Jessie Delacroix and the Sanctum of Shadows (Whispering Pines Mystery Series Book 2)

by Constance Barker

  I must have looked shocked.

  “Don’t worry, Jess – just a Number One.”

  Too much information.

  “And Moony is a male, so no wiping necessary!”

  Way too much information.

  “Look, Anika, you must be really tired after waiting tables for so long. First of all – thank you. You really helped us out in a pinch. And also, you probably need some rest, so I can see Gus later…”

  “Don’t be silly! Gus has been sleeping, and I can take a little nap while you’re visiting with him.”

  “Wait…I thought you were all one…uh…person or entity or mind or whatever.”

  “Oh, my gosh, no. We are four – four in one. We just take turns sharing this ball of flesh and bone. I’m a boszarkány. Moondance – well, Gus says it’s not time for you to know his whole history yet, but now he is our mastermind and cunning. Gus is the embodiment of the Akashic records – you know, all the knowledge of the universe, even the stuff nobody has thought of yet. That’s what inspired folks like Plato and Archimedes and Newton and Einstein to come up with ideas that no human could possibly conceive of. They somehow tapped into the quantum stream of the Akashic records and used it to serve mankind.”

  It took a moment for me to assimilate all this. “And what about Eddy?”

  “Eddy? He’s our wheels and our muscle – and sometimes our common sense. You’ll have to meet him soon.”

  “Can I meet him now for a minute?”

  “Well, no, not indoors, Jessie. But if you’ve got some time, we can go outside. Then you can go somewhere nice and quiet for your chat with Gus.”

  “Who’s going to run the pawnshop?”

  “Don’t worry. Nobody will come in.”

  Anika bounced down the front steps and walked around to the crowded driveway on the side.

  “Wait here,” she said.

  She walked behind a tall camper, and I heard the rev of a large motorcycle engine. A large bald, tattooed man on a Harley came out the other side and pulled up next to me. He handed me a helmet. “Hop on.”

  I did. Born to be Wild was blasting on his radio, and we zoomed down Carlisle Boulevard to Apalachee Avenue and raced several miles, past the Swamp Fox, and almost to the southern curve of the Elvira River. Eddy drove up a gravel road into Apalachee Memorial Park and stopped near a bench in a beautiful patch of cottonwood trees.

  It had been too loud and windy to talk on the way, so I sat on the bench and talked to Eddy now. He remained on the Harley, the engine still running. “So, Eddy, why couldn’t I meet you in the pawnshop?”

  He smiled and answered in a gruff voice. “I come with the bike, ma’am. I can shut it off, but it’s running when I morph in.”

  “So…you’re like attached? You can never get off the bike?”

  “Oh, sure, I can get off, but it’s dangerous. I can’t switch back unless I’m on the bike with the engine running. So if something happened to me or the bike, Gus would be gone – lost in limbo. And I can only switch to and from Anika. The others are all interchangeable. Well, it was nice to meet you, ma’am. No need for introductions or life stories, I keep caught up when I’m on the other side.”

  Eddy revved the engine and, before my eyes, he disappeared – bike and all – and Anika was standing there. She gave me a smile and a wave. “Gus doesn’t like public transformations,” she said, and then she went behind a tree. Gus came out the other side.

  The sun was low and dusk was setting in. But Gus seemed to have the glow of sunlight around him. He was tall, lean, bald on the top with that male-pattern ring of grey hair above his ears, from temple to temple. His hollow eyes were huge and deep, like bottomless pools that just commanded your attention. He never spoke, but he could communicate a volume in a single moment. While my telepathic communications with Granny and Anika and others were like spoken conversations, with Gus it was like big batches of knowledge were sent directly into my mind. I’m sure he could send me the seven books of Harry Potter in a few moments, complete with every detail, nuance, and emotion. I got up and walked over to him. He didn’t exactly ask me to, but that was what he wanted. I was filled with a sense of uplifting joy, fulfillment, and contentment.

  “Jessica…”

  I sensed that he wanted to warn me about an impending danger.

  “You need to know about the Sanctum of Shadows.”

  That sounded very ominous, yet I felt no fear. I responded with just my thoughts.

  “Gus, does this have to do with the ship and the murders?”

  He nodded. “And the pirates…the ghosts of pirates…the curator. This mystery cannot be solved with the usual techniques, but we cannot expose the other worlds and dimensions. You must go there, to the Sanctum of Shadows. Only you, Jessica, can close the portal to the dark sanctum that has been opened. There will be more murder and chaos if you wait too long, and the entire world is at stake if you don’t go at all.”

  “Why me, Gus? Why don’t you go…or Eddy? I’m just…a girl.”

  He looked amused. “You have powers far beyond ours, Jessica. The five stars will protect and empower you. You are the only one who can accomplish this task.”

  “But, where is the Sanctum of Shadows? How do I get there? What do I do when I find it?”

  “Hurry, Jessica.”

  Gus turned and walked behind the tree again. Anika came out the same side this time. The whole mood of the other-worldly bubble I had been in evaporated, and everything felt normal again.

  “Anika…”

  She transformed back into Eddy, and we rode to the Inn. My mind was racing aimlessly, without a destination.

  Anika and I walked up the steps to the Inn together. “Anika…I don’t know what to do or where to go. Gus told me to go to the Sanctum of Shadows, but I don’t know when to go or how to get there…or what I’m supposed to do.”

  “Shhh!” The lobby was busy, and she slowed down time again to give us privacy. “No one must know about the Sanctum of Shadows, Jessie. Go tomorrow night. There are three doors in your basement…”

  “Yes, I’ve seen them, but I get a creepy feeling when I get close to them.”

  “One of them leads to the Sanctum of Shadows. Take two friends you can trust with your life – and with the secrets of the Sanctum.”

  “I know who I’ll take. Can you…or Moondance…come with us too, Anika?”

  “No. I will not survive there…”

  Swell. That’s reassuring.

  “…Take your dog. Your grandmother can come to keep him calm and in line, but she must allow Arthur’s instincts to lead the way. Don’t take the wrong door, or you may never return. Those realms are not aligned properly right now. Find your way to the pirate ship, and close the portal there.”

  “Why can’t I just go to the ship by the ferry landing and close the portal?”

  “Because you can’t. And you have things to do on the way. Bring the hook. Gyorsabb.”

  The bustle and chatter of the lobby began again, and Anika started toward the pawnshop.

  “But, Anika…which door? What do I do on the way? How do I close it when I get there?”

  She smiled and waved. “Good luck, sweetie! Bye!”

  •

  •

  •

  •

  Chapter Seven

  Treasure hunters were busy tracking mud through the lobby and Tea Room as fast as Lionel could mop it up. A lot of tables were filled with people sucking on ice cubes from their empty soft drinks and sipping on their tenth free refill of coffee, waiting for Professor Vant to come down so they could follow her to potential sites of Captain Olivant’s lost treasure. He was known to have stolen the Portuguese crown jewels, diamonds from an African mining company, and a thousand bars of pure gold from a British naval vessel on a mission for the King. None of it had ever been found.

  I was quite sure that Olivia would not be in a mood for treasure hunting anytime soon, and she had been doing her best to avoid the crowd t
hat would surely start a paparazzi-style feeding frenzy the moment she showed her face. Nevertheless, her two children were tired of being confined to their room, and the three of them headed down the stairs from the “penthouse.” All heads turned as they walked across the open loft to the grand staircase, and the crowd began to swarm to the lobby as word got around.

  I made my way to the bottom of the stairs. “Folks, please stand back and let the Professor and her family through!” I might as well have been talking to a brick wall, and the throng moved even closer.

  Just as the professor gave up and started to turn to go back upstairs, I heard a booming, authoritative voice take command. “Ladies and Gentlemen, step back now. Please go back into the restaurant or outside, or we will have to declare this a public safety hazard and close it down. Move now.”

  It was Zach Fontaine. He and Cammy Jo had just returned from their town tour with Ginny, and Zach took over. He obviously knew the art of crowd control – not to mention that he was a much taller and more imposing figure that I was. The people couldn’t even see or hear me, but they parted like the Red Sea for Moses when Zach spoke. He made his way to the base of the stairs, and we escorted the Vants through the double doors to the solarium.

  Lionel quickly closed the doors behind us, set up a large round dining table, and hooked a velvet rope across the open exit to the courtyard.

  The two kids looked very restless.

  “Lionel, why don’t you show Olivia’s kids…”

  “Ella and Gally,” Olivia said as we sat.

  Ella Vant and Gally Vant? Not sure that’s the way I would have gone.

  “Show Ella and Gally our lawn games, and let them find something to play. We have Frisbees, croquet, bocce…”

  “Do you have a football?” Ella asked with a spark of excitement growing in her blue eyes.

  “How about an official Wilson NFL ball from Falcon stadium?” Lionel asked with a confident smile.

  “I’ll send Ashley out with menus to get your food orders in a while, guys,” I said. “Just be sure you don’t throw towards the courtyard.”

  Ginny followed the kids outside. “I’ll send Ashley over with some menus.”

  “Then come back and join us, Ginny. I’ve got something to talk about.”

  I introduced Zach, and she already knew Cammy Jo from the law office in Savannah.

  The three of us exchanged nervous glances, afraid to address the elephant in the room. Olivia broke the awkward silence.

  “There’s still no word on Martin. The good news is that they’ve checked all around the ship and in the marsh out to the open water in the river, and they didn’t find anything. I just don’t know where he could have gone. But I feel as though he’s safe somewhere.”

  “So do I,” I agreed. It wasn’t just moral support; I really believed that Mr. Bandersnatch was all right.

  “I know everyone knows him as Phineas, but I always called him ‘Martin.’ That’s his middle name. Olivia and Martin – he always said that I was the olive in his martini.” Her gaze grew distant, and then her eyes began to fill with unfallen tears as she continued. “We were to be married on Valentine’s Day…in a ceremony onboard the Scoundrel of the Seas. It was to have been a floating exhibit with monthly tours to places of interest along the coast and here on the Elivra.”

  She let out a mournful sigh without allowing a single tear to leave her eye.

  “Olivia…” I reach out and out put my hands on hers. “…we’re going to find him.”

  Ginny returned with Ashley, carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres, including some miniature crab cakes that Ginny had just whipped up and a variety of canapés. Ashley followed with a pitcher of lemonade and a tray of glasses. We talked for a while, trying to figure out where the pirates had come from. Olivia said that they had a very authentic pirate feel – their look, demeanor, and smell all seemed quite genuine.

  And she had no problem hypothesizing that they might have had an otherworldly origin. “It felt as though we had gone through some kind of breach in the fabric of time – transported into an old movie. And then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was all over. Men were hanging from the mast, and Martin was gone.”

  “What about Mr. Pettigrew, Olivia?” Cammy asked. “Could he have been on board before you left?”

  “I don’t see how. There was a small group from the museum and university who were involved in the ship project, and they saw us off at our secret pier on Raccoon Key, at the mouth of the Ogeechee River, just south of Savannah. Lawrence was among them. We had an unofficial launch ceremony – the official christening was to be a gala public event next month – and we waved to them until they were out of sight. Martin took the helm, and we were on our way.” She looked at her buzzing phone. “Oh dear. I just got word that Ethan and Alex are nowhere to be found back in Savannah either.”

  I had no idea who they were, but it seemed like everything we learned gave us more questions than answers. We talked until the family’s dinner arrived, and then we left them in peace to eat together as a family and talk about the things they needed to discuss.

  Arthur had run through the crowd when Ginny brought him back from the tour of Whispering Pines and headed right for his food and water dishes. He had gotten locked out of the solarium when the double doors were closed and was scratching and whimpering by the doors now. I opened the door and stuck my head out. “Arthur, get Granny and join us out back, okay, boy?”

  “Arf!”

  I saw a shadowy streak zoom into Arthur. “Let’s go,” Arthur said with Granny’s voice.

  Zach, Cammy, Ginny, and I took a table in the corner of the courtyard. I didn’t know how I could explain our journey to the Sanctum of Shadows to them without seeming like I had lost my mind.

  “I have a favor to ask of you girls,” I began. “I, uh…have a lead on some of these strange occurrences, and I want you to come with me on a little…outing tomorrow night.”

  “Sure thing!” Ginny was already excited to go anywhere, and I could probably just level with her and tell her about Anika and the portal and the whole thing – if I really wanted to. But it was too soon for anything like that.

  Granny had an inkling of what was in my mind, and had a few telepathic things to tell me. “You’re not going gallivanting off through any of those doors in the basement, are you? Nothing good can come from that.”

  “I have to go, Gran, or the world might be in trouble.”

  “Who’s filling your head with ideas like that, Jessie?”

  “Anika.”

  “…Oh. Okay. Then you have to go. I’m coming too.”

  “Yes, but only to keep Arthur on task. We have to follow him.”

  “What kind of lead do you have, Jessie?” Zach was interested, but all business. “Does Kyle know? You should probably get him involved.”

  “I really need to ferret out a few things before it’s ready to present to the authorities, Zach. For now, let’s call it more of a fact-finding expedition.”

  “Well, I’m coming too. You ladies can’t go out into the dark countryside without a bodyguard. There are hundreds of Billy Bobs and other crazy old coots straight out of Deliverance out there who’ll slit your throats if they think you’re getting too close to their treasure.”

  I understood his point but was shocked at the way he referred to our southern gentlemen. Arthur got my attention with a little yip and slowly shook his head. Anika had said to bring two trusted friends, and I just met Zach. But he is Hector’s brother, and Kyle used the FBI database to vet him. Still, it made me a little uneasy.

  “I agree – Zach should come with us,” Cammy said. “So where are we going? And when?”

  Granny had taught me how to look behind a person’s eyes to see what they were thinking. I couldn’t read Zach at all, but Cammy Jo’s thoughts had her lying with her head on the big man’s bare chest. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to sleep with him or if he just made her feel safe. Probably both.

  “Let
’s all meet in the lobby at 8:00 tomorrow night. Wear something that you don’t mind getting dirty or wet, just in case. I’ll bring some flashlights.”

  Cammy looked a bit skeptical, but the other two seemed ready and willing.

  “Give us a hint, Jessie. Where are we going? And I’m not going to get bats in my hair, am I?”

  “I have an idea about where Phineas Bandersnatch might be, Cammy Jo…and wear a cap.”

  “So then, this will be our night to have some fun.” Cammy looked like she might be getting a little bored around our tiny town. “I saw a sign for a Go-Kart track on the way in. Let’s go drive around in circles for an hour and then have a couple of drinks!”

  “I’m in!” Zach liked the idea a lot. “Loser buys the first round.”

  It turned out to be a fun and late night. No surprise, Ginny won the Go-Kart racing, and Zach – well, he bought the first round. We ate Chinese in Stony Point, sang, danced, and took a late ferry back home. Cammy Jo and Zach spent Saturday morning and afternoon horseback riding and looking for treasure, and I helped out around the Inn. The Inn and Tea Room were really busy. By late afternoon all I could think about was our upcoming journey into the Sanctum of Shadows.

  Frustrated treasure hunters were stomping in and out of the Inn, trying to make the best of the dwindling daylight. Some were arguing over where to start marching off the paces, as required by their maps or legends, some were just tired of the swamp, and others were going to and from Madame Irene’s fortune-telling shop for guidance.

  I was ready for a break when Cammy and Zach returned to the Inn. She and I sat on the porch swing in front of Gus’s Pawnshop while Anika showed Zach some classic handguns inside.

  A group of men rode up to the Inn on horseback. They were led by the hunky and handsome cowboy owner of the Starlight Ranch, Travis Yates. He tied his mount to the porch rail while the others remained on their horses. Cammy Jo’s jaw dropped as the tall blond cowpoke walked up the front steps and approached us.

  “Down, girl. I saw him first.” Travis was fairly new in town. We sometimes cut through his ranch when we walked or four-wheeled to the ferry landing, and I had met and lusted after him three or four times by now. Too bad he was always wearing those same old beat-up buckskin boots, though. You see, Madame Irene’s mother, the Great Esmeralda, had promised me a tall blond cowboy with snakeskin boots back when I was still a young girl. Oh, well.