Cluttered Attic Secrets (12 page)

“Finding that out must have been quite a shock,” Lisbeth said.

“It was.”

“Can either of you think of anything else that might help us find out what happened to Joshua?”

Both Youngs shook their heads. Lisbeth stood up, and everyone else did, too. “Thank you for your time. I’ll keep you abreast of developments since it seems likely you are Joshua Young’s closest relatives. I’m very sorry about all of this.”

Mr. Young held out his hand to shake Lisbeth’s. “You’ve been very kind. We’ll do anything we can to help, of course.”

Lisbeth shook his and Mrs. Young’s hands. “Thank you for your patience.”

Hank and Mr. Young shook, and Tina and Hank hugged Patty Young.

Out front, Lisbeth sighed. “Not much help, I’m afraid. Now I need to talk to Leslie.”

“I’ll call her, see what’s going on with Brandon.” Tina pulled out her cell. She wondered why Leslie hadn’t called her by now. When the phone took her to voice mail, she hung up frowning. “That’s odd.”

“What?” Hank and Lisbeth said together.

Before she could answer, Brandon drove up and swung into the driveway, tires squealing. He jumped out of the car and ran toward them. “Leslie’s disappeared. She was gone when I woke up, and she doesn’t answer her phone. Where could she be?”

Tina gasped. Hank took her arm to steady her. “She wouldn’t just leave you without a word.” Tina turned to Lisbeth, “We have to find her.”

“I agree.” Lisbeth pulled her phone from a pocket and made a call.

“Are you okay?” Tina stared at Brandon. He looked tired, but seemed steady enough on his feet.

He ran his hand through his hair, then winced when his fingers found the bump on the back of his head. “I’m fine. I had worse hits on the head when I was a kid.”

Hank laughed, and squeezed Tina’s arm. “That’s true.”

Lisbeth ended her call. “Tell me exactly what happened.” She took out her notebook and waited.

“I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. Got showered and dressed and went into the living room. No Leslie. I looked around the whole place. She wasn’t there. She didn’t leave a note. Her purse was gone, but her car’s still in the lot. I tried calling her, but it went to voice mail. This is not like Leslie all. She would not have left me on my own until she was sure I was okay. Something has to have happened to her.”

“Okay. Is your phone charged up, in case she tries to call you?”

“Yes, fortunately, I remembered to plug it in before I fell into bed last night.”

“All right. Have it with you at all times, and charged, please. Because of the circumstances, I’m not going to wait to file a missing person report.”

“Thank you.” Brandon looked at the house. “I dread telling my parents. But they’ll wonder where Leslie is.”

The front door opened, and Mrs. Young gazed out at them. “Brandon, you’re okay? Thank goodness. Get in here so I can look at you.”

“Be right there, Mom.” He gave Tina a helpless look and whispered, “What should I say to them? How can I tell them?”

“I’ll come with you, if you want. Just tell it slowly, not all in a rush. Give them a chance to absorb each part.” She was thinking it was too bad they couldn’t suggest a brandy. “Your mother may need sedating. I hope you have the family doctor’s number handy?”

“Brandon?” Mrs. Young called. “Come on.”

Brandon sighed. “Coming.” He took Tina’s hand. “Yes, please come with me.”

“I’m going to go check on something,” Hank said.

“And I’ll go back to the station to get things rolling there.” Lisbeth took off at a fast pace, and Hank walked toward his car.

“Deep breath,” Tina told Brandon. “Everything will be okay.”

Brandon tried to smile, didn’t quite make it. They went up the walk together. Mrs. Young was no longer smiling at her son.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Leslie?”

“Let’s go inside, Mom. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s in the living room. Josh!” Mrs. Young hustled Tina and Brandon into the room. “Something’s wrong, I can tell.”

Mr. Young stood up, looking alarmed. “What is it?”

“It’s Leslie.” Brandon slumped into a chair and put his head in his hands. “You tell them, Tina. Please.”

Tina’s legs suddenly felt weak. She sat down in the chair next to Brandon’s and looked at his parents. “Leslie’s disappeared. I’m sure she’s all right—probably forgot to leave Brandon a note. But we don’t know where she is.”

Mr. Young frowned. “Did you call the shop?”

Brandon looked up, startled. “Didn’t think to. Sorry, I’m a bit out of it.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Mrs. Young had sat down and now lit another cigarette, her hands shaking.

“I’ll be fine.” Brandon pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and said, “Call Leslie at shop.” They could hear it ring. “Amelia? This is Brandon. Is Leslie there?”

Tina couldn’t hear what Amelia said.

“You haven’t heard from her?” He glanced at his mother, then quickly looked away. “No, I don’t know when she’ll be in. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out… Okay.” He said good-bye and hung up. “Can you think of anywhere else she could be?”

“At her house?” Mr. Young suggested.

Again, Brandon looked startled. He stood up. “Tina, let’s go check there.”

Tina shook her head. “We can’t get in. I have a lot to tell you about the house. The police are there because someone trashed the library. We found a secret space in the attic. They now consider the house might be part of the crime scene because of where Joshua was… You know.”

Brandon looked shocked. “Does Leslie know?”

“We haven’t had a chance to tell her.”

“Then we should still go there. Since she doesn’t know she might have gone there to find you and Hank.”

Tina doubted she would have left Brandon before he woke up, but taking action felt better than sitting around doing nothing. “All right.”

She and Brandon stood up. “Sorry, Mom and Dad, we’ve got to move.”

Mrs. Young was pale, and her hand holding the cigarette still shook. Mr. Young didn’t look much better.  Tina walked over to him. “I think you should call your family doctor for your wife. We’ll call the minute we find Leslie. I’m sure we will.” She patted Mrs. Young on her shoulder. “Have faith. We’ll probably know something soon.”

“Thank you, Tina,” Mrs. Young whispered. “You’re a good girl.”

Tina smiled. “I try.”

She and Brandon left the house. “I’ll follow you to Leslie’s, if you’re sure you’re okay to drive. Are you in much pain still?”

“Only when I touch it. It’s nothing. I can drive. It’s not far, after all.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

In less than ten minutes they pulled up in front of Leslie’s Victorian. A police tech van was parked in front and a cruiser behind it. No sign of Leslie’s car. But Tina knew she could have parked in back in the garage.

Brandon hurried up the front walk and was ringing the doorbell when Tina caught up to him. An officer in uniform answered and recognized Brandon. “Mr. Young. I’m afraid I can’t let you in. But the techs will be finished soon, and Detective Dotson has told us to allow family members in after that. She also told us about Ms. Young being missing. We will get in touch if she shows up here. I wish I had better news.”

Brandon’s shoulders slumped, but he thanked the officer and turned to leave. Tina took his arm, and they walked out to their cars.

“I don’t know what to do now.” Brandon’s voice was anguished.

“Let’s go back to your condo. Leslie may show up there without calling you.”

“Good idea. I’m going to call Lisbeth, make sure she leaves an officer here until we find Leslie. And I’ll call Amelia again and tell her to be sure Leslie has contacted me if she goes to the shop.”

“Okay. We have a plan.”

Brandon closed his eyes. “This is a nightmare. How did this happen?”

Tina was at a loss for words. She knew Brandon hated for things to be out of control. “I don’t know. I wish I did. We can only hope for the best.”

Brandon nodded and called Lisbeth, then Amelia. When he finished, he said, “Okay, let’s go.”

As Tina pulled away from the curb, she saw Leslie’s neighbor, Peter Collier, watching her with narrowed eyes. She didn’t wave.

At the condo, Tina took a deep breath of sea air as she got out of her VW. She didn’t get the scent at her house, and, as usual, it had a calming effect. She looked down the wharf at all the old, restored buildings and wondered if any of them had secret places. A cold breeze blew past her shoulders, and she shivered.
Better not to know.

Brandon called to her, and she hurried to climb the stairs to his familiar condo, feeling a little strange to be with him alone again, especially here, where they’d made love so many times. She still loved him like a brother and wished she could comfort him. But she knew he still had more than brotherly feelings for her.

As Brandon opened the door, he called out for Leslie. No answer. “Where could she be?” he muttered. He pulled out his cell. “Call Leslie cell.” He closed the door and pocketed his keys. “Voice mail again.” He sighed. “You want something to drink? A snack?” He looked at his watch. “Dinner, even? I can call out for something.”

Tina’s stomach twisted. She shook her head. “Not hungry. I could use a soda, though. You have any?”

“Coke and root beer. Pick your poison.” He tried to smile.

“Root beer would be nice.” She stood at the kitchen bar while he poured them each some root beer.

“First thing I want to know is about this secret room.” He handed her a glass.

They walked into the living room and sat down opposite each other. Tina took a sip of her soda. “It’s bigger than just a room. It’s all along the attic wall over the master suite. Divided into three sections.” She told him about everything they had found.

Bandon shook his head. “This is getting weirder and weirder. What could it all mean?”

“You know, none of us has really asked that question. Why are people hiding up there? I can’t think of one good reason to live that way.”

“They’re probably criminals.”

Tina shivered. “I never thought of that. Being the criminal lawyer, of course you would.” She smiled at him. “So what are they doing there? Stolen goods, drugs, gun running, what? We didn’t see anything to suggest what they were up to.”

“My guess is it’s being used for the same purpose as it was probably originally used for. Hiding people away from the law. Slaves back in the eighteen hundreds. Illegal immigrants now.”

Tina felt her eyes widen. “How would they do that without your Aunt Margaret not knowing?”

Brandon stared at her. “Maybe she did. Could be she set the whole thing up.”             

“That’s an incredible idea.” Tina put her glass down, afraid she’d spill the soda. “How can we find out more?”

“I would guess the secret is in the attic. As soon as the police clear out, we look for papers or diaries, anything that might be up there documenting what’s going on. If Aunt Margaret was doing what I suspect, I would bet serious change that she wrote everything down somewhere. And that the attic is the way it is to throw people off, to hide those documents.”

Tina sat speechless. Then another question came to her. “Where’s Leslie, then? You think the people involved in this took her someplace? Why?”

Brandon took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I don’t know why Joshua was murdered, either. I think someone is desperate. Or a group of someones.”

“I think you’re right. The question is, where would they take her? Obviously they have someplace else that’s secret.”

“I’d think someplace nearby. If Aunt Margaret’s house has a secret room, no telling how many others in the neighborhood might.”

“Or,” Tina said, “if there’s more right inside Leslie’s house.” She jumped to her feet. “Brandon, call Lisbeth. We need to search that house some more. Now.”

Brandon barely hesitated. He grabbed his phone and hunted for Lisbeth’s number. While he waited for her to answer, he asked Tina, “What was the name of that architect who helped find the room?”

“Mr. Hall. I’ll find his number.” Tina got out her cell and did a search, then put Mr. Hall into her contacts list.

When Lisbeth answered, Brandon asked her if she’d considered there might be more secret spaces in the house.

Tina could tell Lisbeth didn’t answer right away. Then she said something Tina couldn’t hear, and Brandon ended the call.

“She said Mr. Hall suggested that possibility, but it had slipped her mind. She’s going to meet us at the house. Let’s go.”

“You want to call Mr. Hall first?”

“Yes, call him, then we’ll beat feet.”

Tina tried, but only got voice mail, so she left a message.

They arrived at Leslie’s in less than ten minutes. The techs were just leaving and let them in.

“You didn’t ask them if they found anything interesting.” Tina put her jacket and purse on a living room chair and started upstairs.

“They wouldn’t tell us anything. Where are you going?”

“To the attic.”

Brandon caught up with her. “We need to check the secret room first. Make sure no one’s up there.”

Tina stopped short on the second-floor landing. “You’re right. I never thought… I’ll get my gun.” She headed downstairs again. “You carrying?”

“No.” Brandon huffed behind her. “You know I don’t.”

“I thought maybe you’d changed your mind.” She dashed into the living room and grabbed her gun from her purse. She caught Brandon’s expression and realized he’d never seen it in her hand before. “Don’t worry. I’m careful. Also an excellent shot.”

“I would expect you to be.” She saw his Adam’s apple go up and down rapidly.

“Okay, up to Leslie’s closet. More slowly this time because of the gun.”

“You lead.”

Tina laughed. “Afraid I’ll shoot you in the back? You annoy me sometimes, Brandon, but I’m still fond enough of you not to want to kill you.”

“That’s good.” He gave her a tiny grin.

When they reached the top of the stairs again, Tina turned to look at him. He seemed a bit winded, and she got worried. “You okay? You should probably be home resting some more.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m not going anywhere or resting until we find my sister.” He had that stubborn look she knew so well, so she didn’t argue.

In the closet, it took her some time to find the spot to touch to open the secret door. It was so cleverly hidden she would have given up sooner if she hadn’t known it was there. “We ought to mark this,” she muttered.

Quickly, she started up the stairs, not wanting to argue with Brandon about him being a hero and going first. She held the gun out straight instead of down as she went, and when she got to the top, she stopped and swept the area with the weapon, eyes scanning carefully. “We’ll go all the way to the end until we’re sure no one’s up here, then you can look around.”

She heard a noise and turned quickly, inadvertently pointing the gun at Brandon.

“Hey. Be careful.”

“What was that sound?” She moved the gun to the side. “Did you hear it? Behind us?”

“Yes. Sounded like a lock clicking.”

“The door! Have we been locked in?”

Brandon’s eyes widened. He turned around and rushed down the stairs. “It’s locked all right. The question is, did it happen on its own, or did someone do it?”

Tina felt a presence behind her. Slowly, she turned around, gun ready.