Beer Money (A Burr Ashland Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

desk," she said, her wrinkled cheeks swinging with each word she uttered. She raised a hand with bulging arthritic knuckles and pointed to a balcony behind me. "Second floor, northeast corner."
    "Thank you."
    "There are exhibits on the first floor here," again, a vague wave around the area, "as well as on the second floor."
    I headed for the stairwell, then stopped to take in the impressive interior. The space was oblong, with a stairwell located in the center, leading downstairs. Two stairwells on either side of the main room led to the second level and more exhibits. Giant marble pillars led to an elaborately painted ceiling, replete with complex scrollwork. The outer walls were broken up into sections, each section being an exhibit. I looked them over. There was a World War I exhibit featuring Milwaukeeans who fought in the great war. Another exhibit chronicled the history of the Milwaukee River. Another one focused on the great fire that destroyed the Third Ward in 1892.
    I took the stairwell that led to the second level and spotted the research library across the divide. I walked around the second floor, past more exhibits until I found myself in front of a door with a small placard next to it that read simply enough, 'Research.'
    The sign said there was a one dollar charge for utilizing the research library's resource, unless you were a member of the historical society.
    I pushed the door open and went inside. The room was a long rectangle, dominated by two large windows at the far end. Closest to the windows were six circular tables with four chairs each. A service desk sat unoccupied and along the far wall, a door to a small office was partially opened, with soft yellow light spilling out onto the faded tile floor.
    I crossed the room knocked gently on the door.
    "Yes?" a man said.
    The door swung gently inward and a short, portly man looked toward me. He had heavily worn, frayed wool pants, a white Oxford shirt and an equally frayed tan sweater. Small eyeglasses were perched on the end of his nose.
    His office was small and cramped, his desk covered with papers and legal pads, manila folders and newsletters, and a nameplate that read: Mr. Paul Jenkins, Ph.D.
    "What can I do for you?" he asked.
    I pulled the still frames of the hairy man and the young girl from my pocket.
    "My name is Michael Ashland and I’m a private investigator, looking into the death of a friend of mine. I was wondering if you could help me find out who these people might be."
    I set the photographs on the desk in front of him. He produced a white handkerchief with a flourish, pulled his eyeglasses gently from his face and wiped the lenses vigorously. The glasses had left an impression. A red, sweaty horizontal bar across the bridge of his nose.
    He put the eyeglasses back on and peered over the photographs for the better part of a minute before laying them back down on the desk and once again focusing on me.
    "Could you tell me where you got these?" he asked, his voice nasal and thin, like a badly scraped note during a violin recital.
    "No."
    He leaned forward. "Excuse me?"
    "I can't tell you where I got them from because they were given to me by a friend. This friend of mine is interested in history and seems to feel that these people may have some significance."
    "Local significance, I assume?" he asked.
    "Probably."
    He murmured a "hmm." He tapped the surface of his desk with his short, thick fingers. At last, he said, "I have good news and bad news for you."
    Out of habit, I asked for the bad.
    "The bad news is, and forgive me my immodesty here, even with my encyclopedic knowledge of local history, I can't tell you offhand who these people are. The girl," he tapped the photo, "the girl definitely looks familiar. But the man, no."
    He looked again at the picture, as if a second glance would give him more information.
    I waited and then said, "The good?"
    "The good news is, I'm intrigued. I will look into this for you, but first, you must pay