 X. Athir 4:00 PM By the time the sheriff, a tall dark-skinned man with a boxer build, and his assistant, a thin spidery woman who missed nothing, left, Reine as well as all the other guests were drained from all of the questioning. She pulled a chair to the window in the den and looked outward at the lake. The sky had been leeched of all color and was rapidly becoming black. The wind was especially choppy. Spray erupted from the water along the shore. Golden leaves swirled along the ground occasionally slapping against the windowpane. “I can’t believe she left her dog,” said Hadrian. He was lounging on one of the couches tapping a finger impatiently along a magazine that he had picked up from the coffee table. He had flipped through it twice already. “I thought she was fond of the pug.” “If she left of her own accord, it looks like she planned to leave the dog here. Besides, hasn’t Amanda taken to sleeping in your room?” Marcus sat across from Hadrian, studying the chessboard set up in the den. The chess game was now in full progress, pawns and bishops and rooks littered in the strategic places on the board. The kings were still protected. Not one of the guests so far had admitted to touching any of the pieces. “That may be a reason why she didn’t take the dog with her. She would have alerted you if she took Amanda.” “Not really,” replied Hadrian sheepishly. “I haven’t been sleeping in my own room lately.” “Oh really? You never told us who your latest paramour was last night.” “Well…” “Don’t encourage him,” said Reine, looking back. “His room is right next to Ira’s. If he had stayed in his room, he would have heard something.” “Well, I was on the third floor on the opposite side of the house. I couldn’t have heard anything on the second floor last night. I didn’t hear anything when I got up last night either. If anything happened, it must have been before or after my foray into the kitchen.” “Don’t tell me you’re with an older woman,” said Marcus. The only other guests on the third floor were the astrologer, Xanthia Greenberg, and her cousin Diana. “There’s nothing wrong with older woman. Anyways, she is not older than me.” “If Hadrian didn’t hear anything, then what about Larrington and Diana?” said Reine. “What about them?” Hadrian asked curiously. “They came down the stairs right after you went back up with your midnight snack. We noticed because we left the kitchen almost right after you did.” “That’s right,” said Marcus. “Those two were heading to the library looking for something. I think they were coming down the stairs to the library to look for something that Ira had hinted at. Some treasure or something valuable at least.” Reine tapped her finger against her lips, thinking. Marcus watched her mouth, his darkening eyes betraying his thoughts. She smiled, but said instead, “So you thought they were coming down from the stairs. Perhaps your night vision wasn’t as good as you thought. Maybe the reason why Hadrian didn’t meet them while he was going back up the stairs was that they weren’t on the stairs in the first place. And think, why did they have flashlights with them?” “Finding their way around in the dark?” Hadrian made a face. “I know, stupid answer. My mind isn’t working.” “Neither of us used flashlights to find our way to the kitchen.” Marcus nodded toward Hadrian. “And you didn’t use a flashlight. I think there was enough light in the house at night—there are windows and there was moonlight. If I really needed to see my way, I would have turned on a switch. But they had flashlights which means…” “That they were probably outside,” Hadrian finished, looking pleased with himself. Reine glazed at the ceiling and let out a sigh. “You can’t turn on a switch outside.” “I want to take a look outside to see if I can find anything,” said Marcus. She shook her head. “Remember what the sheriff said? Nobody’s leaving the house until he and his assistant clears everything.” “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t just step outside to get a breath of fresh air.” Hadrian pulled out his pack of cigarettes and waggled it like a lure. “I’m going outside too. I don’t like feeling trapped in this house.” He dropped the magazine back on the table and stood up when Marcus stood. “Want to come outside with us?” “No thanks.” Reine looked back out the window, feeling as dark as the sky. What had happened to Ira? Did she just leave or was it something more sinister? Was she kidnapped? It was impossible for this to be the work of anyone living in the house because they were still all present. It must have been someone outside she rationalized. But she shivered at this thought. She could be the next one stolen out of bed in the dead of night. Marcus and Hadrian briefly greeted the incoming Baron and Baroness as they exited. The Baron stood over the chessboard examining the current moves. “Your two friends have been playing again, haven’t they?” said the Baron. “No. They haven’t touched the board. It’s still the mystery players. No one seems to have admitted to playing yet. You don’t suppose you’re one of the players?” “Good God, no,” the Baron laughed briefly. “I like to see my opponent while I’m playing him.” “Any more clues about Ira?” said Tabora worriedly. “Did the sheriff or his assistant say anything to you?” “They asked me a couple questions to determine my whereabouts and my relationship to Ira, but no. They haven’t said anything or hinted at anything that may be developing.” “Monadnock is a small place. Rumor of this is going to spread if one of Ira’s staff goes out to town and blabs. Or if the cops talk about it. Ira’s pretty famous so sooner or later, her disappearance will probably make the news.” “Or it might not. Mary and Palwick don’t seem the type to gossip with small town folk. And I’m sure even the cops in the boondocks like this town won’t talk about a case they’re currently working on. It would do nothing for the investigation if the media swoop down here and start snooping and messing around with anything that might possibly be a clue.” “Hm.” Tabora finally sat down on the couch that Marcus had vacated. She was wearing a turquoise dress that swirled around her ankles whenever she moved. “I hope Ira’s all right. This isn’t something that she would do as a joke, even if she had been acting rather reclusive the last few days.” “If Ira’s really kidnapped,” said the Baron, “we’ll hear from the kidnapper soon. He’ll be demanding a ransom because Ira’s so well known. And she’s wealthy.” “Later today or tomorrow, then. But the wait is horrible.” Reine crossed her arms and looked toward the door of the den. She could see out into the living room with the trophy heads. Xanthia the astrologer was sitting on a straight-backed chair giving her cousin a stony look as Diana said something back that caused her face to redden in irritation. “Marcus told me that I should join you guys to the camping trip.” “Excellent,” said the Baron. “We were planning to go tomorrow evening. I’m sure it’ll be a good diversion from everything that’s happening.” “I’m not sure. Common sense tells me that I should head on back to New York and leave this behind. But I’ll stay here until the worse blows over. It’s for Ira’s sake, at least. I’ve never been camping before.” “Piece of cake. It’s just sleeping outdoors.” She stretched her legs. The wind outside had gotten fiercer and she could hear it howling, even inside. Leaves were now plastered against the bottom of the pane. The lake looked like it was boiling. The trees were bowing down before the wind’s force. “Did either of you hear anything last night?” “That’s what the sheriff asked us,” said Tabora. “No. We’re both sound sleepers. Nothing much wakes us except perhaps someone yelling ‘fire’. We’re right across from Ira’s nephew and beside the Friesners and Palwick. Should we have heard anything?” She shrugged. “I don’t think anyone would have been up at an incriminating time even though it really doesn’t matter because everyone else is still here. Do you think the sheriff suspects any of the guests?” “Maybe not. He’s probably back at his office talking with his assistant about how unobservant we are. But then again, how can we observe anything if we don’t suspect anything in the first place.” “A good point.” Finished analyzing the chessboard, Stephen, the Baron, sat beside his wife and asked, “So did you hear anything last night?” “I got up around two to get a snack,” she admitted, “but no, I didn’t hear anything that sounded like someone getting kidnapped.” She decided not to mention anything about Larrington or Diana. Even though the Baroness was a close friend of Ira’s, that was not sufficient for her to trust her with the information. The Baroness might jump to the wrong conclusion and start accusing someone who might be innocent, no matter how odious his personality was. “That’s too bad,” the Baron replied. “You don’t suppose if we put all our heads together, we might come up with something? Ira’s disappearance is far too mysterious so far. I know there’s the money angle, but as far as I know, Ira hasn’t written anything on kidnapping.” “She doesn’t have to have written about kidnapping to be kidnapped herself,” his wife pointed out. “Yes, you’re right, but there’s just something really strange about all of this. I mean, her room is completely untouched except for that answering machine. You would think that Ira would have put up some sort of struggle. Something should be out of place.” “But something is out of place. My hair pins for instance,” said Tabora. “You just misplaced them, dear.” “No, Stephen. I distinctly remember putting them on the table next to the door. In the morning, they were gone.” “Maybe your husband is right,” said Reine. “Maybe you misplaced them somewhere else. It might help if you described it. If anyone finds it, they could immediately give them back.” “There are two of them, each about this long,” Tabora said, holding her fingers two inches apart. “They’re made of ebony and have turquoise stones set into them. Three stones each. Stephen got them for me while we were vacationing in Mexico five years ago. They were lovely. And had sentimental value.” Reine soon excused herself from the den and wandered back out to the living room. Diana and Xanthia had stopped arguing but they were still staring daggers at each other. She decided to edge out of the room before witnessing another explosion. She grabbed her coat from the cloakroom and headed out. Outside, she found Marcus standing at the edge of the plateau looking into the woods. The wind tugged at his hair and the collar of his coat. His hands were at his pockets and he did not appear to hear her as she approached. “Downtown Monadnock is over there,” she said. “I’m not looking at Monadnock,” he replied. “The old church is supposedly over in that direction. Too bad we can’t go hiking over there today.” “The weather today is a bit rough too.” The wind stung her nose and she rubbed it with the back of her hand to get the circulation back into her face. “Where’s Hadrian?” “He’s around.” He glanced at her. “You decided to come out here?” “Hadrian was right. The house is a bit stuffy, even if it fits a hundred people. Did you find anything interesting while you were out here?” “No. No obvious footprints, snatches of clothing, or otherwise suspicious clues lying around.” “I feel terrible. I should have heard something while I was sneaking around last night.” “It’s not your fault, Reine.” He did not protest when she placed her head on his shoulder. “Maybe she didn’t leave last night.” “What do you mean?” “Well, what if she left or was kidnapped earlier? There was the answering machine. Ira’s staff may not have realized that she was gone yesterday because of the message. Remember, no one saw her about all of yesterday. The last anyone saw her was the very first night that everyone arrived. And then, it was only for about an hour for dinner.” “Yes. But I feel bad anyway.” His arm snaked around her waist. He turned his head so he could feel her hair against his scarred cheek. “You’re not alone. Ira is a wonderful old lady. She’s tough, but I hope she’s still all right.” “Damn!” They could hear Hadrian trooping back toward them. Reine moved out of his embrace and watched amused as Hadrian shook his arms and legs as if he were standing on hot coals. “What’s the matter, someone put itching powder in your pants?” said Marcus. “This. Is. Not. Funny.” Hadrian gave another vigorous shake of his arms and three sharp burrs came tumbling off his coat cuff. “Where were you? What did you do?” she asked. “I was at the boat house. Looking out at the lake, you know? And then the wind suddenly came out and I had to jump back to prevent myself from getting splashed. But I jumped back too far and I landed on one of those damned bushes with burrs!” He looked up, his eyes narrowing on Marcus. “I didn’t imagine that did I?” “Imagine what?” Marcus asked in faux innocence. “Your arm. Well, I guess I lost, huh? I’m a bad chess player and…” “Don’t say it,” Marcus warned. “What are you two talking about?” asked Reine. “I guess I don’t have a chance to ask you to go out with me.” “Hadrian!” She picked up one of the burrs and launched it toward him, hitting him on the forehead. “Ow!” “Wrong thing to say, buddy,” said Marcus, laughing. “ Judging from last night, you already had a hot date.” Reine grinned. “Cheer up Hadrian. You know I don’t share.” “Ha! Look who’s laughing now,” Hadrian said smugly as he brushed the remaining burrs from his trousers and rubbed his forehead. “She doesn’t share. You’re doomed Marcus.” © 2002, S. Y. Affolee |