by K P Stafford
“What do you know, Aunt Agatha?” She leaned forward and raised her eyebrows. “You’ve lived here all your life.”
Agatha put her cup down. “Well, for twenty-five of those years I wasn’t exactly an active part of this town.”
“I know, I just thought maybe you remembered something from your childhood.”
“We buried something.” Her aunt said, just above a whisper.
“Really? Do you remember where? Maybe we could go dig it up.”
“No, sweetie, not like something in the ground. At least I don’t think it was something literal that they buried. I seem to remember it was our grandparents. I heard voices in the living room one night, so I snuck downstairs. Several of the town’s people were here. I heard them saying the secrets needed to be buried and never mentioned again. I remember trying to get Velda and Shirley to help me go dig for the treasure. At the time, I thought they had really buried a treasure.”
“What if they did? What if that’s what all of this is about? People kill for things like that all the time.”
Agatha’s forehead creased, “I’m not so sure. As we got older and asked about it, our parents told us it was simply secrets that needed to stay buried.”
“But, they may have said that to keep you from digging up buried treasure.”
“True.” She grew quiet like her thoughts were wandering. “Have you tried the library?”
“I plan on going there tomorrow.”
“Ms. Jensen was librarian for over 40 years. Maybe you should ask her too,” Agatha said as she stood up. She walked around the table and kissed Lexi on the forehead. “You’ll find the answers. I have no doubt. You found me, remember?”
Lexi finished the tea and headed back upstairs to bed with still more questions, but oddly, she felt better about the fact that this town did have secrets from long ago. Maybe the dreams were kind of like premonitions, although they didn’t really tell her anything.
CHAPTER 5
Lexi met Peyton for a late lunch and told her about the vandalism at the cemetery, the crow that appeared to be sacrificed and how Shirley had been murdered in a similar fashion. Peyton said it sounded like something from a cult movie. And they both agreed the way Grams and Ms. Jensen handled the news was quite odd, even for them.
“Of course, they are very stoic women,” Peyton said. “Perhaps, with all the murders here the past year and a half, they’ve become desensitized to it?”
“You could be right, but Shirley was a long-time friend. How can that not send them into an emotional state? The more I think about it, the more it seems like they were expecting something bad to happen.”
“What do you mean?” Peyton asked.
“I’m not sure, but the initial expression on their faces was shock, but then it turned into dread, like they realized something bad had been coming or something.”
Peyton tapped her fingers on the table. “I know there’s some pretty old town secrets. I barely remember them being mentioned when I was a kid, but the whole town has gone quiet about the past.”
“Maybe it’s related to the past then.” Lexi suggested.
“This has always been a strange town and my parents never would tell me the history. I’ve gone to the library, but all the information on older town history doesn’t exist. It only goes back so far.”
“Really? Most libraries keep all of the town historical documents and newspapers.”
“This one doesn’t. In fact, I asked Ms. Jensen when she was the librarian, and she claimed there had been a fire that destroyed everything.”
“Maybe that’s true?” Lexi inquired.
“I don’t think so. This town has never mentioned a big fire at the library. It seems something of that magnitude would still be talked about today.”
“You’re right. Somehow we’re going to have to dig into this and find out the truth. A good place to start is with Grams and Ms. Jensen, but I have a feeling they aren’t going to be very forthcoming with any information.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
“Although, John has been here just as long. I think I’ll start by questioning him. He’s never kept anything from me before. If he knows anything I’m sure he’ll tell me.”
“I hope so. A case like this is going to turn the town completely upside down. It’s going to be a lot worse than the last two murder cases you and John worked on.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Lexi let out a sigh, the corners of her mouth turning downward.
“Oh, didn’t you mention a historical society meeting the other day?”
“I did, and Grams came home pretty upset. I think that meeting may be connected to Shirley’s death and that old mausoleum at the cemetery. The crazy thing is, the name on the old tomb is my last name.”
“Are you serious? I didn’t think any Danforth’s had been here before your dad moved here to marry your mom.”
“I didn’t either, but it seems there was. I was going to go to the library, but after what you just told me, I doubt I’ll find much information about it.”
“It sounds like something else for which our town elders may be the best resource we can tap into.”
“I agree.” Lexi said as she jotted something in her a notepad.
“Do you think this is going to affect the wedding?”
Lexi’s heart sank at the mention of her upcoming wedding. “Without an official date set, it’s hard to tell. I guess it depends on how long this drags out. It doesn’t seem like the right time for a celebration.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this.” She patted Lexi’s hand. “You know you can count on me to be as nosy as I can without seeming too obvious.”
Lexi reached over and pulled Peyton into a hug. “I should get back to the office. I’m sure John has turned the ringer off on the phone by now, so he can get some work done, or the reporter has barged in wanting to know why our meeting was canceled.”
* * *
Lexi paused as she entered the constable’s office. Her eyes scanned the room. Nothing was out of place, but an ominous feeling swept over her. The same feeling she’d had when she walked into Shirley’s place earlier. She’d gotten used to having some kind of sixth sense about little things, and an occasional gut feeling when it came to solving cases, but this was more than that. This sucked the breath out of her, like someone had punched her in the chest. She drew in a deep breath and composed herself as she walked over to the door of John’s office and peeked in. He was sitting in his chair staring at something on his desk. She tapped on the door frame to get his attention.
With a ragged breath he spoke, “Come in Lexi. I want you to see this.”
She walked over and looked down at the object that had him so mesmerized. It was a cylindrical device with lettering on it and things that looked like tumblers in a lock. She had seen similar items in movies. Small items that could hold small bits of paper or jewelry. The uneasy feeling washed over her again as she stared at the item. After a few minutes she shook her head. Why was this thing so intriguing? She looked at John. “What is it, exactly?”
“I believe it’s a Cryptex. Very much like a combination lock, except these will open and reveal a compartment inside.”
“Where did you get it?”
John rubbed his eyes before looking up at her. “It was clutched in Shirley’s hand.”
“Oh my gosh! I wonder why she was holding that?”
“I think it contains secrets this town buried long ago. I’m guessing Shirley was the keeper.”
“The what?” John wasn’t making much sense, but this was a good opportunity to question him about the town’s past. Agatha and Peyton had mentioned that the whole town stopped speaking of things many years ago. Lexi searched her memories trying to remember back to her childhood, before her father packed up and moved to the city. She would almost get a glimpse of something, but it would fade quickly.
John used a pencil to turn the object around on his desk, afraid to to
uch it. He took in a deep breath. “It hasn’t been mentioned in many years, but there’s always been someone designated as a keeper in this town, someone who keeps up with the town’s past and has hidden much of Cryptic Cove’s secrets. It’s been so long it’s become a fairy tale of sorts. It hasn’t been mentioned since I was a child.”
Lexi sat down in the chair. “Aunt Agatha remembers their grandparents hiding something. Maybe that thing is what they were hiding.” Lexi said as she pointed at the object. “And Peyton vaguely remembers her parents talking about the town going silent when we were kids, but she can’t remember anything else. I was going to ask you about it before I start digging into some research on the Danforth name inscribed on that tomb.”
John looked up at Lexi. “I still need to run down some leads on the fires and the vandalism at the cemetery.”
“Do you think the two are linked?”
For the first time since she’d met John, she saw fear in his eyes. His hands trembled as he grabbed a handkerchief and wrapped it around the item before shoving it into the inside pocket of his jacket. “I don’t know.” The words stuttered out of his mouth. “I, um, I have some things to do. Keep an eye on the office.” And just like that, he was out the door.
Lexi didn’t want to close the office completely, it was too early, so going to the library was out of the question today. But, she’d kept some of the paid research sites in good standing, so she decided to see if there was any kind of information about the Danforth who’d lived here. She pulled out her cellphone, looked at the picture she had taken and decided to start with the dates under the name.
Two hours later, she had found very little information at all. It’s like the person, and even this town, had never existed. She checked the clock as she leaned back in her chair. John had been gone awhile, which wasn’t all that strange, but she was starting to get a little worried. She closed her eyes and hoped Jake would call during his lunch break on the west coast.
Her cell phone buzzed, jerking her back into reality. Had Jake read her mind and decided to call? She looked at the screen before pushing the answer button. “John, are you okay?”
“Someone broke into the morgue while Marcus was gone to get something to eat. I need you to come down here. Bring your camera.” The line went dead. Lexi grabbed her things, turned on the answering machine and locked the office. The morgue was only a few blocks over. It was just as fast to walk the short distance as it was to go get her car from the parking lot behind the building, so she took off towards the morgue on foot.
CHAPTER 6
Checking out the morgue didn’t take long, and soon John and Lexi were headed back to the office. John pulled his truck into the alley behind their office and parked close to the back door. He got out of the truck, but stopped halfway to the door and put up his hand. He glanced over his shoulder at Lexi. “The backdoor is open. You stay out here while I go inside and check it out.”
A few minutes passed before John stuck his head out. “It’s clear,” he said as he put his gun away. “But there’s a big mess in here.”
Lexi had pulled out her taser to zap anyone if they came out the door. She put it away and followed John into the building. The place was ransacked, file drawers pulled out, the contents dumped on the floor. Every file cabinet and every desk drawer had been rifled through. “They were looking for something. Probably the same something they were looking for at the morgue.”
John rubbed his chin. “I believe so, too.”
“You left here with the Cryptex earlier. Where is it?”
He looked at Lexi with concern in his eyes. “Don’t you worry. It’s safe.”
“Someone wants it pretty bad to go through all this trouble and to kill someone for it.”
“I know.” The words came out quietly.
“Did you manage to open the thing to see what’s inside?”
“No. I didn’t want to even try. I’ve heard tales of things like that being booby-trapped. It could contain a cyanide pill or something.”
“I doubt someone would go to all the trouble of keeping it secret all these years if it only contained a poisoned pill. There has to be more to it.”
“You’re probably right, especially after all the vandalism and break-ins we’ve had surrounding the item. But, how would anyone but Shirley know about it now?”
“That’s a good question, and I’m not so sure the answer will be easy to find.”
John called and reported both break-ins to the sheriff. It took about an hour to get everything back in place. Lexi informed John she was headed to the library before it closed for the day. She wanted to see if she could dig up any old records on the town’s history.
Being the oldest building in town, the library was also the most elaborate, full of beautiful architecture and an old world charm. The people who built the town must have believed in education and history, because they went to such an extreme to make the library stand out. Most towns have the courthouse in the center of town, but in Cryptic Cove, it’s the library that’s located there. Lexi found it odd that the settlers put so much emphasis on a place of history, but then later generations went to so much trouble to bury history. She also didn’t understand why she’d been told the original building had burned. Maybe it had, and they’d replaced it with this more elaborate one.
She looked around some of the archives that were available in the main part of the library, but didn’t find anything. She didn’t look forward to speaking to Decatur Williams, the librarian, to ask for the older files, but knew there was no other choice. The woman could be snooty, and from what Lexi had been told by her Grams, she got very defensive about the past. Perhaps she knows some things are better left in the past and covered up. Whoever else was digging into the past sure had opened a can of worms over it and gone as far as to commit murder. It couldn’t be good. Lexi walked over to the counter to speak to Mrs. Williams and tried to make small talk, mentioning the weather.
The lady’s eyebrows pinched together as she stared down her nose at Lexi. “Shouldn’t you be trying to find the murderer in this town instead of asking me about the weather?”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s why I’m here actually. I need to find out some information about the town’s past?”
“What does that have to do with Shirley being,” her bottom lip quivered, “murdered?”
“Other clues indicate it may have something to do with the past.”
“If I remember correctly, she was a wild one back in her day. At least that’s what my late husband said about her. There’s no telling who she offended or what she got off into.”
“Well, it seems to revolve around the town itself.”
“Really? That’s strange. This has always been such a quiet little town.” She looked down her nose again, over the small framed glasses, “At least until you showed back up. Things have gotten a little out of hand since then, haven’t they?”
“Excuse me? What are you implying?” Lexi asked.
“Implying? Nothing, but it is a bit obvious that murders started happening upon your return.” She looked down and checked her watch. “The library is closing now. I’m sure I can’t help you anyway. The town records only go back so far and nothing weird is mentioned in them.”
“And you’ve read through all of the records?”
“I am the librarian. It’s my job to know what’s in the library and the town history.” She checked her watch again.
Lexi noticed a bandage on her hand and started to ask about it, but she was already being so rude, she didn’t want to bother with any more small talk.
Lexi left the library with more questions than she had answers for. If the librarian was supposed to know the town history, then she’d have to speak to Ms. Jensen, as she was the previous librarian. It wouldn’t hurt to speak to Mavis Clark either. She was in charge of a lot of the town’s records. That wasn’t an interview Lexi looked forward to. She had gotten a little nicer over the past year, but she hadn’t become a
pleasant woman, not by any stretch of the word.
There was nothing more she could do today. She got in her car and headed home.
CHAPTER 7
The next morning Lexi stopped at Peyton’s B&B to grab some pastries before heading to her Grams’ shop. Each lady had a day to bring treats for morning gossip, and today was her day. She loaded the tasty goodies into her car and headed into town.
When she stepped inside Crystal Scents, a buzz in the air tickled her senses. The ladies were in full gossip mode and evidently upset about something. She pulled the pastries out of the bag and placed them on a plate before heading to the coffee machine Grams’ had installed for her customers.
Grams’ face was pinched when she looked up at her. “Have you spoken to that reporter yet?”
Lexi sat down on a stool behind the counter. All eyes were on her, waiting for an answer.
“No. We’re scheduled to meet him later this afternoon. What’s wrong?”
Mavis Clark was the first to speak. “He’s digging his nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
Mavis had a way with drama and keeping things stirred up in town. But, Lexi had learned to appease her by pretending to be interested in what she had to say. “Oh, from what we were told, he’s doing a Halloween story, so he would dig into old traditions and such.”
Mavis rolled her eyes. “He’s asking about more than Halloween traditions. He’s asking about early settlers and how this town began.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Mavis crossed her arms over her chest and looked down her nose at Lexi.
Ms. Jensen cleared her throat, seeing that Mavis was clearly upset. “Well, we don’t like people snooping around about our past. We’ve always been a tight-knit little town and we don’t take kindly to outsiders coming in here and stirring things up.”