Chapter Fourteen
(Day Five)
Chloe sat in the middle of her bed, going through the diaries again as she waited for Brady to finish getting ready. She had started on the third book, which began in Nancy's last month of pregnancy. Chloe felt that she was finally gaining insight into the things that Nancy had gone through. She had never understood how someone could give up their child, but now she knew that Nancy didn't want to give her up. She had no other choice, and she was too weak to stand up to her father or to tell Craig what had happened. Chloe would wager a bet that this was the last time in her life that Nancy had failed to stand up to someone. In fact, Chloe knew that Nancy was a much stronger person now than she used to be and this whole experience probably helped shape her into the person she is today.
Brady stepped out of the hotel bathroom and sat down on the edge of Chloe's bed. She stopped reading and lifted her head to smile at him.
"Hey there...."
"Hey... find something interesting?"
Chloe nodded slightly. "Tons..."
"Those books don't happen to have the full address and phone number of one Samuel Lennox, do they?"
Chloe chuckled softly. "Nope... we'll just have to go about it the old fashioned way."
"And which way is that?"
"I... don't... actually... know...." Chloe grinned and shrugged her shoulders.
Brady looked shocked. "You mean Sherlock Holmes can't figure out the latest mystery this time? Hmmm... I guess finding the exact person you're looking for in the phone book twice in one trip would be like lightning striking in the same place twice. Right?"
Chloe nodded. "Yup.... And, I already tried that while you were in the shower. There are other people named Lennox in Newport, but no Sam, Samuel or 'S' Lennox even."
"Could be his family members or something."
"Or... he could not even live in Newport anymore... I don't know... I'm stuck."
Brady paused thoughtfully for a moment and clasped Chloe's hand as he stood from the bed. "Come on, Chloe... get your stuff. Let's go."
Chloe wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "Go where?"
"I have an idea. Come on."
Chloe sighed in frustration but stood up anyway and grabbed her stuff. Brady grinned at her and led her out the door by the hand.
***
After a quick stop at the hotel check-in desk to ask the clerk for directions, Brady drove to the main public library in Newport. He parked the van in the parking lot and the two of them walked to the front door of the building.
"The library, Brady? Are we here to check if my father has overdue books?"
Brady rolled his eyes and laughed. "Nooooo... The main library usually has all the local newspaper articles on microfilm. We're going to take a look at the history of Sam Lennox."
Chloe nodded with understanding and they walked inside. They found the library's computer station and sat down in front of it. Brady typed in "Sam Lennox", and waited for the next screen to pop up.
"Chloe... write these numbers down..."
Chloe nodded as she grabbed pencil and paper off the desk and began writing down what Brady was reading off the screen. They finished up at the computer and headed over to grab the films that the numbers referred to. They found what they needed right away and sat down at the reader to go through the multitudes of articles on Sam Lennox.
Brady zipped through the back issues of the local paper as Chloe stared at the screen intently.
"Brady, Brady... stop... right there."
Brady stopped the machine on one of the numbers they were looking for as Chloe put her finger on the screen. It was a black and white photo of Albert Miller and Sam Lennox. They were shaking hands at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new wing at the hospital.
"Wow... that's him..." Chloe shook her head sadly, as Brady pushed the button to print out a copy of the article.
Brady looked at the picture closely and turned his head. "I... I uhhh, don't see a resemblance."
Chloe shrugged her shoulders in confusion. "Me either."
Sam Lennox was a man of medium height and was slightly overweight with small beady eyes that gave away what a nasty person he must have been. Even in a black and white picture, Chloe could tell that he was fair skinned, and had been fair haired.
Brady looked at her and grinned. "Well, maybe the Lennox or the Miller family has a recessive gene for tall, dark and beautiful hiding in there somewhere."
Chloe laughed softly. "Well, I certainly don't look like my mother either, do I?"
"Not one bit." Brady smiled at her as he reached for the printout and handed it to her. He began scanning again and stopped on the next article.
"Oh, here we go..." Brady pointed at the screen as he read it out loud. "Good ol' Real Estate section... 'Newport Businessman Lennox Renovates the Marsh House.'"
Chloe lifted her eyes from the printout and looked at the article on the screen. She hit the print button as she read the key parts of the article out loud.
"Uhm... let's see... 'Local entrepeneur Samuel Lennox purchased the vacated home of former Newport mayor, Lawrence Marsh.'" Chloe scanned the article with her index finger, and kept reading. "'The large mansion, built in the 19th century, had been in disarray since Mayor Marsh passed away over 25 years ago.' Oh wait... this is better... 'Lennox plans on pouring most of his time and resources into making the home on Primrose Lane a place for him and his second wife, Beatrice to eventually retire in. Lennox says, "I also want to make sure that my two children and Beatrice's son will be able to enjoy this house for many generations to come.""
"So... you have brothers or sisters?"
Chloe sighed and nodded. "I guess so... but geez, Brady... by the look of things... they're all old enough to be my parents, and not my siblings."
"And, not only was he a perv who preyed on your mother... he was a perv who was married."
"Figures." Chloe sighed deeply.
Chloe turned the knob and they scanned the rest of the articles in silence. The majority of them had to do with his business dealings and nothing else about his personal life. They reached the last article on the list and Brady turned the machine off.
"That's it... guess this guy liked to keep his personal life as private as possible."
Chloe nodded. "Apparently... and there seems to be nothing going on after 1998. That's odd..."
"Not necessarily. He's no spring chicken, Chloe... maybe he just retired and has been keeping it quiet in the big old house..."
Chloe smiled. "... on Primrose Lane."
"Yep... exactly. So, do you think we can find this place?"
Chloe nodded confidently. "Absolutely. Find Primrose Lane, and we'll find it. I printed out the picture and everything. Should be easy."
Brady looked at her with complete seriousness in his eyes and clasped her hand. "But... are you ready to find it?"
Chloe took a deep breath in and sighed. "Yes... I am. I have to be."
He stood up and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, then, let's go."
***
(Day Five)
Chloe sat in the middle of her bed, going through the diaries again as she waited for Brady to finish getting ready. She had started on the third book, which began in Nancy's last month of pregnancy. Chloe felt that she was finally gaining insight into the things that Nancy had gone through. She had never understood how someone could give up their child, but now she knew that Nancy didn't want to give her up. She had no other choice, and she was too weak to stand up to her father or to tell Craig what had happened. Chloe would wager a bet that this was the last time in her life that Nancy had failed to stand up to someone. In fact, Chloe knew that Nancy was a much stronger person now than she used to be and this whole experience probably helped shape her into the person she is today.
Brady stepped out of the hotel bathroom and sat down on the edge of Chloe's bed. She stopped reading and lifted her head to smile at him.
"Hey there...."
"Hey... find something interesting?"
Chloe nodded slightly. "Tons..."
"Those books don't happen to have the full address and phone number of one Samuel Lennox, do they?"
Chloe chuckled softly. "Nope... we'll just have to go about it the old fashioned way."
"And which way is that?"
"I... don't... actually... know...." Chloe grinned and shrugged her shoulders.
Brady looked shocked. "You mean Sherlock Holmes can't figure out the latest mystery this time? Hmmm... I guess finding the exact person you're looking for in the phone book twice in one trip would be like lightning striking in the same place twice. Right?"
Chloe nodded. "Yup.... And, I already tried that while you were in the shower. There are other people named Lennox in Newport, but no Sam, Samuel or 'S' Lennox even."
"Could be his family members or something."
"Or... he could not even live in Newport anymore... I don't know... I'm stuck."
Brady paused thoughtfully for a moment and clasped Chloe's hand as he stood from the bed. "Come on, Chloe... get your stuff. Let's go."
Chloe wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "Go where?"
"I have an idea. Come on."
Chloe sighed in frustration but stood up anyway and grabbed her stuff. Brady grinned at her and led her out the door by the hand.
***
After a quick stop at the hotel check-in desk to ask the clerk for directions, Brady drove to the main public library in Newport. He parked the van in the parking lot and the two of them walked to the front door of the building.
"The library, Brady? Are we here to check if my father has overdue books?"
Brady rolled his eyes and laughed. "Nooooo... The main library usually has all the local newspaper articles on microfilm. We're going to take a look at the history of Sam Lennox."
Chloe nodded with understanding and they walked inside. They found the library's computer station and sat down in front of it. Brady typed in "Sam Lennox", and waited for the next screen to pop up.
"Chloe... write these numbers down..."
Chloe nodded as she grabbed pencil and paper off the desk and began writing down what Brady was reading off the screen. They finished up at the computer and headed over to grab the films that the numbers referred to. They found what they needed right away and sat down at the reader to go through the multitudes of articles on Sam Lennox.
Brady zipped through the back issues of the local paper as Chloe stared at the screen intently.
"Brady, Brady... stop... right there."
Brady stopped the machine on one of the numbers they were looking for as Chloe put her finger on the screen. It was a black and white photo of Albert Miller and Sam Lennox. They were shaking hands at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new wing at the hospital.
"Wow... that's him..." Chloe shook her head sadly, as Brady pushed the button to print out a copy of the article.
Brady looked at the picture closely and turned his head. "I... I uhhh, don't see a resemblance."
Chloe shrugged her shoulders in confusion. "Me either."
Sam Lennox was a man of medium height and was slightly overweight with small beady eyes that gave away what a nasty person he must have been. Even in a black and white picture, Chloe could tell that he was fair skinned, and had been fair haired.
Brady looked at her and grinned. "Well, maybe the Lennox or the Miller family has a recessive gene for tall, dark and beautiful hiding in there somewhere."
Chloe laughed softly. "Well, I certainly don't look like my mother either, do I?"
"Not one bit." Brady smiled at her as he reached for the printout and handed it to her. He began scanning again and stopped on the next article.
"Oh, here we go..." Brady pointed at the screen as he read it out loud. "Good ol' Real Estate section... 'Newport Businessman Lennox Renovates the Marsh House.'"
Chloe lifted her eyes from the printout and looked at the article on the screen. She hit the print button as she read the key parts of the article out loud.
"Uhm... let's see... 'Local entrepeneur Samuel Lennox purchased the vacated home of former Newport mayor, Lawrence Marsh.'" Chloe scanned the article with her index finger, and kept reading. "'The large mansion, built in the 19th century, had been in disarray since Mayor Marsh passed away over 25 years ago.' Oh wait... this is better... 'Lennox plans on pouring most of his time and resources into making the home on Primrose Lane a place for him and his second wife, Beatrice to eventually retire in. Lennox says, "I also want to make sure that my two children and Beatrice's son will be able to enjoy this house for many generations to come.""
"So... you have brothers or sisters?"
Chloe sighed and nodded. "I guess so... but geez, Brady... by the look of things... they're all old enough to be my parents, and not my siblings."
"And, not only was he a perv who preyed on your mother... he was a perv who was married."
"Figures." Chloe sighed deeply.
Chloe turned the knob and they scanned the rest of the articles in silence. The majority of them had to do with his business dealings and nothing else about his personal life. They reached the last article on the list and Brady turned the machine off.
"That's it... guess this guy liked to keep his personal life as private as possible."
Chloe nodded. "Apparently... and there seems to be nothing going on after 1998. That's odd..."
"Not necessarily. He's no spring chicken, Chloe... maybe he just retired and has been keeping it quiet in the big old house..."
Chloe smiled. "... on Primrose Lane."
"Yep... exactly. So, do you think we can find this place?"
Chloe nodded confidently. "Absolutely. Find Primrose Lane, and we'll find it. I printed out the picture and everything. Should be easy."
Brady looked at her with complete seriousness in his eyes and clasped her hand. "But... are you ready to find it?"
Chloe took a deep breath in and sighed. "Yes... I am. I have to be."
He stood up and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, then, let's go."
***