The Curious Case of the Cursed Dagger (Curiosity Shop Cozy Mysteries Book 3)

by Constance Barker

  "Talking to the town council is an excellent idea, Clarence. Get people together and unite them against her. Don't try to do anything alone. If anything goes wrong it would be good to have a small army with you. If you confront her with large numbers she might even give up her delusion. She’ll see that the people are against her."

  "Yes. That’s important to her, the idea of the will of the people. That's a good thought," he said, getting excited. “Perhaps I can get the American Legion to hold fast against her. All of the troops won’t be on her side.”

  "Fine, Clarence. Take your time and make careful, thoroughly thought out plans. I need to make another call now, but don't take any action without letting me know, all right?"

  "Sure."

  "Assassinations can be tricky things. Let me be a sounding board for your ideas before you put them in action so it doesn’t go wrong again. Just call me when you have a plan, okay?"

  "I will, Enid. That's a good idea. And you know I always appreciate your insights and suggestions."

  When he hung up, Clarence was glad he'd talked to Enid. Of course, she didn't really understand the situation, the dire nature of it, the urgency. That was to be expected when she wasn’t right there, able to see for herself the chaos that Cecelia’s madness and lust for power were creating. But at least she was on his side.

  He thought about Cecelia, wondering where she would run, where she might hide. She would probably call Enid again to find out if she’d convinced him to be calm. That would be good. Enid would tell her she was safe for the moment and that would give him an advantage, a window of opportunity.

  He looked at the dagger that he'd picked up. It was a beautiful piece of workmanship and he’d seen it sitting in plain sight on Cecelia's desk. He wondered why no one had noticed it sitting there. But then Cecelia was so preoccupied with her plans using her current office as a stepping stone to world domination, she’d been too obsessed to notice anything like this lovely dagger.

  Clarence admired it as he thought, turning it in his hand feeling a familiar heft to it. If he didn’t know that he’d just found it, that he’d never seen it before, he would’ve sworn it was his own and that he'd held it often. It was a marvel. The metal blade was about eight inches long and two inches wide; two grooves ran the length of the blade, one down the center of each side.

  Somehow he knew that the dagger was called a pugio and that the groove in the blade had a particular purpose. When you stabbed your enemy it allowed their blood to flow freely, it let them die. The image of Cecelia's blood rushing out excited him. This dagger, this pugio he held in his hand, was calling for blood—Cecelia's blood.

  Chapter Twenty

  "Now what do we do?" Edgar asked me. A quick look and I saw that he was regaining his color, such as it was. I mean, is it possible to think about regaining a pasty, pale, translucent pallor? If so, he was doing it.

  "Now, my friend, we collect ourselves and plan our counter attack. It must be a clean, surgical strike that puts fear in the hearts of any enemies that survive."

  Edgar coughed. "Counter attack? How? Given that Clarence seems to have the only weapon, that particular plan might actually be the worst, least practical idea you've had lately. And, to be honest, given the ideas you've come up with recently, that is saying something."

  “It’s the double dealings of traitors like Clarence that have made tatters of my plans.”

  "Sure, Cecelia. I think you believe that, but let’s think about this for a moment. The entire original idea was to locate the artifact that was used to kill the mayors. Now, as far as I can tell, Clarence has it.”

  “He does?”

  “I kind of think we might view the dagger as the artifact. And he is using it to try and kill you.”

  “I told you he was a traitor.”

  “The point I’m trying to make here is that he showed you the artifact and you paid no attention to that. You’ve gotten off track."

  “I’m working for the good of the people and he tried to kill me.”

  “Because of the artifact. It is affecting you both. The only reason you give a fig about what the people want is because that dagger turned you into a tyrant. And it makes Clarence want to kill you, of course.”

  “Enough,” I said. I could see what was happening. As I rose to power, my success was resented. Now even Edgar was turning disloyal. There was only one thing for it. I took out the pen box and opened it. "Get in," I said.

  "But Cecelia..."

  “Now.” I pushed it toward him.

  He resisted. “Please check in with Enid,” he said.

  Finally, the power of the box pulled him inside and I snapped it shut. It was a relief to be alone. I looked around, taking my bearings. I was standing outside Billy Walker's office. I wondered if he was back from running whatever his errands were. Just then I heard someone inside the room sneeze. I opened the door and barged in, startling him as he sat at his desk. "There you are!”

  "I just got back," he said.

  “Excellent. I need you to act immediately."

  “Act?”

  I looked at his face and knew immediately the man was lying to me. No matter which way I turned I faced enemies and traitors. “You claimed you had important and urgent errands to run but I suspect you were hiding from me." Seeing him tremble in my presence I was beginning to see how weak the little sneak was. "I need you to take action."

  "What sort of action? What do you want to be done?" he asked, pretending an innocence I didn't believe for a second. Not any longer.

  "I need you to stop the insurrection. I need you to apprehend the would-be assassin.”

  “Assassin?”

  “Yes. At least one. We thwarted the first attempt, but assassins are sly. I want you to requisition a security detail to protect me. An army would be better, but I don't suppose we have the budget for that and there’s no time for a quick head tax."

  "Who do you need protection from?" He seemed truly interested.

  "From the monsters behind the coup attempt, of course. Clarence just tried to stab me."

  Billy's eyes dilated. "Wow! That was incredibly fast. The last mayor made it almost three weeks and we thought that was quick. I’m pretty sure you've set a new record."

  "I want you to act immediately. Call out the army.”

  “We don’t have one, I’m afraid.” I could see that he didn’t mind that at all.

  “Then conscript one immediately. Forget the budget, I'll raise taxes to cover the costs later. The Republic must be protected."

  "Republic? Well now, Madam Mayor, it isn't that simple. I don't have the authority to raise an army, even a small one. We only have two police officers on full time and that’s stretching our budget.”

  I couldn’t believe how lightly he took the situation. “Billy Walker, this town needs troops immediately. Don’t you understand that these are dire times?”

  He shrugged. “I suppose I could call the governor and ask for a couple of Highway Patrol officers if you like. Given the life expectancy of mayors here, he might go for that."

  "I want my own army of loyal citizens."

  He held out empty hands. "I can't do that. I have no authority."

  Suddenly it dawned on me—you couldn’t expect little men to take big actions. Billy was a glorified clerk, not a leader. "You don’t have to authorize anything. You need only act on my orders. And get a move on or I'll banish you. I expect minions to act on my orders swiftly and efficiently. It's urgent. We must secure the battlements before both this town and our future are lost to these barbarians."

  He shook his head. "Well, I know you don't have the authority to conscript an army, no matter how urgent you think the situation is. And I'd have to check the city regulations but I don't think you can banish people either. I'm not even sure banishment is even a legal thing in this country."

  "It should be. It’s an important tool of governance."

  "I'll admit that there have been times... times I wish I could've had
the mayor banish my ex-wife, that's for sure. What a pain she could be." He smiled. “Fortunately, she left to take a job in the city all on her own.”

  "We need to fortify the city and get our troops in vital positions now." I didn't like repeating myself, but the man needed prodding. Serious prodding. That gave me another idea. "While you are doing things, I'd like you to get me a cattle prod."

  "A cattle prod?"

  "Think of it as a scepter, sort of a staff of office. But that's a lower priority. First, we need the army."

  "I'll make a note of it," he said. "Cattle prod... right. But I’m still not clear on who the bad guys are. You mentioned that Clarence was trying to assassinate you, who do you want to defend the town from? Who will this army fight?"

  "All of our enemies. I'm fairly sure the town council is involved in this.”

  “They didn’t mention any sort of uprising to me.”

  “But Clarence is so formal; he wouldn't dare make a move against the vested authority without at least a pretense of official backing. It's bogus, of course, this sham governmental council. We know they can't just order the assassination of a sitting mayor and we must show them that there will be consequences.”

  “Of course,” Billy said.

  “It's becoming clear to me that this assassination attempt was just the tip of the iceberg, part of a carefully-planned coup."

  "Well, it was pretty badly planned, if it was planned at all, I'd say. He didn't manage to kill you. How did you escape it?"

  "I was warned of the danger in time."

  "Who warned you?"

  "A ghost. He intervened just in time and stayed the assassin’s arm so I could escape."

  Billy nodded. "Right. Ghost. You know, a ghost would've been my first guess. Why don't you sit down and calm your breathing and I'll go out and see if the hardware store has that cattle prod you wanted?"

  "Fool! Dunce! There's no time for that. I need you focused on gathering a loyal and trustworthy army. Is there anyone in town with experience leading armies into combat, or will I have to do that myself as well?"

  Billy folded his hands on the desk. "I don't think I’m going to do that, Madam Mayor. I'd rather not play whatever game it is you are playing. Besides, it’s getting late and my thoughts are turning to dinner."

  "This is not a game. This is a matter of life or death. I told you that Clarence has a dagger and wants to stick it in me."

  He smiled. "I don't care, to be honest."

  "Coward! Traitor! Are there no loyalists anywhere?" The words, the vile names leaped from my lips.

  “Probably not. So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  I stopped, staring at the traitorous Billy Walker and pulled myself together. Suddenly the perfect phrase popped into my head. "I spurn thee like a cur out of my way."

  Billy looked puzzled. "Isn't that from Shakespeare? I think my kid had that line in his school play last year."

  "Who cares?" I was wasting time in berating this wastrel. "Go home, then and I'll do it myself," I told him.

  "Do what yourself?"

  "The most important thing—I’ll raise an army of citizens to protect us all.”

  “And do you have any experience with that sort of thing?”

  “No, but it seems a simple thing. My subjects adore me. They'll not see me perish. They will rise up on my behalf." As I said the words, I knew they were true and the thought filled me with purpose, with pride. I saw the world with such a clarity. My cause was righteous and the infidels would be put to the sword.

  “Well, from my point of view, I suggest that there are other issues, like what you’ll feed them, and how you might pay them, and what sort of uniforms you want them to wear... if they’re to be a real army.”

  “They will answer my call. The rest is...”

  “We call it logistics,” Billy said.

  I was angry. Billy was turning out to be a huge disappointment.

  I turned and walked out of Billy's office with my head held high. I would show him. I’d go to the town square and send messengers to my people, running through the streets of... Traverse, that was it. They would gather and I would tell them what was needed of them and we would conquer all in our path.

  The wonder of it all flowed through me and I swelled with it. I knew that my father would be proud of me... but wait, he was dead. No, Mason was dead, but wasn't he... Suddenly the world seemed to spin.

  I slumped against the wall, trying to figure out what was going on. I felt empty, disoriented. I looked around for Edgar and then remembered, vaguely, that I'd locked him away for some reason. I took out the pen box and opened it.

  "...and Clarence is under the influence of the artifact, Cecelia. Otherwise, he'd never try to kill you..."

  "Edgar, tell me, how did I get here?"

  "What?"

  "How did I get here?"

  "Oh dear," he said. "This is bad. It's far too early for this to be happening."

  "What? What is happening to me?"

  "It's complicated," he said and I was overcome with another wave of dizziness.

  A vague memory came to me out of the dimness... I'd been on my way to do something. Then I remembered—I'd been going to rally the citizens. I had to warn them of the danger to our republic, of the need to grow an army.

  "Cecelia?" Edgar called as I staggered toward the stairs and started down. “Where are you going?”

  "Where my people gather, the town square. We must get to the town square quickly and address the people, Edgar. There is much to be done and no one else to do it. Clarence and the other plotters must be stopped. We must raise an army, put down the rebel dogs and then execute them as an example to others."

  "Oh dear," he said as we left the building. "This is not good. Not good at all."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Clarence looked out at the members of the town council, the five men and women who had thought they were running the town of Traverse. Their expressions told him a mixed story. He saw anger, disbelief, and even boredom.

  “Can we get on with this?” Billy asked. “This is the second unscheduled council meeting this week and these people have lives to get on with.”

  "Certainly,” Clarence said. “In case you aren’t aware, your new mayor has developed an insatiable lust for power. She wants to eliminate this council entirely.”

  “That’s just tough,” a man said. “She’s stuck with us.”

  “Which is why she is raising an army even as we speak. She intends to dispose of the council by force.”

  “Call the cops,” someone said. “Toss her in jail.”

  “I have a better plan, one that will take care of the situation," he said. "I think that you should wait here, in session. We will invite Cecelia to join us, tell her this is a special session of the council. We explain that you heard about her desire to be mayor for life and you've decided to accept and convened this meeting to confer that title on her."

  "I don't care for this plan," a stout man protested. "Not at all." The man wore a short-sleeve dress shirt, buttoned up to the neck and a bolo tie. Of course, he didn't like the plan. Clarence couldn't imagine anyone taking a man who dressed like that seriously.

  "Who are you again?" a middle-aged woman asked. Ever since she'd seen Clarence at the podium she'd been clutching her handbag as if she thought he might steal it.

  "I'm Clarence. I'm a friend of Cecelia's."

  "Her friend. And you are trying to trick us into making her mayor for life?" She shook her head. "I don't think so, young man."

  "No, we won't be having that," the stout man said.

  "No, you don't understand. There isn’t any reason to give her what she wants. It’s a ruse. See, the point is to trick her, get her off guard. She will take over everything if we don't stop her. But she believes she is invincible and won't be able to resist the idea that you’ve recognized her greatness and the futility of resisting her. She will love the idea that you’ve thrown in the towel."

  The wom
an squeezed her handbag. "So we just give it to her? That makes no sense at all."

  Clarence sighed. These people had no sense of political intrigue. Clearly, he would have to take them by the hand and explain every step. "We wait here, pretending that you are going to give her everything she wants. But that’s just an empty promise to lure her here. Then, when she is relaxed, feeling that she is winning... well, then we will get her."

  "Get her?" the stout man asked.

  “Right.”

  “How do we get her?”

  "You are the legal authority. Remove her from office."

  "It seems to me like we just recently asked her to be mayor," a tall, thin, and rather frail man said, chuckling. "Taking it away again so soon would be rude and counterproductive, even if we had the authority to do it. I don't know of anything she's done that would justify removing her from office."

  "In that case, we will just have to assassinate her, I suppose," Clarence said happily. Assassination was a reasonable alternative. Maybe the only one. He was sure that Cecelia wouldn’t go quietly, which meant that killing her was the only serious option anyway.

  "We assassinate the mayor?" the thin man asked.

  "You want us to kill her?" the woman asked.

  "Why, of course. That's generally the most effective approach to taking her power away."

  "We don't have the authority to kill anyone," the woman said. "Especially the mayor.” She chewed her lip. “Yes, I'm quite sure we don't. Certain of it."

  "And Margaret is our parliamentarian," the stout man said. "She knows all the rules governing the town council better than anyone. She would know about these things. If we had provisions in the charter that gave us the authority to assassinate the mayor, she would know."

  "Clearly there must be another alternative," the thin man said. "We might just ask her to resign. She might be reasonable about it. People can usually be convinced to do the right thing."

  Clarence began to understand Cecelia’s frustrations with the council clearly for the first time. This rule by committee thing was unwieldy. That was what made a triumvirate so practical. No matter what the issue, you could count on two people taking one side or the other and deciding the issue. Perhaps after he’d dealt with Cecelia there would be time to restructure things here.