Old World Murder - Kathleen Ernst [0]
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For the interpreters and curators I knew,
with respect and affection;
and for Sergeant Robert J. Bord,
with thanks.
Author’s Note
Old World Wisconsin is a real place. I had the pleasure and privilege of working there for twelve years, starting in 1982. However, this book is a work of fiction. All characters, including Chloe Ellefson, were born in my imagination. I freely fabricated events to serve the story. For example, although most of the historic structures mentioned do exist, Mr. Tobler’s cobblestone cottage does not. To learn more about this very real and fascinating historic site, visit the website: http://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org/
Perhaps only one thing has remained constant: like most museums and history-related institutions, Old World Wisconsin relies upon public support. Please help sustain your local historic site!
As Chloe Ellefson walked from 1982 into 1870s Wisconsin, a white frame church emerged from the trees, prettily framed against a cloud-studded blue sky. The view alone was enough to make most visitors pause, appreciate the simple elegance of the restored church, perhaps even wonder about the lives of those women and men and children who had first worshiped within its walls.
For Chloe, the historic site’s newest employee, the scene represented a fresh start.
A cadence in her mind kept time with her steps: Must – make – this – work. Must – make – this – work. Dr. Eberhardt could no doubt have written a thesis about that obsessive little drone … but Dr. Eberhardt was still in North Dakota with his white pills and his spiral notebook and his guttural grunts that had reminded her all too often of Markus’ father. Visiting a psychiatrist who reminded her of the people she was trying to escape seemed counter-productive, but Solomon, North Dakota—population 793 on a good day—hadn’t offered many options in low-cost mental health care.
Anyway, Chloe had come to Wisconsin to stand on her own two feet. Although, she thought as she reached the church gate, it would be more accurate to say she’d come home to Wisconsin. The last thing she’d ever expected to do. But she was here now. A new job. A new life. And she was determined to make it work.
After all, her chosen