House of Thirteen

by Andy Lockwood

  Ren continued to read, William’s journal going on to discuss his reluctant return to proper society to give his new charge a proper education and later their courtship. Ren looked over the pages again, noting that Eunice’s age is never specifically discussed. With a shudder, she hoped this wasn’t going to be a big ugly spot on William’s permanent record. Otherwise, she spent the morning’s research stunned that present-day Eunice had apparently not been lying about Grandmother Abernathy’s relationship to William Delaney.

  Joe dragged herself into the kitchen, not nearly as bright and alert as Ren had been all morning. She managed a pair of toaster waffles without electrocuting herself, and settled in with a cup of coffee while her breakfast warmed. She looked across the table, smirking.

  “You’re like a mini-Mariel.”

  Ren tried to stare Joe down with one of the gazes that Mariel was notorious for, but couldn’t keep a straight face.

  “At least we won’t have to replace her.”

  “Oh no, she’ll be there to instruct us every step of the way.”

  Ren hesitated. “If it gets to be too much, we’ll just mutiny.”

  “That sounds like a plan,” Joe raised her cup in salute, then responded to the chime of the toaster. “So what adventure is William up to today?”

  Ren sighed. “I really wish I hadn’t read any of this myself. I mean, William is honest, but he’s not painting himself in the best light. And something is definitely up.”

  Joe raised an eyebrow as she leaned in, waiting for the juicy bits.

  “So, William meets Jacob Abernathy. Jacob had a knife William wants. Jacob is weird about it and refuses. One day, he finally forks it over. Later on, boom: everyone dies.”

  “Let me guess: Eunice is somehow okay?”

  “Well, not okay. She’s crazy and kind of beastly when he finds her. But she calms down – William says probably because of the dagger, like maybe she remembers it. Then William does the good guy thing and takes her in and introduces her to proper society and being a lady and they start a relationship.”

  A noise creeps up from the back of Joe’s throat. “Please tell me she’s legal when this happens.”

  Ren pauses, considering her response. “We’re going to gloss over that, because then he meets Mariel.”

  “And we know that story: It’s love at first sight, they head off again into the wilderness and find a nice place to build a house – this house – and they live happily ever after.”

  “Until tragedy strikes.”

  “I like my ending better.” Joe eyes roll wide, wishing they really could ignore this part of history.

  “But your ending is a romance. This is a mystery.”

  Joe stared at her. She knew she was supposed to ask a question, but for the life of her, she had no idea which one to start with.

  Ren stabbed at the page repeatedly. “Tau is looking for a journal, but he should be looking for a knife.”

  Joe looked at the book again; it was slowly coming together. Very slowly. It still sounded a little like insanity to her, but Ren marched forward.

  “Eunice lives with Jacob; Jacob has the dagger. Jacob gives the dagger to William: dead Jacob. William has the dagger; and now Eunice lives with William.”

  It clicked and Joe slapped the table. “William takes the dagger when he goes off with Mariel!” The pieces continued to fit across her mind, the excitement draining from her face in dawning realization. “She killed them? All over a dagger?”

  Ren nodded soberly. “I think so.”

  “We can’t prove any of this.”

  “Yet.”

  “Yet?”

  Ren leaned in, as if someone might be eavesdropping. “Someone is looking for this dagger. That must mean that Eunice never got it. Mariel must have it somewhere.”

  Joe looked like her brain was going to implode on her.

  “I don’t like us being in charge anymore.”

  **

  Ren spent the afternoon in the museum, dealing with visitors and counting down the hours until Abernathy’s group came in. She thought it would be hard to pass the afternoon, but what time wasn’t spent attending to guests was spent looking for clues that led back to the knife in question. It was dizzying, bouncing from one unanswered question to the next. She was starting to feel like she might go insane before the answers came to her. At least after today, she would be more certain of the direction they were headed in. Even if Mrs. Abernathy didn’t know the whole story, Ren had every intention of asking about dear old Gran-gran. She had a hard time imagining the old woman turning down an opportunity to tell her story. She was counting on it.

  What Ren didn’t count on was the Daughters of the Revolution meeting without the presence of their founding member. Ren felt her face flush with disappointment and anger. But she was certain now. Abernathy creeps on them, and Tau shows up. Tau vanishes and so does she. Coincidence be damned, there was something suspect about this. She kept her calm as long as she was humanly able. The moment the last Daughter was out the door, Ren twisted the lock and flicked the lights off, moving by memory as she made a beeline for the common room.

  Within, Joe had taken point on William’s journals. She also had a number of other books spread out on the table with her. When she saw Ren, she leaned over the table, reorganizing everything into a sloppy cascade of books, binders and – oddly enough – picture frames.

  “Before you start: no, I don’t know where it is.” She smiled. “Not for certain. I have my suspicions though. And,” She picked up a picture of William and Mariel, arm in arm. William was in full regalia and Mariel wore a dress that Ren might be murdered for mentioning out loud. It was the parasol that made her giggle. Joe tapped the frame. On his belt, just ahead of his sword, was a dagger. It was sheathed to match the rest of the uniform, but the handle matched William’s drawing. “We definitely know what we are looking for.”

  “There is an awful lot of time between this picture and now.”

  “Yes, but,” She held up another framed picture, this one far more recent. Mariel looked much more like herself, standing with a group of people as they all held up a banner. Marysville Time Capsule: 2010. Ren looked at the picture then back to the previous, trying to connect the two. Before she could admit defeat, Joe pointed again. There, partially obscured by her blazer, William’s sheath hung from her belt. It looked limp, a good indicator that no dagger was sheathed in it. “That’s the most recent time reference I can find. It might be the last time it was seen.”

  “Do you think anyone else noticed this?”

  Joe shrugged. “If they had, I’m sure they’ve opened the time capsule by now.”

  “If they haven’t, we need to get there first.”

  “Agreed.”

  **

  That night, Ren tried to sleep deep and full, but her dreams had other plans.

  She stood on a worn trail in the middle of nowhere. The sun shone bright on her face, she could smell grass and flowers on the warm wind. She could also smell misery and death. She turned to see the guttered remains of a log house, the wood slat roof all but missing, the flames leaving only the edges behind. The thick wood walls still stood, but the heat emanating from the structure told Ren that it was still burning strong, regardless of what appeared to remain.

  “No!”

  Ren turned to see young Eunice Abernathy. Her hands and face were covered in soot, hiding most of the young girl behind a drab featureless dress and the ashen remains of her childhood home. Her eyes, however, were bright and alive. They sparkled as she protested – not at the smoldering remains of her family home, but at William. He stood, his back to Eunice, his hand outstretched to another woman.

  “Mariel,” Ren whispered, though no one seemed to acknowledge her. It was definitely Mariel; she looked exactly the same, like no time had passed at all. The telltale difference was her innocence. This Mariel had the glow of possibility in her eyes, no trace of the long years ahead - or behind - her. There was no myst
ique to this woman; she was exactly what she appeared to be.

  Eunice reached out, clutching William’s free arm, attempting to pull him back to her. As he fell back, Mariel held fast to his other hand. A tug of war ensued between them, a fight for William’s heart and his affection. Ren watched, expecting him to lurch away from one or the other. She couldn’t actually tell which as the display continued. Finally, his hands snapped up and he pulled away, reaching forward.

  He reached for Ren, and she recoiled. This was not how it was supposed to happen. She wasn’t going to end up with William. He seemed to be aware of this and did not try to pursue. Instead, he looked over his shoulder at the two women, both closing in, pleading for him to choose. He shook his head and pulled back the panel of his coat.

  In one swift motion, there was nothing and suddenly it was there. He held the knife out, the handle facing Ren, as he lightly held the blade.

  “Choose,” He said. Just one word and Ren suddenly felt the weight and fear of everything weighing down on her. Mariel and Eunice both looked at her, eyes begging, reaching out as they tried to convey their worth in beating hearts and shining eyes.

  Ren shook her head, trying to take another step away. William grabbed her wrist, slapping the hilt into her palm and stepping to her side.

  “Choose, please,” His voice sounded weary, strained. “Love can either burn quick and bright for me, or long and dull, but I cannot have both.” He turned to her, but Ren could not bring herself to face him. “And I cannot, for the life of me, seem to make the right choice. Please, choose.”

  She looked on as they both pleaded with her, the two voices becoming one single sound. She knew how history decided this story should end, and she knew how her own fate was interwoven. It should have been easy but her heart tugged at her, telling her that it wasn’t so simple. What if the roles had been reversed, would she feel differently? She wasn’t sure she could do this any easier than William himself, so why was she stepping forward?

  “Choose.”

  It was unbidden, involuntary. Ren was moving forward without any control of her own. She moved, the knife rolling between her fingers. She felt every movement, every muscle, but had no control over any of them. She stepped in front of Eunice, her face streaked with white lines cut into sooty cheeks by her tears. Ren could feel tears of her own, wanting to shut her eyes as she raised the knife above her head. She felt the muscles in her arm draw tight, clenching, as they pulled the weight of the blade down along its path.

  She sat up in bed, gasping, panting, and trying to rid herself of a knife that was not there. She wiped her hands on the sheets, wishing she could shake the feeling, waiting for the guilt and the shame to ebb away with the memory of the dream. She lowered herself back onto her pillow staring at the ceiling as she both recalled the dream and willed it away. She tried to take solace in the late morning light, but there was no silver lining to speak of. She wanted nothing to do with these horrible thoughts.

  She thought she heard the echo of her dream through her wall. William’s voice and… Joe’s? Ren sat up and listened again. No, it wasn’t a dream. Joe was talking with someone. Ren snatched up a hoodie to throw over herself and stepped out into the hall. She let the door close harder than she had actually intended, but it stopped the conversation and let Joe know she wasn’t on her own any longer.

  Ren looked down over the rail of the staircase as they both looked up at her. Tau smiled and gave her a half wave as Joe tried to speak an entire volume with one exasperated stare.

  “I thought the cat was supposed to come back the very next day,” she stretched as she came down the stairs. His smile faded, which was the desired effect. “What did I miss out on?”

  “I’ve been trying to explain to him that we’ve been making progress with the journals we have, but it’s slow going.” The eyes continued to scream their story. Ren got the jist well enough: I haven’t told him anything.

  “And I’ve been saying that if either of you were better at what you’re supposed to be doing here, I’d have my sister back already,” He tried to be casual, but his words still shimmered with the venom of a bitter man.

  Joe spun and slapped him in the chest with one of William’s heavier journals. “It’s aged handwriting. Old ink and quill writing from two hundred years ago. It might as well be Sanskrit for as well as we can read it.”

  Ren tried to stifle a laugh. “I still wouldn’t wish Sanskrit on us.”

  Joe let the book go, watching Tau fumble with it. She ran a hand through her hair and stormed off to the kitchen. Ren watched him struggle with William’s penmanship for a moment before giving him reprieve.

  “We’re trying. You could be more understanding.”

  His jaw tightened as his eyes snapped up to meet hers. “You’re not the one running out of time.”

  “I know that. It might help if we had a better idea of what we’re hunting for.”

  “I told you –“

  “What they told you. But where has that gotten us? What’s the end game? What do they need?”

  “If I knew that –“

  Ren snatched the book from him. “And why don’t you? We’ve been here, turning this whole place upside down for you for two days. Where have you been?”

  “I’ve been trying to get answers – or at least more time.”

  “Then shouldn’t you keep trying that? We could use a little more direction to go on.”

  “I can help you here. Three of us can cover more ground faster.” Ren felt her stomach knot. She didn’t know how she could have an actual conversation with Joe as long as he was around, and he didn’t seem to have any interest in leaving. And she still didn’t know if it was genuine concern or if he was spying on them.

  She was glad Joe was smarter – or at least more determined – than she was. The false book was back together and the shelf had been returned to its original condition. She didn’t know where Joe had moved the journal to, but she was determined not to look very hard for it today.

  She gave him a defeated look. “I understand your concerns, but I haven’t forgotten how this all started either. You broke in here. As far as I am concerned, that still makes you more the problem than the solution. We have turned this place upside down looking for god knows what. How are you even sure it’s here?”

  Joe returned with a serving tray: cups, sugar, cream and a steaming pot of morning joy. She cleared her throat as she stepped between them, knowing that Ren had taken her position and it was up to Joe to play the other side. From what she had heard from the kitchen, she was a little relieved: she made a better good cop than bad cop.

  “If you want to make yourself useful, and you don’t seem to think that we can do this job on our own, then you can start bringing boxes up from the basement. One at a time, for us to go through. Again.”

  Where he didn’t waver in the face of Ren’s opposition, he visibly winced at Joe’s gentle push into reasonable doubt. He looked caught between guilt and punishment, but he nodded slowly. Joe waved a hand and made him follow. She showed him to the stairs beyond the kitchen. Two steps led down to a landing where the side entrance waited. The basement was at the bottom of the landing, fourteen steps down, running below the kitchen and to the far end of the house. Perhaps at one point, the intent had been to run a subterranean level under the length of the house, but such a project had never been completed. In recent years, Mariel had finished the basement to guard it against the elements and make it more fitting for storage. Of all the work she had done, Joe noticed that she had never added any additional lighting, so the basement had a permanent creepiness to it, caused by the tall shelves and the single light source down below.

  Joe knew very well what was down there; she had helped stock the basement in the first place. It had been a long and laborious task to decide what could stand to be kept in the basement, in the event of a flood, or severe moisture. No documents, no fabrics, no photos. Metal and wood items needed to be packaged properly, but were like
ly safe. Really, most of it was secondary storage for the boring stuff no one wanted to see, but would be rude to throw out. All in all: a wild goose chase.

  “You can start wherever you like, but there’s an order, so whatever you take out has to go back to the same spot.”

  He nodded and took the stairs with heavy footfalls. Joe tried to move back to the common room with a normal gait. She wanted nothing more than to run and fill her sister in on every word in her brain, every thought that had passed since this morning. Instead, she kept her calm.

  Ren opened her mouth and Joe immediately held up a finger. First, to her mouth to hush Ren, then gently to her ear followed by a thumb pointing behind her.

  Of course, Ren nodded, his stupid hearing.

  It was going to be an impossibly annoying day.

  **

  What might have been a ten minute conversation in real-time ended up dragging out through the length of the day. They debated the pros and cons of telling Tau about the journal, but certainly nothing beyond that. In the end, they decided that he didn’t need to know anything until they were sure of where he stood with them, and they with him.

  “It’s possible that his sister is in danger, but he’s not as worried as he tries to be,” Joe had to lean in, speaking as quickly as she could do in a whisper. By noon, they were speaking in hushed tones as if it were a second language. It turned into a game for them, even testing his hearing, challenging him to hear them through background noise, playing the radio, anything they could think of. His hearing was impeccable, but it had its limits. In the basement, beneath solid hardwood, he was at a severe disadvantage of not only having to move around heavy boxes, but their voices did not resonate. Still, there was no reason to tempt fate with standard volume.

  They took a quick break for lunch, and then got back into the thick of things. More than once they found an object in one of the crates that would be a surprising addition to the showcases, and they wondered why Mariel hadn’t put it out for display. Notes and speculations were both made, and they continued with the task at hand: pretending to look for something that they’d already hid elsewhere.