Chapter 25

Knowing that the baron and John Senior were to the south, Johnny and I went out the front door with Robert in tow and turned left, past Alice’s wing. To the west, cut grass stretched unbroken to an embankment at the bottom of which was a tennis court. The embankment was designed to create the illusion of an uninterrupted vista of green stretching to a line of distant woods, when viewed from Alice’s sitting room. The three of us walked in its general direction across a moving tapestry of light and shadow as low-lying cumulus raced across the afternoon sky at supernatural speeds.

Even Robert was sufficiently intimidated by the strangeness of the afternoon to seem quite happy to be on the leash. Although he trotted jauntily out in front, he paused every now and then to look over his shoulder, to make sure we were either keeping up or that we were still there. I noted that he was nonetheless subtly angling us toward the tennis court, no doubt drawn by his addiction.

Before we walked down the steps to the sunken court, I looked back at the house. I had rarely seen it from this angle. I was just thinking that Alice would have had a fine view, when I saw a curtain move in one of the windows of the sitting room. It was just a flutter and happened so fast I wondered if I had imagined it.

“Someone’s in Alice’s apartment. I just saw a curtain move.”

Johnny turned around and looked back at the house. The breeze whipped his hair, and he brushed it back with his hand. “That’s not good. Could be one of the help tidying up, but that isn’t likely at this time of the day. Perhaps we should head back and check it out.”

Robert was not pleased with this decision and made his point by straining against the leash in the direction of the undiscovered treasures that he knew dotted the undergrowth beyond the tennis court fence.

“Heel, you mangy mutt,” grunted Johnny as he attempted to drag Robert in the opposite direction. Eventually, with both of us pulling, we managed a slow resistive backward march toward the house. Robert realized he was outmatched. He suddenly relented, causing Johnny and me to barely keep our balance on the slippery grass. Meekly, he about-faced and retraced the way we had come. Johnny was pleased with this display of canine mastery and smiled the whole way back, allowing Robert once again to lead the way.

He commented as I opened the front door, “You see, he’s learning. Such a good dog.”

He reached down and gave Robert a pat as he unlatched the leash. Too late, Johnny realized his mistake. Always one to take advantage of life’s unexpected opportunities, Robert whipped around and bolted for freedom. Johnny attempted to stop the near one hundred pounds of compact muscle in motion by the simple expedient of jumping on him, only to miss completely and land heavily on the stone. Robert flew down the steps and skidded left, out of sight.

“After him, quick,” said Johnny in a peculiarly strained voice as he lay on the floor. “I don’t think I can move. I may have broken something. God, how I hate that dog. I hate him! I’m going to kill him!” Rage can often lead to feats of superhuman strength. Fully consumed, Johnny managed to raise himself up and grab on to the doorjamb. “Bastard!” he said as he grimaced in pain, rose to full height, and then staggered down the front steps. He began to limp bravely in pursuit. I watched him slowly gaining speed as he turned left. “Come on!” he yelled at me, waving as he went.

All thought of investigating the moving curtain pushed aside, I picked up the leash and headed back out the door. By the time I rounded the west wing, Johnny had made a remarkable recovery, because he was sprinting gamely after Robert, who was so far ahead, he was a white speck in the dappled distance.

I picked up my pace. “Damn that dog,” I gasped out loud as I ran after them.

Several minutes later, I reached the edge of the embankment as Johnny came up the stairs, followed by Robert.

Johnny, still breathing heavily, grabbed my arm for support. “Damn that dog. He has succeeded in wearing me out. I have to catch my breath. On top of that, an odd thing happened. The side gate into the court area was open, and as I ran down the steps to the tennis court, I came across Robert lying like a sphinx in the middle of the court before at least a dozen very large crows. Robert was staring at them, and they were staring at him. They didn’t move a feather even when Robert got up, turned around, and walked back to me. Damned strange, if you ask me.”

“A murder of crows,” I said.

“Makes you wonder. Let’s get back.”

We had returned to the house before we realized that Robert was not only off the leash but acting extraordinarily well-behaved. I draped the unnecessary leash over the banister before following Johnny to Alice’s wing.

Johnny and Robert were inside when I entered. The sitting room looked undisturbed. The bedroom also looked the same other than the picture of Alice that Bruni had picked up.

“The picture’s been moved. At least I think so. I seem to remember it was on the other side of the table.”

“Are you sure?” asked Johnny.

“Not completely.”

“Let’s check the secret room.”

Johnny made sure the door to the apartment was shut before he flicked the fake light switch that unlocked the repository door.

We went inside and looked around. Everything seemed in order.

“Johnny, now that we know how to open it, the room seems insecure, doesn’t it?

“Not really. We never knew it even existed until last night. Unless you know where to look and how to open it, I would venture, it’s quite safe.”

“I’m not convinced. I wouldn’t put it past Bruni to do some off-the-cuff calculations to see if a secret room exists; then it would be just a matter of time before she figured it out.”

“You have a point,” Johnny said, still looking around. “Ah, here it is.” He picked up the brown book with the peculiar shape and slipped it under his jacket. “For later,” he whispered.

We secured the secret room and were just opening the door when we literally ran into Stanley.

“Ah…It’s only you two. What were you doing in the vault?”

I answered for both of us. “We went outside for a walk, when I saw one of the curtains move in this room. We came to investigate and see if anything was disturbed. I might ask you the same question.”

“Yes, you might. To answer it, there are other security measures in play than simple camouflage. You activated several.”

I felt relieved. “Well, I am certainly glad to hear that. I was beginning to get a little worried. Once you know the room is there, it’s hard to miss, and I would not put it past someone figuring out the square footage doesn’t match.”

Stanley smiled. “Just so. I’m glad you have a devious mind and that we think alike. Alertness is good, but now I must get back. Drinks will be served in an hour.”

With that, he moved to go, but after just a few steps, he stopped and turned. Looking back at Johnny, he said softly, “Be careful with that particular book. It has the reputation of having driven more than one user permanently insane. Good luck, and it’s most effective when used in the dead of night.” He chuckled as he walked away to resume his duties.