Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Declan took a sip of his tea. "The Harley you saw the day before Malcolm Tull died—did you recognize it?"

Mrs Cameron stared at the mug in her hand. "Mr Tull seemed to like men who rode motorcycles, but I couldn't say for certain if it was a bike that had been here before."

Before Declan could ask any more questions Henry burst into the kitchen, followed by Charlie.

"Declan," the boy yelled out. "There's something I need to show you and it can't wait any longer. I think it might be important to your case."

Mrs Cameron scowled. "Henry, you're interrupting our conversation."

"No. This is important. I've been patient, but I can't wait anymore. I might have an idea where the missing computer is."

Declan saw Charlie's eyes widen with surprise. Obviously this was news to him.

Henry took off, scooting past Charlie and back down the hall. He stopped at a door on the left side of the hallway.

"Come on!" Henry shouted.

By the time Declan, Charlie and Mrs Cameron had reached the hallway, they found a partly opened door and heard footsteps running down a set of stairs.

"I have a hunch I know what he's going to show you. It's part of the history of the house." Mrs Cameron said.

The three of them followed the sound down the old wooden stairs to a shelf-lined room. Henry was waiting in the far corner.

"This way," he said before he disappeared into thin air.

"What the…?" Declan said, looking to Charlie who stood beside him.

Mrs Cameron shook her head. "It's a trick. You'll see in a moment."

"Come on!" Henry called out from…somewhere.

Declan walked to the corner where Henry had last been seen and discovered the gap behind the shelves. While Henry could run the short length of the gap, Declan had to squeeze his muscled body through. When he made it to the end of the short passage, he let out a low whistle as he saw the opening of the tunnel.

Mrs Cameron crept in behind Declan, followed by Charlie.

"This must be the emergency exit Henry told me about," Charlie said. "It was a way for the bootleggers to avoid the police, wasn't it, Mrs Cameron?"

She nodded her head. "I don't know what the boy is going on about. There's nothing down here but dust and cobwebs."

Henry shouted out from ahead, "It's here! Quick, come here!"

They all felt their way along the tunnel wall, lit only by a dim glow of daylight somewhere in the distance. Halfway along the wall, they reached Henry. Once everyone was beside him, he reached up to one of the battens that fixed the wall panels in place. He pulled on the edge of it and it pivoted out, revealing—

"A keypad?" Declan said.

"A fairly new keypad," Charlie added.

"I think it's a secret door," Henry said. "You can see where there are faint lines on the wall."

Mrs Cameron's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What's behind it? Any idea?" Declan asked Henry.

The boy just shook his head. "I've tried a whole mess of numbers, but none of them work."

Declan turned to Mrs Cameron. "Did you have any idea this was here?"

"This is the first time I've seen it. I knew about the passageway, but I don't tend to come down to the basement. I don't like spiders. Henry, how long have you known about this?"

Henry furrowed his brow. "I heard voices and a strange sound here on the afternoon before Mr Tull died. But then I thought I heard a scream and I got scared. I was worried maybe it was the ghost. And then when Mr Yamada phoned yesterday and said that the detective was looking for something, I thought I would do my own investigation and I came back here. That's when I discovered the loose board and the keypad."

Charlie examined the buttons on the panel. "There's no way to be sure how many digits there are in the code on this panel."

"Can you look at the surface of the keys to see which are dirtiest?" Declan asked. "That would at least limit the number of combinations of numbers used."

"Not with this type. Watch."

Charlie tapped one button and the LED digits on the keys lit up. He let them go dark then tapped the same key again. This time the digits on the buttons were in a different order.

"Every time you touch the keypad, the order of the numbers changes. It makes it trickier for anybody watching you from a distance to remember the entry code."

"You're strong," Henry said to Declan. "Maybe you could just break the door down."

"I have no idea how thick this door is, and if it opens outward, I'd just break my shoulder trying," Declan replied.

"I think I know a guy who could crack the code on this," Charlie said to Declan. "He dropped out of my class in second year. He thought he could make a good living…freelancing in the security business, I think he called it."

"Is he like a bank robber?" Henry said, his eyes wide.

Charlie sputtered, "No, no. Not a bank robber."

"Call him," Declan said. "I think this mystery will have to wait until tomorrow."

Henry smiled and said, "I knew this was important."

Mrs Cameron ruffled his hair. "You've done well Henry."

Charlie looked down towards the slits of light at the far end of the tunnel. "What's down there?"

Mrs Cameron said, "It's the exit to the tunnel. Just a door made of slats really. We keep it secured but sometimes snakes and mice sneak in between the gaps. To my knowledge, it hasn't been used for a long time."

Declan saw Henry look towards the floor and suspected the door might have been used more recently than Mrs Cameron knew.

Declan walked to the end of the tunnel and examined the slats. The door opened inward, and was held closed by a board which anchored into two metal brackets on the inside of the frame. It looked like the dirt beneath the slats had been disturbed recently, but how recently was hard to tell.

"Henry. Have you been through this door lately?"

Henry shrugged. "Not for a while."

Declan leaned down and stared Henry in the eyes. "This is important. Have you been through this door since Mr Tull's body was discovered?"

Henry stared directly into his eyes and said, "No. I haven't been out this door in over three weeks."

Declan knew he was telling the truth.

Declan finished his inspection of the door then pivoted back towards Henry and shook his hand. "Henry, you've been a big help. Now do you have anything else you'd like to tell us?"

Henry grinned and said, "Nope. That's it. Are you coming back again?"

Charlie said, "I'm pretty sure we'll be back tomorrow."

They made their way up to the main hall and out through the front door.

Declan turned. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Cameron. This has been very helpful. We'll call and let you know when we're returning with my friend."

"I'd much appreciate it," she replied.

Declan and Charlie made their way to their car. Before they could get in, Henry had bounded over to take a closer look at the Beast. "I'm glad I helped you. Just like the detectives in my comic books."

Declan grinned at him as Charlie took out his wallet, pulled out a business card and handed it to the teen.

"You know Henry, if you make any other discoveries that you think can help with the case, you can always reach us here. My phone number and email are on that card."

Henry studied it closely then looked at Charlie and said, "Cool. Thanks."

"No problem. And thanks for the tour of the house," Charlie added.

Henry cleared his throat. He was holding out his hand. "That'll be five dollars please," he said softly. "That's the going rate for the tour."

Charlie reached into his wallet. "I only have a ten."

"That'll do just fine," Henry said as he pocketed the bill, then he looked at the Beast. "That is such a cool car! Hey, can I have a ride in it sometime?"

"Sure," Charlie said, then leaned in close to him. "It'll only cost ya ten bucks."

Mrs Cameron waved to Henry from the porch. "Get over here and stop bothering them. It's time to do your English lesson."

Henry obliged and ran back to the house while Charlie and Declan got in the car.

As they were about to pull away, Declan spotted a man straddling a motorcycle just along the main road. He was looking at the house. Declan didn't think he appeared to be the type who would be interested in historic buildings, weird rock sculptures or romance writers. The biker sat on his Harley. He wore an old-style helmet on his head—a brain bucket—and was dressed in full leathers. He had a long scruffy beard and his eyes were covered by steampunk goggles. He scanned the property from the concession road.

"Now, what the hell do you suppose he's doing here?" Declan asked.

Charlie pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture.

Declan stepped out of the car so the biker knew he was being watched. The biker fired up his engine and drove off.

"Should we follow him?" Charlie asked.

"Not sure," he said, keeping an eye on the bike. "Let's let it be for now."

They drove for a few minutes before Declan said, "Did Henry say anything else that might be of interest?"

Charlie flipped through the pictures on his phone. "He and Tull didn't get along, but that seems to be a theme." Charlie came across the pictures he had taken from the turret. "Oh, I almost forgot, Henry also showed me a secret door that leads from the second floor to the observation tower."

"A secret door?"

"Yup," Charlie replied. "Hidden in the back of a broom closet. No computer. I checked."

"That truly is a house of mystery."

"How about you?" Charlie asked. "Did you get anything out of Mrs Cameron?"

"Well," Declan started, "Sinclair Yamada had an all-out screaming match with Tull the evening before he died."

Charlie frowned. "We knew Tull was blackmailing him, but I don't recall him mentioning an argument."

Declan said, "I think we need to set up another meeting with Mr Yamada. See if he's available to see us at the office tomorrow. There's something bigger going on here, and I don't think he's telling us the whole truth."

Charlie's stomach moaned. "Are you hungry? I could use a bite."

Declan nodded. "Let's head into Rosebud. There must be a place to eat there."

He turned at a sign indicating ‘Rosebud 3 km'.

"You and the kid seemed to be getting along well," Declan said.

"He scammed me out of ten bucks."

"With a kid like that, I think you got off easy."

Charlie nodded. "I suspect you're right. I also gave him our business card in case he figures his way through that keypad. Somehow I think he's gonna get there before we do."

"Well, we'll have to talk to him again regardless," Declan said. "I want to see if he knows anything more about the door in that tunnel that leads outside. I didn't say anything, but I think it's been used recently."

* * * *

Charlie was in a much better mood than during the drive out. When he was focused on work, he and Declan clicked. For now, that was where he had to focus his attention. He got on his phone and called Sinclair Yamada. The call went straight to voicemail. Charlie checked his calendar and left a message asking Sinclair to come into the office around one the following afternoon. Then Charlie called the office number and discovered there were three messages, all of them from Cody White.

Charlie turned to Declan and said, "Cody White sounds desperate. He said he's in deep trouble."

"Call him, and set up an appointment for tomorrow, after Sinclair's meeting," Declan replied.

Charlie called Cody White's number, but it went straight to voicemail. Charlie left the details of the office location and suggested a meeting time of three p.m.

Just as he finished his call, a loud squealing sound came out of the engine compartment. The smell of burning rubber came through the vents and steam began to waft up from beneath the hood. The needles on the temperature and alternator gauges began to skew upward.

"Crap," Declan muttered.

Charlie remained silent.

Declan pulled to the side of the road. He got out of the car and popped the hood. Charlie joined him. The problem became immediately obvious. It was a broken fan belt.

"You're not wearing pantyhose, are you?" Declan asked Charlie.

"I didn't think it was that kind of car trip."

"It's an old remedy for a broken fan belt. I don't think the Beast is going anywhere tonight. Do you have an emergency kit in the trunk?"

Charlie nodded. "Yup, but not one with a fan belt, if that's what you're thinking. Let's see what else I've got back there."

Charlie opened the kit and found little of use, but was able to set up warning reflectors behind the car. It was decided they would head on foot for Rosebud. Declan assumed it would be faster to get a local mechanic to do the work than calling CAA. After all, by his estimation, they were now less than a kilometre from town.