Mitchell stepped forward. I’ll go first and do a visual inspection before you leave the building. A thumbs up is all clear.”
Mike nodded. “Good.” He turned back to Tabitha. “Wheel the pictures into the truck. There is a door into the cab at the front of the truck. I’ll shut and lock the door. I’ll go around, get in the cab, then unlock the door from my side. When it’s safe, I’ll tap on the door. You unlock it from your side, then slide into the passenger seat.” He handed her a small flashlight.
“I can do that, but I do hate small enclosed spaces.” She swallowed nervously.
“There is an emergency exit if something happens. It’s a crawl space into the cab. You’ll see it when you get to the front of the truck.”
He smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I won’t forget to let you out.”
She smiled back. “I won’t. I just don’t like all this subterfuge.”
“It will be over soon.” He looked her over. “You need to slump a bit more. You’re a little taller than Lizzy. When you get into the cab, slump down so less of your face shows.”
“Okay.”
He reached over pulled her cap lower and then straightened the stiffened collar of her shirt pulling it up to her chin. “That’s better.”
“Bill you ought to go ahead since we don’t want any bullet holes in these paintings.” Mitchell nodded, pulling his gun from his back holster. He went ahead to the service entrance at the back of the building.
They maneuvered the trolley through the doorway and down the hall to the service elevator. Tabitha followed instructions, keeping her face turned away from the open areas.
After what seemed like forever but was less than five minutes, they arrived at the truck. Tabitha wheeled the trolley into the truck locking it in place so the paintings didn’t move.
As Mike closed the door and she heard the lock snapped shot, she had to fight the urge to scream.
With shaking hands, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the flashlight. Swallowing the bile that rose in her throat, she pushed the on switch.
The light came on, brightened, dimmed then brightened. She turned to look at the front of the truck. She could see a large red button, a key, an intercom with a red and green button at the bottom and down in the corner there was a red handle, a red arrow and a sign that said emergency exit.
Keeping her hand on the side of the truck for balance, she carefully walked toward her escape route.
Suddenly she heard pings against the side of the truck, then the truck swerved first right and then left. She was thrown against one side and then the other. Her arm was flung up, the flashlight slamming against the metal siding.
The light went out.
Darkness closed in.
She fought the screams that tried to rip from her throat.
Her fear surged from her loins through her stomach, up her heart, her throat and into her brain. She knew something had gone dreadfully wrong. Do they know I’m in here? Surely they wouldn’t try to wreck the truck just to ruin my pictures.
When the truck stopped swerving, she got to her knees. Crawling forward on trembling arms that would barely support her weight, she reached the front of the truck.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she struggled to her feet. Her head was swimming, her eyes didn’t seem to want to focus. And the darkness, the darkness that was pressing in on her caught at her breath, her heart, her courage.
Her hands fumbled over the metal panel trying to feel for the lock and the key. Finally after eons of time, her hands found a knob.
Right. There was a red knob. Her hands closed over it. She took a deep breath trying to push back the darkness, the panic.
Think, Tabitha. Where was the key in relation to the knob?
With one hand on the knob like it was a lifeline she began feeling for the key. In frustration, she slammed her hand against the wall.
“Miss Black, what’s the problem?” Mike’s voice came over the intercom.
“I can’t get out. I can’t see. I lost the flashlight when the truck swerved.” Tabitha’s voice choked on the sobs she could feel rising to her mouth.
“Just a second. I can fix that.”
Suddenly the lights inside the truck came on. The panic receded. The sobs dropped back into her stomach. Her head cleared.
She turned the key, the door opened. She fell into the passenger seat.
“Keep your head down. You lost your ball cap.” His voice a snarl, Mike reached up and pulled his cap off his head. “Put this on.”
With shaking hands, she pulled the cap down low over her forehead.
“Are you okay?”
“What happened. Why did the truck swerve? And what were those pings?” Her voice rose on each word until she almost cracked the windshield with the word pings.
“Easy. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. First we’re shot at and then they try to ram us. That’s not okay.”
“Nobody shot at us. Those pings were wads of ice being thrown at us by the wind. I know it sounded like bullets hitting us, but it wasn’t.”
“Then why were you swerving?”
“A little old man shot out right in front of me. I swerved to avoid hitting him. Then I had to swerve again to avoid an oncoming car.”
She leaned forward, putting her fists on her knees and her forehead on her fists. She sat like that for the rest of the trip, concentrating on breathing in and out, in and out, in and out, fighting the anger, the frustration, the fear, fighting to keep from screaming it all out.
Thirty minutes later, the truck pulled into the repository. Mike backed it in flush with the door of the loading dock. He reached over and touched her arm. “We’re here. I need you to go into the truck and push the trolley out into the warehouse.”
Tabitha shook her head. “I’m not going in there again. I can’t do it. I told you I was claustrophobic. I’d rather be shot than go back in there.”
Mike looked at her white, sweating face. “Okay. You sit here. I’ll go open the door into the warehouse, then come through the truck and get you. You’ll have to go out through the truck bed to be safe.
Tabitha pressed her lips together hard, then finally nodded. “Okay.”
Mike looked around the secured yard before he pushed open the door. Jumping down, he hurried around the truck. Tabitha could see him in the rear-view mirror. He went in through a narrow door, shutting it behind him.
She could feel him open the back door, then walk through the truck. The door opened. “You can come now.”
Tabitha drew a deep breath, walking back to loosen the trolley. Carefully, she helped Mike push the trolley into the repository.
Cabot and Liu met her in the office. If they noticed anything odd about her appearance they didn’t say anything.
“Tabitha, I’m glad you made it.” Liu said. “I am not impressed with the British police. They should be able to protect you better than that.”
Cabot took her arm. “I’ve hired the Mitchell Security to get you to Ghost Haven. They have a white van from an electric company that they use for this kind of transport. It has tinted windows so you should not be seen. Is that okay with you?”
When Tabitha didn’t say anything, he added, “It should only take the regular amount of time to drive there.”
Tabitha reached down, pulling her tote from the base of the trolley. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Liu pointed to a bag of gourmet sandwiches. “I got those for your lunch. I wanted you to eat here and relax but Leland says we need to get you to Ghost Haven before dark.”
Tabitha opened the bag. It contained two of her favorite sandwiches, gourmet chips, dessert and sparkling water and lemonade. Tabitha smiled. “This looks wonderful. I’d like a minute to freshen up if that’s okay.”
Fifteen minutes later, Tabitha was seated on a comfortable executive chair that was bolted to the floor of the van. She could see out the windows but no one could see in.
As Leland grabbed the
door handle he said, “Both of these men are trained security agents. They may not look it but they are armed to the teeth. If anyone shoots at you, they’ll take them out.”
Four hours later, the van pulled up at the tradesman’s entrance at Ghost Haven. Tabitha now dressed in white coveralls, an electrician’s pouch around her waist followed her ‘boss’ to the backdoor.
Mrs. Mere was standing at the table beating batter in a large bowl while Hargraves was examining wine glasses at the counter in the butler’s pantry.
Charley stepped back from the open door. “The electricians have finally arrived. I’ll go tell Miss Courtney.”
Hargraves stepped into the kitchen, a huge smile on his face. “Miss Tabitha, it’s so good to see you here safe.” He gave her a big hug.
Mrs. Mere smiled. “I’m making your favorite dessert.”
Tabitha hurried over to give her a hug. “You’re making your famous salted caramel apple cake?”
“I am.”
Knowing the Mrs. Mere hated talking much, Tabitha said. “Thank you so much. I’ve been craving that cake since the last time I was here.”
Darryl, the man who had driven the van said, “Miss Black. I need you to help me unload the van. Once you start, Jim can appear and you can disappear. If anyone followed us, it would be good to keep them confused.”
Tabitha nodded. “I’m coming.” She followed him out to the van.
“I’ll hand you the lightweight boxes. They look heavy but they are just bulky. We’ll bring in the heavy ones. Remember, though, you can’t be seen in the main part of the house.”
Tabitha nodded taking a box the size of a case of toilet paper. It was so light she nearly threw it over her shoulder. “What’s in here?”
“Fancy napkins for the holidays. Nothing in these boxes are electrical parts. It’s all smoke and mirrors.”
“Cabot thinks of everything, doesn’t he?”
Darryl nodded. “He’s a good man to have in your corner.”
As Tabitha maneuvered the box through the door, Charley took it from her. “I’ll put this in the storage room.”
“Thanks. It’s not heavy but it is awkward.”
Courtney came running into the room, her arms wide. “Tabitha, dahling. I’m so glad you made it.”
“You and me both.” Tabitha looked around. “Where’s Rupert?”
“Upstairs in the Haunted Gallery.”
Tabitha rubbed her forehead. “I thought the door was locked?”
“It was until Rupert opened it.” Courtney sounded amused.
“How?”
Charley and Hargraves laughed. “He has a very talented nose.”
“He nudged the handle with his nose and the door opened. He seems to feel right at home in there.”
Tabitha shook her head. “He’s a crazy dog. I hope our little ghost enjoys his company.”
Darryl stopped by Courtney. “Everything is unloaded. The original boxes are inside the electrical boxes. We have a room at the bed and breakfast in the village since you are full up and we need to advertise our presence in the village. We’ll be back tomorrow so it looks like we’re working here, then head out in a couple of days.”
Courtney smiled. “Thanks so much. You’ve thought of everything.”
“By the way,” Darryl said with a grin, “We really are electricians. If you need anything done, we can give you an estimate.”
Hargraves said, “Now that you mention it, I have several projects for you.”
Courtney nodded toward the back stairs. “We’re thinking that you need to keep a low profile. Since we’re so full, all of our rooms are rented. I put you on the third floor in the servant’s quarters. No one goes up there except for the five of us. All of us are up there for right now.”
“I like the idea of keeping a low profile. That way we don’t need to swear your guests to secret.”
“My guests keep secrets? You have to be nuts. This group couldn’t keep quiet to save their lives, let alone yours.”
Chapter 35—Ghost Haven
Courtney led the way to the fourth floor. “I don’t know how the servants stood this. Each of these little rooms held two twin beds, two tiny chests of drawers—no closets, no curtains, no amenities.”
She pushed open the door to Tabitha’s room. There was a twin bed and an armoire. Her suitcases were sitting on the floor. The room was about six feet wide and about twelve feet long. The floor was bare wood that looked like it hadn’t been finished in four hundred years. There were hooks on the walls and it looked like someone had pounded in a couple of nails opposite each other in the corner of the room.
Courtney point them out. “When we came up here to clean, there was a moth-eaten curtain across that corner. I guess the housemaids who lived in this room didn’t want their clothes showing. Lucky for you, I found the armoire in a corner of the attic. It was missing a leg and one hinge. Charley made a new leg and found hinge on some piece of furniture in the attic.
Looking closely, Tabitha could see that the leg was an unfinished rectangular of wood. The hinge was silver while the rest of the hinges were gold.
“Sorry I didn’t get your stuff unpacked.” Courtney didn’t really sound apologetic.
“Where am I going to put my painting stuff?” Tabitha looked at the tiny eighteen-inch square window. There was a black curtain hanging over it.
“You’ll want to keep the curtain over the window at night. We don’t want people to know you’re here.”
Tabitha shook her head. “I’m not sure I dare breathe. I’m afraid I’ll use up all the air.”
Courtney laughed. “It’s not really that bad. I put your painting stuff next door. All that’s in that room is a table, a chair, your easel and your canvases. We did put several candles and stands in there.”
“You don’t have a lamp I could use? Maybe one with daytime illumination?”
“Sorry, love. The fourth floor isn’t wired for electricity.”
“I need to get Liu’s portrait done, then London’s mother’s picture plus I’ll have several more paintings that will need to be done after Christmas.”
“You can paint on the porch. There’s enough air circulation that the smell doesn’t come past the kitchen.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to unpack, then I want to finish cleaning our little ghost’s picture.”
“Before you do that, I want to show you the book that I found in the attic.” Courtney looked out the door before leading the way to a narrow set of stairs that climbed steeply out of sight.
When they were at the top, Courtney took a key from her pocket. After unlocking the door, she handed the key to Tabitha. “You said you wanted to help clean the attic. This is yours as long as you want to stay.”
She pushed open the door to show a huge room that ran the length and width of the house.
Tabitha looked around her friend. “How in the world will you ever get this room cleaned? I had no idea it was so monstrous.”
She looked around at the piles of furniture, boxes, trunks, dress forms, books and other deleterious. “It will take years to clean out.”
Courtney shrugged. “I think the Fire Marshall will be okay if I just keep making progress. I guess I could just hire some of the local village men to haul it all to the dump, but I’m afraid there might be some valuable stuff up here.”
She pointed to a huge mahogany, three-door wardrobe that must have been six feet long and eight feet high. The middle door was a mirror. The silver had tarnished giving the images in the mirror a through the looking glass feel.
“I saw a much smaller wardrobe in Islington Auction House that went for $24,000 pounds.”
Tabitha walked to where a book lay in the middle of a cleared section of the floor. “Is this the book you told me about?”
“Yes. Isn’t it weird? There isn’t any place it could have fallen from.”
There wasn’t anything within six feet of the book. Tabitha looked up at the huge beams that ran the length o
f the attic. “I guess it could have come from up there.”
Courtney shrugged. “Those beams are twelve feet above our heads. How would the book have gotten up there?”
“I really don’t know.” Tabitha said as she bent over to look at the book. The cover was black leather that had badly cracked. The gold lettering was so faded that it blended into the leather making the title unreadable.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of latex gloves.
Courtney shook her head. “I think you’ve been around London’s team too much.”
Tabitha’s heart clinched when she heard London’s name, but she nodded. “We don’t want the oils from our hands to damage this book. It’s obviously very old. It’s probably worth as much as your wardrobe is.”
Courtney’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
Tabitha didn’t answer, her entire attention was on the book at her feet. After pulling on the gloves, she dropped to her knees, examining the book without touching it. She pulled a small magnifying glass from her pocket. After looking at the book through the glass, she bent down and smelled the book.
“What are you doing?” Courtney’s voice held a mixture of disbelief and awe.
“Old books have a peculiar smell. Remember how the library smelled that first night.”
“Yeah. Like mold, dust and soot.”
“Well, this one doesn’t smell like that. It smells like old leather and old paper. It smells like it’s been kept somewhere clean and dry.”
“When you figure out where that is, let me know because I can’t imagine a place in this attic where it would be kept clean.” Courtney waved her hand to take in the entire attic.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re in an old, dusty, moldy attic. The only thing I can’t smell right here is soot.”
Tabitha carefully slid her gloved fingers under the book, gently lifting it from the floor. She cautiously eased open the first page.
Even though the book edges had at one time been gold, the paper was yellowed around the edges, the yellow fading to cream toward the middle of the page.
The Ghost Dances the Nutcracker Page 19