She nodded. “Now tell me, why the interest in the old gated community?”
“You probably know about the cemetery found there just over a year ago.” She nodded, and he continued,
Well, Benny – Mr. Stack – recently found more bones but they’re very small. Probably the size of a very young child.”
“Was this also in the cemetery behind the church?” she asked.
“Nope. He found them when he started turning soil for a strawberry bed. We’re wondering if there might have been another cemetery, perhaps an earlier one. Joe Grant said I should ask you?”
She shook her head. “I’m not aware of another cemetery.”
“Do you know anything about a resident called Earth Mother?” Bertie asked.
Miss Pinkerton looked at her. “What have you heard?”
“Nothing,” Harry said. “Bertie found a reference on the Internet. Joe said if anyone knows more, it’s you.”
She drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “She was my grandfather’s aunt.”
“Would that be your Grandfather Germain’s aunt?” Harry asked.
Miss Pinkerton looked at him. “You remembered.”
He nodded. “A grandfather who vowed to return and haunt the house he had built if it was sold outside the family is not the kind of story you forget very quickly.”
“His parents died when he was very young and he was raised by his father’s older sister. I will tell you what I remember.” And she did, sipping on her coffee between sentences.
“So, she was a healer,” Harry said.
‘To a point, but if someone had a complaint that got worse, or lingered more than a week, she would advise them to seek proper medical advice.”
“That’s quite a story,” Bertie said.
“Was this Earth Mother thing a tradition among those people?” Harry asked.
Miss Pinkerton shook her head. “As far as I know, she was the only one.”
“Then it’s possible she could have been given a special burial site,” Harry said. “But those small bones would not be hers.”
“What I found on the Internet said she had two cats,” Bertie said.
“She loved cats and always had two or three in her little house,” Miss Pinkerton replied. “She probably gave each one a proper burial. My mother said she was a very kind and gentle person.”
“Thank you.” Harry stood up. “This information could be very useful. If it’s okay with you, Bertie can add this to what we already have on the community.”
“Better than that… I have it on the computer. Give me your email address and I will send you all I know about Cassandra and the community.”
Bertie wrote the address on the back of a card and handed it to her. “Thank you.”
“I’ll keep you updated on the developments,” Harry said, as they were leaving.
“I look forward to it,” Miss Pinkerton said.
***************
Professor Jones called around mid-afternoon the next day.. The excavation was well underway when Harry and Bertie arrived on site.
“They must have started early,” Harry said as Jones came to meet them.
