Take a Dive for Murder (14 page)

Carrie needed to talk with Christopher, and she didn’t want to wait until morning. She left Charles in the kitchen preparing refreshments for the firemen and hurried upstairs.

The upstairs hallway was U-shaped. Carrie and Charles had opposite corner rooms, with another guest room between them on the backside of the house. Mrs. Faraday’s suite was down the hallway on the side furthest from the garage. Down the hallway along the driveway side were three rooms. Christopher’s room was his father’s and faced the front of the house. Suzanne’s room was opposite Christopher’s and faced the driveway.

Carrie checked the hallway. No one was around. She went swiftly down the hallway to Christopher’s door and knocked. She didn’t have to knock a second time. Christopher opened the door just a crack.

“I
’ve been expecting you,” he said softly. “Come in.”

As Carrie entered the room, Christopher peered into the hallway to see if she had been followed.

“Don’t worry,” said Carrie. “I checked to make sure no one was around.”

“
Just wanted to be sure, especially with you know who across the hall. I don’t want our conversation to be overheard.” Christopher led her to the other side of the room.

Carrie sat
on the desk chair while Christopher sat on the edge of an old-fashioned double-poster bed. Carrie glanced around the room. It was obvious the decor hadn’t been updated since Jamie was a small boy. The wallpaper displayed cowboys on horses in various action shots of riding and roping. The drapes were a heavy hopsack fabric in a combination of colored blocks matching the wallpaper. The room was old-fashioned and didn’t reflect the tastes of today’s boys, especially a boy about to enter his teens. She made a mental note to suggest to Charles that the room needed some modernizing.

“Christopher, you’re acting a little paranoid. I left Suzanne downstairs with your uncle making refreshments for the fire crew.”

“I can’t help it. I don’t trust her, and she has this way of unexpectedly popping up.” His brown eyes were big and sparkled with excitement.

“Since you expected me, you must know why I’m here. I saw you sneaking along the driveway just after the fire started.”

“You don’t think I had anything to do with the fire?” He looked straight at Carrie. “You do! You think I set the fire, don’t you?”

Carrie looked him in the eye and said, “I don’t
think anything until you tell me. But that means you tell me the whole truth, the first time, straight out.”

He nodded in agreement. “Okay, here goes. I heard you changed the locks today. I decided I wanted to see if I could pick the new lock.”

“You could have asked me for a key. Remember, we decided we were in this together, or did being a detective have more of an appeal?” she asked teasingly.

Christopher smiled sheepishly. “I did sort of want to see if I could pick the lock. Plus, I didn’t get the idea to go to the studio until everyone was in bed.”

“And did it work? Were you able to pick the lock?”

“Not exactly
. I couldn’t get through the door, but I was able to get in through the window,” he said with a great deal of pride.

“That’s very impressive,
but it doesn’t say much for my changing the locks to curtail traffic in the studio. Why did you feel you needed to break in tonight? You could have tried early in the morning or after school.”

“
Because of the fire, you’ll be glad I broke in when I did.” Christopher got up from his perch on the bed and went to the door. He listened for a moment and then snapped the door open. No one was there. Christopher shut the door and returned to the bed. “Anyway, I got to thinkin’ about Dad’s journal. I figured there were only two choices. Either they got the journal, or it was still hidden.”

“Christopher, who is the ‘they’ you refer to?”

“The ones who murdered my dad.” He lowered his voice. “I know he was murdered. No other explanation makes sense.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “I figured they hadn’t found it. I mean, the studio being broken into and Simpson being mugged.”

“You know about
the adventure Uncle Charles and I had the other night?” asked Carrie.

“
I heard Uncle Charles and Grandmother talking this morning. Anyway, I remembered a story Dad was working on when we were in Poland. His story revealed that the new government people were getting money from the bad guys. While he was writing the story he kept names and important information in his journal like always. But because he had names of people getting money, he kept the journal hidden until he finished the story and the police locked everybody up. Anyway I’ve been going out at night to the studio looking for the journal.”

“You were in the studio last night, weren’t you?”

Christopher nodded.

“I thought so,” continued Carrie. “Uncle Charles and I thought we saw someone. Then later, I saw you sneaking down the hallway. Christopher, I checked everything in your father’s studio, under desk drawers and chairs, behind filing cabinets, even behind the pictures on the wall. I couldn’t find anything.”

“I bet you didn’t look under the floorboards!”

“
The floorboards!” she said with surprise. “No, I didn’t look under the floorboards. Why did you look there?”

“Because that’s where he hid the journal when we were in Poland
: in the floorboards beneath his desk. That’s what I remembered tonight.”

“You found the journal!” Carrie couldn’t conceal her excitement. “That’s wonderful! Did you get a chance to look inside
it?”

“No, I had a bad feeling, so I got out of there.”

“Christopher, what do you know about the fire? Did you use a candle for light in the studio?” Carrie asked calmly.

“Get real!” He looked at Carrie the way every child looks at an adult who has lost touch with the real world. He went to his bureau drawer and pulled out a small black rod. “I used one of these new mag lights. It’s got a real strong narrow beam of light. I saw this used by burglars on television.”

Carries accepted the light from him. “I must say an excellent choice of tools. I should have known you would use something modern. How long were you in the studio looking for the journal?”

“Only about ten minutes because I found the floorboard right away.” He paused for a moment and then added, “I also know that the fire wasn’t an accident.”

“I’m pretty sure the fire department will come to that same conclusion. It spread too quickly not to have been started.”

“You don’t understa
nd. I’m not making a guess. I saw two men set the fire. Well, I didn’t quite see them, but they started it.”

“Christopher, slow down and tell me exactly what you saw.”

“It’s like I said. Once I discovered the journal, I didn’t feel comfortable hanging around the studio. I left and was heading back to the French doors at the study. I go in and out that way to avoid the light by the kitchen steps. I was ready to enter the house when I saw two men approaching, so I ducked behind the shrubs by the door. The men went up the steps to the studio, carrying metal cans and a crowbar. When they came back down, they didn’t have the cans. Within seconds, the entire studio burst into flames. I think they used whatever was in those cans to start the fire. Then they left the property through the hedges by the back of the garage.”

“Can you describe these men?”

“One was very tall, taller than Uncle Charles and he looked strong. The other guy was short and thin. That’s about all I remember because I was pretty scared, especially when the fire started.”

Carrie sat next to Christopher on the bed. She put her arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick hug. He didn’t resist the gesture.

“Sounds like the same two guys that chased me the other night. I’ll tell you a secret. I didn’t get a real good look at them because I was scared. I think you were pretty brave to get as many details as you did. You’ve had quite an adventure tonight. However, tomorrow morning you’re going to have to tell the fire investigator what you saw.”

“I don’t want to do that.”

“Now, Christopher…”

He interrupted
. “I mean, I’ll talk to the police or whoever else about those men, but I don’t want to tell them about the journal. I’ll just say that I go to my father’s studio sometimes to hang out. I’m calling in my future option. I didn’t tell on you outside the study your first night here, and now I’m asking you not to tell on me.”

She looked at Christopher. This was an important moment in their relationship. “All right, I won’t say anything. It will be up to you to decide when and who to tell about the journal.”

Christopher was visibly pleased with Carrie’s decision. Then he said, “I don’t want to wait until morning to get the journal. I want to go get it now.”

“Go get it! Where is it?”

“You saw me open your car door.”

Carrie nodded.

“I hid it under the seat in your car. If you saw me open the car door, someone else may have seen me, too. That’s why I want to go get it now.”

“Why didn’t you get it when the firemen and everyone were running around? With all the excitement, no one would have noticed.”

Christopher again looked a little sheepish. “You left your car door unlocked. That’s how I was able to hide the journal in the car. After I hid the journal under the seat, I hit the lock button. I need your keys to unlock the car.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to practice your lock-opening techniques?”

“No, breaking into cars wouldn’t be a good habit to start.” He grinned.

“Come on, I’ll get my keys, and
we’ll go get the journal.”

They trotted back down the hallway to Carrie’s room to grab her car keys. However, when they were ready to leave, Christopher turned and faced Carrie.

“Look, how about you waiting up here while I get the journal?”

“Christopher, I’m the adult. You should wait here while I go down to the car.”

“But this is safer. If the two of us go, we create more of a commotion and the chance that someone will see us. I can go out the French doors like before and hide by the bushes until the coast is clear. You stand at the window and watch. In case anyone stops me, you can yell at them or get help. If you’re with me, we’re both trapped.”

Carrie wasn’t quite sure why, but she agreed to Christopher’s plan. She turned the lights out and went over to watch out her window. She opened the window just enough to hear. She was immediately hit with the acrid odor of wet burnt wood and other chemical smells resulting from the fire.

After a few minutes, Christopher appeared from the shadows of the house and went straight to Carrie’s car. Carrie positioned herself for the best view. Christopher bent down next to the car door. He was very quick. After
the car alarm beeped, the car light came on and went out almost immediately as the door was closed. As Christopher stood up, ready to return to the house, a voice called out.

“Hey, what do you think
you’re doing?”

Christopher didn’t run, but stood and waited. Carrie panicked and opened the window wider.

She heard Christopher say, “Oh, hello, I’m Christopher Faraday. I live here. With the fire and all the excitement, I couldn’t sleep. I came out to get my library book, so I could read before going to bed. I hope that’s okay, Officer.”

Carrie lifted the screen
, leaned out the window, and said, “It’s all right, Officer. I’m watching him to make sure he comes right back.” Carrie waved to the policeman.

“No problem
mamm, we just want to keep the area clear so no one gets hurt,” the officer said, addressing Carrie at the window. Then he turned back to Christopher and said, “Go ahead, young man, back inside.”

“
Christopher, say goodnight to the officer and come straight inside,” Carrie said, still leaning out the window.

“Thanks for all your help tonight
and watching over everything.” Christopher said in a very polite voice.

Christopher didn’t wait for any additional encouragement
. He rushed for the door of the house.

Carrie was standing in the hallway waiting for Christopher, who stopped and looked behind him and then scooted into her room.

“Good job,” Carrie said as she patted him on the back. “Telling the policeman you were getting a library book was quite clever.” She allowed him to bask in the praise for a minute and then asked, “Christopher, I was so busy watching you, I didn’t really check out the area. Did anyone else see you?”

“Two other firemen were working at the back of the driveway. They stopped and looked when the policeman called to me, but went back to work. Uncle Charles wasn’t around. I even glanced up at Suzanne’s room, but it was dark.” He lifted up his shirt, took out a worn green leather journal, and handed it to Carrie. “Here’s my
dad’s journal,” he said proudly.

Carrie ran her hand over the worn leather. “You know, it’s quite late. Should we find a place to hide the book and wait until morning to look at it?”

Disappointment showed in his face. “We could take a peek, just to see if anything important jumps out. After all, I’ve been looking for this clue for some time,” he added hopefully.

She felt his excitement and responded, “All right, let’s take a quick peek.”

They sat side by side on the bed. She flipped the journal open to the first entry and saw Jamie’s familiar handwriting. She stood staring at the page without really reading what it said.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re acting like you’re in a trance.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking about your father.”

“You really liked my dad, didn’t you?”

“Yes, your father and I were very good friends at one time.”

“Dad often spoke of you, and I know he followed your work. He checked photo credits on every article he read. When he found your name, he would always show me the photographs.” He waited a moment and said, “I was wondering why you didn’t marry my dad
.”

“We talked about it, but our careers took us in different directions. Then your father found your mother, and I know he loved her very much. Besides, I hear they had this wonderful son.”

“All right, enough mushy stuff,” said Christopher. He started slowly turning the pages. “Here, look! These are the notes I was telling you about for the
Poland story. I recognize some of the names.”

Carrie looked briefly at the notes and then said, “Let’s flip to the back of the journal and see the last entries.”

Christopher nodded, and they found an entry concerning shipments of merchandise bound for the United States. “Looks like notes for a story on exporting goods to the States,” suggested Christopher. “You know, now that I think about it, Dad was spending a lot of time at the docks before we left Poland.”

Carrie remembered the slip of paper she’d found in Jamie’s studio. She was about to get the paper out of her pants pocket when there was a light tapping at the door. Christopher looked a little frightened as he exchanged glances with Carrie. She took the journal from the table
, slipped it into her robe pocket, and went to answer the door. She opened the door and Charles entered the room.

“What are you two up to? One of the firemen told me Christopher was just outside.”

Carrie looked over to Christopher, who seemed to have lost his voice. Carrie helped him out. “In all the excitement, I forgot something from my car. Christopher was kind enough to go downstairs and get it for me.”

Charles would have probably asked more questions if it weren’t for the wink that Carrie gave him.

“I see. That was nice of you, Christopher, but now it’s time for bed. In fact, it is way past time for bed. Let’s go.” Christopher was going to protest, but Charles added, “No excuses, young man. You’ll have plenty of time to talk to Carrie tomorrow. I’m going to let you stay home from school. With all of tonight’s excitement, you deserve a day off.”

As Christopher passed by Carrie, she stopped him. “Let’s continue our discussion first thing in the morning. If we both get some sleep, we can take a fresh approach.”

The thought of getting a day off from school and meeting Carrie in the morning about the journal satisfied Christopher. He marched off down the hall with Uncle Charles’s arm around his shoulders.