The Curse of Dr. Zola
Chapter 23
By weeks' end Tony had made as many notations as he could on his laptop and gave a report on what he'd found to his hosts.
"If there is some element in there, it isn't on the Periodic Table. I have no clue as to what powers that thing. It's completely alien."
"When I was back in the war, Howard examined a submarine powered by something totally foreign. It was a getaway vehicle for a HYDRA agent. Howard couldn't figure it out. And Schmidt's plane was powered or partially powered by some blue cube. After we fought it got knocked out of the console and it disintegrated Schmidt into thin air. It burned holes in the plane and fell into the ocean just before I scuttled the plane into the water."
"I'll go thru more of my father's things when I get back. A lot of his notes were confiscated by the Army, but there are still a few things left."
"What about Mary's necklace?"
Tony picked it up from the table, no glow. Pepper picked it up, nothing. Mary picked it up, no reaction.
Bucky picked it up and got the same negative results. The same with Steve.
"Mary, have you handed it to Bucky?"
Mary shook her head. "Here goes nothing." She picked it up and when Bucky's fingers touched the stone it began to glow.
"Try someone else." Steve directed her.
Nothing happened with Pepper or Tony. Steve put his fingers on the stone, and nothing happened! "Huh!"
Bucky tried again and it glowed. "What the hell…" He stared at it.
Bucky took it and Steve touched it, and a glow started.
"What's the common denominator here?" Steve asked.
Bucky let Tony and Pepper try but nothing happened. "It seems it is sensitive only to Mary and Bucky."
"But nothing happened when you and I had it Steve. If that were the case shouldn't it work for either of us and someone else?"
"She has a point." Tony agreed. "It only works in combination with certain people."
"When it glowed for my mother, no one else was touching it."
"Ok, there goes that theory." Tony stared at the necklace. "I got nothing."
Tony finished up reporting what he had learned from examining the blue generator, which wasn't much, but at least they had a start.
Tony and Pepper packed up and went home. He promised he'd keep in regular contact, whether he had learned anything new or not.
Steve suggested that they try and trace the history of the necklace and Mary's family journey from Germany.
Then Bucky threw in a twist. He revealed that Mary's grandmother was from the US, or at least she claimed to be.
Mary couldn't believe it. She'd always thought she was from Germany!
"Your grandmother had a perfect New York accent; in fact, it would be my guess that she was from New York City."
Steve stayed for the summer, enjoying the solitude of the basement room and it gave Mary and Bucky more privacy. While he wasn't certain he agreed with their arrangement of living together, he saw how happy they both were and let it go. He understood why they couldn't get married; at least until they figured out a way to officially bring Bucky into the modern world.
Bucky got two thumbs up from Steve when he donned his Winter Soldier outfit for the first time. Steve was impressed, and they tested out working together locally on a horrific collision involving a tractor trailer.
Steve did a double-take when the Wicked Witch showed up flying on her broom. Bucky chuckled.
As usual, she hung back, and let Bucky do the real work, while she kept a vigil.
Back at home later, Bucky explained how Mary wanted in on the escapades, but was uncertain about how to help. She came up with the idea of the Wicked Witch from Oz, and showed Steve her gifts.
"My mother also had a gift. She didn't show it too much when I was around, but I knew about it. Mine manifested itself about the time I was 14. It was during an especially emotional time for me. I was heart-broken over a crush and it finally showed itself. My mother and I had different gifts, and I am inclined to believe my grandmother also had a gift."
"What was your mothers' gift?'
"She had the power of persuasion. I don't mean like a salesman. She could get anybody to cave on any issue. I believe, from what her attorney told me, she used it to acquire all or most of her wealth. She used it on me when I was little, but when I acquired my own gifts, she trained me to use mine and help keep it under wraps. Her gift never worked on me after that. It was over a year before I showed Bucky."
"So, you can move things with your mind, and influence people?"
"Yes, moving things around is easy, the influence side not as much. My mother was stronger in that, but she couldn't move things."
"How old was your mother when her abilities surfaced?"
"I'm not sure. It seems they emerge under extreme emotional or physical stress, at least for me."
"Uh, living in Germany during the war would certainly have caused that." Bucky said.
"But that would have made her only 4 years old at most. How could a 4 year old deal with that?"
Bucky shrugged.
"OK, well, we've established that much. Let's concentrate on facts, rather than suppositions. Mary, do you think you could find the house you lived in, in Orangeburg?"
"I don't know but we could try."
"Good enough. Maybe there's something in the local newspaper, an article or something, about the accident."
"The library might have old newspapers on microfilm."
"That's a good idea."
The next day they drove to Orangeburg to start their investigation.
Bucky's mouth hung open and he was unusually quiet.
"What is it Buck?" Steve asked with concern.
"This whole area was Last Stop, USA. Camp Shanks was where I was sent to await transport over to Europe. I was only here a few days before we got shipped out. We got woken up in the middle of the night and we had to march with all our gear to the river where a boat was waiting to take us all overseas. That was not a particularly happy trip either. A lot of us got seasick and we were crammed into a space that was way too small. Meals were horrible too, but you ate it because you were so hungry. Your grandmother fed me better."
"I guess they took what supplies they could with whatever space they had to work with." Mary offered.
"Canned spam was not the most satisfying meal. Your grandmother had Yankee pot roast, spaghetti and meatballs, steak…"
"You had steak?" Steve cried. "I didn't get steak!"
"She claimed it was USDA choice American beef. Oh my God, Steve, it was so good!"
Mary stifled a laugh as she pulled into the library parking lot. "Mama told me her mom was a great cook. I don't remember tho. Here's the library…oh look!" She pointed to the sign. "There's the museum for Camp Shanks!"
"Really?" Bucky jumped out before Mary turned the ignition off, and ran over to a tall sign. Steve and Mary followed.
"I remember this, Steve! I was here!"
They soon discovered the museum was closed for the season. The disappointed look on Bucky's face made Mary feel sad. She rubbed his back soothingly. "We'll come back in the spring, I promise."
Bucky just nodded. He felt like another piece of his past was yanked out from under his feet. He never thought coming here would be so emotional for him. He thought about all the guys he was shipped out with as they walked to the front door of the library. How many didn't come back?
Mary explained to the woman at the front desk about what she was interested in and she led them to a machine where they could view old newspapers. Since Mary didn't have a clue of the date of her mother's funeral they had to look thru all of the obits for 1974.
"What was your grandmother's name, Mary?" Steve asked innocently.
Mary blanked out for a moment. A strange expression then crossed her face. "Her name was Mary Engel." Mary shivered as some thought came to her.
"What is it, Mary?" Bucky got concerned.
Tears began falling. "Don't you think it odd that I'm named after her and here you are?" She threw her arms around Bucky. "I can't imagine my life without you."
Even Steve couldn't stop the catch in his breath at the emotional coincidence. He got up and asked the front desk if they had any tissues. When he returned, he handed one to both Mary and Bucky. The third one he discreetly kept for himself.
When Mary had wiped all the traces of tears away, they divided up the work and began their arduous task. Strangely enough, it was Bucky who scored. "I got it!" He cried. He found the obit for Mary's grandmother.
Mary Engel, 74, died November 19, 1974. Born in Manhattan November 19, 1900, she was a long-time resident in Orangeburg, New York. She died at home from apparent natural causes. She was pre-deceased by her parents and husband, and survived by a daughter, son in law, and one grand-daughter, named after her. She attended Manhattan College and earned her degree in Education, and then went on to Brooklyn College for an under-graduate degree in performing arts. She taught school for a number of years locally and started the first PTA in the county. She also volunteered tutoring to the soldiers going to college after WWII and spent countless hours conducting free classes at Shanks Village. A graveside service will be held on Friday, November 22, at Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill.
Mary started crying again. "I never knew this."
"Your family has quite a history entwined with Camp Shanks too." Steve noted. "Now that we have the date, we should be able to go right to that day and see if there was any accident report.
Bucky cued up November 22, and they started scanning the pages. When they got to the local section, Steve spotted it.
Orangeburg police have issued a request for help by the public for any witnesses to an accident that happened at the corner of Route 303 and King's Highway earlier today. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey, of Orangeburg were the victims of a hit and run. The car fleeing the scene was a dark colored late model sedan, possibly a Buick LeSabre. One report has the hit and run may have been intentional, as a witness reported that the car never slowed down. The driver was alleged to be a red-haired woman. As Mr. James Thomas Bailey died on impact, a murder investigation follows. Mrs. Bailey was badly injured and taken to Nyack Hospital where she remains in critical, but stable condition. Their 4 year old child, Mary, was miraculously uninjured in the accident and is being taken care of by relatives. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey had just attended the funeral of Mrs. Bailey's mother earlier in the day. Any information will be kept confidential. Please call this number if you were a witness or have any information to share. 555-1111
"Damn." Bucky sat back in his chair.
"Your father's name was James?" Steve said.
"I'd forgotten that too. No wonder I kept calling you James instead of Bucky. Somewhere in the back of my head, there had been a reason. Mama never called him James tho. She called him JT."
"So, your last name is Bailey?" Steve asked.
"Mama re-married, and I was 'adopted', so our last names became Logan. But he died of a heart attack less than a year later, and we moved again."
"The article doesn't mention your mother's first name…" Steve pointed out.
"It was Wilhelmina, but everyone called her Willa."
They searched for any follow up reports, but there were none. Mary made print copies of the accident article, and both her grandmothers' obit and her father's.
Mary went to the front desk to pay for the copies and thank them for helping her out. There was a different woman attending the desk. "That'll be thirty cents."
Mary pulled out a dollar.
As the woman made change, she noticed the name on the obit. "Someone related to you?" She put the coins into Mary's hand.
"My grandmother."
"Really? That's strange."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you're the second party we've had this week pulling that obit up."
Steve and Bucky looked at her. "Who was here?"
"I don't know her name, but I remember distinctly that she had the reddest hair I've ever seen."
Mary went cold. Steve and Bucky exchanged glances and ushered Mary out of the library.
Once in the truck, Steve pushed Mary inside, and he took the drivers' seat.
"I don't like this." Steve told Bucky.
"Neither do I." Bucky shot back.
In the middle, Mary was silent.
"Where are we going next?" Steve asked Mary. She didn't reply, just stared straight out the windshield.
"Mary, are you okay?" Bucky maneuvered his body towards her.
"Huh?"
"Steve asked where we are going next."
Mary took a deep breath. "The police department."
"How do I get there?" He buckled himself in and turned the ignition.
She gave him directions and they arrived within 7 minutes.
Mary asked at the desk about any police reports regarding an old accident from 1974.
"That would be down in the old archives in the basement if we still have it. May I ask your interest?"
"My father was killed in the accident. I was in the car along with my mother. I was wondering if the person was ever caught."
"I wouldn't know, but you can check with the officer at the desk downstairs. I just need to see your ID."
Mary took it out and the policeman made a copy of it. She looked at Bucky and Steve.
Steve saved the day. "We'll wait for you up here, no need for us to overwhelm them downstairs." They took a seat while Mary disappeared around the corner.
Mary repeated her request.
The old guy at the window looked like he'd seen better days…many years ago. "Let me go look for it." He toddled off, and came back with a dusty old box. "If we have it, it should be in here. We didn't have too many murders back then. This was a peaceful quiet town then." He fingered thru some files. "Ah, here it is. So, why are you looking into this?"
"I was in the car. I was the little girl."
"You don't say!" He handed the manila folder to her.
She flipped thru it. There wasn't much. "Did they ever have any clues as to who was driving the other car?"
"The case went cold soon after; just weren't enough evidence. They found the car ditched not too far away. It had been stolen that very same day."
"Do they know who the car belonged to at least?"
He looked for another file, and pulled it out. "Should be in….here." When he opened the file it was empty. "Where did those papers go?" He looked thru the box again. "Must have been misplaced. They check them out every so often. Someone gets bored, comes down here looks thru the cold case files for something to do, and mis-file it when return it. Sorry, miss."
Mary handed the file back. "You'd have a record if someone checked the file out, wouldn't you?"
"Sure would."
"Has anyone checked it out or asked about the accident in recent days?"
He looked at the logbook. "Nope."
"Well, thank you." Mary turned to leave.
"You know I retired some years ago, but I got bored and took on this job. Once a cop, always a cop, you know. Anyway, I was a rookie back then. My partner died years ago, heart attack I think it was, anyhow, I remember that case. We were the first ones on the scene. What a mess; fouled up traffic for hours. Something always bugged me about that case, never could put a finger to it tho, but I had my theory."
"And what was your theory?"
"That it was no accident. The Collins family…" He pointed to his name badge. "…have been coppers since the early days, when New York was Irish, so you get hunches; nothing that I could find to prove it tho, so they filed it away and moved on to solvable cases. It just felt too coordinated. Where the car was found abandoned, there was a second set of tire tracks. Like there had been a car waiting, but nothing came of it, people pulled over there all the time, make U-turns…if it wasn't for that damn drizzle we might have gotten a clear picture of the tread, but it was just too muddy." He looked at her for a moment. "I remember pulling you out of the back. It was a miracle you were alive. How you ended up on the floor, I'll never know."
Mary sniffled. "I dropped my teddy bear."
"Dear Lord!" He ran off unexpectedly, and came back just as quick. "You mean this one?"
Mary clapped her hand over her mouth. "My teddy!"
"They carted you and your mother off so quick, I didn't get a chance to get it back to you. Take it with you now."
"Oh my goodness! Thank you."
Mary was crying by the time she got upstairs. She collected the boys and they went outside.
"It is amazing that he'd kept it all these years."
Steve again insisted he drive, and after they got on the road, Mary told them the officers' theory. They were both quiet as they contemplated this news.