 XXIII. Calerna 11:00 PM They could still see the moving lights of flashlights underneath Ira’s bedroom door when they arrived on the second floor. “They’re being rather slow about searching,” remarked Hadrian as he motioned for everyone to enter his bedroom. “They must be even more meticulous than we were.” “Who’s searching Ira’s room?” demanded Mary. “As far as I could tell the last time I was in there, there was nothing of interest. Apparently Ira had cleared up everything.” “Actually, no,” said Reine. She covertly studied the housekeeper and decided finally that it was safe to confide in the younger woman. “We three were just in Ira’s room before we had to climb down the balcony to get out.” “So that’s why you came in through the den,” the housekeeper mused. “Well, if you three were in there before, who’s in there now?” “The Friesners.” “Why would they be in there? I thought Vicker Friesner had not seen Ira in ages.” “That may be true, but they could have corresponded before this little deranged house party.” Reine fished out the compact disk at her waistband. “Hadrian, where’s your laptop?” “On the desk. Where did you find that?” “In Ira’s computer,” she said absently. “Which reminds me. Do you have access to Ira’s computer?” “Me?” said Mary surprised. “Well, I guess lately since we had opened up Ira’s room, but usually no. Palwick and I don’t have the key to Ira’s room.” “That’s odd,” Reine replied. “Because when we got into Ira’s room, it had been locked again. I wouldn’t think that it would be locked because nobody has a copy of the key.” “I suppose you could lock it from the inside,” said Hadrian. “How? I didn’t see any little knob or switch on the door to do that.” He shrugged. “Maybe you could also use the same piece of wire that can pick the lock to lock the lock.” “Somehow, I had the impression that that particular trick is impossible,” said Marcus. Reine slipped the disk into the computer and opened the only file that Hadrian’s computer could read from it. “Well, look at that, a map of the house. It doesn’t show any details though, just the rooms in general.” Marcus took out the manuscript and flipped through it again. “I was thinking maybe a map would be stuck in here somewhere.” “Well, you’re never going to find a map that way,” said Hadrian. “You need to go through the pages slower.” As the men poured over Ira’s manuscript, Reine examined the layout of the mansion. “Hm.” “This is quite interesting,” Mary said, looking over her shoulder. “What are you looking for?” “It turns out that the e-mail that Ira sent us is not really from Ira at all,” Reine replied. “The e-mail was sent from Ira’s computer after she had disappeared. And the photo attempting to prove that she was alive and well turned out to be digitally manipulated.” “Really? So all in all, Ira’s still missing?” “Yes.” “And what are you trying to find?” “If you’ve noticed, small strange things have been popping up the past couple of days. Or rather it started ever since everyone arrived at this house party. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone here knew what was going on. I’m inclined to think that Xanthia knows more than she’s willing to tell us.” “What about Diana and Larrington?” “They might be trying to find the same thing that we and the Friesners are trying to find. Marcus and I once saw them attempting to search the house for treasure.” “Oh, so you think there’s treasure in this house.” “I’m not sure. Ah!” Reine pointed triumphantly at the bottom panel of the map. “I finally figured out what was wrong about this. There’s an extra level to the house that doesn’t belong here.” Mary frowned. “That looks like a basement.” “So you must know where it is, right?” “Actually, I didn’t know there was a basement in this house.” “I found something, Reine.” She turned at Marcus’s voice. “Oh.” She stared at the piece of parchment in his hand. There was a diagram of strange Free Masonic symbols that indicated the compass directions that exactly matched the compass that he held in his other hand. “What on earth does that mean?” “It means,” he said deliberately, “That whoever e-mailed us about the location of the manuscript had an inkling or knew outright that I was in possession of the compass.” “But you never showed it to anyone except me,” said Reine. “Well, I got a good look at it now,” said Hadrian. Mary nodded. “But that does no good because we haven’t seen it before the e-mail.” “Remember what Xanthia told us. Diana is a pickpocket. She could have entered my room while I was away and saw it. But she didn’t take it because it wasn’t pretty enough.” “Yes, that’s right,” said Reine. “But why would she enter your room? You’re a man. You don’t have pretty trinkets.” “She might have mistaken my room for yours.” “Well, whatever the case, it’s very possible that someone took a peek at Marcus’s compass and recognized it from some drawing in Ira’s manuscript. But who would have access to Ira’s manuscript and make the connection with the compass. Furthermore, why would they want to give the manuscript to Marcus in the first place if this was true?” Marcus opened his mouth to make a suggestion when a knock sounded at the door. Reine took the disk out of the computer and shut down Hadrian’s laptop. “Damn,” Hadrian muttered. “Who is it at this time of night?” “Quick,” Mary said motioning to the bathroom. “It’s going to be kind of awkward if they find that Hadrian has a party in his room.” “I’m not a boy,” glowered Hadrian. “I’m an adult. No one can question who’s a guest in my room.” “Well, it’s going to be quite strange to explain one, let alone three different people in here with you. Most people would think that we’re having an orgy,” the housekeeper explained. “Well, maybe we are,” he replied. “Oh God,” Reine said as she and Marcus were pushed into the bathroom by the housekeeper. “As if we need any more strange things happening around here.” “He just has his mind in the gutter,” said Mary as she closed the bathroom door. She then opened it back a crack and the three of them maneuvered themselves to peer outside to see what was happening. Hadrian opened the door to his bedroom. “Er. Hello?” “Ah, Mr. Block,” said Palwick. “I’ve been checking up on Larrington and he wanted me to inform you to be more discrete in your orgies.” “Orgies?” “Ira’s nephew is attempting to get some sleep despite his predicament and he is complaining that you are too loud.” “Well, there’s only me here. Why would I be too loud? See? No one. No orgies.” He motioned to the empty room. “Tell Larrington that he’s hearing things. Maybe Vicker hit him too many times in the head.” “I did not see Vicker hitting Larrington but perhaps you are right. He’s a bit unhinged to say the least. Perhaps he’s hearing the long gone orgies of one infamous Phineas Cronan.” “That’s probably more likely.” When the butler left, Hadrian shut the door. “That’s a good one. Let’s blame some non-existent ghost for the extra noise we make. You guys can come out now.” But when they opened the bathroom door, there was another knock. “Oh hell. How busy can it get at this time of night without any electricity?” he moaned. “Palwick again, probably,” whispered the housekeeper. “He’s rather like a tenacious dog, isn’t he?” remarked Reine. “By the way, where’s that bulldog, Amanda that’s always hanging around Hadrian?” “I saw the beast sleeping underneath one of the footstools,” Marcus whispered in her ear. “I’m surprised he slept through all this noise.” “Well, good evening Hadrian,” a syrupy female voice came from the front door. “Er. Hello Mrs. Friesner. How’s Mr. Friesner?” “He’s sleeping quite soundly, thank you very much. You’re not doing anything tonight?” “Kind of hard to considering the power and the phone lines are out.” “Too bad. I wanted to ask for your advice.” Esther finally burst through the door, surprising the mystery editor. He tried walking quickly away from her, backwards, but managed to trip on the rug and fell backward in bed. Esther was wearing one of her flimsy nightgowns. “Hussy,” the housekeeper muttered under her breath. “I suppose I’ll have to go save him, don’t I?” “It’s rather amusing, actually,” said Reine as Marcus softly chuckled. “But Vicker Friesner is probably not far behind. And he has a gun, unfortunately.” “Oh my.” Mary took off a large robe that had been hanging on a hook next to the shower and shrugged into it. She tied the belt so that her clothes were obscured by the folds of the robe. “Wish me luck.” Outside, Hadrian was stammering. “Wait a minute, doesn’t your husband miss you? I was sort of thinking of going into the shower, I mean playing chess. That’s it! I was thinking of playing chess, in the den.” “In the dark?” Esther purred. “Hadrian!” Mary shouted from the bathroom. “Is that Palwick again? Tell him to go away.” “Who’s that?” Esther said, suddenly straightened out. “Well, didn’t I tell you I was rather busy?” said Hadrian. “Now’s not a good time to chat, Mrs. Friesner, if you excuse me…” Mary stepped outside and pretended to look shocked. “Mrs. Friesner! What on earth are you doing here?” Esther had the grace to flush. “Um, I just wanted to ask Mr. Block about something. His advice, you see.” Hadrian clambered out of the bed and stood behind Mary, using her as a shield. “Really Mrs. Friesner, you’ve come at an inconvenient time.” “Esther!” Reine groaned. “It’s Vicker.” “I hope he’s not brandishing that revolver of his,” Marcus replied. “No such luck.” Indeed, Vicker Friesner strolled into Hadrian’s room like a soldier into enemy territory. His revolver was pointing in Hadrian’s general direction. “Ah hah! I’ve found Esther’s lover. You’re going to pay dearly, my boy, especially since I also know that you’re the only one who has access to Ira’s room.” “What do you mean?” said Hadrian, obviously confused. “You can pick locks, that’s what.” Mary placed her hands on her hips. “Get that gun out of our faces, Mr. Friesner. I know that Mrs. Reece would never approve of your highhanded behavior. Hadrian is not Esther’s lover. He’s mine. And if you were wondering where he was, he was in this room the past two hours with me.” “Insatiable thing, isn’t she?” Hadrian said proudly. “Oof!” Mary had jabbed him once, sharply in the stomach. “Well.” Vicker lowered the gun but he still eyed Hadrian suspiciously. “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. Esther!” He dragged his wife out the door. Hastily, Hadrian slammed the door shut and wiped his forehead. Reine and Marcus cautiously stepped out of the bathroom. “You’re right, Reine,” the mystery editor told her. “Everyone in this household has gone berserk.” © 2002, S. Y. Affolee |