Oscar leaned close to Liam and held his hand. “I like mischief, too,” he whispered.
Liam smiled. “Well, maybe you and I can find some mischief of our own later,” he whispered back.
Oscar grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Promise?”
“Promise,” Liam replied, giving Oscar’s hand a gentle squeeze.
Chloe’s heart squeezed tight when she saw the complete trust on Oscar’s face. “You two are up to something, aren’t you?”
“Who, us?” Liam feigned innocence, and Oscar giggled.
Chloe opened one of the heavy wooden doors. “Well, before you do anything, come inside. It’s cold out here.” The familiar scent of old wood and history enveloped Chloe as she walked inside. “I love old buildings. If this one could talk, it’d have so many interesting stories to share.”
Liam looked around the room. “I’m hoping the building has lots to say about Eleanor and the Prohibition.”
Chloe sighed. “So do I. Did Pastor John say if any areas are off limits?”
Liam shook his head. “The construction crews have finished for the day, so we can wander through the entire building. The only issue is the county’s health and safety rules. We can’t be here on our own, so Richard, a foreman on the tiny home project, said he’d show us around.”
Just then, a man emerged from a side door, wiping his hands on a rag. He was tall and solidly built, with short brown hair and a friendly smile.
When he reached Chloe, she grinned and gave him a quick hug. Richard was married to Paris, the owner of the flower shopat the end of Anchor Lane. During the summer, they’d had many barbecues together.
“Hi, Richard. It’s good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” He returned her smile and ruffled Oscar’s hair. “How’s my dinosaur expert doing?”
“I’m good. I got a book out of the library yesterday and guess what?”
Richard’s smile widened. “What?”
“The Tyrannosaurus rex had teeth as big as bananas! It needed its ginormous teeth to catch its food.”
“I didn’t know that,” Richard replied. “I’ll have to read more books on dinosaurs.”
“You could read some of mine. I’ve got lots.”
“I’d like that,” Richard told him. “Next time Jack comes to play with you, we’ll choose a book.” With Oscar happily thinking about dinosaurs, Richard turned his attention to Liam. “Hi, I’m Richard. I’m assuming you’re Liam?”
“That’s me,” he confirmed, shaking Richard’s hand.
“Pastor John said you’re looking for a room in a drawing?”
Chloe took the copy of the sketch out of her bag and handed it to Richard. “We’re trying to find this room. We’ve already seen the storage rooms and we don’t think it’s there, but it could be somewhere else in the building.”
Richard studied the sheet of paper. “It definitely looks like the old steamboat museum, especially with those beams. It’s not the entrance, so that’s out. We’ll could look in the next room, although I don’t think it’s that one either.”
They walked into the large open hall, comparing the sketch to their surroundings.
Liam frowned. “Apart from the red-brick walls, I don’t see anything that matches what’s in the drawing.”
Chloe held the sheet of paper in front of her and slowly turned around. Liam was right. The high ceiling and exposedbeams matched, but the layout didn’t quite fit. “Maybe some renovations changed the interior. Or perhaps we’re in the wrong part of the building.”
Richard ran his hand along his jaw. “The main construction area is too big for what you’re looking for, but there’s another room beside it. The volunteers use it to sew curtains for the tiny homes. Let’s look in there.”
He led them through another set of doors and along the side of a cavernous room. Filled with seven tiny homes in various stages of completion, it was a light, bright, and cold room.
Chloe pulled her jacket closer. “How does everyone keep warm in here?”
