes Later]
Set off in the woods a quarter mile off of the main road, a single-story cabin kept to itself. A breeze whistled through the still bare branches. A few birds whistled from their roosts overhead. A deer loped into view for a couple of heartbeats. Caution and Curiosity lingered on the edge. Then it skittered back under cover once more.
Katrina von Tassel Crane paced off the previous year's garden plot. Fortune had provided well for her cucumbers, beans, peas and potatoes. She wished for a barn and a pen to house a cow and a few pigs. Still, she had to admit the village bus offered convenient transportation. The Market Square had ready supplies of meat and sides.
Some self-sufficiency though remained in order….
I should have Ichabod plant a few apple trees. Perhaps in a couple of years, we might pick something of our own. She smiled. How she missed their former home in the then colonial village. She walked through the back door and into the house. She filled the tea kettle and set it on the stove. She looked about at the electric lights, the gas stove and the refrigerator.
Certainly a great deal had changed in 225 years.
Mr. Franklin was right indeed! Admiration allowed for a rue smile to spread across her features. Then again, the goddess allows what she does. She sighed. While Ichabod had slept during the years, she'd languished in Limbo…a fate worse than death. She could not die. She could only watch until Crane and Mills figured out how to free her. Even so, she needed to adjust from one circumstance to another. The world has changed so much! We have little left in common with this society. She frowned. She heard a car coming up the dirt road. Ichabod shouldn't be back for hours yet! She shut the jet off. Then she walked to the front door.
Mills and Ichabod exited from the former's car. With them, Jennifer seemed familiar to her for some reason. Where do I know her from? She scratched her head. "Ichabod? Abbie? Is something wrong? Are you unwell?"
"Be assured, Katrina. We are in good health and spirits." Crane embraced her. "We have a guest from our own time. You might remember Mistress Jennifer Dubois?"
"Captain Dubois' daughter? Truly?" Katrina took a second look. "It is you, Mistress! How can this be?"
"Personal secret." Jennifer shrugged. "We have need of Ichabod's experience and your magic, Mrs. Crane."
"Please call me Katrina. I can offer tea. Come in." Katrina ushered them inside. She took three mugs from the counter.
"Actually I have a surprise for Captain Crane. Papa sent this." Jennifer presented a bag of coffee to him.
"Starbucks?" He grinned. "As always, the Captain knows my taste!" He opened the bag. "Is that cocoa?"
"Oh brother!" Mills rolled her eyes. "He knows you all right. Wait. I thought you said Dubois' ancestor fought with you, Crane. So what are you saying?"
"Consider this missive, Katrina." He handed her the invitation. "You should recognize the handwriting."
"That is David's cursive! How can this be? He is not immortal!" Katrina measured out the coffee filter and started the coffee maker.
"The short answer? Just like magic allowed you both to be here, it will also put my stepparents back in your time. Papa isn't Captain Dubois yet. He will be. The creep squad knows he will. The three of us know he will."
"What do you mean 'not yet'? Lady, that was two hundred years ago! It happened!" Mills protested.
"A wizard called Lousain will banish Mama, Papa and my brother, Ricardo, to the 1750s. They survived the first winter and built Wabash from nothing. They made peace with the Iroquois and Mohawks. They were almost wiped out by the Coven in the second winter. Then my sister, Deirdre, was raped. She gave birth to my niece, Grace. After the attack, the Child found me in the woods. He brought me home. Mama and Papa adopted me." Jennifer sighed.
"You mean his 'Aunt Grace'?" Mills presumed.
"Mistress Grace was David's and Angela's granddaughter." He frowned. Lament weighed heavily on his heart and mind. "She became a demonic sorceress. I saw her during the Second Battle of Saratoga. I was also in that accursed valley where your father's demon killed her." His mouth tightened into a frown. "If it is indeed Mistress Grace, she will drive him beyond all reason."
"Hence why I'm here. You're all invited for your favorite ham and beans. There'll be cornbread and Mama's pie," Jennifer informed them. "I'll be slow cooking those in the Dutch oven just the way you both like it."
Katrina sighed. "That would be most welcome. We shall look forward to that pleasure." She poured coffee for them all. She fixed his and handed the mug to him. "Try this, Ichabod."
Java invigorated his taste buds. "This is truly intoxicating! Mistress Jennifer, I expected Mistress Angela's chicory coffee." He considered the bag again. "This treasure surely came from the Orient."
Mills coughed. "Actually, Crane, it came from Starbucks. Like your other coffee." She took her phone out. "I'll let Irving know. We'll drive up there in the morning. Make sure you get directions."
"They've been there before, Detective. In fact, you'll be eating in the same room as the last time." Jennifer savored her own mug.
"I shall enjoy this!" He took another mouthful of coffee.
Anticipation would get them through to the next day….
