“Good point.” Paul looked up, his expression newly animated. “I got him, too. He starts with the regiment in 1992, as quartermaster. McKenna held the office of treasurer, too, in 1996. But no mention of Shoemaker.”
“So McKenna is active in the regiment from 1992 to 1999, when Shoemaker’s killed and McKenna vanishes. Hold on.” Julia recalled a flyer she’d just seen of a reenactment in Butler County. She paged back and retrieved it, checking the date. “The reenactment that March was on the fourth. That’s a week before Shoemaker’s murder.”
Paul shifted over and read the flyer. “Interesting. Any mention of Shoemaker? I found nothing on him.”
“Me, neither. Shoemaker may or may not be involved.” Julia thought it over. “So this is the critical time period, and if Shoemaker was there, he would have signed a waiver. So would McKenna have. I want to see those waivers.” Julia set the papers aside, then they both got up, went together to the file cabinet, and opened the second drawer.
“So this is a waiver form.” Paul pulled out a blank from the front, and they both read it:
FULLWAIVER ANDCOMPLETERELEASE
I __________________________ assume the risk of any and all activities I engage in during any tactical, reenactment, or any other activities I take part in during today’sreenactment and/or tactical. I am fully aware of the risks of harm by accident, firearms, explosive device, and any other hazard. I agree to hold harmless the Regiment and any of its officers, my fellow reenactors, or anyone else associated therewith. I have accepted no money in return for this full waiver and release.
Signature and Date __________________________
Name and Address __________________________
Julia blinked, surprised. “Explosive device? I thought they used blank guns.”
“It’s probably for fake bombs. I know they have them from my cousin. It’s just legalese, trying to cover everything.”
“Probably.” Julia started at 1999 looking for a waiver from McKenna or Shoemaker, then hit paydirt. She found McKenna’s waiver from March 4, 1999, which had his signature and his address at 75 Crowley Road.
“One down, one to go.” Paul thumbed through the other waivers, then stopped. “Here’s one from Shoemaker, so he was there, too.”
“Really?” Julia read the waiver, which was signed James Shoemaker, and the address was 75 Crowley Rd., Buckley. “Shoemaker lists McKenna’s address. He had to be staying or living with him.”
“So Shoemaker came up from Tallahassee, stayed with McKenna, and did the reenactment.” Paul frowned. “What does that tell us? Anything?”
“A little, right?” Julia took the waiver and was about to set it aside when she noticed another waiver underneath, which also had a 75Crowley Road address. Her astonished gaze dropped down to the signature, which read Patrick Novak. She showed it to Paul. “Look. Who’s Patrick Novak and why was he staying at McKenna’s, too?”
“I wonder if he’s also from Tallahassee. Let me see.” Paul got out his phone and started scrolling.
Julia thought aloud. “So Shoemaker and Novak were both staying at McKenna’s when Shoemaker was murdered. What’s up with that? Where’s Novak now?”
“Don’t know.” Paul looked up from his phone. “I think this search is better done on the laptop later. There’s a lot of Patrick Novaks in Tallahassee.”
Julia tried to put it together. “So they’re here for an event that they signed the waiver for. What’s special about that event? Or maybe it’s not?”
“Let’s keep going.” They continued going through the waiver files, and Julia was surprised there was no other waiver signed by either Shoemaker or Novak, though there were others signed by McKenna.
“So Novak and Shoemaker came for only one event.”
Paul nodded. “Looks that way.”
“Okay, let’s move on to the last drawer, the photographs.” Julia put the files back in the second drawer, then went to the third drawer. It was a yearly collection of photographs, going backward in time. “Let’s start with 1999, since it’s the only year we know for sure that McKenna, Shoemaker, and Novak are involved.”
“Agree.”
Julia reached for the 1999 folder and opened it to find it was stuffed with old photographs, some black-and-white and others in color. “Whoa, this is a lot.”
“Keep going.”
Julia started going through the photos with Paul, and there were about a hundred. They were random, some color and others black-and-white, showing men in costume, tricornered hats, navy blue jackets, and britches, and the bright red coats of the British. She didn’t see McKenna, who she’d know from the newspaper photo, or Shoemaker, who she’d know from his mugshot. She had no idea what Novak looked like. Then she flipped to a photo near the bottom.
“Finally.” Julia found a photo of McKenna in his regimental uniform, standing between two other men in T-shirts and jeans. The man on the left was James Shoemaker, and he looked skinny with a narrow face, his eyes set close-together, and large front teeth.
“That’s Shoemaker.”