They gave their entire hard-copy archive to us eight or nine years ago.
So hard copies exist somewhere?
They did. But we couldnt afford to store them. So we put them on microfilm.
The originals were destroyed?
Fraid so. His disappointment seemed sincere. It happened to dozens of American papers. Their whole archives just incinerated. Some papers were saved, by collectors. But not this one.
So youre telling me that page five of The Daily World for that date has vanished? It doesnt exist anywhere?
Not quite. The World digitized some of its archive. So if you know what youre looking for, you can search their database. You just-
The whole point is I dont know what Im looking for.
He gave her a look, as if she had just confirmed his earlier, low assessment of her.
What I mean is, Ill know it when I find it. It relates to this town or this area on that day.
But you dont know what it is, right?
Thats right.
The librarian drew up his shoulders and adopted the demeanour of an official. She saw him looking at the bruise on her forehead. Are you sure you need to deal with this today? Maybe you could take a break and come back tomorrow
Maggie took a deep breath. Of course, she looked like a wreck; worse, even: mad. She had an idea. Forgive me for being so demanding. And thank you for your help. Its possible Ive made a mistake with the year. Do you think I could trouble you for microfilm copies of the same paper and the same dates but for the following year?
He eyed her warily, as if dealing with an animal he hoped he had pacified but which could turn wild at any moment.
She smiled, a move that usually worked wonders but which seemed to have little impact on this man. When it became clear she was not going to give up, he sighed and said, March 15, 16 and 17, right? For the following year?
If you would.
This time she checked the page numbers first. All three sets were complete, no pages missing. She started with the newspaper for March 15, exactly a year after the date Victor Forbes had gone to such trouble to secure for posterity.
The front page once again offered nothing of obvious relevance, a story about a new defence contract that would benefit Boeing, one of the states big employers, with knock-on effects for suppliers in Aberdeen. More mundane, local tedium on the subsequent pages.
Maybe she was chasing down the wrong alley here. Maybe the event Forbes had in mind was some national or international happening, some political landmark, far away from Aberdeen and the little Jackson-Baker soap opera. Perhaps she needed to be searching not the Aberdeen Daily World, but the New York Times or Washington Post.
She would check one last time, working from the last page back to the front. Sports, agony column no emotional confession of jealousy from an R Jackson: she checked letters, financial, ads, puff piece about a local hotel reopening
Maggie had not read the story properly first time round, just taking in the headline and scanning the text for names. But this time she caught the caption.
Staff at the Meredith Hotel prepare for todays grand reopening, one year to the day since the blaze that nearly destroyed the establishment.
46
Transcript of Meet the Press on NBC for Sunday March 26:
Host:Topic A the imperilled presidency of Stephen Baker. A week of extraordinary revelations and now the clock ticking on impeachment. Where does that leave the President? Lets ask our roundtable. Tom, lets start with you: can Baker survive this thing?
Tom Glover, Politico.com:The only two people who know the answer to that are those two conservative Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, David.
Host: And it is just two now, since the third member of that group-
Tom Glover: Thats right, since he made clear he wont vote for impeachment, its down to just those two. You know, the majority is so wafer thin in the House just a few votes separating the parties that it only needs a tiny defection for the President to be in big trouble.
Host: So whats going through their minds, Michelle?
Michelle Schwartz,Wall Street Journal: Well, this weekend, I guess theyll be listening to people in their home districts, David. What do they make of Stephen Baker? Do they still like him? Do they still trust him?
Host: And what are you hearing?
Michelle Schwartz: Im hearing that he remains in deep trouble. People felt blindsided by the medical revelations-
Tom Glover: Yeah, but Michelle, I think that ended up as a net positive for the President. People warmed to his candor, his very clear sincerity and his message that mental health-
Michelle Schwartz: Maybe if that had been the only thing: that one revelation and the President makes a great speech. We all know Stephen Baker is a brilliant speaker.
Host: You say that like its a bad thing, Michelle. [Laughter.]
Michelle Schwartz: My point is, fine if it had ended there. But then we get the Iranian Connection which-
Tom Glover: Which is still just conjecture at this stage. No ones proven anything except an Iranian citizen this man Hossein Najafi made it to a White House reception. You know Stephen Baker is not the first president to have gatecrashers at his parties.
Host: Well, lets see what we do know about this story. The Washington Post has run an extensive piece of reporting on the Iranian Connection, lets flash some of that up here. Heres the quote:
Experts in forensic accountancy say its possible that the donation made by Mr Najafi, though paid out of a US bank registered in Delaware, may have been sourced from the Cayman Islands and, prior to that, originated in a bank in Tehran used by the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, better known as the Revolutionary Guards.
Tom Glover: Lot of ifs in that, David.
Host: So thats the quote. What do you make of it, Michelle?
Michelle Schwartz: As so often, its about context. I think we should be honest and mention the third leg of this particular stool and that is the death of Vic Forbes. If-
Tom Glover: Oh, come on-
Michelle Schwartz: If it wasnt for the persistent questions that arise from that-
[Crosstalk. Inaudible]
Tom Glover:about Stuart Goldstein? I mean if were going to start mentioning mysterious deaths. What, are we gonna sit around on Meet the Press wondering which Republican took out Goldstein? And unlike Forbes, that man was a proven servant of the American people. I mean, this is undignified-
Michelle Schwartz: I wasnt saying-
Tom Glover:-and its unseemly.
Host: All right, predictions for the week ahead. Michelle?
Michelle Schwartz: I dont want to offend Tom again, but I think it all depends on what more comes out about the late Mr Forbes. If there is something, combined with the Iranian Connection, then I think that will spell the end for the President.
Host: Tom?
Tom Glover: Well, I hate to agree with my colleague here but I think shes right. It shouldnt hinge on the Forbes episode, but I fear it does. If another shoe drops on that something which changes our view of how he died or what he was about to say then that could change the calculus.
Host: All right, thanks to you both. Good to have you with us. Coming up after the break
47
Aberdeen, Washington, Sunday March 26, 11.29 PST
Maggie tried first to do it the official way, to see if there was a paper trail left by institutions and follow that. But she hit a series of predictable dead ends, made all the more final by the fact that it was a Sunday and every important office was closed. She called the Aberdeen Fire Department and asked if they kept records of their work what she had in mind was the basic logbook, listing the call-outs of any given night going back nearly thirty years. Four phone calls led eventually to a duty officer who said they did keep such records, though he wasnt sure how far back they went. Besides, they couldnt just show sensitive information to a member of the public: it would require the written consent of the Chief. She would have to submit a form
Next she tried the police department who gave the same answer less politely.
So she went to the Meredith Hotel, giving the concierge an Asian-American man close to sixty the same smile that had so conspicuously failed to melt the librarian.
I know this sounds like a very odd question, she began, doing her best to learn from her mistake at the library and not sound insane. But I wonder if you could tell me who is the longest-serving employee at this hotel?
Excuse me?
Who has worked at this hotel the longest?
Without warning, he stepped out from behind his small, stand-up desk and headed through the hotels revolving door, raised his arm, and summoned a cab he had spotted the way an osprey can spy a fish below the surface of the ocean from one hundred and thirty feet.
Having ushered the waiting guest towards the taxi, helped with loading the bags and pocketed a one-dollar tip with a grateful smile, he returned to Maggie and her odd question. For what was a small hotel in a middling town, he seemed rather a grand concierge.
Longest serving? That would be me, Miss.
Good. Just as she had hoped. Im researching the history of this area and I wonder if you could help me with something. I understand there was a fire here many years ago.
Before my time, Miss.
I thought you said you-
Ive worked here fifteen years. But that was-
More than twenty-five years ago.
Right.
And theres no one else here who has memories of that night?
Like I say, no one here has worked longer than me.
What about the owners?
Changed hands eight years ago. This hotel is part of a chain owned out of Pennsylvania now.
Maggies face must have displayed her disappointment because he seemed hurt, eager to please again. What do you need to know?
Anything you can tell me.
He leaned on his desk. I heard it was a very big fire. Destroyed the interior of the hotel. They had to rebuild and redecorate. Hotel was closed for a year.
All of which had been covered in the anniversary story in the paper.
And no clue how it started?
They say that was a mystery. Though one of the older cleaners shes dead now she said it was cigarettes, set the curtains on fire. On the third floor.
But nobody died.
Where do you hear that?
Maggie pulled from her pocket the photocopied Daily World cutting about the reopening she had taken from the library. With a quick glance, she checked it again now. Nowhere did it mention any fatalities. She had assumed everyone had survived. She looked back at the concierge. Do I have that wrong?