She opened her mouth to call out, but no sound emerged. Jonelle squeezed her eyes shut. She mentally counted to ten and waited for the dizziness to pass. The thought of not completing the task and having to come back later gave her strength. She opened her eyes and took a few tentative steps. The floor felt solid once again. With her penlight, she examined the shape against the wall. She exhaled a sigh of relief as she lifted the sheet and exposed a bookcase. Jonelle walked a few more steps and lifted the dust cover over another chair with the same deep gashes. Was it the same chair? She knew she’d walked away from it. Was it possible two different chairs had the exact, same damage?
“Breathe slow,” she muttered. “Breathe slooow.”
After a few moments counting her breaths, Jonelle shone the light over the final section. A small, twin-sized bed and a large chest occupied space against the wall. The mattress had a hole in the middle and no headboard. She turned her attention to the chest of drawers. Although not an expert in antiques, the bureau looked very old.
Sounds of movement on her left, followed by the occasional swear word, reassured her that Adrienne was still searching.
Jonelle stepped around an oval end table with scalloped edges and stopped in front of the dresser. Made of mahogany, the piece of furniture possessed four long drawers with heavy brass handles. Jonelle wondered why no sheet covered what seemed like a valuable item. She ran her finger over the surface. Very little dust. She laid the penlight on top of the chest and opened the first drawer.
Her hand shook as she reached down and picked up the seahorse pin. “Damn,” she said. She put the pin in her shirt pocket. The third drawer she checked revealed the pearl necklace. “Well, I’ll be.” The last drawer was empty.
“Guess what?” Jonelle called out.
The response she got from Adrienne was a sneeze and, “What? I’m almost done in this dust chamber. What the hell?”
Music. There it was again. Harp music always reminded Jonelle of Angels guarding the pearly gates. Was someone trying to tell her something?
A few seconds later, the music stopped.
Jonelle shone the penlight in Adrienne’s direction. Her friend stood there, not moving and not saying anything. Her eyes stared straight ahead; her mouth slightly open.
“Guess I’m going to have to tell Sally she needs to get more variety in her music. Right, Adrienne? Adrienne?”
Jonelle waited for one of Adrienne’s trademark verbal quips and got nothing.
“You okay?” Worried, Jonelle advanced over to where Adrienne stood.
This time, she thought she saw a large shadow near the ground, darker than the rest of the room, move on her right. She stopped before reaching her friend. A soft, scratching noise came from the floor.
“Must be mice,” she muttered. The scraping noise sounded again, much heavier and louder this time. “Damn big mice.”
Before she could call out to her friend again, the overhead bulb went out. Adrienne screamed.
“What?” Jonelle turned and dropped the light. The penlight rolled along the floor.
Adrienne screamed again.
Dark forms crashed to the floor.
“Shit! What’s going on Adrienne?”
“I gotta get outta here. I gotta get out, now.”
Guided by the light coming up through the trap door, Jonelle moved as fast as the cluttered space would allow. Adrienne had already moved down the steps by the time Jonelle made it to the opening in the attic floor.
Adrienne trembled on the landing.
“What the hell happened to you?” Jonelle asked. She knew it took a lot to get Adrienne rattled.
“You girls okay up there?” Sally called.
“We’re fine,” Jonelle responded.
“No, we’re not,” Adrienne hissed.
“Shh. She’ll hear you. What’s the matter?”
Adrienne held out her arm. “Look at this.”
Jonelle saw marks on her friend’s upper arm.
“Something scratched me,” Adrienne said, eyes wide.
“Let me see that again.” Jonelle studied Adrienne’s arm. There was definitely something there. “You probably just rubbed it against something. That’s what this is. Let’s go downstairs.”
Adrienne didn’t move. “I know the difference between a ‘rubbed against’ and a scrape,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m telling you something up in that creepy place touched my arm. You wanna explain that to me? And what’s with the weird music.”
Jonelle motioned to her friend to lower her voice. “I believe you, but let’s talk about it when we get back to my place. Right now, let’s put on a brave face for Sally.” Jonelle patted her pocket. “I found her jewelry.”
The two friends faced each other on the landing.
Adrienne took several deep breaths. “Okay. Let’s go downstairs, you give her the damn jewelry, we eat whatever lunch she has ready and then get the hell out of here. Oh, and by the way, best friend or no best friend, from now on you’re on your own in this ‘Psycho’ house.”
Jonelle nodded. “Fair enough.”
Sally greeted them at the bottom of the stairs. “I was getting a little worried. I heard yelling and things falling around up there.” She looked from one to the other. “Are you all right?”
“We’re fine, Sally. Sorry about the noise. We kept bumping into things. All I had was a little penlight, and I’m afraid I dropped it. It’s on the floor somewhere. I can go back up and get it.”
Adrienne’s eyes widened in horror.
“Not to worry, dear. If you don’t need it now, we can get it later,” Sally said.
“I vote for later,” Adrienne said, throwing Jonelle a look that could bore a hole through a three foot block of marble.
“Oh, and the light went off,” Jonelle said.
“It does that sometime. I’ll get William to check it out.” Sally motioned for them to follow her into the kitchen.
“Mmm. Something smells good,” Jonelle said, smiling at Sally. “And guess what? I found the missing jewelry. They were in that old chest in the attic.”
“How did they get in there?” Sally frowned.
“Well, maybe you were up there, looking for something and, uh, somehow you put them in the drawers?” Now that Jonelle said it out loud, it made no sense. “If you’d like, I can leave work some time Monday and drive you to the bank to secure these in the safety deposit box with the other jewelry.”
Sally turned the pieces over and over in her hand. Worry lines creased her forehead. “No, that’s okay,” she said, voice low. “I’ll ask my neighbor Irene to go with me.”
Jonelle wondered if maybe William was right about his mother. Not wishing to exasperate Sally further, Jonelle changed the subject.
“So, what smells so good?”
“I have homemade chicken vegetable soup, and egg salad and watercress sandwiches,” Sally said, smiling first at Jonelle, then at Adrienne. She put the jewelry in her apron pocket. “I’ve got lemonade to drink, but if you prefer, I can make iced tea.”
“Lemonade’s fine.” Jonelle looked at Adrienne.
“Right. Lemonade is perfect. Everything looks delicious,” Adrienne said, still somewhat subdued.
No one spoke for a few moments as bowls of soup and the tray of sandwiches were passed around.
After eating a few spoonfuls and complimenting Sally on the food, Jonelle steered the conversation to a lighter note.
“So, Sally. I didn’t know you liked music. Don’t remember seeing a stereo.”
A puzzled look spread across Sally’s face.
Jonelle put her spoon down. “The music. We heard music upstairs. First in the closet and then in the attic. ”
“I don’t have a stereo. The only record player we had is upstairs. In the attic.”
“Oh, then I guess you had the radio on,” Jonelle said.
Adrienne stopped eating.
Sally shook her head.
“No. The radio wasn’t on. I w
as just sitting here, knitting.”
CHAPTER 13
After they left Sally’s house, Jonelle stopped by the liquor store. At Adrienne’s insistence, she bought a large bottle of chilled Riesling. Adrienne also swiped a large bag of chips from the shelf. “You’re paying for those,” Jonelle had told her.
Settled in Jonelle’s condo with wine and cheese and crackers to offset the chips, Jonelle felt much calmer. “Okay, so what do we know for sure?” She took two large swallows of wine, thought of Marcella, and reminded herself it was better to sip instead of gulp. She sliced some brie and put it on a cracker. Adrienne grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
“I know two things,” Adrienne said around a mouthful of chips. “First, I’m never going back to Sally’s place again. And B, you should do something about that creepy house. Get somebody to do an exorcism or something. Sally shouldn’t be staying there alone.”
“Oh, don’t be such a drama queen.”
“Drama queen?” Adrienne held out her arm. “Does this look like I’m being dramatic?”
The scrapes on Adrienne’s upper arm were starting to swell. “Looks different,” Jonelle said, squinting at her friend’s upper arm.
“Ya think?” Adrienne started to scratch the area, and then stopped. “And it’s getting itchy. Better not rub it though. Think I should go to urgent care?”
“Hmm. Let’s see if some ointment will work.”
Jonelle walked to the bathroom, retrieved the cream and handed Adrienne the tube. Adrienne slathered a generous amount on her upper arm.
“Maybe you should’ve washed it first,” Jonelle said.
Adrienne sneered. “Now you tell me.”
Jonelle sighed. “I’ve never heard of a ghost causing an allergic reaction. Okay. Let’s go over this again. What happened?”
“I’m not saying it was a ghost. I had just turned around because I thought I heard you say something. Before I could ask you to repeat it, someone—I repeat, someone—nicked my arm. I felt it.”
Both women stared at each other. Jonelle reached over and refilled her wine glass. Adrienne did the same.
“What are the facts here?” Jonelle asked. “We know there were just two of us in that attic, so—”
“You sure about that?” Adrienne interrupted.
“What? Are you saying there was someone hiding up there? We would have heard, or seen, him… or her. Besides, think back. Did it really feel like somebody’s fingers touched you?”
“Sure did. How else could I have gotten these marks on my arm? If I’d bumped into furniture there might be a bruise. But not this.” Adrienne looked as if she’d just scored a winning goal.
Jonelle thought a moment. Adrienne’s explanation about the scratches made sense. Still, something wasn’t quite right.
“Okay, let’s assume a person made those impressions on you. How? Did you hear or see anybody else up there?”
Adrienne shrugged. “No. I didn’t hear anybody. All I heard was me sneezing because of all the filth. But I know what I felt. You’re the detective. You figure it out.” She reached over and snatched more chips.
Jonelle knew that once her friend got hold of an idea, she didn’t let go. In spite of what Adrienne felt, everything about the incident in the attic pointed to Adrienne bumping into a sharp piece of furniture. Old polish or even dirt could have caused the allergic reaction.
“Tell you what. See if the cream works first. If it doesn’t you may need to check with a dermatologist.”
“Guess I could wait a bit and see,” Adrienne said, frowning at her arm. The tone of her voice indicated she still believed someone, not something, touched her.
Jonelle was more worried about finding Sally’s jewelry inside the dresser. Especially since Sally had told her she never went into the attic anymore. “So, what do you think about me finding Sally’s jewelry in that old chest?”
Adrienne swallowed more wine. “She probably put that stuff in there and just forgot.”
“Can you see her climbing up those rickety stairs, walking to the back of the attic, opening the drawers, plopping the jewelry inside, and then forgetting? Nope. I’m not buying it.”
“Well, if you put it that way, it does sound absurd,” Adrienne said. She reached for more chips then took her hand away. Instead, she took hold of the wine glass.
Jonelle sat back against the sofa cushion. “What’s even more ridiculous is why would someone go to all the trouble of hiding jewelry? Why not just take the items? You could sell the pin and necklace, or pawn them for that matter. I think if I could figure out why someone is doing all this, it would lead me to whoever is trying to drive Sally nuts.”
CHAPTER 14
On Monday morning, Jonelle went straight to her uncle’s office. Since he always kept the door open, she knocked on the doorframe. He looked up. “Mind if I come in?” she asked.
His hand motioned to her and she came and sat across from him.
Jonelle didn’t believe in any form of the paranormal. So, how to explain to her uncle what happened at Sally’s house? Jonelle took the direct approach.
“Adrienne and I went over to Sally Piedmont’s house on Saturday,” Jonelle said. “She’s the elderly client I told you about. I wanted to search a bit more so I asked Adrienne to come with me. I figured I could use the company and the search would go faster. Plus, with my claustrophobia…” She shrugged.
She searched her uncle’s face for his reaction. His expression remained passive.
“Anyway, while we were in the attic, I thought I heard something, or someone moving around up there besides us. I got this peculiar feeling that the floor and furniture were shifting from place to place.” She paused.
“Sounds like your claustrophobia kicked in,” Marvin said. “What’s this got to do with—”
“To make matters worse,” Jonelle interrupted, “Adrienne said she felt someone scratch her and I’ve seen the marks on the outside of her arm. And we didn’t see anyone else up there.”
Marvin leaned back in his chair. “If she was wearing those outlandish high heels she usually has on, it’s a wonder she got herself up in that attic in the first place. She probably bumped into something,” Marvin said.
Jonelle noted the frown on Marvin’s face as he tapped his pen against papers spread out over his desk.
“I suggested that,” she said. “But, the mark caused some kind of an allergic reaction. Hard to get that bumping into things.”
His hand waved in the air, dismissing her comment. “This agency doesn’t do ghost-busting, or whatever,” Marvin said. “Fact is, I don’t believe in that nonsense. It’s right up there with alien abductions and zombies.”
While she shared her uncle’s beliefs, she also felt the need to tell him everything. She cleared her throat. “We also heard music. And Sally said she didn’t have the radio or stereo on.”
“Music, huh?” Marvin leaned back in his chair. “It’s summer, Jonelle. We get kids serenading the neighborhood with that loud music all the time.”
“We do too. But how many kids play New Age, meditation-type music these days? What we heard sounded like someone playing a harp.”
“A harp?” Marvin sat up and looked into his niece’s eyes. “Is this an older neighborhood?”
“Well, yes it is, but—”
“There you are then. One of her neighbors was playing their music too loud.” Marvin’s reluctance to even consider different possibilities to what had happened disappointed her. He usually kept an open-mind about things. Jonelle came to a conclusion. Until she could figure out what happened in that house, she’d keep all future creepy stuff to herself.
“The good news is, I found the missing jewelry in an old chest in the attic. Don’t know how it got there, though.”
Marvin smiled. “If resolving the case involved recovery of the jewelry, and you’ve done that, then case closed. We don’t need to know the ‘how’. Congratulations. You’ve just c
ompleted your first real assignment.” He picked up some papers on his desk. “Tell Rainey to render a final bill. That leaves you with the missing person. Is that correct?”
Jonelle knew her time was up. “Right. As a matter of fact, I’m meeting with Marcella this afternoon and we’re going to search LucieBlu’s apartment.”
He nodded, studied the papers in his hand and mumbled something she couldn’t make out. She left his office feeling as though she’d just gotten a pat on the back for a good report card. It was a nice feeling, but she wanted more.
After the meeting with her uncle, Jonelle craved a nice, big candy bar. Chocolate always made her feel better. Maybe she’d ask Rainey if they could afford a vending machine for the office. She walked down the hall to the reception area and found Rainey staring at the computer.
“Help you, hon?” Rainey asked, still frowning at the screen. A yellow pencil poked out the side of her ash blond bouffant.
“I suppose the Sally Piedmont case is closed. You want me to send you the final report through the computer?”
“You ‘suppose?’ That mean you’re not sure?”
Jonelle reached over and took a peppermint from the dish on Rainey’s desk. “Well, I found the jewelry all right, but there are still some things that bother me.” Jonelle unwrapped the mint and popped it in her mouth.
Rainey removed reading glasses from her eyes and glanced up. “These things that bother you. Do they have anything to do with recovering the missing jewelry?”
“Hmm. Not really.”
“Then what is it?”
Jonelle thought a moment. “I like her. And there’re some strange goings on in that house. My gut tells me someone is trying to take advantage of her because of her age.”
“You’re a good person, Jonnie,” Rainey said. “Be careful you don’t get too involved though. Investigators can’t afford to get too close to their clients. It’ll drive you nuts.” Rainey adjusted the glasses back on her nose.
“Point taken,” Jonelle said. She grabbed another candy. “Say, once we get more space, do you think there’d be any room for a vending machine?”
“Vending machine? You mean those new ones that have juice, water and fruit, like that?”
Gone Missing: A Jonelle Sweet Mystery Book 2 Page 8