Harry stopped to get coffee and donuts on the way to Joe’s little trailer down near the waterfront. He rapped on the door and went inside when Joe yelled out “Yo, Hogan!”
“You saw me drive up,” Harry said as he went in and closed the door behind him.
Joe nodded and frowned as he noticed Harry’s empty hands. “Thought I smelled donuts.”
Harry laughed. “They’re in the truck. I need to talk to you and Silas.”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you both when we get there.”
“Confab time, is it?” Joe pushed his feet into his boots and grabbed his jacket. “Does he know?”
Harry nodded as he pulled the truck back onto the street. “He’s expecting us.”
“What’s for lunch?”
Harry laughed. “I don’t know if it will take that long, but I’m sure you can stay as long as you want.”
Joe folded his arms and said no more until they were seated around Silas’s kitchen table. Then he looked at Hogan. “Talk.”
Harry and Silas both shook their heads. Joe never wasted time on anything.
“Are you familiar with that old gothic-style house just outside town?” Harry asked.
“That big old mansion?” Silas asked.
“Jackson place,” Joe said.
Harry grinned. “What do you know about it?”
“I heard stories when I was a boy,” Silas said. “He built it himself, with help from some locally hired carpenters and labourers.”
Joe nodded. “World traveller… always traipsing off somewhere.”
“Apparently, he started travelling when he was in his early twenties and had seen just about every part of the world,” Silas said.
“Smart, too…” Joe said, “lots of money.”
“They said he planned to retire there after a few more years of travel,” Silas added.
“Yep… at fifty,” Joe said.
“Did he ever live in the house?” Harry asked. They shook their heads.
“Not sure,” Joe said. “Never heard anything.”
“Was he married? Did he have any family?” Harry asked.
“I never heard anything about a wife or family members,” Silas said. “From what I heard, travelling was his life and that was it.”
“Intended to write all about it,” Joe said.
“That’s right,” Silas agreed. “He planned to write his life story after he retired, about the places he had been, things he had done and seen.”
“And Adam,” Joe said.
Silas nodded. “Right. His African servant. I forgot about him.”
“Anything else?” Harry prompted. They shook their heads. “Thank you, guys. This will give Mr. Pardy some background about the previous owner of his house. I appreciate your help.”
Silas jumped up from the table. “You can’t leave yet. I have moose stew for lunch and there’s more than enough to feed you two.”
“I’ll stay,” Joe said, grinning.
“Okay,” Harry said. “I’ll keep you company. We can have the donuts for dessert. There’s only one missing.”
They both looked at Joe, who grinned. “Guilty,” he said and they all laughed.
Back at the office, Harry told Bertie what he had learned from Silas and Joe. She had found a brief article about Jackson, who apparently had failed to return from a trek in some jungle.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
