“We have a large furnace,” Richard explained. “It keeps everyone warm and dries the plaster and paint on each house. Working inside means we can triple the number of homes we’re building.”
Liam looked around the construction area. “Where are these homes going?”
Richard slowed to a stop and pointed at the closest homes. “Those three are going to Bigfork. The ones behind them are going to Somers. We’ve sent our tiny homes as far west as Moses Lake in Washington, and as far east as Chinook. After Christmas, we’re starting a contract that’ll supply twenty tiny homes to a community in Cranbrook, north of the Kootenai National Forest.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. She hadn’t realized the homes were so popular. “And all this started from an idea Pastor John had?”
Richard nodded. “He heard about a similar project in Bozeman and decided it could help our community. We’re providing accommodation for people who can’t find anywhere to live and employing fifteen people. On top of that, another twenty volunteers give us their time and expertise each week. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Richard looked down at Oscar. “What do you think of this room, Oscar? Do you think a Tyrannosaurus rex would fit in here?”
Oscar looked around the room and nodded. “A bunch of dinosaurs could live here. But they’d need trees and water, and lots of other stuff.”
Chloe smiled at the rapt expression on Oscar’s face. He was probably imagining a forest full of dinosaurs living in the enormous room. “When we get home, you could draw a picture of what this would look like with dinosaurs in it.”
“That sounds like a great idea to me.” Richard smiled at Oscar, then kept moving. “The room I want to show you isn’t far away.”
He led them through a doorway and into a smaller room. After looking at the walls and ceiling, they all agreed it wasn’t the right place.
Richard studied the drawing again. “It kind of looks like my workshop, but not quite. Come with me.”
He took them down a corridor and into another room.
Liam looked at the high ceilings. “Do you ever get lost? It’s like a rabbit’s warren in here.”
Richard smiled. “I don’t usually come this way when I’m heading to my workshop. This part of the building has its own entrance.”
Chloe studied the half-finished pieces of furniture and the tools that were neatly organized around the room. Sunlight shone through the tall windows, giving the workshop a warm and welcoming feel. “This is a lovely place to work.”
“I’m lucky to be able to use this part of the building. It’s where I do most of my work,” Richard explained. “But the room we’re looking for is just beyond here.”
They followed him to a large wooden door at the back of the workshop. Richard pushed it open, revealing a storage room filled with more pieces of furniture.
Chloe’s heart quickened as she looked around. The exposed brick walls, the beams, and the arched windows were a better match with Eleanor’s sketch.
Richard stood in the middle of the room. “If my customers order more than one piece, I store the furniture in here until I’ve finished their entire order. That way, I can send everything to them in one delivery.” Richard walked across to one of the windows. “Did you notice the fancy scrollwork around the window frames in the drawing? As far as I know, this is the only room in the building that has windows like that.”
Chloe studied the window behind Richard. If he hadn’t mentioned the shape of the window frame, she never would’ve noticed it. Holding up the sketch, she compared Eleanor’s drawing to the actual window. “This is it,” she whispered. “We’re standing in the same room where the meeting must have been held.”
Liam looked over Chloe’s shoulder at the drawing, then let his gaze roam around the room. “It definitely looks like the same room.” He walked over to the far wall, examining the area above the window. “The beams line up perfectly with what’s in the sketch.”
Richard joined them as they worked out where each piece of furniture in the drawing would have sat. “It’d be amazing if we could find the still.”
Chloe looked down at the drawing. “If I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing during the Prohibition, I’d make sure no one could find the still.”
Richard nodded. “That’s true. I wonder if Percy’s found anything that could tell us where it went. Has he seen Eleanor’s drawing?”
Liam nodded. “He was the one who found it. I’ll call him tomorrow. If the still or any of the furniture is in Sapphire Bay, he might know where it’s gone.”
Oscar walked toward them, his eyes taking in every detail. “What’s that, Mom?” he asked, pointing to a spot on the wall where the bricks seemed uneven.
Chloe kneeled and studied the wall. Some of the mortar had fallen away, leaving a jagged edge around the bricks. But it wasn’t the mortar Oscar was pointing to. Wedged between two bricks was a small brass catch.
Richard kneeled on the other side of Oscar and looked at the catch. “I’ve never noticed that before.”
Chloe frowned. “In the sketch, the still is right here. Maybe the catch was used to tie a piece of rope or wire from the wall to the still. It might’ve stopped it from falling over.”
Richard pulled the catch toward him and a few pieces of mortar fell from the wall. “I don’t know whether or not that’s a good thing.”
