The 1129 Chronicle

Chapter 01

PUEBLO, COLORADO | NOVEMBER 29, 1926 | CHAPTER 01

MIDNIGHT DELIVERY LEAVES ONE CASE UNACCOUNTED FOR

Jennifer keeps the door. Jordan asks the first question.

Eleven crates arrived at the Harts’ door, each plainly marked “TEA.” By midnight, ten had been sent onward. The last case could not be accounted for. A brass key lay beside the delivery ledger. Jennifer insisted the evening had been perfectly ordinary. “People come here for good company,” she told this reporter. “What they call the tea is another matter.” Jordan studied the ledger. Beside the arrival count was an underlined entry: 11-29. Below it appeared three short marks and a note: “Keep the last case for company.” “Read the numbers before you follow the footsteps,” Jordan said. The family assumed someone had carried the last case away. Jennifer asked a simpler question: had anybody checked whether it had ever left? The brass key was placed on the investigation table. Its lock had not yet been identified. There was one key to follow, one case to find, and eleven very respectable explanations still to be heard.