Alone in the library, Emory glanced at the large wall clock for the time. Fourteen hours left. I’ll never find all four at this rate. I’ve searched everywhere in here, and I cannot find the safe. Am I wrong about the colors? Maybe I should see if the guest room is free yet or go to the theatre. If I could just find a safe in one of these rooms, I’d feel confident that I’m actually on the right track. I need to relax. Clear my head.
Emory closed his eyes, took several deep breaths and held them for ten seconds. Blair definitely appreciated the culture of Indigenous Peoples, which explains the location of the first safe. He opened his eyes and looked around the library, pointing to items as he mentioned them. “There are two paintings and one tapestry in this room, but I’ve checked them all. They’re not permanently attached to the wall or any kind of mechanism. That means the key to this room is something else. The clock. The chime is off by two minutes. Could that mean something, or is it just defective? No, Juniper said she insisted everything be fixed right away.”
Emory approached the clock and moved the minute hand from the nine to the twelve. The clock chimed five times. “Has it been fixed?” He moved the hand two minutes into the future. The clock was silent. He moved the time ahead to six o’clock, and the clock chimed as it should. He moved it up to seven o’clock with the same result. He moved it forward to eight o’clock, and the clock did not chime. “That’s it! No chime.” He moved it two minutes forward, and the clock chimed eight times. “8:02. What’s significant about that? Eight two. August 2nd? That’s familiar. Something someone said. Eden! The Gatlinburg story. That’s Blair Geister’s brother’s birthday!”
He again looked around the room. Nothing had moved. Emory released a defeated breath. “Of course not. The clock hits that time twice a day. If that were the trigger, someone would’ve seen the safe by now. I have to do something to expose it. But what?” The clock moved ahead to 8:03. A thought occurred to him. “Could it be that simple?” He pushed the minute hand back and again heard the chimes. This time he pushed the 8 and 2 on the clock at the same time before the chimes ended. The face of the clock within the inner silver circle slid open, disappearing into the wall and revealing another lockless safe. “That’s it!”
“I have to be ready this time.” He grabbed the handle with his left hand and held his right hand by the door to try snatching the contents before they could leave the safe. He opened the door and threw his hand inside, but there was nothing to grasp.
Emory’s shoulders slumped. “I’m out of sequence. At least I’m pretty certain now that the colors are the key. It’s either in the guest room or theatre.” He closed the safe door. The clock moved ahead to 8:03, and the face returned from the wall to conceal the safe.
“That’s the wrong time,” a voice said from behind him.
Emory turned around to see a smiling face in the library doorway. “Dr. Sharp.”
The professor walked toward him. “That clock is off a few hours.”
“I saw that too. I was just fixing it.” Emory checked his phone and set the clock to the correct time. “What are you doing here?”
“Juniper invited me and asked me to wait in here.” Dr. Sharp shook Emory’s hand.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Emory motioned to a couple of chairs. “Could we talk for a minute?”
“Of course.” Dr. Sharp joined him in sitting.
“We found out why Ms. Geister wanted to extend your grant escrow.”
“You did? What was it?”
“She suspected you were in breach of the grant’s morality clause.”
“What?!” Dr. Sharp pushed back in his chair with such force, he had to grab the arms to keep it from tipping over. “I know you don’t know me well, but I assure from the depths of my being I’m about as vanilla an individual as you’re likely to encounter. I’ve had one speeding ticket my entire life. I’ve never been in a fight. I’ve never been intoxicated. I’ve had two serious relationships in my life, and both concluded amicably. I had never experienced a demeritorious action in my work environment until this current administration, as you know, and I informed Blair Geister of that when I applied for the grant. What in the world could’ve made her question my morality?”
“She heard of possible sexual misconduct with a former lab assistant.”
“What? Who?” Dr. Sharp chopped the air. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve had eight lab assistants in my career. Interview each one! Where would she get such an idea?”
“Apparently another scientist reported hearing it from the laboratory director at Oak Ridge.”
Dr. Sharp’s shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. “It wasn’t enough to fire me. They had to assault my character.”
“Who?”
“The new director and those who put him in charge.”
“To what end?”
“If they want you out but have no justification for releasing you, they create one.”
Emory wanted to believe him, but he just wasn’t sure.
Jeff stared at the murder board in the office, while Virginia sat on the sofa with her eyes glued to her laptop. “We’ve been at this for hours, and we’ve only narrowed our suspect list to seven people. I wish your friend would get back to you about the mine supervisor, we could possibly take one of these off. The problem is everyone had means, motive and opportunity. How do you narrow down the suspects when no one has an alibi that covers the entire window of opportunity?”
Virginia stood and stretched. “Admit it. We need Emory.”
Jeff crossed his arms. “I’m just as capable… We’re just as capable of zeroing in on the killer as he is.” He snapped his fingers. “How about this – Zyus Drake strikes me as a man of action and not really a planner. Would you agree?”
“From what you and Emory have told me, sure.”
“Then if he were going to kill Blair, I don’t believe he would be methodical about it. I feel like he would use his hands.”
“I’m with you on that.”
“Good!” Jeff pulled his photo from the board and crumpled it. “See? Now we’re down to six.”
Juniper rapped on the door but didn’t wait for an answer before opening it. “I just wanted to let you all know Kenn Marty is preparing dinner for us tonight.”
Jeff attempted to conceal the murder board, but he was too late.
“What’s that?” Juniper asked. “Why’s my picture on there?”
Jeff smiled at her. “It’s just a murder board. Or crime board. It’s where we post photos of… everyone involved in a case to provide visual cues for discussion. You’re on here because you’re the client.”
She read the writing under her picture. “But it has Cover-up? written on it.
Virginia popped up from the sofa. “Juniper, the truth is these are suspects in Blair’s murder.”
Juniper covered her chest with both hands. “You think I killed her?”
Virginia explained, “We have to be completely impartial in our investigations, no matter how much we like the people involved. Anyone with motive, means and opportunity is a potential suspect. Anyone.”
Jeff added, “Unfortunately, that does include you.”
“What motive would I have?”
He answered, “The fact that you were afraid Blair’s ghost was after you for something you did means you might’ve had a motive to kill her – to conceal whatever it was from her.”
“But I’ve already explained that to you. I’m the reason Zyus Drake fell asleep in the unfinished guest room.”
“Which is why we were going to remove you.” Virginia pulled Juniper’s picture from the board. “We just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”
Juniper took a moment to respond. “I guess I understand. You don’t know me truly well enough to realize that I could never kill anyone. I can’t be upset that you’re thorough. That is your job. It was just shocking to see myself up there.” She headed for the door. “Dinner in thirty.”
Once she left, Jeff hurried to shut the door. “I thought you locked the door.”
Virginia’s phone atop the file cabinet chimed. “You went to the bathroom last.”
“Are you sure?”
Virginia rolled her eyes as she checked her phone. “Oh my god!”
“What is it?”
“A text from my friend at Knoxville PD.”
“She found some information on the mine supervisor? What’s his name?”
“Spike Dean. She forwarded me his mugshot.” Virginia turned the phone around to let Jeff see the picture.
Jeff took a step closer. “That’s the gardener.”