The Wanderlust Lady and the Door to Door Salesman - 11
By jeand
- 1504 reads
Stockport Times
September 8, 2012
New Leads in the Unidentified Victim Case
Following our last article, the newspaper and TV news departments have been inundated with information about the missing woman. And there is a consistency in the information which makes it seem all the more likely to be true. This woman (whom we still have no real name for) was a frequenter of the Memorial Park in Marple, the library, the Senior Citizens Hall, and various coffee shops. She was described as one who kept very much to herself, but always had a book near by and often was found reading it while having her coffee or tea. She was described as a real bookaholic - spending all of many days each week in the library. When asked her name, however, the librarians said that as the new machine allows people to check their own books in and out, there was never any need to find out her name. But at least we know that somewhere in the library computer is the answer to our question of who this old lady was.
She was always seen on foot – and out in all weathers – seemingly not minding the cold or the wet. She was always alone – and repulsed any offers of friendship from well-wishers.
If these extra titbits of information strike a chord with you, and you can come up with her name, please do let us know.
*****
Saturday dawned bright and fresh. I woke with renewed energy, and after my toast and tea (with milk, hallelujah) I dressed myself carefully to look like Minnie, and slowly walked out of the house. I knew where the library was, as that was always our rendezvous for the van home, and having taken off the hat and coat as soon as I got in the rough lane, I walked at my normal fast pace to my destination.
“Is it all right if I use a computer?” I asked the librarian at the desk.
“Do you have a library card?”
“No. I don't belong to this library.”
“Where do you live?”
“In Hyde.”
“I'm afraid that isn't under Stockport. That comes under Tameside.”
“Can I use it if I pay you for it? I desperately need to look something up now, and I'm in Marple, not Hyde, so I can't go there. Couldn't you make me a temporary member or something like that?”
“Are you working in Marple?”
“No, but I'm living with a friend here for the time being.”
“And is your friend a member?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Could I have her name? I'll look up her number and you can use that for the period you're staying with her.”
“Her name is Miss M, no I mean W Jones. M is for Minnie, which is her nickname.”
“And her address is what?”
“16 Oak Lane, Marple.”
“Here it is. Her number is 864036. You use the last four digits as your identity code when you log in. Are you familiar with computers?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Well, each terminal has some basic information on a sheet near it, and if you have any questions you can come and ask one of us. You can use if it for an hour. If you need longer than that, you can ask, and if there's no one waiting for it, I can extend that time a bit further. Good luck with it.”
“Thanks very much.”
“You can use any of the empty computers upstairs.” She gestured behind me to where the stairs were located.
So I rushed up the stairs, so eager to get on with my research.
The computer was straight forward – just like the ones we'd learned on at school and I'd used occasionally at friends' houses. I logged in, and was relieved when the machine happily accepted that I was a 70 year old woman.
First of all I had to decide what it was I was researching. “Gold coins” came up with Sovereign and Krugerand – so I knew these were Sovereigns and Half-sovereigns.
The worth of these 22 carat gold coins depended on their age and condition. Obviously if they were in mint condition and rare – they would command prices of over £1000 each. But if they were late Victorian and quite worn, they would be around about £100. So what I needed to do was to make a list of all the coins, and get approximate values. They had looked in very good condition to me - but I needed to study them more carefully.
Apparently, you could take the coins to dealers, or send them off in registered envelopes which the dealers would provide you with, and then they would send you the value they thought they were worth. It even said that counterfeit coins were worth sending, as they were still worth the melt down value for the gold which would make them pretty close to the value of the real coins which were heavily used.
I learned that most of the Victorian coins around were from the Jubilee period 1887-1893. And those with the old looking Queen Victoria on were from 1893 until 1901 when she died. The practice in those days was to collect in used coins and melt them down and re-mint them – as people didn't hoard them as a form of bullion as is done today.
I noted that the difference between the Jubilee Sovereigns and the older Victorian ones had not only to do with the look on her face, but also in the older one the veil is mostly covering her crown, while in the jubilee ones, the crown is on top of her veil.
The backs too are different – some with a shield on and some with George and the Dragon.
So I had my work cut out for me this weekend – make my list, and then come back to the library again on Monday to find out which were the most valuable and how much they all were worth – thousands, I was sure of it. And now that I knew how to log in with Minnie's code, there was no problem me coming here and spending hours every day. My life was definitely looking up.
While I was in, I decided to look in the Stockport papers to see if there were any jobs advertised in the Marple area. Now I'm living here, this is where I should have a job. I didn't have any strong reason for going back to Hyde at all, except to sign on for my job seekers' allowance once a fortnight. I didn't bother with reading any of the news bits – and turned straight to the jobs wanted section.
There wasn't much. I suppose Marple wasn't nearly as big a place as Hyde. The only possibilities were a production operative and a sales office administrator. I took the phone numbers, but wasn't really expecting anything to come of it. Maybe Marple jobs were advertised on cards on the post office windows. I'd find out where the post office was and go and check those later.
Feeling like I'd done a hard day's work – I turned off the computer, left the library, and jaunted down the road towards home. That's how I thought of it now. Home. But I had to remind himself to put on my disguise when I got nearer – because it really wasn't my home yet.
Despite my glee over the sovereigns, I knew that getting money for them was not going to be a quick and easy form of getting cash. I still needed to access my bank account on Monday – and get some more money to buy food again, praying that NatWest had sorted itself out.
I assumed that Minnie would've taken her purse and handbag with her when she went wherever she'd gone to. But I sort of thought that there might well be another stash of money somewhere in her house. One by one I pulled out all the containers in the kitchen and searched them. Nothing had anything except what it was advertised to have – or something boring like safety pins or paper clips in it. Even a fiver would've come in handy. I looked down the cushions on the couch and chairs – nothing there. Since she kept her key outside, maybe she'd have kept other valuables there too. I knew it was an outside chance, but I put on my (her) hat and coat, slipped outside and wandered around the garden, pretending to be admiring the weeds, while I was really looking for what might contain something of much greater interest. But no luck. I came back inside, and thought about my lunch before I set off on making my list. I needed to find something to write on, and something to write with. I decided that the filing cabinet would be a good bet for both. But first I treated myself to a poached egg on toast, and tea with real milk. I wished I'd bought something sweet to go with it, as I really craved sweetness after a meal, but Minnie didn't even have sugar, much less honey in her house.
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Comments
Coming so near to finding out
Coming so near to finding out about her, or of being found out, but not yet! Nice you can get in a bit about historic coins. Rhiannon
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I do hope he's not thinking
I do hope he's not thinking about stealing from Minnie (even though she is dead.
Lindy
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Still with you Jean and
Still with you Jean and enjoying.
Jenny.
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