Heritage of Darkness by Kathleen Ernst

Author:Kathleen Ernst
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: mystery, fiction, soft-boiled, ernst, chloe effelson, kathleen ernst, rosemaling, norwegian
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2013-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

The modern collections storage building, where Chloe was to meet Emil’s class during afternoon break, was around the corner on North Mechanic street. The one minute walk took her past the eastern edge of Vesterheim’s Open Air Division, a dozen buildings ranging from tiny immigrant cabins to a huge flour mill.

According to an informational sign, the Upper Iowa River had once flowed through the site. After World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers had rerouted the river to minimize flooding. That had left a vertical drop of perhaps fifteen feet in the middle of the grounds, but Vesterheim staff had put it to good use. From the low ground below, Chloe could see the back corners of two historic structures propped up on tall stacks of stones—suggesting the construction techniques used in the deep fjord landscape of rural Norway.

Vesterheim’s staff and volunteers really have created something very special, Chloe thought. She was starting to feel protective about the museum.

In the storage building, the first thing Chloe saw was a collection of painted immigrant trunks. She flashed on the memory of Petra Lekstrom, dumped inside just such a trunk. Petra might have been a hound dog’s mama, but nobody deserved that. Evidently, Chloe thought, I am starting to take the murder personally, too.

She took a few deep breaths and purposefully walked down the center aisle. Nothing was more fun than poking around another institution’s collections facility. On either side, rows of metal shelving held artifacts neatly arranged on acid-free paper. “Ooh,” she breathed, spotting a particularly splendid Hardangar fiddle.

Unfortunately, Emil and his students arrived before she could wander too far. Roelke surprised her with a wolfish eyebrow-wiggle that made the backs of her knees tingle. Other parts of her too, actually. Was Roelke as frustrated by this week’s boarding school arrangement as she was? Or were her own frustrations causing her to—

“Miss Ellefson?” Emil asked politely. Chloe realized that it was not the first time the carver had spoken her name. “The artifacts I want to show my students are on shelf 7B.” He pointed.

As Howard had promised, her presence was merely a safeguard against any possible criticism of museum policy. Emil donned a pair of white cotton gloves before affectionately stroking a porridge container. “Of all the Norwegian folk arts,” he began softly, “wood carving has been the most consistently practiced by immigrants and their descendants.”

Chloe noticed that Roelke wasn’t tossing furtive glances her way anymore. He looked like he wanted to stroke the porridge container too.

“Norwegian-American carvers have always created beautiful and useful pieces,” Emil said with obvious pride. “Rosemaling gets more attention, but people forget that painting almost died out completely before being revived fifty years ago. Woodcarving is the most true expression of Norwegian heritage.”

Whack! Chloe thought. She wondered what Mom would think of Emil’s claim. The question conjured an interesting mental image of Marit and Emil duking it out—in cotton gloves, of course.

Emil put the porridge container down and gestured toward a rectangular box. “This example dates to 1754.

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