Murder & Mockery

by K P Stafford

  One name kept popping up, but they couldn’t pinpoint it to anyone in town. Lexi thanked Mavis for her time and headed back to the office to wait on Jake. While she waited, she decided to check some of her old skip-trace resources for old medical records, marriage records, whatever she could find. Once again it felt like grasping at straws.

  She typed in the name Osborne, the one that had been in the town records but disappeared after a certain date. She assumed they’d all died off without any children or family members. As she started reading through some of the files, something dawned on her. They were driven out of Cryptic Cove.

  She kept going through file after file until finally, Bingo! There was the missing link. Her heart jolted. She couldn’t believe who the descendent was. It wasn’t one of their suspects, but the more she thought about it, the more sense it made.

  She grabbed the phone and made a quick call to Marcus Finche, the town coroner and amateur forensics guy. She asked him to look at some specific files and get back with her. In the meantime, she was headed out to confront the person she believed was the Danforth descendent. She couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to dig up such horrible things from the past. On the other hand, she didn’t really want to know how someone could be so evil. All she wanted was to get Grams back safely and put this crazy mess behind them. She still had a wedding to plan, although at this point, it looked like it would be postponed indefinitely.

  28

  Lexi headed to the library knowing it would be closed, but her gut told her there were secrets still hidden in some of those files, and she intended to find out what they were. Breaking and entering wasn’t the right thing to do, but sometimes, in dire circumstances, it was necessary.

  She pulled around to the back of the library and saw Ms. Jensen approaching the back door. She quickly got out of her car and walked towards her. The older woman spun around, a look of guilt on her face. “Ms. Jensen, what are you doing here?” Lexi asked.

  She stammered her words out, “I— well.” In a moment of defiance, she raised her head and looked Lexi square in the eyes. “There are files still in the library, some I didn’t take before my retirement. I know they contain secrets and I intend to find them.”

  “I’m here for the same reason. It’s illegal for us to break in. I’m willing to take the chance and get in trouble for it, but you don’t need to be involved in it. Let me do this, okay?”

  She pulled her hand out of her pocket and jangled a key, “Oh, there’s no need to break in. I still have a key.” A mischievous glint lit up her eyes.

  “Ms. Jensen, I never would have pegged you for the type to keep something like that.”

  “Well, I have some of that intuition stuff too. Something told me a long time ago that I needed to have access.”

  “Then let’s get in there and find those files.” Lexi held her flashlight up. “I have my flashlight. It’s come in handy a lot in my life.”

  “Wow, that looks nice and sturdy.”

  “John gave it to me when I started working for him.”

  “Is that the one you conked ole Bernie Copeland with?”

  “It is.”

  “I’m glad you have it. There should be some light from the windows still shining into the basement, but it won’t be much. I think I know exactly where to look, if Decatur hasn’t discovered where I had some of the files stashed. There shouldn’t have been any need for her to go into the old basement.”

  Ms. Jensen unlocked the door and they quickly stepped inside. Lexi didn’t want to tell her that she had doubts about Mrs. Williams not rummaging through the whole library, so she didn’t say anything. She clicked on the flashlight so they could see their way down the dark hall with Ms. Jensen leading the way. She stopped in front of an old door. “This is it. This thing used to stick so bad. I bet it’s even worse now.”

  Lexi stepped up, “Let me do it then.” She grabbed the knob, turned it and gave it a good shove, almost falling when it flung open like it had been greased. “Oh crap!” She gasped, louder than she intended. She looked back at Ms. Jensen. “Apparently it’s been fixed.”

  Ms. Jensen walked through the open door and started heading down the stairs. “That means she’s been down here snooping around. Shine the light for me. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

  Lexi shined the light down the stairs and followed behind her. Suddenly she stopped. “Do you hear that? It sounds like someone shuffling around.”

  Lexi listened and heard it, too. She pulled out the taser gun that Jake had gotten her. “Let me go first. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  Ms. Jensen smiled looking at the taser. “You come prepared.”

  “Not as prepared as I should be.” Lexi told her, knowing she should stop and call John to come check this out, but since she was already there, she might as well do it. It was probably a rat anyway. A big rat, by the sounds of it.

  They eased their way down. The noise stopped. Ms. Jensen pointed to the direction she last heard the noise. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Lexi pointed the light towards where her companion was pointing. Ms. Jensen gasped when she saw the face. She rushed past Lexi. “Oh my lands, Velda. Who on earth has tied you up down here? We’ve been so worried about you. Thank God you’re alright.” She said as she pulled the gag away from Grams’ mouth.

  “That woman is completely crazy!” Grams spat the words out, exasperated.

  They began untying her. “Who did this, Grams?” Lexi asked as she got the last of the ropes loose.

  “Decatur Williams. And when I get my hands on her, I’m going to wring her scrawny little neck!”

  “Where is she now?”

  Grams smoothed back her hair, always concerned about her appearance. “She’s headed to the house, to get that Cryptex. I didn’t want to tell her where it was, but she threatened to hurt everyone I love. I couldn’t take the chance, so I told her I had it hidden, hoping she’d go look and give me a chance to escape. She’s crazy as a loon and just as dangerous as she is nuts.”

  “It’s okay Grams. John is there, in case the kidnapper called your home phone.”

  “We have to get to him. She will kill him if she doesn’t get that cursed contraption. She’s already killed two people over it, Lexi. We have to get to John.”

  “I’ll go, you stay with Ms. Jensen I can call John on my way and warn him.”

  They all headed up the stairs as Lexi pulled out her cellphone. Decatur already had a good head start. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail. Lexi pushed the end button and then punched the quick dial for Jake. Hopefully, he could get there before she did. She prayed it wasn’t too late.

  As Lexi pulled into the driveway everything seemed ominous and quiet. She parked the car and went around to the backdoor. When she entered the kitchen, she could hear someone rummaging through another room, throwing things around. She saw John lying on the floor with several large drops of blood next to his head. She eased over and checked his pulse. He was still alive. She listened to the sound of the ransacking to determine which room the noise was coming from. If she could sneak in, she might be able to attack from behind. She sucked in a deep breath and headed towards the living room. She peeked in and saw Decatur Williams yanking books from the bookshelf, muttering under her breath. If she could just make it across the room before the woman turned around and spotted her, she could tackle her like a linebacker would in a football game.

  She slowly made her way into the room, creeping quietly. Halfway to the woman, she took a step and heard a loud creak. Crap! She muttered to herself. She forgot about the one creaky floorboard in Grams’ house. Decatur turned around and spotted her. Lexi almost froze in her steps, but instead, rushed forward. The thought of tackling an old woman caused her heart to pinch, but it had to be done before the woman killed anyone else or unleashed any evil she’d find in that old estate if she discovered where the Cryptex was.

  The woman side-stepped as Lexi tripped over books lying on the
floor, falling towards the bookshelf. She pulled her hands up and caught herself. Mrs. Williams grabbed a large book and smacked Lexi over the back of the head. “Why are you trying to stop me? You’re a Danforth. We could run this town together! Don’t you want to reclaim what is rightfully ours?”

  Lexi fell to the floor and quickly turned over, trying to get to her feet again. She looked up and saw the giant book coming towards her face. “You’re crazy lady! I have no intention of trying to unleash anything evil on this town.” She raised her leg and kicked the woman in the knee, a move Jake had taught her during their self-defense classes. The woman screamed in pain, but raised the book again.

  Lexi heard a loud caw as Baxter and several other crows flew into the room and began swooping down, pecking the woman on the head with each pass. “Get off me you crazy birds. I’ve had enough of your kind pecking me.” She yelled as she tried to swing the book at them. They swooped and dodged her attempts to hit them.

  Lexi got to her feet and spotted one of Grams’ table runners on the floor. It was long and hopefully thin enough to use as a rope. She grabbed it and flung it around the woman. With a quick jerk to her left she pulled the woman off her feet. The woman hit the floor with a thud. Lexi quickly sat on top of her, trying to wrangle the table runner around her. It wasn’t the best thing to use as a rope, but it did help.

  Jake rushed into the room. “Lexi! Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay. Help me tie this crazy woman up.”

  Jake stepped over the piles of books on the floor and grabbed Decatur’s hands. “There’s some handcuffs in my back pocket.” He said to Lexi. “Get them out and put them on her.”

  Lexi reached around to Jake’s back pocket and pulled out the handcuffs. The woman kept fighting, but Lexi finally got her hands bound.

  They got her to her feet and headed to the front door. John was sitting on the steps holding a rag to the gash on his head, just as Grams and Ms. Jensen came barreling into the driveway. Grams’ car came to a screeching halt, kicking up dust when a tire left the pavement. Grams jumped out and ran to John. She’s very spry for her age, Lexi thought as her Grams ran straight for John and threw her arms around his neck. He had a good gash across his forehead, but relief washed over his face as he rubbed her back. It was clear that they did have feelings for each other. Maybe now they would stop trying to hide it from everyone, and just be together. There was nothing wrong with people their age becoming a couple. Maybe a marriage would be in their future too.

  Ms. Jensen got out of the car, walked up to Decatur Williams and poked her in the chest. “You’ve got some nerve trying to pull a stunt like this on our town. I’m sure you don’t have the decency to be ashamed of yourself, but you should be.”

  Decatur puffed up and started to speak just as Ms. Jensen shoved her scarf into the old ladies mouth. “Stuff it you crazy old bat. We don’t want to hear a thing you have to say. You can tell the judge your pathetic story.”

  Jake grinned and shook his head as he grabbed Lexi’s hand and pulled her towards him and kissed her on the forehead. “You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you?”

  Lexi started to speak but looked up and saw the playful smile on his face. “I guess I can’t.”

  He pulled Lexi into a hug as they both looked over towards the porch. Grams was doting on John and inspecting the gash on his forehead. She looked at Lexi, “I don’t think it needs stitches, but it does need one of those butterfly bandages. Lexi would you grab the first aid kit?”

  “Yes ma’am,” She said as she let go of Jake and headed into the house to grab the kit. She glanced into the living room on her way to the kitchen. She didn’t have time to think about how bad things could have been. She didn’t like seeing Grams’ home in such a mess, but she shook the thought off and hurried past the living room straight for the kitchen to grab Grams’ bag of first aid items. By the time she got back outside, the sheriff was there, loading Mrs. Williams into the back of his car. She was still struggling and would have been screaming if it wasn’t for the scarf still stuck in her mouth. Lexi giggled thinking the sheriff didn’t want to listen to her either, since he made no effort to remove it.

  Another murder was solved, but there was still so much she didn’t know. She was ready to put the madness behind them. She looked at Jake and thought about wedding plans.

  29

  Even though John didn’t need stitches, Grams insisted he go to the hospital, in case he had a concussion. He opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it. The worry in Grams’ eyes softened his heart.

  Jake excused himself as Lexi and Grams got John checked in, and by the time he was settled into his room, all of their friends were there. Jake came in with a man Lexi didn’t recognize, although most everyone else knew him. He stepped up and took Lexi’s hands as he looked into her eyes. The room grew noticeably quiet, so she looked around and saw that everyone was staring at her. “What’s going on Jake?” She whispered.

  That infectious smile that she fell in love with, and still fell in love with every time she saw it, swept across his face. “I want to get married.”

  She let out a soft giggle. “I know. We’ve been trying to plan a wedding, remember.”

  “I don’t want to wait. I want to marry you right now, right here. That’s why all of our friends are here.”

  “Oh? I wondered why they all showed up so quickly. You sneaky thing. You planned all of this didn’t you?”

  “Well, I didn’t plan John getting hit over the head, but it seems like the perfect time to get married.”

  Bobby and Paisley stepped up to announce they were the ring-bearer and flower girl, Peyton stepped in as maid of honor, of course, and Charlie was the best man. Lexi turned to look at John, one of the most treasured men in her life. It was only fitting that he give her away. He blushed and tears rolled down his cheeks. “Oh you sweet girl, I’d be honored.”

  After they said I-Dos and everyone got a cupcake that Peyton had brought, Lexi looked at Jake, tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe he was now her husband, or that she was a wife. A real wife. He pulled her close, and she snuggled in under his arm.

  She looked around the room at her big family. These people were more than just friends, they were a part of who she was becoming. She finally had a real family. She missed her mom and dad, and she was still upset at all they’d hidden from her, but having all these people around her helped her get through it. She glanced over in the corner of the room where Charlie and Peyton were standing with Bobby and Paisley. It suddenly dawned on her that they were the perfect family. She nudged Jake to look over their way. He leaned into her ear. “Maybe you’ll get to plan a wedding after all.”

  “I hope so. I know Peyton is still bothered by the incident a few months ago, but Charlie has really stepped in and helped her heal a lot.”

  Lexi took in a deep breath. It was good to know that she and Peyton both had these people, and they could heal from all the past hurts surrounded by those who loved them.

  30

  The next day, Ms. Jensen gave Lexi the old files she’d taken from the library before her retirement several years ago. Mostly old documents on how the forefathers had established the town after fleeing from Salem in the 1690s. None of them were clear about whether or not the early settlers were actually witches, or just disagreed with the whole witch trial ordeal and didn’t want any part of it.

  Close to the bottom of the stack, Lexi found a file that mentioned a Danforth. He had been extremely wealthy and had a big part of setting the town up. He’d built a large estate on the outskirts of town. By the early 1700s, he’d fallen out of favor with the town’s people. She continued to read the story.

  A notation in the margin close to the bottom of the page caught her eye. They had left Salem because of the burning of those accused of witchcraft, but had found themselves in a similar situation when they discovered that Danforth was practicing black magic. They’d raided his home, dragged him into the center of t
own and burned him alive. Afterwards, they’d made a pact to hide all evidence of his existence from the generations that followed.

  Charlie had opened the Cryptex. It took him several hours to figure out the code, but he finally cracked it. Inside was an old key. The key must be important, but no one had a clue what door it would unlock or where the door was. It could be any old building in town, or any back room in the old buildings. Unfortunately, it was still a mystery, but at least they knew who killed Shirley and the woman would be brought to justice.

  Lexi couldn’t believe that someone could hold a grudge as long as Decatur had. It had been hundreds of years ago when her ancestors set out to destroy anyone they thought was practicing witchcraft, but they’d had a traitor in their midst. Unfortunately, Decatur followed the life of the traitor. So many innocent people died back then. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that someone in this day and time had been burned to death because of witchcraft. It didn’t matter that the town’s people of today weren’t practicing the craft, and no one could be sure that their ancestors had either, although it did seem plausible. The early settlers fled Salem for a reason, and kept many secrets, some of which were still hidden today.

  The whole truth may never be known, but it was true that many of the descendants of those early town builders did have special gifts, the gift of insight or intuitions. Lexi herself had little gut feelings that weren’t like normal gut feelings, and she dreamed of ghosts. She let out a long breath. She had absolutely no intention of trying to speak to the dead on purpose, but like finding dead bodies, if it happened that way, so be it.