A Vicious Cycle

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A Vicious Cycle Page 4

by Eliza Brookes


  “How do you know all that?” Ashlee asked in shock. Allegra nodded and picked up the phone, amazed at the level of information that Greta had just dumped on them.

  “I looked on the internet,” Greta said humbly, waving her phone in front of her computer monitor for Allegra to see.

  “This is why I need one of you here,” Allegra groaned. She suddenly felt very sorry for herself sitting all alone in the Kinsleigh attic surrounded by a pile of random winter coats.

  “Sorry honey, but our kids are about to start the new school year. You know what that means, neither of us can go anywhere at the moment,” Greta said apologetically.

  “Hey,” Ashlee interrupted, leaning close to the screen and wrinkling her nose, “I never asked you this, but did they lock you in the dungeon or something?”

  “What?” Allegra asked in shock, caught off guard by Ashlee’s question.

  “Yeah,” Greta gasped, “honey, it looks like you’re trapped in some dingy room. Do you need help? What are you doing? That’s it. I’m calling Bud, we’re coming to rescue you. I knew this was a bad idea. Ashlee, call Crane. He needs to get us over there right now. What should we bring? Are you hungry at all? I can bring you food!”

  “Greta,” Allegra said with a chuckle, “stop. Listen, I’m in the attic looking through their old stuff. I’m hoping I can find a clue about Ruby up here.”

  “Why would her stuff be up there?” Ashlee asked.

  “Sarah said that almost nothing survived the fire, but I’m hoping that there’s some letters or something that she forgot about.”

  “That’s smart,” Ashlee commended, “but shouldn’t you be focusing on the more recent murder? You know, the one whose killer might still be alive. No offense, but this Ruby thing is going to be a lot harder than anything we’re used to or equipped for.”

  “Not to mention, you might be in the same house as a killer,” Greta warned, her eyes stretching as she contemplated Allegra’s situation.

  “I wanted to start with Penny, but her mom and dad are in her room. I wanted to give the family some space. Besides, I’ll get a much better image of the family sorting through the things they’ve forgotten about.”

  “I still want you to be careful,” Greta pouted, folding her arms over her chest.

  Allegra smiled but froze when she felt a strange tingle down her spine. She quickly turned around and shone her phone’s light in the area behind her. Shadows leaped around, but there was nothing in the corner except more boxes.

  “What’s going on?” Ashlee snapped, “Stop that! You’re making me sick!”

  The tingle came again, causing tremors to run down her arms. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

  “Allegra!” Greta yelled, “Are you okay?”

  Suddenly, the tingle stopped, and Allegra closed her eyes in relief. The feeling was short lived when the feeling came back, and her brain finally cracked the puzzle. Her phone went flying as she let out a horrified scream. Eight hairy individual legs scurried up her back in shock as she danced around in the dark, trying to get the spider off her.

  She tripped over a stray coat as she tugged at her jersey, trying to get it off and fling the spider away. Unfortunately, her attempts at undressing meant that her arms got stuck in the sleeves of her jersey and she was unable to stop herself from diving head first into a pile of musty old coats. Allegra leapt up as quickly as she could, but the cloying dust particles and memory of the spider on her, caused her skin to crawl. She danced around for a minute, slapping various parts of her body before she calmed down enough to think clearly.

  “I’m starting to understand why someone would start a fire in the house,” she muttered to herself.

  “Allegra!”

  “I’m calling the cops!”

  “Stop,” Allegra told her friends, gingerly picking up her discarded phone and checking the screen for any sign of damage.

  “What was that?” Ashlee asked, her face as pale as a sheet. Greta looked just as spooked as she lowered her phone, the 911 operator still speaking.

  “There was a spider,” Allegra mumbled abashedly.

  “You mean,” Ashlee seethed, “you gave us a heart attack because of a spider?”

  “How big was it?” Greta asked in fear, understanding sparkling in her expressive brown eyes.

  “Pretty big,” Allegra lied. The truth was that she never got a good look at the spider. Her brain just automatically switched over into survival mode. When it came to spiders, there was no other alternative.

  “I can’t believe you’re such a child,” Ashlee chided.

  Allegra nodded along seriously as Ashlee ranted, but she was too busy looking through an old armoire that stood tucked away in the corner. It was a dark piece of furniture, and if she hadn’t dropped her phone, she would never have seen it. Ashlee’s voice droned on in the background as she opened one of the drawers. Nothing.

  She felt vaguely disappointed when it turned out that there was nothing in the piece of furniture after all.

  “I said, are you listening to me?” Ashlee yelled.

  “Yes, I’m a baby,” Allegra said absent-mindedly, “hey, do you think Sarah would give me this old cupboard-thing instead of paying me? I think it would look great in my living room.” Ashlee glared at Allegra for a moment before finally relenting. She loved old furniture and would often drag her and Greta on antiquing expeditions. Needless to say, Allegra hated every second and sometimes longed for the days when they hated each other.

  “Show it to me,” Ashlee said finally, and Allegra rewarded her with a beatific smile.

  “What are we looking at?” Greta appeared onscreen, munching a cookie and holding a glass of milk. “Oh, that’s lovely. Do you think Sarah would let you have it? My grandma used to have one of those.”

  “It’s an armoire,” Ashlee said haughtily, “and yes, I think you should ask Sarah for it.”

  “I was sort of hoping to find a clue in here,” Allegra said sadly, “but I think I’ll just settle with owning it.”

  “Did you check the secret drawer?” Greta asked, spraying cookie crumbs in front of her.

  “Could you not?” Ashlee asked in annoyance.

  “Secret drawer?” Allegra echoed, her heart swelling as she contemplated the possibility of finding a clue hidden in a secret compartment. She had always wanted to do something like that. It was on her bucket list. Everyone knew that it wasn’t a proper mystery until a secret compartment was involved.

  “Yeah,” Greta said, ignoring Ashlee, “just look under the middle, there should be a little ribbon. Just pull it, then when you open the first drawer, the bottom will be loose.”

  “There might be spiders under there,” Allegra protested hesitantly.

  “There are spiders everywhere,” Ashlee reminded her. “Besides, if you find a clue, it means less time in the creepy house of death.”

  “Creepy house of death?” Greta asked in amusement.

  “Could you please aim your shower of crumbs in that direction?” Ashlee sniped.

  Allegra rolled her eyes at their antics but quickly slipped under the table, after a diligent spider search. She pointed her phone’s torch at the bottom of the middle section, but the wood was so dark that nothing jumped up at her right away. She quickly felt around the space for a ribbon. Her heart stalled when she felt a small stub of fabric peeking out from the side of the armoire. She lifted it with her fingernail and tugged at it gently.

  The entire situation made her heart race, and she had to take a deep breath before she opened the drawer. A part of her was afraid that there would be nothing there. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that disappointment yet.

  “Open the drawer!” Ashlee barked, and the moment was ruined.

  Allegra pulled open the drawer with a little grumbling, expecting to find an empty drawer. To her surprise, the bottom of the drawer was slightly ajar. Her heart pounded with excitement again as she lifted the bottom.

  �
��What is it?” Greta asked breathlessly.

  “It looks like a journal or something,” Allegra guessed, holding up the leather-bound book up to the light. It was a beautiful creation, with 1956 embossed in bold golden colors on the front.

  “Hey, when did Ruby go missing?” Ashlee asked softly.

  “I don’t know, but I’m hoping it was 1956,” Allegra commented.

  “Is it her diary?” Greta asked eagerly as Allegra opened it and quickly scanned over the first few pages.

  “No,” Allegra said slowly, lifting the phone to look at her friends, “it’s Sarah’s diary.”

  Chapter Six

  Feeling more than a little shaken, Allegra made her way down from the attic. Before she had been able to leave, she encountered a few more spiders, and had managed to get a fright each time. She clutched Sarah’s diary to her chest like a shield and made sure to look down every corridor before moving on.

  “What do you have there?” a foreign voice asked as she peeked down one corridor. She squeaked and jumped in fright, pushing herself against a nearby wall. Although she hadn’t done anything wrong, she still felt like a criminal creeping around the house. Despite the fact that she had done nothing wrong, she still hid the diary behind her back before anyone could see it.

  “Oh, Jason,” she breathed in relief, “it’s just you.”

  “My name is James,” the butler sniffed, clearly offended, “I’ve just come to tell you that your belongings are in your room. I can escort you there, if you’re lost.”

  “Sorry, James,” she apologized, still trying to calm her heart. “But I’m not going to my room right now.”

  “What are you doing?” he asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow and studying her carefully. Allegra felt like a naughty child under his stern gaze. It was clear what he thought of her, and she would feel offended later, but right now she just wanted to get away from him.

  “I was in the attic, looking around for some things.”

  “Why would you do that?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest and widening his stance in case she tried to make a run for it. The offense was starting to settle in and she shook her head at his over-the-top behavior.

  “Sarah said that some of Ruby’s things might still be up there. She was wrong, but it was worth a shot. Even if I were attacked by a couple of spiders. Those things are evil, and no one can tell me otherwise.” James frowned while she ranted about the inherent evil of spiders, but never once dropped his guard.

  “Who is Ruby?” James interrupted, starting to get impatient with her.

  “You don’t know?” Allegra asked in surprise. She guessed that James was Sarah’s right-hand man. If anything went on in the house, she would be the first to know because he would tell her. It looked like that was a one-sided relationship.

  “I know everything,” James said tartly, “except what you’re still doing here. I assume that the proper authorities should be handling this case?”

  “You assume correctly,” Allegra told him slowly, “they just don’t want to. I think you’ve built a bit of a reputation that scares away any sort of servicemen. And excuse me for saying this, but you don’t know everything.”

  “I’ll take you to your room now,” James said, grinding his teeth in annoyance as he tried to ignore her bait.

  “You won’t,” Allegra said stubbornly, crossing her arms and mirroring his stance. If he tried to force her, he would have to fight to get her there. The butler annoyed her, and Allegra did not handle annoyances very well. She had never met someone more stubborn than her, and she would not let this man take that title away from her.

  “What is that?” James asked, focusing on the diary that was now on full display. Allegra froze, realizing her mistake just a second too late.

  “I found it,” she said shortly, “if you’ll excuse me, I need to go.”

  “No,” he stepped in front of her, “I’m supposed to make sure that you don’t steal anything. Give that back, right now.”

  “Excuse me,” Allegra snapped, “but I don’t work for you. Like it or not, but Sarah hired me. I’m here to find out what happened to them, and you need to let me do my job. The quicker I finish, the quicker I get out of this house.”

  “Them?” James asked bluntly.

  “Oh yes, since you and your employer are so close, ask her about her sister.”

  “You won’t distract me, I don’t think you’re supposed to have Sarah’s diary. That doesn’t have anything to do with Penelope’s disappearance.”

  “How do you know it’s Sarah’s?” Allegra asked in surprise.

  “She has one for every year,” James said absent-mindedly, “there’s a whole shelf of them in her room. She orders that same exact journal every year.”

  “Every year?” Allegra echoed in surprise, “When did she start?”

  “The collection started soon after the second world war, I think her father ordered them for her. She says her father was a big believer in keeping a diary. Most of the family still does.”

  “So, she has one for every year?”

  “Every year except one,” James admitted hesitantly.

  “Let me guess,” she surmised slowly, “every year except 1956.”

  “How did you know?” James asked looking a little pale.

  “It’s the year her sister went missing, and the only diary that was hidden in the attic,” Allegra told him, holding up the missing diary. James puckered his face in disapproval and looked even more like he was sucking on a lemon.

  “That’s just a coincidence, and I’m sure she’d like her missing diary back.”

  “Relax,” Allegra told him, putting the diary behind her back again, “I’m not accusing her of anything. I think she may have just forgotten it was there. It was a painful time for the family.” James relaxed slightly, and Allegra tried not to smile. “I’m more interested in the fact that her father encouraged her to keep a diary. If he did that with one daughter, he would have done the same with Ruby. I wonder why I couldn’t find any of her diaries?”

  “Wasn’t there a fire?” James asked her.

  “I thought you didn’t know about Ruby?”

  “I don’t, but I do know about a fire.”

  “How?”

  James looked around suspiciously, as if someone was lurking about trying to hear him say something bad about the family. This type of behavior seemed normal, so Allegra did not question it. It did, however, feel like she was trapped in some bygone era where servants tried to get rid of each other to climb the ranks. It also wouldn’t surprise her if Sarah was hiding in some dark corner waiting for them to slip up.

  “Come with me,” he told her seriously.

  He turned abruptly and walked down the corridor, it took her a second, but soon she was scampering after him keeping a firm grip on the diary in case he tried to steal it from her. They made their way to the other side of the house. James looked around again before stopping at a random door and quickly unlocking it.

  “Why did you bring me here?” she asked, inspecting the ordinary room. It looked similar to her own room, except it smelled mustier and it didn’t look like anyone had been in there in a few years.

  “This was where the fire started,” James told her in a quiet voice.

  “It doesn’t look like it,” she told him seriously. The room was impeccably decorated, there was no sign of any damage.

  “They fixed it,” James explained, “but they couldn’t get rid of everything.” He lifted a corner of the carpet and pointed to where the wall met the floor. It was faint, but the fire damage could not be completely hidden. “This isn’t the only room, I think it spread to some of the other rooms.”

  “And you think that this is where the fire started?”

  “Definitely, it has the most damage. The other rooms only have damage on the sides connected to this room.”

  “So,” Allegra realized, “this must have been Ruby’s room.”

  “There’s no evidence that she w
as ever here,” James told her in hushed tones, “if you hadn’t told me about her, I wouldn’t have known. It’s obvious her diaries must have been in here too.”

  “You know,” Allegra said slowly, “she might have hidden something. If Sarah hid her diary then Ruby might have done the same thing. I think we should look for a loose floorboard or in the air vent.”

  James nodded at her and the two started pressing down on the floor. He turned away and knelt by the air vent, pulling a multi-tool out of his pocket. Once she was done trying to pry the floorboards up, she moved to the furniture, looking around for any sort of secret button or ribbon.

  “Nothing,” James said, his voice full of disappointment.

  “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you wanted to join me in this investigation.”

  “Don’t be silly,” James scoffed.

  “I don’t blame you,” Allegra teased, “this can’t be the most exciting job in the world. And you can’t be more than forty.”

  “Try thirty-five,” James grimaced.

  “That’s practically a teenager, what are you doing here?”

  “My father and grandfather worked for the family. It’s a good job and they treat me well.”

  “Surely this wasn’t your first choice for a career?” James didn’t say anything, but Allegra could see the truth in his eyes. It seemed like it wasn’t only the rich who felt obligated to their family legacy.

  “You know,” James said thoughtfully, “Penelope was always in here. It’s possible that she might have found them first.”

  “Hold on, why did she always spend time here?”

  “I didn’t know until today. I always thought it was the mystery of the fire that drew her here. She was the one who pointed out that there was a fire. Penelope could never resist a little trouble.”

  “It sounds like you knew her very well.”

  “I watched the kids grow up. She was always my favorite. You could always count on her to liven things up a bit. Everyone loved her so much.” Allegra averted her gaze as James used a handkerchief to wipe away his tears. It was easy to forget what she was doing here. It was also easier to investigate the murder of someone who died so long ago.

 

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