“I’m sure of it!” Helen was pacing back and forth in the tiny trailer kitchen. “I can’t prove it exactly, but I know it was her.”

Helen looked out the trailer window, saw Nate carrying boxes of electrical supplies into the house: rolls of cable, metal junction boxes, plastic boxes for all of their outlets and switches. She’d promised she’d be up to help him get started in a few minutes. She’d told him nothing about what she’d seen in the house, about her research this morning. When he saw her on the computer, she told him she was looking for roofing materials. Nate had been advocating for basic gray asphalt shingles. He said they’d be easiest to acquire and install, and they were affordable—he’d long ago calculated how many bundles they’d need and put it in the budget. Helen was hoping to find something more unique: reclaimed tin roofing, slate, maybe cedar shakes.

“Tell me everything,” Riley said.

Helen took a breath and started at the beginning. She told Riley about her trip to the mill, the bricks, the stories the foreman told her, and what she’d seen in the house last night.

“It was Jane. I’m sure of it. And I think bringing the bricks here helped her come back. I know it sounds crazy, but I think Hattie wanted me to go to that mill to bring something back to the house.”

Riley was quiet for a few seconds.

“Doesn’t sound crazy at all,” she said.

“I think you were right—if they have an object, a physical thing connecting them to their lives, to the way they died maybe, it acts as a kind of doorway—a way back into our world.”

“It would be nice if we could confirm it,” Riley said. “You know, prove that Jane really did die in that fire.”

“Agreed. I found this website that lists the names of the people who died at the mill that day and there’s only one Jane—a Jane Whitcomb. I did a little more research—checked out genealogy sites and public records—and found marriage records for a Jane Smith and Silas Whitcomb in 1934. They lived right in Lewisburg. According to the records I found, they had two children, Ann and Mark. I haven’t looked into what happened to them yet. After Jane was killed in the fire, Silas remarried and had several more children. Do you think the historical society might have more information on Jane? Photos, even? I found a photo of the mill workers taken the year of the fire. Jane’s in it. I just know it’s the same woman I saw last night. Maybe we can match her to an old photo of Jane Breckenridge?”