on Tuesday evening by seven o’clock.”
On Monday morning, Mara and her parents visited one of the top coin experts in Chicago. Reverend Long had allowed Mara to take a few hundred coins, a few of each type coin, to show to the expert. Mara had been very careful to wrap each coin in soft cloth, so she would not scratch them.
When Mr. Duncan, the coin expert saw the collection of coins, he was very excited. Mara told him that there were thousands of coins in the collection.
After carefully examining the coins, Mr. Duncan agreed with Mara’s assessment that the entire collection was worth more than one hundred million dollars, through private sales and auctions. Then, Mara pulled a wrapped coin out of her pocket. When she revealed the coin, Mr. Duncan’s eyes almost popped out of his head. He still had his cotton gloves on and picked up the proof 1895-P Morgan dollar. “Is the only one that you have of this coin?” he asked.
When Mara told Mr. Duncan that there were three hundred seventy-five proof coins in the collection, he almost fell off his chair. “If these are authentic, and I believe they are, they could be worth a fortune all by themselves”.
Then, from her other pocket, Mara pulled out the regular issue 1895-P Morgan dollar, and handed it to Mr. Duncan. When he opened the cloth that it was wrapped in, he was speechless. He examined it for over ten minutes before saying anything. “This is the first of its kind to ever be seen,” he said. “Do you have any idea how much it would be worth?”
“Probably as much as the other eleven thousand nine hundred ninety nine of them that are also in the collection” said Mara. “This collection contains all twelve thousand of the coins that were minted.”
Mr. Duncan asked Mara if he could bring a few colleagues to see the entire collection. Mara told him to bring his colleagues to St. Christopher’s Church on Tuesday evening.
“You must not tell anyone else about this incredible discovery,” said Mr. Duncan. “A discovery of this magnitude would cause quite a riot.” “Duh!” said Mara. “Do I look dumb to you? That’s why Reverend and Mrs. Long want to sell the coins as quickly as possible, so that they don’t have to worry about the safety of the coins, and so that they can start using the proceeds to help the children of the city.”
On Tuesday evening, Mara called Reverend and Mrs. Long and asked them to meet her at the church. When they arrived, they found the parking lot full of cars and cars parked on the streets around the church. Mara met them at the door and Reverend Long asked; “Mara, what is this all about?”
As they walked into the church, Reverend and Mrs. Long saw hundreds of people applauding them. Mara began explaining; “Reverend Long, you don’t think that you have made a difference in anyone’s lives. Well, these people have gathered here this evening to tell you that you are wrong.”
One man stood up and said; “Reverend Long, twenty-five years ago, I was a gang member at the age of fourteen. You took me in, when my parents kicked me out of the house. You helped get me out of the gang and helped me to change my life around. If it were not for you, I would be either in prison or dead. Today, I teach high school in the inner city and I help teens to turn their lives around. You inspired me to help others.”
Then, one by one, the others took turns telling Reverend and Mrs. Long how they had made a difference in his or her life. Over four hundred people told Reverend and Mrs. Long, how they had enriched the lives of so many people over the past thirty years.
Mara saw that the outpouring of emotion in the church that night overwhelmed Reverend Long and his wife. “See, Reverend Long,” she said, “you have made a difference, then and now. You cannot retire. You are still needed. There are still a lot of kids who need your help.”
“I guess you are right, Mara” said Reverend Long. “I don’t think that I will be retiring any time soon.” The entire church full of people started cheering.
Reverend and Mrs. Long mingled with the people, for the next few hours. By nine o’clock, they were all gone. Shortly after nine, Mr. Duncan and three of his colleagues entered the church. Mara introduced them to Reverend and Mrs. Long. After a few minutes, everybody got into their cars and followed Reverend and Mrs. Long to their house.
After Mr. Duncan and his colleagues examined several coins in the vault, they told Reverend Long that they believed the coins would bring in as much as three hundred million dollars through auction and private sales. Reverend Long authorized Mr. Duncan to set up the auctions for the following month.
Reverend Long looked at Kelly, Gary, and their parents and said; “After a new church is built, there will be enough money for sports programs, tutoring programs and so much more. Not only will we be able to help the children in this community, but all over Chicago as well. Everybody cheered. By eleven o’clock, Reverend and Mrs. Long were alone in their house. Reverend Long thanked God and begged for forgiveness. Reverend Long realized that by doubting himself, he had also doubted God’s ability to help him help people.
The next morning, when Mara and her parents said goodbye to Reverend and Mrs. Long at the church, Reverend Long told Mara that he knew God had sent Mara to him. “Not only did you help the community, Mara, but you reminded me that I am a servant of God and you helped me to realize that I am still making a difference in the lives of our young people. Thank you and thank God.”
Mara said goodbye to Gary and Kelly. Mara gave Kelly her email address and promised to invite her into her Facebook page.
As the Louis family drove to Detroit, Michigan, Mara noticed a box on the floor of the back seat. “What’s in this box, Mom?” she asked. “Oh, that’s a small gift from Reverend Long. He put it in the car and told us that it was a small gift for you from them.”
Mara tried to pick it up and almost dropped it, because it was so heavy. When Mara opened the box, she saw that it was filled with a few hundred assorted coins from the vault. There was a note that said Mara should add the coins to her coin collection. Mara realized that the coins included several of the Morgan proofs and regular issue Morgan dollars. This would be a big addition to her collection. Mara had received coins from every mystery that she had solved where a cache of coins was found.
The Mystery at Ford Theater
Mara and her parents arrived in Detroit, Michigan in the early afternoon. After they checked into their hotel room, Mara went for a swim in the hotel pool. Mara was not exactly sure why they were in Detroit, but she knew that all would be clear to her in the morning.
After dinner, Mara watched a movie on the television and then turned in for the night. Mara had been asleep for less than fifteen minutes when her head started filling with flashes of words, names and pictures. When she woke up, she quickly wrote down all of the clues from her dream. As she looked at the dreams, Mara became very confused. She had been certain that there was a mystery to be solved in Detroit, but all of the clues pointed to Washington D.C.
The clues included Ford Theater, warehouse, doctor, booth, and the names; Lincoln, John, Mudd and Abraham. All of the clues pointed to the assassination of President Lincoln. This was the first time that Mara’s dreams had ever been wrong. Mara was about to tell her parents that they did not have to stay in Detroit, when she glanced down at a section of the newspaper in her parent’s hotel room. It was the entertainment section. The item that caught Mara’s eye was a movie theater in Detroit named Ford Theater. Mara looked up at the ceiling and asked; “Are you playing games with me?”
“Who are you talking to, Mara?” asked her mother. Mara explained about her strange dream. After breakfast, Mara and her parents drove over to the Ford Theater. It was not yet open for business, but when Mara knocked on the glass door, an elderly man opened the door. He told them that the first movie didn’t start until eleven o’clock a.m.
Before the gentleman could close the door, Mara stopped him. “Excuse me, Sir; I would just like to get some information about th
e theater. Is the owner here?”
“Yes, young lady” the gentleman said. “I am the owner. My name is John Lincoln.” Again, Mara looked skyward and quietly asked; “Are you kidding me?”
“Mr. Lincoln, what can you tell me about the history of this theater?” asked Mara. “Why is it named Ford Theater, if your name is Lincoln?”
“Well, it’s this way,” said Mr. Lincoln. “When I was a small boy, I became very close to Mr. Henry Ford, the automotive genius. When he died in 1947, he left me a warehouse in his will. Since I was only fifteen at the time, my parents took care of the property until I turned eighteen. I did not do much with it, until I turned thirty. At that time, I tore down the warehouse and built this movie theater. I named it Ford Theater to honor the man who was a major influence in my life.”
“Is there anything left of the original warehouse?” asked Mara.
“I kept the floor of the warehouse, to use as a patio outside of the theater. On cooler days, movie patrons sit out and drink coffee or tea before the movie starts.”
“Mr. Lincoln, did you receive anything else, besides the warehouse, when Mr. Ford died?” asked Mara.
Mr. Lincoln thought for a moment and then replied; “Come to think of it, I did get a