ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:
Cash kissed her cheek. "I don't know. All this has something to do with the house Paige inherited. We're not sure exactly what." He glanced around. "Get your things. You're not staying here." He called the police.

Billy Joe waited until Faye couldn't hear him and then asked, "Do you think that's wise?"

"We've got to find out who's doing this. Maybe they left a clue." Cash bent down and studied the burgundy brick lying on the living room carpet. "I doubt they'll get a fingerprint off this. Its surface is too rough." He glanced at his buddy. "After the police are finished, take Mom to Paige's. I'll get started on the window. It's supposed to rain tonight. Over dinner, we'll finish our fact list."

TODAY'S POST:

When Billy Joe escorted Faye into the library, Paige and Mary Pat were hunched together reading Alice's dairy.

Both women turned and smiled.

"What's going on?" Mary Pat asked her husband.

"Ms. Wilkins' tires were slashed and a brick thrown through the front window." Billy Joe turned toward the door. "He feels she would be safer here and wants her to stay. I need to get back and help Cash."

"Of course." Paige used the crutch to stand. "I have plenty of room. You can choose between a couple of rooms."

"Oh no, I won't be staying." Faye smiled.

"You'd better talk to Cash about that, Ms. Wilkins. It shouldn't take us that long." Billy Joe left the room.

Faye watched him then faced the women. "I guess you're stuck with me for a while."

"We could never be stuck with you. Please sit. We were trying to follow the Bookman family tree using Alice's diary." Paige pointed to the well-worn book. After Paige sat, she held up a brooch. "This was passed down through generations of Bookman brides. We're trying to find out where the practice stopped."

Cash's mom stretched out a finger and touched the diamonds. "I've never seen such a large diamond." She paused. "Those turquoise stones are beautiful."

"We know that Alice Bookman gave it to her daughter-in-law, Ann Wilkins, on the morning of her wedding day, but we can't find a record of it after that." Paige turned a page.

"Did you say Ann Wilkins?" Faye's eyebrows arched.

"That's what she said. We can't find Ann's father's name anywhere." Mary Pat frowned. "But we're still looking. Any ideas?"

"Have you tried looking in the census for that time period? It would be what around 1884 or 5?" Faye smiled.

Paige stood. "Great idea. I'll get my computer."

"How you going to carry it down the stairs with your crutches?" Mary Pat motioned for her friend to sit. "I'll be right back."

"We know James was born September 20th 1863. Let's say he was eighteen when he married." Paige did the math in her head. "We need to look around 1881. I'm assuming Ann's about the same age, but we can look around those years."

"I think the census is taken every ten years, so we could look in the 1880's census or even go back to 1870." Faye watched Nala bring in some glasses.

"Ms. Wilkins, would you like some iced tea?"

"Thank you, Nala. I haven't seen you since your mama passed. How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"Thank you for asking. We're doing fine, but Mammie's sure missed." Nala offered Paige a drink, and as Mary Pat walked into the room, she offered her one. "I'll get some cheese and crackers."

"Nala, Faye'll be joining us for dinner." Paige smiled and took a sip of tea. "It hits the spot. Thank you."

When Mary Pat handed Paige the computer, she turned it on. They waited silently.

"Finally!" Paige released a deep breath. "Should I Google US census?" After Faye nodded, Paige typed.

"We're getting closer to solving part of our mystery." Mary Pat took a slice of cheese that Nala offered. "Join us. This is getting exciting."

Nala joined the ladies.

Paige ran a search for 1840 - 1880 census records and selected the most promising. She continued until she found the 1880's Chatham County, Georgia census. Mary Pat and Faye sat on each side of her. Nala scooted closer.

"Look, here's a James Wilkins who lived in Savannah." Mary Pat pointed to the listing.

"It gives his age, sex, color, and birthplace. He married Ruth Roberts, and her parents lived with them. His occupation is listed as a store owner. By 1880 he had seven children," Faye continued reading, "Ann is one of the children and is listed as sixteen years old. He's 51 years old and was born in England."

"He had four boys: Robert, Paul, John, and Timothy. Do any of those names sound familiar?" Paige asked Faye.

"Timothy's a Wilkins family name that has been passed down at least three or four generations. Cash has an uncle named Timothy."

"We know Alice gave Ann the brooch, but we don't know what happened to it after Ann." Paige scrolled to find Bradley Bookman.

"We know he died in 1863. We won't find him in an 1880's census." Mary Pat took a sip of tea. "Try looking up Alice. We haven't seen anything that says she remarried."

The women followed the census in 1890.

Paige giggled. "It's like we are spying on them. It's fun finding out how old Isaiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, and Abigail were in 1890. Alice never lists their birthdays. Let's go to the 1900 census and see if we can find out who Isaiah married. The brooch should have been passed down to her."

When the 1900 census listed Ann as deceased, tears entered Paige's eyes. "I wonder what happened."