by Jessica Beck
“What? I must have dozed off. Did they get your pillowcase?” he asked.
I checked and found the contents intact. “We’ve still got everything we took from Curtis’s room.”
“I can’t believe that I fell asleep. Some watchdog I turned out to be.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. Nothing happened.”
“No,” my grandfather said, “but it might have.”
“Cheer up,” I said. “It’s a brand-new day, and we’ve got a lot to do.”
“You’re right, there’s no use worrying about spilled milk under the bridge,” he said with a wry smile. That’s when I knew that he was going to be okay. My grandfather enjoyed wordplay, and mixing old adages was right up his alley. “What’s first on our list?”
“I don’t know about you,” I said, “but the first thing that I want to do is to figure out how someone got into my room last night.”
“I’m curious about that myself. You might not know this, but I’ve studied some of the old house plans that sported secret passageways.”
I looked at him oddly. “Why in the world would you ever do that?”
He grinned at me. “I wanted to put one in the house Martha and I were building, but she wouldn’t let me.”
“I find it hard to believe that she’d say no about something like that.” My grandmother enjoyed a good joke as much as anyone, and having a passageway in her home that no one knew about fit that bill perfectly.
“She was on board until she found out how much square footage it would have eaten,” Moose said. “Still, I picked up a few tricks when I was studying.”
“Then let’s see what we can find,” I said.
“You go on. I want to change first. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Go right ahead,” I said, though I wasn’t really sure that I felt brave enough to go back into my room alone. At least it was morning, and with fresh light pouring in through the windows, I didn’t have to deal with candlelight. “I’ll see you soon.”
I opened his bedroom door slightly and peeked out into the hallway. No one was up yet. Well, they might have been, but if they were, they weren’t out of their rooms. I hurried down the hall to my room, and I was breathing hard as I opened it, slipped inside, and locked it behind me. As I changed quickly, I felt a little paranoid, as though someone might be watching me. That fear was not without merit. I had to admit that I felt better once I was in fresh jeans and T-shirt. Moose still wasn’t there yet, so I decided to have a look around myself. As I approached a paneled wall, I started pressing everything in sight, from moldings to wall sconces to the panels themselves. While I was searching, I flipped on a table lamp to see if our power had been restored yet. It had, much to my delight, so I got out my charger and my phone and I hooked everything up.
After I plugged it in, though, there was no green light displayed on my phone showing that it was charging.
I tried another outlet, and sure enough, this time the light shone brightly. Was the first outlet dead, or was it something else entirely? Getting down on my hands and knees, I tried looking into the slots where the plug went, but I couldn’t see anything that didn’t look right. Glancing around the room, I couldn’t find anything to use to unscrew the wall plate, but then I remembered that I had a pair of tweezers in my overnight bag. Holding them on an angle, I was able to work the compressed blades into the slot of the screw that held everything in place, and I started to turn it. It took a few tries, but I finally got it all the way out, and I pulled the plate off.
No wonder I couldn’t get the phone to charge.
There were no wires leading into the outlet, but there was a single thin rod threaded through the back of it.
I pressed the outlet and realized that it was loose. I tried the top, and then the bottom, toggling it back and forth like a switch.
Nothing happened.
And then I turned back to the paneled wall where I’d been searching earlier.
One of the sections looked a little out of alignment, and as I got close to it, I could see that instead of being attached to the wall, it was on a hinge.
I’d found my secret door.
Before I could explore further, though, there was a knock at my door. Was it Moose, or had someone come to see what I was up to?
“One second,” I said as I put the outlet cover back in place and replaced the screw. As I walked to the door, I took a moment to push the secret entrance closed. If it was Moose, I was sure that I could repeat the results, but if someone else was visiting, I didn’t want there to be any evidence of what I’d found.
The knocking was harder now.
“Victoria, are you okay?” It was Moose.
I opened the door and let him in. “Take it easy. I’m fine.”
“What took you so long?” he said as he rushed in.
“I found something,” I said.
“Well, don’t keep me waiting. What is it?”
“Watch this,” I said as I knelt down by the outlet again. I didn’t have to remove the cover this time. Pushing on the top, then the bottom, and then the top again, I grinned up at Moose as I saw the door release behind him.
He didn’t see it, though. “I don’t get it.”
“Turn around,” I said.
He saw the passageway instantly. “How did you do that?”
“I’d love to say that I figured it out all by myself, but I was actually just trying to charge my cellphone.”
“It’s not what I was expecting,” my grandfather said as he peered into the darkness. Moose started to step in, but something was holding him back.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“You found this. You should get to explore it first.”
“You don’t mind?”
“It’s killing me not to go first, but right is right,” he said. “I’ll stay here and guard your exit. Would you like to take a candle with you?”
“I guess I’d better,” I said as I grabbed the one on the desk. “This is going to be so cool.”
“Don’t take any chances,” he said as he lit the candle in my hand. “Just see where it leads and then come straight back to me.”
“I will,” I said.
I opened the door the rest of the way and started inside. I was glad that Moose had suggested the candle. There was very little light inside the passageway, and as I made the first turn, the light from the door was nearly gone. There was a stale smell in the air, combined with something that smelled a little industrial to me. I walked slowly, looking at the plaster and lath corridor on either side of me. There had to be another door somewhere. How else had my late-night visitor gotten in?
The passage dead-ended, though.
It appeared that I’d been visited by a ghost after all.
That was nonsense, of course. On my way back, I studied the walls a little more closely, and upon further examination, I spotted a section that didn’t look like the rest. Gently putting my hand on it, I pushed lightly, and the one part of the wall swung back effortlessly.
It didn’t put me directly out into another room, though. I saw an area had been chipped away, and one single beam of light came through.
It was clearly a peephole.
But what could I see when I looked through it?
Chapter 15
It was the hallway where we’d all discussed things the night before! I was all set to open the door to see how it was accessed from the other side when I heard voices.
My hand stopped, and I moved back to the spyhole.
“I don’t like this one little bit,” Tristan said, his voice soft enough to nearly make it impossible for me to hear him.
“You don’t have to like it. You just need to fix it,” his sister, Sarah, said. She was making no effort to keep her voice down.
“Do you want everyone in the house to overhear us?” Tristan asked her in a harsh whisper. “Speak softer, Sarah.”
“No one’s even up yet,” she said with disgust, “and I wouldn�
�t be either if you hadn’t barged into my room. What was so urgent, anyway?”
“I don’t trust those two,” he said.
“Which two are those?” she asked him.
“Moose and Victoria, of course. Who else could I mean?” Tristan asked.
“I think that Jeffrey and Crane are a much bigger threat to our immediate interests than two short-order cooks,” Sarah said. I’d never been a short-order cook in my life, but I had a suspicion that this wasn’t the time to point it out.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because they control the money. If anyone’s going to hurt us, it’s going to be them.”
Tristan shook his head. “I’m not as worried about that.”
“Well, you should,” Sarah said.
“Why do you say that?” Tristan asked.
She was about to answer when a third person joined them.
“Good morning,” Jeffrey said as he entered the space.
“Morning,” Tristan and Sarah said in unison.
“Have either one of you seen Moose and Victoria?” he asked. “I’d like to speak with them.”
“Try their rooms,” Tristan said.
“I’ll do that.” The chauffeur started toward my room, and I knew that I had to hurry, but as I was leaving the hidden space, I heard Jeffrey say, “The three of us will talk later.”
“I imagine that we will,” Sarah said, and there was a frigid air in her voice that Jeffrey noticed immediately.
“You don’t like any part of this, do you?” he asked her.
“Which part are you talking about?” Sarah asked in turn.
“The fact that I have a hand in your future,” Jeffrey said.
“Don’t delude yourself. All that you’re really good for is something that any teenager with a driver’s license can do,” Sarah said. As she’d said it, she’d sounded remarkably like her aunt.
If it stung Jeffrey, he didn’t show it. Instead, he replied with a smile, “That may have been true a few days ago, but I shouldn’t have to remind you that things have a way of changing.”
Jeffrey didn’t wait for her reply, so neither could I. I hurried down the passageway so I could get back into my room before he showed up knocking on my door.
As I rushed though, I forgot to shield my candle, and it suddenly went out.
I was plunged back into darkness.
There was no way that I was going to make it back in time now.
As I felt along one wall, a light suddenly appeared before me. I felt my heart jump until I saw that it was my grandfather. “What took you so long? I thought something happened to you.”
“Turn around and go back. We have to hurry.”
He did as I asked, and soon we were back in my room. I shut the passage door behind us and started for the door when there was the expected knock.
“Act naturally,” I told Moose before I opened it.
“How did you know that someone was coming?”
“I’ll tell you when Jeffrey’s gone,” I said.
There was another tap, and then before he could finish knocking a second time, I opened the door. “Jeffrey, we were just going to breakfast,” I said, hoping that he couldn’t tell that I’d been rushing to get there.
“Let me walk you down,” he said. “I trust you slept well.”
“I did,” I lied.
Moose stretched a little. “I wasn’t as fortunate. The older I get, the harder it is for me to sleep away from home.”
“I appreciate your sacrifice,” he said. “Shall we go?”
“Give us one second to chat, okay?” I asked.
Jeffrey looked a little puzzled by my request, but he agreed to it nonetheless.
When the door closed again, I whispered, “Where are the things we found in Curtis’s room?”
“You’re not the only one good at hiding things,” he said. “Don’t worry about it right now, Victoria. It’s all taken care of.”
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“I’ll be shocked if anyone finds it. Now, let’s go. We don’t want to make anyone suspicious.”
“That ship has probably sailed already,” I said. I wanted to know where Moose had hidden the potential clues that we’d found, but I understood his caution in telling me.
After all, I’d just seen for myself that the walls had both eyes and ears.
“There you are,” Tristan said as we walked into the dining room. “Where have you two been?”
“Tristan, don’t be rude,” Charlotte said.
“Sorry, but breakfast is supposed to be served on time around here.”
“You could have always started without us,” Moose said.
“That’s against the rules of the house. No one eats until everyone is seated.”
“Tristan, stop being such a nit,” his sister, Sarah, said. “We can’t get started until Crane gets here, as well.”
Charlotte frowned, and then she turned to the butler, who was hovering nearby. “Humphries, go fetch Crane, would you? Please tell him that we’re all waiting for him.”
As the butler left, Sarah asked me, “So, what did you find in Curtis’s room last night?”
Before I could answer, Charlotte asked, “You took something from my brother’s room? By what right did you do that?”
“Don’t be that way. You know that I was with them,” Jeffrey said. “I gave them my permission. After all, they’re here by Curtis’s explicit request, and I was told in no uncertain terms to help them in whatever way that I could, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”
“It’s still all rather unseemly,” Charlotte said softly.
“So is murder,” Jeffrey answered.
Wow, those two really didn’t like each other.
“Victoria, you never answered my question,” Sarah said.
“Honestly, we haven’t had a chance to examine everything closely yet. I’m not all that comfortable saying anything until we’ve had a little more time to see what we’ve uncovered.”
“Did any of you hear a woman scream last night?” Tristan asked lightly. “Or did I just dream it?”
“I’m afraid that was me,” I said. It was time to go into our backstory.
“Nightmares, dear?” Charlotte asked.
“Exactly. I dreamed that someone was standing over my bed watching me sleep,” I said as I sheepishly looked around the table. No one gave anything away though, at least not that I could see. Maybe Moose had better luck picking up on a subtle clue.
“I hate those,” Sarah said.
“Do you get them often, sis?” Tristan asked her.
“What I dream about is none of your business, big brother,” she said.
He found that amusing for some reason, but at least his low chuckle was the only answer that he gave.
Jeffrey said, “As a matter of fact, I had a few nightmares myself last night.”
“It’s an epidemic,” Tristan said with a smile, though I didn’t find anything amusing about it. I decided not tell anyone that I’d lost the box of clues just yet, because I didn’t feel all that comfortable about playing the fool. What kind of idiot loses the only clues she has, anyway? Besides, if I pretended that the box hadn’t been stolen in the middle of the night, maybe it would make the killer believe I was just a scatterbrained woman. Ordinarily I hated being underestimated, but if it helped me catch the murderer, I could live with that for the moment.
Humphries rushed back into the dining room. “May I have a word, Ms. Trane?”
She started to stand when Jeffrey spoke up. “If you’ve got something to say, everyone should hear what it is.”
Charlotte loomed over him in his seat. “You may be in charge of my late brother’s estate, but it gives you no power over me, do you hear me?”
Jeffrey just shrugged. “I don’t see it that way, and neither do the lawyers Curtis hired to back me up. For all intents and purposes, until the last bit of paperwork is filed, I’m the one running things. If you’d feel more comfortable i
n your home, you can go there at any time. I’ll see to it that you’re informed about the most significant findings that we make here. What do you say? Should Humphries move your bags for you, Charlotte?”
“I’m fine right where I am,” she said. After a cold stare in Jeffrey’s direction, she turned back to the butler. “Go on, Humphries. Tell us all what you’ve discovered. Why is Crane late?”
“That’s the problem, ma’am,” he said. “Mr. Crane isn’t in his room.”
“Then he’s most likely just gone for a stroll before breakfast,” Sarah said shortly. “He can’t be that hard to find. I know this place is big, but it’s not that big.”
“You don’t understand,” Humphries said. “It appears that there was a struggle in his room sometime last night. I got the distinct impression that when he left, it wasn’t by choice.”
“Let’s go take a look,” Moose said as he stood and started for the staircase.
“I’m right behind you,” I said as I followed him out of the dining room. “Humphries, lead the way.”
“What about breakfast?” Sarah asked with a whine.
“That can wait,” Charlotte answered as she joined us.
“Well, I’m not traipsing off looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found.” She appeared to settle into her seat with no plans to budge at all.
Her brother clearly had other ideas, though. Tristan pulled her arm up. “Come on, Sarah. No one gets left behind. Wouldn’t you feel safer with me by your side?”
“Barely,” she replied.
“I’ll take what I can get,” he said with a smile. “Let’s all go look.”
As we headed up the stairs together, Jeffrey touched my shoulder. “What do you think this is all about, Victoria?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said.
“Do you think he’s really gone?” Jeffrey asked.
“I don’t doubt it. The question I want answered is if it was by choice, or by force.”
“What a nightmare,” Jeffrey said. “We’ve got a ton of work to do today.” He glanced at his watch. “Renee is due in twenty minutes.”
“Could that be why Crane’s missing?” Moose asked.
“What do you mean?” Jeffrey replied.