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Page 230
to earthquake standards after the shaking in 1971."
"That was before I got here," Mike said. "I used to fix a lot of crumbling patio walls and shorted light fixtures, but I don't remember hearing about the sealing off of any rooms."
"It's accessible," Grace said. "Just hard to get to." She paused, then looked at Abby, her usual scowl mellowed into an expression of apology. "I'm sorry I didn't think of that room before, but it's a mess, just junk inside. I can't imagine Myra leaving anything of importance there."
"We were robbed back in seventy-nine," Jess said. "Someone broke in and took all the jewelry we had about. Thank heavens for Mr. Peebles; all our good pieces were in that bank box."
Mike nodded. "Poor Myra," he said, his head shaking nostalgically. "That was the year before I arrived, and she still felt violated. I'm not surprised if she hid things of value. And what better place than somewhere no one would think to look?"
"But she told me she wanted you to have the tea set," Jess said, shaking her head. "That Myra. I never will understand why she set such store in old things."

When Abby looked at the empty metal shelves in the small cellar, she had not imagined they concealed the half-height door into the old coal cellar. The framework was on wheels that had corroded over time, so Mike had to lift it away.
Carrying a cylindrical portable light he called

 
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