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Alexa was more interested in exhuming skeletons than being serenaded by a preschooler, but she was looking forward to working with Ana. They'd met when Alexa had been called in to examine the teeth of nine skeletons unearthed during a road construction project. Well...it turned out to be ten. An infant—whose teeth never had the chance to erupt—had been cradled in one skeleton's arms. Ana worked for an Auckland archaeology firm that specialized in cultural heritage remains. Alexa had thought at the time, and still did, that Ana could be her sister. They were the same height, five-seven, both had hazel eyes and pale complexions with a dust of freckles. Ana tamed her unruly hair with a braid. Alexa, whose hair was shoulder-length, preferred a ponytail.

"I'll show you downtown before we drop Shelby off. It's busy with tourists because of the autumn color."

The road curved past a lake, a golf course, and then a school. A GO FOR GOLD sign adorned the front entrance. The tiny town came into sight. They passed a storybook church and modest homes. Ana stopped at a crossing. "This is Buckingham Street."

"Sounds British," Alexa said.

"Sure, most immigrants during the gold rush were English, Irish, and Scottish," Ana said. "Arrowtown was settled on their backs. The Chinese were recruited once the settlers thought they'd squeezed all the gold out of the river. Turned out the dregs were plentiful."

The little library on the corner had a sign out front. Alexa squinted to read it: STORY TIME FOR DOGS WED. @ 10:00.

"Stop at the sweet shop!" Shelby shouted.

Alexa decided she liked the kid. "How big is the town?"

"Around three thousand residents. During the gold rush, fifteen thousand people lived around here."

Buckingham Street was canopied with elms and oaks, their leaves just past peak. Alexa lowered her window and smelled rich decay and a hint of winter. A row of closely spaced bungalows—two-windows-and-a-door-wide—charmed her. She imagined hitching posts out front and horses tethered to them.

Ana waited for two women to cross the street before turning. "Those are original miners' cottages from the 1870s. European miners, mind you. The Chinese settlement was down at Bush Creek. No cozy cottages for them."

The business district had one- and two-story buildings with false fronts like a Western movie set, the mountains behind them looming like a fake backdrop. There was a pharmacy, a bakery, and a store called The Wool Press. She blinked. An actual hitching post was out front. The Fork and Tap, across from the library, had a yard filled with picnic tables. People in sweaters sipped beer and laughed. The red-roofed Post and Telegraph had benches on its porch.

Ana parked in front of a gift store. They crossed to the sweet shop. A bell jangled when they entered, and the ceiling was festooned with fairy lights. Alexa inhaled the chocolaty aroma and went straight for fudge. Shelby and Ana created a mix 'n' match bag from jars of candy. "Pick something special for Nana," Ana said.

Alexa, who treated, bit into her chocolate sea-salt fudge before they were back in the car.

In three minutes, Ana turned onto a small road lined with purple-leaved trees. "The Chinese planted plum trees," she said. "They missed trees from home too."

The miners were gone, but their trees—or the descendants of their trees—lived on. Alexa liked the living connection to the past.

Ana pulled into the driveway of a modest blue house. "It's a perfect location. Close to the cemetery and town."

A woman with spiky gray hair came out onto the front porch. Shelby unbuckled herself, opened the door, and ran. The woman scooped her up and kissed her all over her face.

The scene tugged at Alexa's heart. Her mom had died when she was six; her grandmother when she was sixteen. She gathered her crime kit and suitcase and trudged to the porch.

"Mum, this is Alexa," Ana said. 

"Nice to meet you," Alexa said.

"Kia ora. Call me Pam." She was trimmer and shorter than Ana and casual in jeans and a red turtleneck. "You get the room at the top of the stairs. There's a view of Bush Creek from up there. I've left a spare cottage key on the dresser." She released her granddaughter. "You'll have to come downstairs to use the loo."

"No problem. Thank you for making room for me." 

Shelby ran to the door. "I'll show you."