by Marja McGraw
“Mikey, if you aren’t the one!” Judith praised Mikey and he beamed at her. “I never even noticed that pull thingy. Good job!”
“So what are the papers?” I asked.
“It looks like mostly legal documents, some insurance papers and a few personal notes.” She thumbed through the stack while I looked on, wanting to take it away from her so I could study it. I didn’t have to. She handed me half the stack.
“Let’s take these upstairs where we can get a better look at them.” I turned and headed for the stairs.
“Judith, would you come up here?” Chris Sr. called down the stairs. “There’s more to this house than the basement, and I want you to come with me while I look at it.”
Mikey closed the door to the secret compartment and we all climbed the stairs. Father and son waited for us at the top. Judith and I set the papers on the mahogany table.
“Why don’t you look through the house with your husband while I look through the papers?” I glanced up at my mother-in-law. “I have mixed feelings about this. My curiosity is getting the best of me, but at the same time I feel like a snoop who should mind her own business.”
“I understand. I kind of feel the same way. But if we buy this house, it’s going to be with the provision that we buy it and everything it contains.”
“Ah.” The only thing that kept her words from setting me at ease was the fact that she’s said if they bought the house.
Chris followed his parents with Mikey walking beside him.
“If Grandma finds another secret hiding place, I don’t want to miss it,” Mikey explained.
Judith smiled at Mikey. “For the moment, let’s not worry about secrets. Let’s just take a good look at the house. After all, Grandpa and I might want to live here.”
Mikey returned her smile, obviously liking the idea of the Crosses living near us.
Their voices faded as they climbed the stairs to survey the second floor.
I began looking through the papers and realized that some of the legal papers had to do with Marguerite Turnbal starting her own business. In 1959 she opened Turnbal Publishing House. I’d never heard of it, and I was surprised. Why would she open her own publishing house? She’d been writing for years and had a publisher. Maybe she’d become
disenchanted with them. I remembered that Summer’s Ghost
had been copyrighted in 1960. I’d run back downstairs and look at a copy of the book to see who the publisher was.
Glancing out the window as I walked by, I could see the back of Kimberly’s house. A man stood at the back door, and he was looking around as though he wanted to make sure no one saw him. I stepped back quickly when his head turned in my direction. After a moment I leaned forward and took another look. He was trying the door knob.
I ran over to the stairs. “Chris,” I yelled. “We need help down here. Hurry!”
Chris’s footsteps pounded down the stairs. I ran to the back door of the old house, worrying about Cloene.
“Where are you?” he called. “What’s wrong?”
“Back door, and hurry!” I ran outside, hoping he’d catch up to me. The man was gone and the back door stood open. Deciding it would probably be best to wait for Chris, I stopped by the side of the house. Sometimes heroism is better when shared by a husband and wife team.
Cloene screamed and all bets were off. I took off and headed for the back door. Chris passed by me at a dead run and slid on the grass before reaching the back door. A little fancy footwork kept him from falling.
“You go around the front,” Chris called over his shoulder.
Making an abrupt turn, I headed for the front. What was I supposed to do? Cut off the bad guy’s escape route? I mentally rolled my eyes because I couldn’t do it for real while I was running.
“Mom, what’s happening?” Apparently everyone had come downstairs to see what was going on. Mikey sounded frightened.
“Judith, keep Mikey there.” I didn’t even turn to look at them.
Coming around from the side to the front, I ran into a large male chest and began swinging my arms to keep my
balance. The man shoved me aside and headed for the front door, with me following behind. He was a man on a mission, and something struck me as familiar.
The front door was already open and he ran up the steps and inside.
“Look out, Chris!” I yelled. “He’s got a partner.”
Quickly looking around, I grabbed a loose brick from the planter surrounding the house and ran up the front steps, weapon in hand.
Running inside, I found Cloene lying on the floor with Chris and another man hunched over her. I raised the brick, ready to let the guy have it. The other man took a quick glance over his shoulder and I recognized Officer Hernandez. He looked a little different without his uniform on.
I slowly lowered the brick and set it on the coffee table.
“He got away,” Chris said, standing up.
“Is she okay?” I squatted down next to the copper, finding that I wasn’t really surprised to see him.
He was helping Cloene sit up. “Would you bring her a glass of water?”
She threw her arms around his neck and held on tightly. “Oh, Ben. I thought he was going to kill me.” She cried tears of what I thought might be fear, frustration and anger. Her friend had been murdered, she’d been attacked and no one understood why it was happening.
I brought water from the kitchen. Ben had helped Cloene off the floor and he was leading her toward the couch.
“What happened, Chris?”
He shrugged.
Cloene sat down on the couch and rubbed the back of her head. “I was leaning over, and someone hit me from behind. I fell forward, and he punched my back. I don’t know what’s going on.” She looked at each of us as though we might have the answers.
Ben turned to Chris.
“When I came through the back door, I could see her lying on the floor.” He pointed at Cloene. “I ran in to see if she was okay, and I heard footsteps going out the back door. He must have heard me coming and hid himself somewhere. That’s when you ran through the front door.”
“I told Cloene I’d meet her here and help her pack Kimberly’s things. I’d just stepped out of the car when I heard her scream.”
“Oh.” I smiled to myself, remembering the look Ben had given Cloene the day before. Had it only been the day before? They seemed to have come a long way in just one day. It felt like a week had gone by since we found Kimberly’s body. So many things had happened over the last couple of days. I shook my head, realizing that Cloene’s safety was the only thing that mattered.
She closed her eyes for a moment before turning to Ben. “I’m pretty sure this all has to do with the house next door. I think this is all my fault.”
“Well, there’s a real surprise,” Chris said, sounding as sarcastic as I’d ever heard him.
“Chris,” I warned him. “Not now.”
“I didn’t mean about it being her fault.”
Ben didn’t care about the old house at the moment. “Did you get a look at the guy?”
“No. Like I said, he came at me from behind.”
Ben turned to Chris.
Chris shook his head. “I heard him run out the back door, but by the time I turned around he was gone.”
Ben looked at me. “I only saw him from a distance, through a window, and it was just a brief glimpse. He was bending over, examining the door knob, and he had on a baseball cap. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.”
Ben took out his cell phone and made a call, reporting the incident. He walked outside and talked quietly.
“Why do you think all of this is your fault?” Chris
asked.
I moved next to Cloene and sat on the couch. “Chris and I will help if we can, but you need to tell us what you’re talking about.”
“A lady from down the street told Kimberly about the woman who used to live next door. She said the rumors were that the woman had secr
ets all over the house, like hiding places and fake walls.”
Cloene took a deep breath, appearing embarrassed. “One weekend when I came over to help Kimberly do some painting, we got to talking about it and decided to investigate. We knew where the realty company had hidden the key. We thought it would be like a treasure hunt – just something fun to do. We knew that if we found anything, like treasure, we wouldn’t keep it. It was just supposed to be fun.” She began to cry and winced when it seemed to make her head hurt.
“Do you realize that was illegal?” Ben said, standing at the front door.
“It was a game. Something to do. We couldn’t see any harm in it. We just wanted to see if there were really any secret hiding places.”
Ben sighed and leaned forward, looking into her eyes. “I think I’d better take you to the hospital and have you checked out. You could have a concussion.”
Cloene nodded. “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
“Did you or Kimberly tell anyone else about the house’s secrets?” Chris asked.
“I didn’t, but I don’t know about Kimberly.”
Ben took hold of Cloene’s hands and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get you to the hospital.”
“Would you let us know how she is?” I asked.
He nodded. “Since there was a murder next door, and now this, Detective Riley is on her way over. Would you let her know where we’ve gone?”
“Sure,” I said.
“Thanks. Tell her I’ll fill her in when I see her, and if she needs to talk to Cloene she knows where to find us.”
They left, and I turned to Chris. “I have a feeling Janet isn’t going to be too thrilled with this new budding relationship. Don’t ask me why, but that’s what I think.”
Chris raised his eyebrows before rolling his upper lip under, Bogey style, and tugging on his right ear lobe. “Nope. I think ol’ Ben is gonna be facin’ the music over this one. And the tune ain’t gonna be Pop Goes the Weasel. Well, he might get popped, but – ”
“Mom?”
Judith, Chris Sr. and Mikey stood watching us through the front door.
“Don’t come in,” Chris said. “We’ll meet you back at the other house. Janet’s on her way and I don’t think she’ll want everyone trouping through here.”
Chapter Fifteen
“What happened?” Judith asked.
“Someone attacked Cloene,” I replied. “He hit her on the head. I think she’s okay, but Ben Hernandez took her to the hospital to have her checked out.”
Judith smiled. “I saw them leave. I wonder how they got together.”
“Well I wonder who would do such a thing?” Chris Sr. rubbed his chin.
I walked toward the front door. “I don’t think we’d better bring Mikey over here with us anymore.”
Mikey held his hands out in front of him, palms facing me, as though warding me off. “Now, Mom, I’m okay. I was nowhere near when this happened. And I’ve always got you guys with me. I’d never come over here alone.”
“Mikey – ”
“Mom, I’m havin’ a good time. I don’t want to be left out.” I could hear something akin to desperation in his voice, but I didn’t want to put my son in danger.
“We’ll talk about this later, at home.” Turning, I walked back to Chris’s side.
I glanced back over my shoulder just in time to see Mikey holding his hands up to his grandmother. His fingers were crossed – on both hands.
My in-laws and Mikey headed back to the old house next door while Chris and I waited for Janet to arrive. It took her about twenty minutes, and she only took brief statements from Chris and me. There wasn’t much we could tell her. She checked the back door for fingerprints, and muttering to herself she said something about whatever had been there being smudged. She was done with us quickly and wanted to talk to Cloene.
“You say she was with Officer Hernandez? I thought he was off duty today.”
“Yes. I have a feeling they might have gotten together last night.” I smiled, hoping to soften her up.
“I thought he seemed awfully quiet yesterday. He was in a hurry to get back to the station, too. He wanted to be sure he got home on time for a change.” Janet appeared thoughtful. “I can’t figure out when he might have talked to her and gotten her phone number.” She shrugged. “He really shouldn’t be getting involved with someone so close to the victim, but she’s not a suspect, so…”
“I have a feeling he might have offered her a shoulder to cry on. Who better than someone who was here and saw what she was going through?” It made sense to me, and I had a feeling that Janet understood, too.
She left for the hospital while Chris and I walked back to the Turnbal house. I found myself looking around, wondering if the goon who’d attacked Cloene might still be around. I squinted, studying trees and bushes, hoping to see a shadow or movement. I didn’t hide the fact that I was searching for an intruder, because I wanted him to know we weren’t going to ignore him – we’d be watching for him.
“You’re right about not letting Ace come back here,” Chris said, interrupting my feeble attempt at intimidation.
“Well, I’m not so sure.”
“What? Of course he can’t come around here anymore. One woman was murdered and another was attacked.”
“I have a feeling that Cloene was a surprise to her attacker. I don’t think he expected anyone to be in Kimberly’s house.”
“What makes you think that?” Chris had stopped walking and turned to face me.
“Just a hunch. My guess is he was going to look for something in the house.” I narrowed my eyes. “I think maybe he figured Kimberly had taken something from Marguerite’s house and hidden it in her own home.”
Chris took up my theory. “And when he snuck into Kimberly’s house, Cloene was there packing her things. It’s possible, but…”
“It could have been the killer, but it seems like the story about secret hiding places has gotten around. It could have been someone else, too. I can’t explain why, but it seems like the interest in the Turnbal house is recent, even though she’s been gone for years.”
We continued on to the Turnbal house. We found Judith and Chris Sr. deep in conversation, and Mikey was knocking on walls again. This time he was working his way around the living room.
I shook my head. “That’s my kid.”
“A chip off the ol’ block,” Chris said. “Just like his mother. Always nosin’ around.”
“Just like his stepfather, soon to be father, you mean.”
That distracted Chris. We were in the process of Chris legally adopting Mikey. Another month and it should be a done deal.
“Yeah, I’m about to be a real father. And I couldn’t ask for a better son than Ace.”
“You’re a real father already, but apparently you don’t realize it. Mikey took to you like a duck to a pond from the
day he met you.”
Chris joined Mikey and began knocking on walls with him. I laughed to myself. What a father and son team they made.
While everyone was busy, I decided to take another look at the documents we’d found in the secret compartment, and I picked up the legal papers that referred to Turnbal Publishing House. Of course, there was nothing in the papers to explain why Marguerite had started her own company, but still, it was interesting. With my rampant imagination, I could come up with all kinds of scenarios.
Shuffling through the documents, I found a copy of her will. I glanced through it, but didn’t see anything that might indicate things would have turned out any differently if this will had been found earlier. Yeah, like I knew anything about the will or the law. I had second thoughts when I found a paragraph about someone named William Howard being heir to the publishing company. Okay, I knew I needed to research the company. This could put a different slant on things.
In the middle of all the papers I found some fan letters written to Marguerite Holden in the 1950s. I started to set them aside when I n
oticed an envelope that was much thicker than the others. Pulling it out of the stack, I saw that it was addressed to William Howard. That was the second time his name had come up in a matter of minutes. The envelope wasn’t sealed, so I opened it. After all, it had been hidden, apparently, for many years. What could be the harm?
It was several pages long, and flipping to the last page I saw that it was signed by Marguerite. Going back to the beginning, I began to read. I got as far as her telling William she was sorry about the accident at Turnbal Publishing when Judith tapped me on the shoulder.
“Let’s go, Pamela. Chris and his dad want to go home and talk about the house while you and I fix dinner.”
“Oh. I was just getting into something interesting
here.” I tapped the stack of papers.
“Well, bring them with you.” She looked at the papers. “On second thought, I’m going to put them back in the compartment and we can come look at them in the morning.”
I handed her all of the papers except the letter. “I’m going to take this home and read it tonight.”
She disappeared down the cellar stairs with the papers and returned shortly, empty-handed. “Done. We’ll look at all of the documents tomorrow.”
On the drive home Chris and I explained in more detail what had happened to Cloene. I noticed Mikey’s head drooping.
“What’s wrong, Ace?” I asked.
“Now you’ll never let me go back there.” He crossed his arms and frowned, pouting. Mikey didn’t do that often and it bothered me. He was normally the most well-adjusted kid I knew, and pouting wasn’t part of his behavior.
“Can you blame me? Someone dangerous is hanging around that house, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. Can you understand that?”
“Yeah, but…” He rolled his eyes and I mentally kicked myself for getting him started on a bad habit.
“You keep that up and your eyes will get stuck that way.” Well, that’s what my mother always told me. Of course, what good had her warning done? I still rolled my eyes at the drop of a hat.