by Patricia Fry
Arthur shined the light as far as he could. “No.”
“Rags,” Michael called into the chute. “Here, kitty, kitty.”
Meow!
Michael grimaced. “Yup, he’s down there,” he said, shaking his head slowly. He ran his hand through his hair. “Now what?”
“Wait, here he comes,” Arthur said. “He’s got something. Something big. Look at him trying to carry it up that slippery pipe.”
Michael leaned into the opening. “Come on, Rags. You can do it. Come on boy,” he encouraged. But before the cat could drag the item to the top, he dropped it and walked into the room to join the others. Michael scooped him up and held him.
Just then they heard, “Oh no you don’t, young lady.”
Michael and Arthur turned. Arthur shined his light in Craig’s direction and saw him holding Koko in his arms. “She was about to go down there,” he said, pointing at the lower level they’d just discovered.
Michael let out a sigh. “As Savannah would say, we’re not very good at multi-tasking, are we? Okay, why don’t we put the cats out? I’ll text Savannah to come get them.” Michael took Koko from Craig and carried them both up the stairs and out through the door. He placed them on the floor in the laundry room and sent Savannah a text. He then stepped back inside, making sure the door was tightly shut behind him.
“Okay, guys,” he said upon his return. “What did the cat bring up?”
“Not sure, yet,” Craig said as he held the light for Arthur, who was leaning into the tunnel with the crowbar, trying to snag the item. “It looks like some sort of jewelry to me—something pretty elaborate.”
“And expensive,” Arthur said, slowly backing out of the chute. “Look at this,” he said, holding up a lavish pearl-and-diamond necklace.
Craig’s eyes grew wide. “If that’s real, it’s gotta be worth a stinkin’ fortune!” He chuckled. “The girls are going to go crazy over that thing.” He then thinned his lips before saying, “It’s looking more and more like they were running a jewelry-theft ring here.”
“Let’s go show the girls,” Arthur suggested, excitedly.
Michael looked at his watch. “Yeah, we should go up. They’re probably expecting us for dinner about now.”
“First,” Craig said, “I want to look down into the other hole—door number two, as you said, Michael. I want to see what we can see with that cage out of the way.”
Without comment, the three men shined their lights into the room below. Finally Craig said, “It appears to be a full-size room. You didn’t know about this, Arthur?”
He shook his head. “Can’t see very far in there.”
“No, not with those room divider things in the way.”
“Room dividers?” Arthur asked.
“Yeah, like women used to dress behind in the olden days—before there were powder rooms.” He strained to get a wider view. “I’d really like to see what’s behind them.” Craig stood up straight. “Let me go down just for a minute.” He pressed the button and the cage returned to the top. “Sounds a little creaky, but it seems to work pretty good for being out of service for so long.”
“Make it quick,” Michael said. “I’m sure dinner’s on the table.” When Craig started to step down into the crude elevator, Michael said, “Looks like someone had some forethought.”
“What do you mean?” Arthur asked.
“They installed steps to make it easier to get down into the thing. Those were added later—probably as the residents aged.”
“Lucky for me,” Craig said. He took the first step, saying, “Okay, here I go.”
Suddenly, they heard Suzette shout, “Hey guys, dinner’s ready. Come on; Rochelle and Peter are here. Everyone’s waiting.”
“Be right there,” Craig called, sounding disappointed as he climbed out of the box and stepped away. He turned and took one more look. “Okay, we can wait for an hour or so, right, guys?”
“I guess we’ll have to,” Michael said.
“Sure,” she said, only slightly reluctantly.
Chapter 9
“Hey, you fellows are unusually quiet tonight,” Peter said over dinner.
Craig glanced up. “Just giving the women a chance to chitchat. Don’t want to interfere with important conversations about designer handbags and recipes.”
Iris play-slugged her husband. “For your information, Rochelle and I were discussing the mansion and its mysteries.” She made eye contact with Michael and then Arthur. “You guys have been quiet. You didn’t tell us what you found when you disappeared this afternoon.”
All eyes were on the three men.
“More secrets,” Craig said. “We’re not sure, yet, what we found. All we know is that it probably wasn’t meant to be found.”
“You know where the cats were digging on the wall?” Arthur asked. “We broke through that wall and then another wall behind it.”
“What was in there?” Rochelle asked, her eyes wide.
“We think it was the madam’s reading room,” Arthur said.
There was quiet chatter among the others in the room, then Michael said, “We found an elevator—actually a lift—down to another level.”
“Another level?” Rupert shook his head in disbelief. “Just when you think you know this place inside and out, another dimension appears.”
Rochelle smiled in Rupert’s direction. “Another dimension, indeed—both in the ethers and in the construction of the thing.”
“So where does the elevator go?” Savannah asked.
“Don’t know,” Craig said. “We hope to find out after dinner.”
“Where are Laura and Gail tonight?” Suzette asked.
“They were tired,” Ruth said. “They wanted to eat in their rooms this evening and turn in early. It has been a long week for them.”
“Oh!” Craig exclaimed. He jammed his hand into his jacket pocket. “We found this,” he said, holding up the pearl necklace.
“Oh my Gawd,” Iris said. She took it carefully from Craig, stared at it for a few moments, then hugged it to her chest. “Where did you get this?” she insisted rather dramatically.
Michael glanced at the other two men and said, “Rags found it, in the tunnel that leads to the pit.”
Rochelle looked up from her meal. “So you did find a tunnel.”
The three men nodded.
“Let me see it,” Savannah said, excitedly, reaching for the necklace. After Iris passed it to her, she held it up and admired it from every angle, finally whispering, “It is exquisite.”
“Isn’t it?” Rochelle said, swooning. She wiped her hands on her napkin. “Can I hold it?” Once she’d examined it, she said, “This is really something.” She looked at the other women. “Do you think it’s real?”
Iris nodded. “I think so. Do the pearl test,” she instructed.
“Oh yes, the pearl test,” Rochelle said, looking at the necklace and then wiping one of the pearls thoroughly before putting it up to her teeth. “What am I checking for?” she asked.
Iris laughed. “Let me do it.”
“I want to touch it first,” Suzette said, carefully taking it from Rochelle. “Isn’t it something? Wow! It’s heavy,” she added, handing it over to Ruth.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ruth said, passing the piece to Iris. She turned to Arthur. “… even on your mother.”
Everyone watched as Iris tested a pearl against her teeth. “It’s real,” she announced.
“Do the diamonds cut glass?” Ruth asked, laughing.
Iris looked the piece over and said, “The pearls are in the way; I don’t know how I could do that test.”
“Well, where do you suppose that came from—who did it belong to?” Savannah asked.
“Royalty,” Iris suggested.
“Maybe I could find out on the Internet at one of those sites I’ve been playing around on,” Suzette suggested.
Craig chuckled. “Oh no. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’d like to
check local police records, first. Someone may have reported it missing.”
“Gosh, do they keep reports that old?” Ruth asked. “I mean, who knows how long it has been hidden away.”
“For something like that, probably so,” Craig explained.
“If we can’t find the owner, I guess it belongs to Rags,” Arthur joked. “Wouldn’t he look stunning wearing it?”
Suzette laughed. “He’d probably give it to his best gal friend, Koko.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Savannah said, joining in with the laughter. “I think he’d keep it for his stash.”
“His stash?” Suzette questioned.
“That’s where he keeps the things he steals from guests,” she explained.
Arthur jumped in. “It’s true. I saw his stash once. It’s pretty amazing.” He raised his eyebrows. “Ruthie found one of her earrings in there.”
“And my coin purse,” she said laughing. She leaned toward Savannah. “I wonder if he will let you wear it on special occasion.”
“Okay, settle down ladies, we’re going to try finding the rightful owner. If no one claims it, it belongs to Arthur.”
“Ohhh,” the other ladies said in unison while all smiling in Suzette’s direction.
“We could all own it,” Iris said, “and take turns wearing it.”
“What?” Savannah said.
When all eyes were on Iris, she said, “I read a story once about these women who went together to buy a diamond necklace and then each owned it—you know, wore it and kept it and traveled with it and… made love wearing it… for one month out of each year.”
“Really?” Savannah said. “It’s a little bulky and big to wear to bed, don’t you think?”
Ruth looked askance. “But the whole idea is an interesting one… and they made it work?”
“I guess so,” Iris said. “Hey, it’s something to think about.”
Savannah chuckled. “I don’t know where I’d wear something like that,” she said. “Rags would probably get more use out of it than I would.”
“I am with you, Savannah,” Ruth said. “It would spend my month locked in a safe-deposit box.”
“Well, I’d wear it every chance I got… to the grocery store, on my shift at the diner, taking a Sunday drive,” Iris said. “Oh yes, you’d better believe it wouldn’t go to waste in my jewelry box.”
****
Once dinner was over and dessert had been consumed, Michael said, “Shall we, gentlemen?”
Craig glanced at the others. “Yeah. Let’s go see what we uncovered.”
“… what the cats uncovered,” Arthur corrected, standing.
“I want to go,” Iris said.
“Me, too,” Savannah said. She then glanced at the sleeping baby and said, “Oh, I’d better stay with Lily. Don’t want to be that far away from her.”
“Bring her,” Iris suggested.
Savannah shook her head and peered at Rochelle for a moment. “I don’t think so.”
“No, I wouldn’t take her down there,” Rochelle said.
“I’d rather stay right here,” Ruth said as most of the others scrambled to follow the men. She shivered. “I’ll keep Lily company while she slumbers. You go on. Go on,” she said to Savannah.
“Are you sure, Ruth?” she asked. “I have no problem hanging back.”
Ruth nodded. “I’m sure.”
Rupert approached Ruth. “I’d really like to see what’s down there, Ruth, if you don’t mind staying up here by yourself.”
She smiled. “I am not by myself. Lily is with me. Go, go.”
“Okay then,” Savannah said, excitedly. “I hope we survive the journey.”
“What do you mean by that?” Iris asked.
“Oh, I don’t know; just being silly, I guess.” She turned toward her friend. “We don’t know what’s down there—what we might find.”
“No, we sure don’t,” Michael said. “Nothing makes much sense in this place, does it?” He then suggested, “Hey Arthur, where’s that lantern you were using in the pit the other day? Let’s take that with us.”
The members of the group, numbering nine, were silent as they walked down the hallway into Arthur’s quarters and through the two walls that had been partially demolished.
“Good golly, that’s quite a contraption, isn’t it?” Peter remarked when he saw the electric cage. “Does it work?”
Craig nodded. “Yes. We tested it empty. Now we’re ready to use it for real and see if we can find out what was so carefully hidden away.” He glanced at the others and took a deep breath. “I’ll go first. We don’t know what we might find down there.”
Everyone watched as Craig stepped into the cage. Once inside, he hopped up and down a couple of times while Michael examined the pulleys and cables to make sure they were secure. “Everything seems solid,” Michael announced. “Craig, see that button to your right? I think that releases the door in front of you.”
Craig nodded. “Yeah, I have the controls in here, too. Let me test them,” he said, moving a lever.
Everyone watched as the cage moved slowly down into the darkness.
“No lights in here, huh?” Rupert asked as he noticed the three men relying on flashlights.
Michael shook his head. “There’s electricity, but the bulbs seem to be burned out.” He remembered the lantern Arthur had carried down, located it with his flashlight, and turned it on. “We’ll leave this topside.”
The view from the top was limited—partially hidden by the lift cage and the privacy screens. But everyone heard a clunk as the contraption landed and then they heard the metal door creak open, allowing Craig to exit. They could see a glow of light as Craig moved his flashlight around in the mysterious room.
“My God!!” Craig said loudly. There was silence and then, again, he said, “My God! Arthur, Michael, you’ve got to see this. It’s… good god… chilling....”
The two men watched as Craig moved back toward the cage and looked up at them. “I’m sending it up. Come down and take a look.” He hesitated before saying, “The women should stay up there.”
Savannah, Iris, Suzette, and Rochelle exchanged looks. “I wanna see,” Iris whined.
“Me, too,” Suzette called out.
Once the cage had risen and stopped at floor level, Michael climbed in and it carried him down. Arthur followed. When Rupert started to enter the cage, the group heard Arthur say, “Are they… ?”
“Dead?” Craig asked. “As a doornail—very old doornails.”
“How?” Arthur asked. “Why are they like that?” he asked.
“Like what?” Savannah shouted down. “What’s going on, you guys?”
“Let us take a look around before you gals come down, will ya?” Craig said.
At that, Rupert took a few steps back, saying, “I think I’ll go help Ruth with the baby.” Before anyone could comment, he disappeared.
“Hey Peter, come on down,” Michael said. He chuckled a little hysterically, saying, “It’ll give you some ideas for your art, man.”
Peter glanced at Rochelle, then said to Michael, “Why don’t you guys just take pictures—I’m not into anything that crazy.”
“Are you going down?” Peter asked Rochelle.
She looked at him apprehensively. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I guess I should.”
“Only if you want to, hon,” Peter said.
“Why, how bad could it be?” Savannah asked.
“Okay, Savannah,” Craig said, “come on down, but don’t touch anything.”
“Like she’d want to,” Arthur said under his breath.
Suzette chuckled nervously. “Can’t be all that bad.”
“Oh yes it can,” Savannah called up to her once she’d exited the lift. “Come down at your own risk.”
“My God!” Suzette exclaimed when she stepped out of the electric lift and walked around behind the screens.
“Might as well see it,” Rochelle said, apprehensively stepping into t
he cage once it had returned to floor level again.
Peter watched Rochelle exit, then brought the contraption up for Iris. He followed reluctantly.
Once everyone was down in the hidden room, the women with their hands clasped against their chest or over their mouth and the men walking around the room flashing their lights here and there, and muttering, they suddenly heard the lift engage.
“Who’s there?” Craig asked, shining his flashlight toward the opening between the two rooms. “Rupert, did you change your mind?”
No one answered. Suddenly, the trap door slammed shut. “Hey!” Craig called. “Who’s there? Hey, open that door; there are people down here,” he shouted.
After a few moments, they heard pounding and then the sound of someone running away.
“Hey, come back!” Craig yelled. He thinned his lips, shook his head, and said, “Well, a fine fix we’ve gotten ourselves into, folks.”
“Who was that, anyway?” Arthur asked, taking hold of Suzette’s hand.
“Well, let’s think about it. Who else did we tell about this room, do you remember?”
“Just Ruth and Rupert,” Savannah said. “Certainly, they wouldn’t have any reason to… ” she said, sounding near hysteria. When the reality of the situation struck her, she said, “I can’t believe it. We’re locked in a dungeon with a bunch of… dead people.”
Craig shined his flashlight around again. “Yeah, dead people all dressed and posing as if they’re alive.”
“… having a séance—the dead trying to raise the dead,” Suzette said. “How weird is that?”
“Do you recognize any of them?” Craig asked.
“We’re stuck down here, maybe forever,” Iris said, “and you want us to identify the corpses. Have you lost your mind, Craig?”
“Awww babe,” he said, putting his arms around his wife. “Rupert knows where we are. He’ll come looking for us… sooner or later.”
“Let’s hope it’s sooner,” Peter said. “I’m claustrophobic.”
Michael glanced at Peter and responded to Craig’s original question. “It would be hard to identify them; they’ve done some decomposing down here.”
Craig shook his head. “They’re in remarkable condition, actually.”