Linnea’s Plan

“Aerosmith, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails . . . Paul, would you like to explain to me why you felt the need to spend half your savings on an antique CD player and a bunch of grandma music?”

“I’ve been researching past life recall, and I’ve read that listening to music from the era of your past life can be a trigger of sorts – bringing forgotten memories to the surface.”

“Have you had any success?”

“Yes!  Well, in a way.  The memories themselves are just flashes . . . “

” . . . I’m at a party, watching the Mysterious Blonde and the Card Shark . . . “

” . . . I see the Card Shark in a Paladin’s robe . . . “

” . . . And there’s that one strange memory that I keep having – I’m sitting on the beach at night, looking at the ocean.”

“None of these memories make any sense by themselves, but then I thought about the kinds of music that called them up.  Love songs brought up the Mysterious Blonde.  Bitter, angry songs made me think of the Card Shark.  When I put it all together, I see a pattern.”

“The Card Shark and I were Paladins.  We were both in love with the Mysterious Blonde, but she chose him.”

“Paul, that is pure speculation.”

“Music is an extremely powerful and emotional medium.  You must consider the possibility that these ‘memories’ were brought into your mind by the power of suggestion, rather than by a past life trigger of some sort.”

“That’s why I need . . .”

“I know.  You need empirical evidence.  And I’ve figured out how to get it.  I know how we can gain access to the Paladin’s sealed archives in the Coates Historical Collection.”

“Linnea!  That is the best news I’ve heard in weeks!  What do we do?”

“It’s simple.  The Coates Historical Collection is housed in the Wilson-Davis Library, which, as you know, is an eight story structure built in the 1980s.  Until the 2030s, it was used as the main research library on campus.”

“I don’t need a lecture on university history, Linnea.  I need a plan.”

“Paul, without this lecture, you won’t be able to understand my plan.  Just listen!”

“Think about what the inside of this library must look like.  It was built when hard copy books were the primary research tools for university students.  The library has meeting rooms, study lounges, administrative spaces, and so on, but the vast majority of the interior would have been taken up with row after row of bookshelves.  The students would have needed easy access to these shelves, so elevators were installed.  In front of each elevator is a foyer area from which people could enter the area with the shelves.  They called that area ‘the stacks’.   Of course, now that access to the old books in the library is restricted, these foyer entrances have been blocked off with desks staffed by library personnel.”

“Why is that important?”

“I’m sorry.  Please, continue.”

“Think about what the stacks must look like.  There must be back stairways so that students could move between floors without having to trek all the way back to the elevators.  And, most importantly, because students would often have spent hours at a time working in the library, there would have been public bathrooms on each floor.”

“Why are the bathrooms important?”

“I’ve been visiting the library and observing the staff who work at the desks blocking off access to the stacks.  On the fourth floor, the young woman who works the morning shift is not overly keen on her job.  I’ve seen her asleep at the desk on more than one occasion.  So, our plan is simple.  We wait for her to fall asleep, then we sneak past her and hide in the old, unused bathroom until the library closes for the day.  Then, we have all night to locate and study the Paladin’s records.”

“And you thought my stake out in the cemetary was a crazy idea.”

“It’ll work, Paul.  Just meet me outside the Wilson-Davis library at 0800 tomorrow.”

“Oh, and bring along some bottled water and some snacks.  And a flashlight.”

Part 14