XXXIII: In Which County Records Is Revisited

Colin relaxed and sipped his coffee. Ron had texted, saying he was running a bit late and that gave him extra time to think. Zachary’s Death Certificate, of course. Property records on the house. The map they’d been given had lined up with Google Maps, but the internet didn’t list an address there, or even show a driveway entrance, so he’d needed to drive past the mailbox and find the house number. It hadn’t been easy to find, the mailbox had been hidden in the overgrowth and the paint on it had been faded. But it had been there. He’d half expected it wouldn’t.

What else should they look up while they were there? He really wanted to find out if either man had any surviving relatives; maybe a great-nephew or something, but how does one go about finding that information? Maybe Ron or the worker would know.

“How goes your morning, friend?” Ronaldo asked as he approached with his beverage. Colin hadn’t noticed him coming at all and almost jumped, startled out of his thoughts. “I did not mean to alarm you. I’ve been told I move too quietly, I apologize.” He took a seat.

“Oh, it’s my fault. Too absorbed in my own thoughts. Strange question, have you ever done any genealogy work?” Colin asked.

“I’m afraid I haven’t.” Ron shook his head. “Perhaps the clerk at the records office could guide us.” Colin nodded, agreeing. The two men finished their drinks, talking of trivialities, before setting out.

“Hey, it’s Chad! How are you today, buddy? We’re back for more!” Ron burst out upon entering.  His code-switching still surprised Colin, but he was getting more used to it.

“Busy. Regular requester ordered copies of a ton of docs I have to find. Gonna be a day, that’s for sure.” He said, coming up to the front desk.

“Oh, then maybe we should come back another day?” Ron offered.

“Oh no. You guys are totally fine. What can I find for you?”

“Well, we need a death certificate for another family friend and property information on his old house. Maybe birth certificates on them as well.” Ron leaned casually on the desk.

“Names and address. Approximate years will help a lot.” Chad pushed a blank notepad and pen over to him. “You guys just want a free look again or do you need to request copies? If you need copies, the birth and death certs are twenty each and the property records are thirty-five.”

“Just the free looks, if it won’t get you in trouble. I don’t have a real use for copies.”

“Nah, I can look at anything I want here and I don’t mind letting you guys have a peek too. Perks of the job.”

A short search later and Ron had pictures on his phone of Nathan and Zachary’s Birth and Death Certificates, The property deed and Nathan’s Pathology report, which they had Chad find for them again.

“Alright, here you go. Anything else I can find for you guys?” Ever helpful, Chad offered again.

“Well, in a perfect world, I’d like to find out if they had any living relatives, but I’ve never done any kind of genealogy in my life and wouldn’t know where to start.” Colin thanked his stars Ron was taking the lead on this, he knew just how to talk to Chad it seemed.

“Fifty bucks.” Chad said.

“What?”

“Fifty bucks and I’ll run genealogies on both of them for you. I’m a struggling college student and you need information. Figure it’s a good deal.

Colin mentally reviewed his finances to see if he could swing it this week.

“Done!” Ron announced. “Twenty-five up front, twenty-five when we get the reports. That okay?”

“Perfect.” Money exchanged hands and the two shook on it.

Back at Kaldis, Ron texted the photos to Colin and he uploaded them to the folder on his laptop. Colin went up and grabbed their drinks as soon as they were ready. Thankfully Jane was working, so everything would taste perfect. She was strangely wearing a green and red wide-striped sweater and a battered gray fedora instead of her usual punk attire.  Colin didn’t get it, having expected a Halloween costume, but Jane’s fashion sense often eluded him.

“Colin, bring up the property deed if you would.” Ronaldo, back to his usual demeanor asked as he sat down. “I didn’t want to say anything at the records office, but do you notice anything unusual about it?”

Colin looked it over, mostly lost as he’d never had to read such a document before.  He was just about to say he didn’t see the issue when it hit him. The owner’s name.

“It’s still registered to Zachary. How is that possible?”

“Slipped through the metaphorical cracks, I would suppose. Hopefully that doesn’t come to the attention of any land speculators.”