Todd hesitated as he arranged a bowl of floating flowers. "What? Oh, when I saw how mussed up you and Zanita were yesterday, I sent Sasenfras up there to clean. I can't stand the thought of any part of the house being so dirty." He shuddered with distaste. "Who knows what condition that closed wing is in?"
"Speaking of which, why didn't you tell us that Sasenfras owned that wing?"
"Hmm?" Todd snipped the head of a white flower off the stem and floated it in the bowl. "Well, he owns it, yes; but we're trying to work something out. He's been surprisingly stubborn about the whole thing. Out of concern for the property value of the whole inn, I even offered to renovate it while he retained ownership. He refused, though." He rubbed his chin. "I never understood why Grandfather willed it to him. It's an odd bequest. He won't even go near the place. Unless he sells it, what good is it to him?"
"Perhaps there are painful memories there for him," Zanita suggested.
Todd appeared slightly embarrassed. "From the family rumors I've heard, that's probably true. But it's all the more reason for him to sell it to me."
A god-awful groan of near death erupted from the kitchen.
"Oops! It's Hippolito's lunch time. I'll talk to you later." Todd scurried back to his kitchen.
"Well, that was odd."
"Hippolito's wrenching plea for sustenance?" Tyber gazed out the window, his mind working.
"No, nummy! Todd must be the one Sasenfras spoke of—the one who wanted to buy the wing."
"Not necessarily. There may be more than one person after that wing. The question is why. Todd was right, though, about one thing."
"What?"
"It is strange that Sasenfras won't sell. He appears to loathe the place."
"And be terrified of it."
They stared at each. They both spoke at once.
"There must be something in that wing, Tyber!"
"We need to get in that wing, baby!"
They left the library and hurried to the far side of the house. As they rushed along, Tyber murmured, "Nummy? What do you mean, nummy?" He mussed up her hair with his palm.
There was a solid wall where a door to the upstairs wing should have been.
Tyber checked it carefully, running his fingertips along the edges, searching for any panels that might open. There were none.
Zanita was slightly disappointed. How were they going to gain entrance to the wing? Chopping through the wall would be illegal, as far as Sasenfras was concerned. They both doubted he would ever give his permission for that.
"They really did seal this off tight, didn't they?" she said, sulking.
"Yes. I don't think we're going to gain entrance through any acceptable channels."
She grinned up at him. "Can we find some unacceptable channels?"
He rubbed his jaw. "Well, there is that ledge outside the window at the top of the library stairs."
"That seems very risky. The ledge might be icy, Tyber."
"Yeah. Maybe as a last resort. I wonder where that left fork in the secret tunnel went to? We never did follow that pathway when we were down there."
"There was a passage to the left? I never saw that."
"It was behind and under the stairs to the left. I noticed it when I went back for Hambone, but it must go in the direction of the… kitchens. The kitchens! Store that one for later, baby—this is coming together."
"It is?" She furrowed her brow.
"Yes. If that passage does lead by the kitchens, it could explain a lot of the culinary poltergeist activity. Someone would have easy access to the food and its preparation. Let's check it out. It may even lead us to another passage and to that wing."
Zanita was not overly thrilled about going into that dark, dank passage again. It was creepy down there. She sighed. What journalists do for their work! "All right, let's go."
They retraced their steps back to the library and mounted the steps to the top. Tyber unlatched the secret hook, and the small door squeaked open.
It was too inviting by half.
"You go first," she offered magnanimously.
Tyber cocked his brow.
"I'm the writer." As if that were an explanation.
"Oh, yes. That's right." Tyber's lips twitched as he ducked into the passage. "The writer must be preserved at all costs! I remember reading that throughout history, whenever there was danger, a shield of human protection went instantly around the writer. Even before the supplies."
Zanita slapped his shoulder as she followed him in. "You wretch."
He laughed. "It's true! Scribes were always protected so that they could bring the tale back. I know I want to bring your tail back."
"Tyber! Get serious!"
His hand covered his heart. "You wound me."
"You'll survive. Hey, you were right… all the webs have been cleaned out. It's right putty down here if you ignore the dark dankness and musty odor."
Tyber sniffed. "There's a slight tinge of Formula 409, overlaid with a strong bouquet of Spic and Span."
She snickered. "When did you find the time to check this out this morning? I don't recall your leaving the room; on the contrary, you seemed determined to stay." She gave him a pointed look.
The rogue didn't even try to deny it. He had been very happily and very actively engaged with her. Featherwise. "I didn't."
"Then how did you know the webs were gone?"
"I had a good suspicion that whoever put them there would have them removed. Just like that picture. Don't know if you noticed, but it was already gone."
She hadn't. "So Todd is still a prime suspect? He admitted to having this tunnel swept out."
Tyber narrowed his eyes. "He's still a prime suspect."
"But what's his motive?"
"That we need to find out by getting into that wing." Zanita sighed. "What's the matter, baby?"
"I just wish it weren't Todd. I like him so much."
"I know; me too. But we can't let our feelings interfere with this. We need to be objective while we collect our facts. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Yes. I just didn't know that it would hurt a bit."
"Welcome to the world of investigative work. When you dig to find answers, they are not all going to be pretty or otherworldly, Curls."
"I know." She stiffened her shoulders. "Let's go."
Tyber smiled appreciatively at her attitude as she took the lead down the corridor.
They traversed the circular hidden stairs much as they had the first time, with Tyber going first and Zanita carefully following.
When they both reached the bottom, Tyber trained the light behind the stairwell. There off to the left was another passage. It was partially hidden by the stairwell, and if Tyber had not been searching for Hambone's nemesis, he probably would have missed it.
"Wow. Spooky. Do you think the whole house is riddled with these passages?"
"A good portion of it, although they are very well hidden. Todd will have a time with his complete renovations. There's no telling where these will all lead to or what the support structure is." He started down the left fork. This time he had brought a compass and shone the flashlight on it every now and then to check their direction.
"I think we're coming up close to the kitchens."
"Tyber, why do you suppose the webs were placed there in the first place?"
"I wondered about that for a while. Then I realized that there must be another passage down here that leads to places someone didn't want us to discover. I think they hoped to scare us off."
"Hey, it worked for me. I don't like being down here."
He put his arm around her shoulder. "Neither do I."
"Oh, yeah? Then why are your eyes sparkling and why is your step so lively? You're not kidding me, Doc; you love this. The adventure, the danger, the puzzle. It's right up your analytically paved alley."
He spread his arms wide. "What? I said nothing."
She scoffed.
They came upon a low trapdoor in the side of the wall, which stood all of three feet high. Tyber bent down and clicked the latch. The place beyond was dark and narrow. "Stay here," he called behind him as he scooted into the space.
"We already had that discussion." Zanita was close behind him. She felt as if they were two rats scurrying along a maze. Rats. Gulp. She hoped not.
"Where do you think we are?" she whispered.
"Right-about-here." He slowly moved forward and looked up. They were in the bottom of an ancient dumbwaiter.
"I hope no one wants lunch."
"Why?"
He pointed to the top of the shaft, where a small wooden platform hung. It was operated by pulleys. "I don't feel like getting beaned on the head by that."
"Is this a way into the kitchen?"
"You got it."
"Hmmm. So what do we do now? Do we back up and pick up the main tunnel we just left?"
Tyber glanced at his compass and then gazed speculatively upward. "Nope." He backed out of the shaft into the narrow passage. "Can you scoot up here next to me? It's a tight fit, but we've been tighter." His white teeth flashed in the dark. The pirate.
"Yes. I'm sure I can." She squiggled back alongside him. It was a very snug fit.
"Mmmm. Maybe we should take a break." His breath licked at the curls along her hairline.
"No. No. And no. There may be rats in here and all kinds of oookie stuff."
"Oookie stuff?" He grinned, showing that dimple. "I thought you loved oookie stuff." He tickled her midriff.
She slapped his hand away. "Not this kind of oookdom. So what do you have in mind?"
He looked altogether wicked in the dim light.
"I meant, why did you ask me to squeeze into this small space with you?"
"I'm going to pull that dumbwaiter down. This rope looks pretty thick; it may be able to handle our combined weight if we squeeze onto it together."
"May be able to? That sounds warm and fuzzy."
"I'll get on first, then pull you onto my lap. No surprise feelies while I'm pulling the cord, sweetheart, or we'll both plummet to serious injury."
"How are you going to lift us both up in that thing?"
He flexed his arm muscles. "I can do it. Just try to stay still."
He pulled the dumbwaiter down and slid onto the small, level platform. Zanita scooted over to the edge, and he pulled her up and over onto his lap. They were like two sardines in a can.
Tyber grabbed the pulley ropes and began yanking them up.
"Where do you think this dumbwaiter leads to? One of the rooms in the closed wing?"
"I'm counting on it," he puffed as he pulled them up. It was harder than he had thought; the wheels were rusty, and the task required extra strength.
Zanita watched her husband's muscles bulge with the effort. Even though he was probably killing himself, she thought most women liked seeing their men engage in such displays of strength. There was something about bulging male arm muscles dotted with a sheen of sweat that felt like a ride on
"What are you smiling about? I'm killing myself here." Tyber glanced down at her.
"I know. I was just thinking about
Tyber gave her the famous Mysterious Face of Mars look.
Men never had a clue.
When he reached the top, he wrapped the rope tightly around a wall bracket designed for that purpose. A small sliding slatwood window faced them. Tyber leaned over to pry it open, causing their platform to sway.
Zanita almost lost her balance and slid off him. "Hold on to me, baby, and don't let go!"
Tyber expected the window to be stuck from age. He expected that he would have to use a lot of elbow grease to get it open. So he was surprised when it slid up easily on its runners.
He twisted around with Zanita still on his lap, letting his legs fall out the other side.
Training his flashlight around the room, he instructed her it was safe to jump off.
Zanita landed feet first in a boarded-up bedroom. Small beams of sunlight streaked through several holes in the wood slats covering the windows. Not enough light to completely see by, but enough to illuminate some areas of the room. She walked around a dusty old bed and peeped through one of the window holes.
"Look, here. We're in the room directly across the ledge from the library stairs platform."
"Yeah, I kinda thought we would be."
Zanita shook her head at his directional perception. After that maze they had just navigated, she had no sense of direction whatsoever.
The massive bed facing them was covered in dust and spiderwebs. So were the period furniture pieces. By the well-worn opulence, Zanita guessed that this was part of the owners suite.