A Ghost of Brother Johnathan's (14 page)

After I got back to my room, I showered and got ready for bed. Before turning down the covers I called Sam and explained how the day had gone.

I told him that in my initial call to Seamus and Connor that I had cut a deal for him. They would hire Sam to write a book about the story. Sam was thrilled by the opportunity and for knowing where to go next in his quest for KGC hidden treasure. He said that by the time he spoke with Seamus and Connor, a little later in the week, he will have broken the news about additional sites of hidden treasure. To listen to Sam tell it, by the end of the week, newspapers and TV channels across the nation will be reporting breaking news about hidden caches of KGC gold found in outlying areas and communities near the cemeteries that had the graves of the three men buried in their ground.

I reminded Sam of the warning he had given me. Be careful, the KGC might still be active. He laughed it off. I didn’t.

Then I called Marta. She was completely agreeable to leaving without me. She was looking forward to leaving, as planned, later in the week. I did not mention to her what Frank had suggested.

Finally, I called Luke and summarized, as best I could, the happenings of today’s events. I could tell he felt left out, but I assured him that Sam would be getting in contact with him to get Luke’s view point and part of the story. Luke seemed content with this opportunity.

Before saying good-bye, I asked Luke, “Did you ever get a lead on that note that was left on my hotel room door?”

“Yes and no,” replied Luke. “Remember the business card Marta let me have, the card she said was from the antiques dealer who never showed?”

“Yeah, what about it?” I asked.
“There was a phone number handwritten on the back and the writing, even the pen ink, matches the note that was on your door. Shannon, don’t get alarmed by this, okay. I had the phone number traced and turns out it was a burner phone. No way to find out the owner’s identity.”
“A burner cell phone? You mean, like the phones bought at store counters and loaded with calling time by use of a prepaid phone card?”
“Yeah, exactly. No ID required to get one of those phones. No way to ever find out who bought it.”
“That’s creepy. I’m glad I’m getting out of here and will be home by this time tomorrow.”
“I hate to see you go, don’t mind saying that. Maybe our paths will cross again.”
“Perhaps so, goodnight Luke.”
Luke’s revelation made me antsy. Had I been watched from the get-go? If so, then by now, whoever was watching me knew I wasn’t the only person involved. And in fact, now that the mystery was out of my hands, surely I was not of interest. Allowing that thought to ease my mind, I went to sleep.
I awoke the next morning eager to get home. I dressed quickly. Made a quick call to the hotel lobby desk, asked them to prepare my tab and then I packed.
On my stop at the hotel desk to settle my bill I thanked the manager. I handed him a few gratuity envelopes for the staff. One for him, one for housekeeping and one for room service. He was gracious. Then, to my surprise, he handed me a small box.
“This was delivered yesterday when you were out. I was about to call your room, then you called here, first.”
“Oh, thank you.” I glanced at the box, and noticed that there was small envelope tucked underneath the white ribbon. I shook it lightly and guessed that it was chocolates, but from whom? No time to open it, and what with my hands full, I stuffed the box into my tote and took off.
It wasn’t until I had checked in my rental car, went through airport security and was waiting at the gate for my flight that I remembered the small box. Luckily it was still in my carry-on tote and not in my check-in luggage. I had twenty minutes to spare before boarding time, so I took out the box.
The front of the box simply said
Miss Delaney
. The script was not familiar to me and at that time, I thought nothing of it. Eureka had many specialty shops and I remember seeing a chocolate shop in the neighborhood, so, I guessed that my name had been written by a store clerk who was askd to fill an order. I opened the envelope and extracted a folded card. When I opened the card, wow, did I get a surprise! The typed message read:

Below this sentence was an embossed monogram of a gold circle with the single initial of K at its center.
Chills sprinted up my spine. My hands trembled as I lifted the lid of the box and unwrapped the neatly folded tissue paper to reveal one perfectly gleaming 1865 S Double Eagle gold coin.
Confounded, I sat there under the realization that I had been watched. I remember having taken a cell phone photo of the note left on my hotel door. I took out my phone, brought up the photo and compared it to the envelope’s front. I was one hundred percent certain the note and the envelope matched. Was I still being watched? Had I been followed, here to the airport? I looked around. No person seemed out of place. But how could I be sure?
My flight boarding group number was called. I stood up, got in line to board. Once in my seat and in the air, I reclined my seat and closed my eyes. I was going home and I knew it would be a cold day in hell before I would allow any person or organization to intimidate me from doing what I do best. I’m Shannon Delaney. I write business profiles, corporate histories and press releases. I speak to the dead and I solve cold case crimes with the help of a few friends, and some of them just so happen to be ghosts.
Good-bye Eureka. Hello San Diego.
The End

Before I divulge the trivia and historical tidbits relative to writing
A Ghost of Brother Jonathan’s
, I have a few crucial acknowledgements:

Thank you to Arline Chase and Shelley Rodgerson Chase at Write Words, Inc., publisher of my Shannon Delaney paranormal mystery novels. Arline and Shelley are the nuts, bolts and brains of the publishing business at Write Words, Inc. I could not hope for, or want to work with, a finer pair of industry experts.

Much gratitude to the pre-publication blurb writers who obliged a short deadline. Listed in alphabetical order:

Debbie Ballard, Owner of Phenomena (http:// phenomena.vpweb.com) and journalist as National Psychic Examiner. www.examiner.com/psychic-innational/debbie-ballard.

Jessie Hedge, Cofounder of Ghost Hunters United. www.GhostHuntersUnited.com.
Scott Wise, Cofounder and Lead Investigator of GASP
– Ghost And Spirit Paranormal:
http://gasparanormal.ucoz.net.
The book’s front cover art is made possible through the photography talent of my husband Christopher. The photo of Brother Jonathan is of an actual clown figure in my personal collection. After the photo is processed, I size it, tweak the colors and contrast, and add a few special effects, title and description. Next, I send the front cover to my publisher, and it is through the publisher that the entire book jacket (front, spine and back) is created and readied for publication.

Northern California cities of Crescent City, Eureka and Ferndale are the setting for this novel. Each of these cities has a remarkable and unique legacy in the history of California. Crescent City is most closely associated with the shipwreck of the
Brother Jonathan
(this was a real shipwreck). Eureka has a fascinating array of Victorian architecture and a diverse background of industries and commerce. Ferndale really does have a cemetery that attracts visitors from around the world. In researching the history and cultural aspects of these three towns, initially, I turned to the Internet site of City Data at www.city-data.com. An important aspect to all of my novels is that the history in the cold case that Shannon seeks to solve is authentic to the cultural history of the main setting. Hence, the prominence of German names and cultural history in
A Ghost of Brother Jonathan’s
. Historically, Eureka’s prominent ancestry is German, followed by Irish, English and Italian. In Crescent City, the prominent ancestry is German followed by English, Irish and Scottish.

Additionally, I use the City-Data site to determine what the weather will be like when Shannon is there. I find this especially useful, because I rarely have the opportunity to visit the location of the story during the season the story takes place.

During her visit to Eureka, Shannon lodged at the Hotel Carter in the historic district. This is a real hotel and Shannon’s room, 201, is available for booking. Take a peek at this hotel, part of the Carter House Inns, at: http://carterhouse.com

Bushmills Irish Whiskey is the real deal; it has been a product of Ireland since 1608. People often ask me what I have in common with Shannon Delaney (other than Irish ancestry and deep Southern roots in the U.S.) and truthfully here it is: I used to write business brochures and corporate histories, which is Shannon’s occupation as writer. Also, my drink of choice is Bushmills, one shot to one cup of very strong black coffee, no sugar, no cream, no spice.

The characters of Seamus O’Kelley and his father Connor were introduced in the Shannon Delaney novel:
A Ghost at Stallion’s Gate
. Seamus is Irish for
James
and the name is pronounced as
Shay-mus.

The shipwreck of the
Brother Jonathan
is true, as represented in this novel. There are numerous, (too many to count) research archives in regard to the
Brother Jonathan
, and many of the sites that are easily found on the Internet are not founded in factual documentation. If you are curious enough to look for the
Brother Jonathan
on the Internet, I suggest you start at the official California State Government web site home page for
Brother Jonathan
:
http://shipwrecks.slc.ca.gov/ .
Additional information at these two sites: Crescent City, www.crescentcity.org or
Del Norte County, www.exploredelnorte.com .

Eureka’s Victorian architecture is the pride of the town. I used various Internet sources to research the architecture, however, I kept returning to a single source to get a thorough, precise overview: a hardbound book published by the Eureka Heritage Society, Inc.:
Eureka, An Architectural View
.

For lunch with Marta and Ozzy, Shannon ordered a Monte Cristo Sandwich, a rare menu offering, indeed. Bennigan’s restaurant chain serves a classic Monte Cristo and ever so often, family-owned cafes have their own version. Typically, the sandwich is deep-fried. However, there is also a pan-fried version, both preparation methods are classics. Search the Internet you’ll find dozens of recipes for this must-have Sunday brunch sandwich.

Marta’s explanation regarding the use of the name/ phrase Brother Jonathan is true. Simply stated, Brother Jonathan predates Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty.

The use of “midget” is not polite and is not politically correct. According to the Little People of America organization, the correct description is “proportionate dwarf.” Do what Shannon did and get on the Internet to learn more about “Little People” at the official web site of Little People of America: www.lpaonline.org

Shannon’s personal spirit guide, the ghost of Eric Blackthorne, makes an appearance in this story (Eric makes an appearance in every novel). Other than Shannon, as the main character, the ghost of Eric Blackthorne is the next most important character in the series. It is with deliberate intention that I keep an aura of mystery about him and it is because of the ghost of Eric Blackthorne that this series is paranormal.

In the 1800s, gamblers used blue lens eyeglasses for the purpose described by Eric. The ruse became so popular that saloonists required a gambler to remove his spectacles before sitting down at a card table. The Internet site of Frontier Gamblers has an excellent overview about the curious blue lens eyeglasses:

http://frontiergamblers.com/page49.php .
Chapter 6

Lily Dale, New York and the Spiritualist Movement is the stuff that movies and TV shows are made of. See for yourself at the official Lily Dale site:

www.lilydaleassembly.com .
“Pop Goes The Weasel!” has a fascinating history. Chances are if you grew up in the United States, you did not learn the true and correct words to the song. Find out the authentic European history about the song at the U. site of The Phrase Finder:

Hurricane Kate’s is a real restaurant in Eureka. A few word-of-mouth reports say this restaurant recently closed. Yet, as of this writing the cafe’s web site is up and running:

Knights of the Golden Circle, also known as the KGC, is part of American history, and it is exceptionally controversial in fact and folklore. Based on my own Southern heritage, I believe without a doubt that canning “jelly” jars were used by the KGC to hide coins. Dozens of sources on bookshelves and on the Internet have facts and fiction about the KGC. To get a truthful start on learning about the KGC. I suggest reading the overview presented by the State of Texas on their official Texas State Historical Association web site:

The Celtic blessing Shannon uses to prepare for the EVP session is authentic and it is as old as the Celtic culture.

The EVPs heard in this chapter’s EVP session are variations of EVPs captured by paranormal investigator Scott Wise and the team of Ghost And Spirit Paranormal “GASP.” It is with Scott’s permission that I used EVPs from GASP’s case files permission that I used EVPs from GASP’s case files 08-07-01, Prudhommes, Pennsylvania.

The recipe book used in this story is real, I have an original hardbound edition in my personal library. You can read it for free on the Internet via Google Books: www.Google.com, from the menu along the top, choose “More” and a drop-down list appears, from this list, choose “Books.” Once the “Books” page comes up, you’ll see a topic search box, type this phrase:

Curious about Gordon Lightfoot’s song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?” From a legal copyright angle, the song is too contemporary for me to quote lyrics from in the course of this story. The lyrics alone, do not convey the spirit of the song. I’ve listened to the original version of this song, sung by Lightfoot, on YouTube.

Previously, I’ve mentioned the web site of Find a Grave in my Shannon Delaney novels, and in my nonfiction reference book,
Ghost Hunters Research Guide to Free Internet Sources
(Charles River Press, LLC, 2011). It is a free site at:

Mason jars are the brainchild invention of John Landis Mason. There are dozens of Internet sites that have varying degrees of information about the jars. For a short, precise overview, I suggest the site at Canning Pantry:

www.canningpantry.com/mason-jar-history.html
Chapter 25
Throughout this story I have spelled
trade card
as two words, instead of a singular compound word:
tradecard
. My decision to do so is based on research, where in the category of paper antiques (ephemera), the category heading is most often spelled as two words: Trade Cards. See for yourself what trade cards look like at the Internet site of Old Postcards. From the front page, menu list on the left, scroll down to “Trade Cards,” and click:
www.oldpostcards.com.