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CHAPTER
11 - BECOMING
Buffy
started school in January. It wasn't too far from home, yet far
enough away, to still keep her living arrangements
private.
She
took a full course load that winter, and also took both Summer 1 and
Summer 2 classes, so she could begin her sophomore year the
following fall. She signed up for work-study, that had her working
at the school's nursery and pre-school, an on-campus site, for
students with small kids. It was her interaction with the kids on a
day to day basis that had her deciding by her the end of the summer,
to apply to the education department to become a teacher. She'd
never before really felt particularly interested in children or
their education. Heck, she didn't even know if she liked them, but
being around them all the time, she felt she had a natural affinity
with them. And they seemed to adore her. Soon she was looking
forward to that as the best part of her day. There was just
something giving about small children, and also, demanding, that
left her little time for feeling sorry for herself, and that's how
she wanted it.
Between
a full load of classes, late night studying at the library, and
working 24 hours a week with the kids, she barely had time to do
anything other than eat and sleep while home, and that suited her
fine. She 'lived' at the house, but was barely there. She even
considered selling it, and just getting an apartment in San Marcos,
but she knew she was kidding herself...she just couldn't, even if it
meant really moving on...
Buffy
also took a self-defense course, just to keep in shape. After a
while, the teacher she was taking the class from moved, and the
students suggested to the owners that she become the new teacher,
but she declined. She knew she should be flattered, but somehow, it
was too much like days of old. She just felt like to become too
involved in self-defense would be to give too much of herself away.
Already, her teacher and other students had even asked her where
she'd learned the moves that she had. She soon found another
exercise regimen that didn't have to do with self-defense. If she
could do a kick-ass aerobics routine, she doubted anybody would
wonder where she picked that up.
She did
however, pick up a punching bag and a 'horse,' and have Clem install
that in her garage.
Clem
was living there almost full-time now. He would leave every now and
then to spend some time in San Diego with other
kitten-poker-like-minded-friends, but he always came back. In the
winter he would, however, usually go away for a month or two, to
‘some place warmer’ he would tell her.
That’s
when she missed Spike the most. In the winter. Every winter she
would once again make a Snowman Spike, complete with the original
‘burnt wood’ teeth that they’d used from their fire that first
night. Snowman Spike would be her sentry on and off over the couple
of months when it snowed in Julian. If it snowed, she would make
him. Buffy also took long walks in the woods, often visiting The
Tree. Seeing their initials carved on the back always brought it all
back to her. That weekend. The weekend she’d known that she really
was in love with him.
But she
never went back to the Hot Springs, as lovely as it was, it would
have been just too painful. They’d had the most perfect time there.
The memory deserved to stay with her the way it was. She never
wanted a memory of going there without him. And so, for the most
part, she avoided the trail that lead there
altogether.
After a
nearby forest caught fire, and fearing she might be in the same
situation some day, she read some books that Spike had in the house
on land management and also called The Department of Forestry with
some questions. She told them only that she was doing research for
her Geology Class. She even was allowed to visit them and witness a
prescribed burn. After seeing this, her and Clem would take to doing
this once or twice every spring, a different area every time. They
did it very carefully, on a very small scale, and only after
carefully clearing out a wide area around the area to be burned, and
on a very calm day. She felt it was the best way for them to not
lose any of the land due to Mother Nature’s whims. She thought Spike
would be proud of her for this, indeed, she felt rather proud of
herself.
And so
the years passed. Buffy’s life had a rhythm, if not a rhyme. School,
work, homework, home, and even occasionally working a weekend at The
Rittenhouse, or doing some paperwork for her.
Dawn
had graduated a couple of years ago and was going to UCLA, majoring
in Archeology and Ancient Languages. She had also taken summer
courses, so was into her junior year already.
Xander
had met a girl in New Jersey through his cousin and had gotten
married that first year. Buffy had only heard about it through
Willow. After his big not-a-wedding fiasco with Anya, he didn’t feel
he could go through that kind of stress again, or put his friends
through it either. Xander and his fiancée, Angela, had just quietly
slipped away to Atlantic City, and gotten married over a weekend.
They now had two kids, a three-year old boy, Alex, Jr., and a little
baby girl, Ann.
Willow
graduated from college in England and she was working at her first
real, well paying job at the offices of the rebuilt watcher’s
council, of which Giles was the head. It was not just a council, but
a high school for the 75 or some girls who wound up there and a
slayer school as well. Watchers themselves were being recruited from
a variety of interesting places. They were much more relaxed in
their relationship to the slayers as had been their predecessors.
That was one thing that Buffy could be thanked for, her unorthodox
methods had brought about rapid change that centuries hadn’t that
and the sudden, unexpected deaths of dozens of both potential
slayers, and their watchers.
Andrew
had shown a flair for both storytelling and filmmaking, with the
emphasis on storytelling. Prior to graduating, he’d been hired by
The National Sun, a slightly less tawdry rag than The Enquirer or
The Star, but still a bit with the fantastic headlines that weren’t
quite what they seemed.
Buffy
was in her last year of school and was doing her student teaching in
Escondido at an elementary school, teaching fifth graders. It was a
large class, at least 30 of them, but this time she felt connected
to those in her charge and this time, she knew all their
names.
She
also dated on and off. Her last boyfriend had lasted six months.
Almost a record for her, but she wouldn’t let herself get too
involved. Never, ever brought him or anybody else, for that matter,
to the house, making him suspicious that she might be married. And,
except for some kissing and mild petting, (which she abhorred) never
let him in, never let him close. Like all the other guys who she
casually dated, this got old with him fast. Although Darrin had been
willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, give her time, he soon
realized that Elizabeth Anne Worthington wasn’t going to change any
time soon and he soon opted out, finding a more willing and open
girlfriend in a matter of weeks.
And so, for four years, almost to the
date, Buffy had her more-or-less normal life.
END CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12 - SUMMER SCHOOL, PHILOSOPHY, AND THE
AMULET
Buffy
had been able to secure a position for the following fall, not at
the elementary school she'd hoped she would, the one where she'd
done her student teaching at, but at a smaller, private Montessori
school right in Santa Ysabel, only a few miles from home. It didn't
pay as much as the elementary schools did, but she didn't need much,
either. Spike had left her well taken care of. It was the chance to
be useful, to matter, to make a difference that wasn't related to
slaying.
Buffy
had told herself that she would take this summer off, to travel with
Dawn, before she started teaching in the fall, but Dawn had plans to
work in the field that summer. So Buffy, although she hadn't wanted
to four years ago, now saw that taking the biology course over that
she'd only marginally passed in Sunnydale more than 7 years ago
would help her and her future students. Also, there was a course
she'd always wanted to take, but hadn't needed it for her degree.
Philosophy. She'd remembered the time she'd spoken to Spike about it
at dinner that time, after listening to him, realizing how smart he
really was, she'd said, "...Wish I had time for deep, long,
philosophical debates on issues, on history, on God, the universe,
the meaning of life, death, all of it…I just don’t. No time for
Buffy to have…to think what ifs…" and he had tried to make her feel
better, telling her that the armchair philosophers should be
"...grateful to her for making the world safe for the likes of
them." But this was her time now, her time to find out what the
great minds of the past thought, what they had to offer her, did she
agree or not agree with them, and why.
It was
during this summer, while at school one day, that her old world and
her new, normal one, collided.
After a
her biology class one day, Buffy had decided to go and find her
professor, after receiving her test back and ask him something about
that damned Krebs Cycle. She'd almost understood it, but somehow,
she'd messed up explaining the middle of the process. She was
walking by the display cases near the geology and anthropology
departments, when a picture caught her eye. She stopped dead in her
tracks and looked at the picture in the case and the title above it,
"Student archaeologists at the site of the former town of Sunnydale,
dig up lots of artifacts and some antiques."
Heart
pounding, she read on, "Student archaeologists from Prof. Harold
Lipton's class at U.of C. San Bernardino, have been given a great
opportunity to hone their skills in the former town of Sunnydale.
Four years ago, Sunnydale fell victim to the largest earthquake to
rock Southern California in nearly 4 decades, swallowing the town
whole." It went on to say, that the dig had to be stopped when some
former residents objected to having their lives dug up and put on
display. "We just want them to leave sleeping dogs lay," Former
Post-Master Jill Jones, was quoted as saying, from her new home near
L.A. And so on, went the article. Buffy read the article 3 more
times, but couldn't find anything about the picture that accompanied
the article. The picture showed a bunch of stuff taken from the dig,
and off to the right side of it, clearly, was the amulet.
The
amulet that Spike had worn. Four years, 2 months, 17 days, and 4
hours before. But hey, who was counting?
The
article was dated, July 1, 2007. Two weeks ago.
Heart
pounding, Buffy walked into the archaeology department and asked to
speak to one of the professors. The secretary told her Professor
Haughton was in and pointed Buffy in the
direction.
"Professor Haughton? I'm Elizabeth Worthington," the
name rolled off her tongue like water after four years, "Um, I was
looking at the picture in the hall, in the display case, the one
about students studying the Sunnydale site," she'd said, all in one
breath.
"Yes?"
Prof. Haughton asked, looking at the intense young
woman.
"Well,
you see, I have a friend who is not only studying archaeology at
UCLA, but is also a former resident of Sunnydale, who would love to
be involved in any more digs they may have there," Buffy
said.
"If you
read the article, you'll see that the courts have stopped the
digging for now," he said to her.
"I
know, but I don't think that will last, I think they'll be allowed
to return, and my friend would be a great asset to the dig. Not only
does she know how to dig and preserve specimens, but she knows where
everything in the town was," Buffy said.
"And
what do you want from me, Ms. Worthington?"
"From
you? Oh, I just wondered if you could get me Professor Lipton's
phone number and address?" she asked, trying not to sound too
excited, while not sounding too disinterested.
"Harold? Sure, let me just look that up. I knew Harold back
when we were both in the Midwest. Ah...here you go, he said, writing
something on a piece of paper and handing it to Buffy, "I'm sure
he'd like to have your friend's help, if he gets back to the site,"
he said, and with that he shook her hand.
"Thank
you, this will mean a lot to her," Buffy said, leaving his
office.
"That's
ok..." he looked up, but she was gone. He scratched his head,
perplexed.
On the
way out, Buffy stopped and asked the secretary if she could get a
Xerox of the article, "Yeah, sure," the secretary said, rather
grumpily, as she closed down the Free Cell game she'd been playing
on the computer. She opened the case up and took the newspaper out,
going over to the Xerox.
"You
wanna color copy?" she asked.
Buffy
couldn't believe her good fortune, "Sure," she said, trying to not
sound too excited.
"There
you go," she said, handing her a copy.
"Thanks!" Buffy said.
"Welcome, good thing the machine is working today...." she
turned and Buffy was gone, "hummppfff!" she said, as she put the
article back into the case and went back to Free
Cell.
If
anybody had been looking, they would have seen a young woman dashing
across campus as if she'd just found out her house was on fire.
Hands
shaking, Buffy got the key into the door and ignition and peeled out
of the University's parking lot, disobeying all traffic laws between
San Marcos and Julian.
She
pulled up in front of the house and ran into the kitchen, pulling
out a junk drawer and dumping it on the counter.
She
found it after a few minutes, a magnifying glass. She took the
article and held the magnifying glass up to the
picture.
There
it was, no mistaking it, it was definitely the amulet that Spike had
worn.
She
looked at the article again. She'd never noticed before, but the
article came from The National Sun, it's byline by Andrew
Wells.
END CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13 - HAVE TO FIND IT
Buffy's
hands shook as she reached for the phone to call Prof. Lipton. She
put the phone back down, what was she going to say? "Hi Prof.
Lipton, you don't know me, but I believe that you've dug up the
potentially powerful amulet that my vampire-lover was wearing when
he saved the world and closed the Hellmouth that was once
Sunnydale?"
"Not
bloody likely!" she smiled, having used his
expression.
"I'll
think of something," she told herself as she dialed his
number.
"Pick
up, pick up!" Buffy said to the phone as it
rang.
"Hello,
Department of Archaeology," said a pleasant
voice.
"Hello,
this is Elizabeth Worthington, I'd like to speak to Prof. Lipton,
please," she said, heart pounding.
"Oh,
I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Why
not?" Buffy asked, starting to panic.
"Well,
he's gone for the summer, he's gone on a dig in Egypt," the woman
answered Buffy.
Great.
"Do you
know how to get in touch with him, it's very important," Buffy
persisted.
"Are
you family?"
"Er,
no, it's about...about his Sunnydale dig."
"What
about it?"
"I saw
the article, and the picture, and I...I thought I recognized an old
family heirloom," Buffy lied, getting into peak performance, she
continued, "you see, I lost all of my family that day. I was away at
school, but my family,"
she sniffed for effect, "they'd stayed
behind. Then the other day I saw Prof. Lipton's article and it
showed a picture. I recognized an old necklace that used to belong
to my grandmother, and so I was wondering if I could take a look at
it, if Prof. Lipton still had it."
Breathe.
Silence.
"Well,
I know for a fact, that Prof. Lipton has sent on all his findings
from the dig, either to his home or on to a museum. Usually he
catalogs them first, then he photographs them, or draws them and
does casts of them. But you say it's a necklace? Probably just took
a picture then. But I've no way of knowing where it is right now,
you'll have to get a hold of Prof. when he comes
back."
"When
will that be?"
"Let me
see? Oh, I was going to say that he'd be back next month, but I see
he's taking a Sabbatical until winter semester," she told
Buffy.
"I have
to get in touch with him before that!" Buffy said. "Isn't there some
way? Does he have email?"
"I can
give you his email, but you should know, Prof. Lipton is not very
good with the new technology. He may only check his email once every
couple of weeks, if that, so I shouldn't expect much in the way of a
reply, if I were you," she advised Buffy.
"That's
ok, if I could just have it?"
"Sure,
it's hlipton@sanblink.ucsb.edu."
"Thanks. Oh, just one more question. What museum usually gets
Prof. Lipton's finds?"
"Oh,
that would be in his home town, The Field Museum in Chicago, IL,"
the woman said.
"Chicago?"
"Yeah,
that's where Prof. Lipton lives when he's not teaching. Wouldn't
give up his Gold Coast apartment for anything," she said, laughing,
"now, is there anything else?"
"No,
you've been very helpful, thank you," Buffy said, hanging
up.
Chicago?
Buffy
hurriedly connected her laptop and wrote to Prof. Lipton, requesting
a meeting with him when he returned from his dig, telling him about
the family 'heirloom,' and also, letting him know of her 'friend'
who would be interested in working on the Sunnydale dig, should
he...well...start digging again.
She
pressed send.
Now
what? She paced around the house, trying to
focus.
What
did it mean that the amulet had surfaced? Shouldn't it have been
destroyed like everything else? You'd think with all that light
coming from it…all that light and 'cleansing power' of Spike's
soul.
Spike's
soul.
She
wondered where it had come to rest, if it had finally come to rest.
If anybody's soul deserved it, it was his.
She
reached up and found her face, unexpectedly wet.
She had
been trying to go on all these years, yet sometimes she missed him
so much she ached. Missed his touch and his witty banter, his eyes
when they saw her in ways that only he could, his lips,
his...
She
flung the back door opened and stomped off to the garage and spent
the next hour and a half hitting the punching bag.
She let
herself back in and immediately went to the computer to check her
email. Nothing. Not that she'd expected anything, really. She just
hoped that the woman had been wrong and that Prof. Lipton would
check his email soon.
One
thing she knew for sure, she had to find that
amulet.
END
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14 - CHICAGO
Buffy
continued with her summer school classes, checking her email every
day, but to no avail.
Finally, August, 15th, she got an email response from Prof.
Lipton, it read, "Dear Ms. Worthington, I am sorry to not have
gotten back to you sooner. I will be back in Chicago on August 20th,
if you'd like to contact me at home, my phone # is: 312-555-0982. I
will only be there for a couple of days before heading off to South
America. As to the where-a- bouts of the necklace, I believe it's
still at my apartment, but my assistant may have packed it up and
shipped it to the museum already. Upon my return, I look forward to
talking to you about the history of the necklace. Prof.
Lipton."
Buffy's
heart was pounding.
She
hung up the phone, then called Southwest Airlines booking the
soonest flight on Aug. 21st.
Buffy
finished school on Aug. 18th and had her first day of orientation at
Montessori on Aug. 19th.
"School
doesn't start for the students until September 5th, but as a new
teacher, you'll have to have at least 2 weeks training starting Aug.
21st down in San Diego, " Mrs. Carpello, the principal told
her.
"Um...I...I'm so sorry, but I'm not going to be in town on
Aug. 21st, see I have a family reunion in Chicago that date. It was
booked before I got this job, and I don't think I can even get any
of my money back now, " Buffy lied.
Great,
great way to start a new job!
Mrs.
Carpello stared at her disapprovingly, "This isn't the best foot for
you to start out on here," she said.
"I
know, I'm really sorry." Buffy said.
Mrs.
Carpello looked at her, wondering if she'd made the best decision in
hiring her.
"You'll
be back the next day?"
"The
23rd, " Buffy said, though actually, her ticket's return was
open-ended.
Mrs.
Carpello was looking unhappier by the minute.
"I'll
be back," she told Buffy.
Great,
just great!
Mrs.
Carpello came back a few minutes later, "I just talked to the school
and they said that if you could pick up the first two days
worksheets and booklets," she paused, "you can take them with you,
right?"
Buffy
nodded, enthusiastically.
"Well
then, you can work on those while you're away. Take a tape recorder
to Mrs. Liptak, and she'll make sure to record the lectures for you,
so you'll have those when you return," she said, giving Buffy the
address.
"Thank
you, and I'm really sorry. I'll go right now and get the worksheets
and booklets," she said, as she stood up to
leave.
"Don't
let this happen again," Mrs. Carpello warned.
"I
won't, I promise," Buffy said, hoping it was
true.
Aug.
21, 2007 2:00pm
"Welcome to O'Hare International Airport," the flight
attendant said over the intercom.
Buffy
and Dawn turned to look at one another and
smiled.
Buffy
hadn't wanted to involve Dawn or anybody else in this, but seeing as
Dawn was really an archaeology student, she thought that might work
in her favor when meeting with Prof. Lipton.
"Did he
tell you he’d be home?" Dawn asked for the third
time.
"No,
but he was supposed to be back yesterday. I figure we’ll just call
and go over there when we get a hold of him."
"Sounds
sort of iffy," Dawn said, then seeing Buffy’s face, recanted, "but
that’s probably the best idea. Other than having a firm
appointment," she grinned.
Buffy
signed.
"Can we
rent a car?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah,
we could, but who’s going to drive here? Well, guess you could, but
let’s just do the cab thing, that way we don’t have to worry about
getting lost, okay?"
"Sure,
whatever," Dawn replied.
"Where
to ladies?" the cabby asked outside the
terminal.
"Water
Tower Place," said Dawn, turning to Buffy, "It’s only a few blocks
from the Professor’s apartment, we’ll have some lunch, look around a
bit before going over there, alright? Please Buffy?" Dawn
asked.
"Sure,
it’ll be fun," she said; though fun wasn’t exactly what she had in
mind.
The
ride to the city was non-eventful, but as the cab neared downtown
and the Magnificent Mile, Buffy and Dawn were both awe struck by the
beauty of the city.
The
cabby had said that for $20 more, he’d take them downtown, along the
lakefront and by Navy Pier. They’d agreed.
Finally, they pulled up in front of Water Tower Place, and
handed the cabby $50.00, "Thanks," they said, getting our of the
most expensive cab ride they’d ever been on.
"Thank
you, ladies," he said, then gave them his card, "if you need a ride
anywhere and you can’t find a cab, or want another special tour,
just call this number, it’s my pager. Just put in 555 and I’ll know
it’s yous," he told them.
"Okay,"
Buffy said, taking the card. She didn’t think much of it one way or
the other. Maybe all cabbies in Chicago tried to secure a little
business this way. However, in the not too distant future, this
little exchange would come in handy.
They
had lunch at the least expensive eatery in the mall called, what
else? California Pizza Kitchen, "Figures," Dawn lamented.
"Yeah,"
Buffy agreed, "You can take the girl out of
California…"
Dawn
rolled her eyes.
They
finished their ‘healthy, California styled pizza slices, paid their
not-that-cheap $27 bill, and did a bit of quick
shopping.
First
they went to Marshall Field, then to Lord & Taylor, both getting
one nice thing at each store. Buffy got a skirt and top from
Marshall Field, and a pair of shoes from Lord & Taylor. Dawn got
a pair of silk pajamas from Marshall Field and a nice pants suit
from Lord & Taylor.
A
couple of hours later, they walked over to the adjoining Ritz
Carlton and checked in. After showering and changing, they decided
to walk to Prof. Lipton’s home. Buffy had tried him numerous times
and each time, the phone had been busy, so she knew someone was
there.
"This
is it," Buffy said, standing in front of large, turn-of-the-century
brownstone, "1240 Lakeshore Drive."
Buffy
and Dawn walked up the front steps and looked at the names on the
doorbells, she quickly spotted H. Lipton 3-C. Buffy
pressed the buzzer and waited. Nothing. A few minutes later, she
buzzed again. Still nothing. She took her cell phone out and hit
redial. There was that busy signal again.
"What
the hell?" Buffy said, looking at Dawn, who
shrugged.
Just
then someone came out of the building and smiled at the two ladies
standing there. Dawn gave him her most flirtatious smile, while
Buffy stuck her toe in the door before it locked shut behind
him.
As soon
as he turned onto the sidewalk, Buffy and Dawn walked in and went up
to the third floor. The stairs were wide and made of oak, the
wallpaper, which looked original was velvety red on gold. The
building itself had an old musty smell to it. Not bad, just rich
with history, Buffy thought.
They
came to the third floor and started looking for numbers. They found
3-C and knocked. No answer. They knocked again. Again, no
answer.
Buffy
tried the door and it opened, "Hello? Prof. Lipton? It’s Bu…it’s
Elizabeth Worthington," she said, ignoring Dawn’s look, "I emailed
you about the amulet you found in the Sunnydale
dig."
There
was no answer.
Buffy
and Dawn slowly walked in. Buffy turned on a lamp and her and Dawn
gasped at the sight before them, for it appeared that the whole
apartment had been ransacked from top to bottom. Cartons had been
torn open and their contents spilled out, shelves were knocked over,
with books, papers, and other stuff littering the floor.
They
walked into the bedroom, only to see drawers emptied out, clothes
were half in, half out of cartons that lay all over the bed.
Dawn
looked at Buffy, "I don’t understand, didn’t you say he was
here?"
"He was
supposed to be," Buffy said, "said he was getting back
yesterday…"
"Do you
hear that?" she whispered.
Dawn
nodded, hearing a noise in the living room.
Buffy
pulled Dawn toward the wall, as they stepped behind a
door.
The
door opened slowly and Buffy grabbed the person from behind by the
throat.
A woman
screamed and partly fainted, as Buffy screamed, "Who are you?
Where’s Prof. Lipton?"
Choking
sounds…"Please don’t hurt me," the woman
whimpered.
Buffy
let her go, glaring at her, "Who are you?"
"I’m…I’m Prof. Lipton’s assistant, who are you?" she asked,
heart pounding as she looked from Buffy to Dawn.
"I’m…Elizabeth Worthington, Prof. Lipton was expecting me. In
a manner of speaking. We corresponded before he came
back."
"You
must mean before he was to come back," the woman said, getting some
composure.
"What
do you mean? Supposed to come back? He emailed me telling me he’d be
back in Chicago yesterday."
"Well,
Ms…Worthington, I’m afraid there’s been a change in
plans."
"What’s
that?" Buffy asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"He’s
dead," his assistant said.
END
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15 - DEAD
"What
do you mean, dead?" Buffy asked.
"D.E.A.D., dead, as in no more," his assistant said, now
taking the offensive.
"How?"
Buffy asked.
"Natural causes. He died in his sleep last week on the 17th,
before he could come home," she said.
"Now,
let me ask you something. What are you doing here in the professor's
apartment and what were you looking for? I'll give you one minute to
answer me before phoning the police," she said, walking over to the
phone, which was knocked off its cradle.
"Whoa!
You think we did this? You got to be kidding me. We just got here 5
minutes before, you can ask that good looking guy who let us in,"
Buffy said, fibbing about just how they got in.
She
sighed, "No, I know you didn't do this, I found it like this a
couple of days ago, I just came over tonight to try to put some of
this stuff back into some cartons, so his daughter can look through
it tomorrow."
"What
happened, er, Miss?"
"Mrs.
O'Brien, Margie. I was Prof. Lipton's assistant when he taught at
Northwestern and I worked for him whenever he needed me to. And
you're?"
"Elizabeth Worthington and my sister Donna," Buffy said,
ignoring Dawn mouthing 'Donna?' to her.
There
was a silence as they looked at the mess that was the professor's
bedroom.
"When
exactly did you find it like this?" Buffy asked.
"Well,
let's see. His colleague in Egypt called me telling me of his death
on the 18th. I made arrangements to have his body picked up at the
airport by the funeral home on the19th, and yes, it was the same
day, I came here to find a suit for his...funeral. And I found it
like this. I don't know how long it had been like this. His neighbor
upstairs seemed to think she heard something the night before, but
she's 81, so not so sure with the time frame. And his neighbors on
this floor? Said they didn't hear anything. Can you imagine that, by
the looks of this?" she asked.
Buffy
shook her head no, "No. It would seem someone would have had to
heard something," she agreed.
Buffy
then told Margie about why she had requested to meet with Prof.
Lipton, "Do you remember anything he brought back from the Sunnydale
dig?" she asked.
Margie
thought a minute, "Well, I did forward a box to his office in the
Field Museum about a month ago. That box came from his office
assistant in California, so that may very well have been what you're
looking for."
"How do
I find out? And if they, the museum has it, how do I, ask for my
grandmother's necklace back?" Buffy asked.
Margie
gave her the name of the head of the archaeology department at the
museum and told her to call him tomorrow, "Perhaps, he'll be able to
sort through this for you," she said.
"Couldn't you just explain to him, that you'd sent the box in
error?" Buffy asked.
"I'm
afraid not, Ms. Worthington. I don't know you, and I don't know what
you and the professor discussed. I think you'll just have to take
your request to him now, that the professor is dead," she said,
"now, if there's nothing else, I've got a big mess to clean up in
here, before his daughter Rebecca gets here
tomorrow."
"Well,
thank you. I'm sorry about the professor," Buffy
said.
Margie walked them to the door, "Good luck, Elizabeth. Give Donald
a call tomorrow, he's pretty helpful, I'm betting he'll let you take
a look at that stuff," she
said.
"Thanks," Buffy said, as her and Dawn walked
out.
"Crap!"
she said.
"Ditto
that!" Dawn answered.
END
CHAPTER 15
CONT. CH. 16 - 20
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