CHAPTER FORTY TWO

 

 

The night before had brought a storm down on the neighborhood with an unforgiving wrath. Trees were down, his power was out, and the phone lines were dead. He took a cold shower. Henry didn't feel much like eating, so he fumbled around in the early morning dark, found his keys, and stood at the door looking out into the bleak winter day.

Luna was expecting him at 8 am. Normally, he wouldn't have left for another hour, but the mayhem of the previous night's storm added some uncertainty to his travel time. He pulled on his overcoat, grabbed his hat and gloves, and opened the front door, hoping this would be the day he could put all the pieces together.

Several downed trees forced a circuitous route out of the neighborhood. Henry wondered what would happen to the trees. He hadn't had much time for woodworking of late, and the fallen lumber reminded him of that fact. He hoped they would be sawed up and turned into something useful. He drove on. Thirty minutes later, the sun decided to join him on the drive. The sky looked to be clearing up, and road crews seemed to have a good handle on clearing up the mess.

He arrived at Luna's place with two minutes to spare. Promptness made Henry happy, especially when he did so under such circumstances, with so many unknown variables. Luna hopped in the car, her hands wrapped around a basket with a gingham cloth draped over it.

"I didn't know if you would bother with breakfast, so I brought these," Luna said. She lifted the red-checked cloth. A wave of blueberry muffin goodness immediately filled the car. Henry smiled, with his usually calm demeanor, while his stomach gave thanks.

He accepted the proffered muffin, took a bite, chewed it slowly, and took another. He forgot about projecting his normal 'tough guy image' as he made what could only be described as a purring noise.

"Do you like them?" Luna asked knowingly.

Henry offered more purring with a hint of deep guttural grunting of approval. Henry could take a punch and keep his cool, but he was powerless against baked goods. He was sure that this day was on the right track.

They drove along in silence for a while, both of them enjoying the muffins. Before Henry asked for thirds, he thought it best to discuss their plan. "I have been thinking about what we should keep our eyes open for. It could be anything. If nothing jumps out at me, and I am sure it won't, I may need to poke around more than the shopkeeper would like."

"It could be anywhere, in a drawer, under something..." Luna said while staring off at the road ahead.

"Yes. I may need you to distract him with your feminine charms," Henry said with an air of authority as though he were talking to the troops before they stormed the castle.

"My feminine charms, you say? I didn't think you noticed," Luna said. She looked at him as she offered him another muffin.

Henry felt like a blush might be coming on, so he took a muffin in part to hide from Luna and in part to hide the fact that she had knocked him off his game. Luna wasn't fooled.

Henry ate the muffin and seemed to focus more intently than ever on the road ahead. Luna wrapped up the basket and folded her arms across it. She decided to have mercy on him. She changed to a more serious tone.

"Do you think we will solve the code and be able to put an end to all of this? I miss my father," she said in a low, now sad voice.

"I know we will." Henry said confidently even though he had his doubts. He had a nagging fear that they might not find the next clue, that this trip was just a snipe hunt. Without the code to the journal, which 'Tommy the Knife' was under the impression had been destroyed, they would be out of luck. As in chess, today's move would be pivotal. One misstep and all would be lost.

They drove past 'Stowe It Forever' gift shop, the one from the ad, while Henry checked his mirror. Nobody had followed them. Everything had calmed down since the DA's visit and the subsequent 'journal' incident, but he still favored caution. He drove once more around the block, just to make sure. He parked the car. They walked slowly to the shop. Luna took his arm to help keep her footing on the icy sidewalk. Henry reminded her, "Now it is going to be tough. I don't know what we are looking for, and I have no idea how we will find it."

A little bell over the door announced their presence, and a tiny man with a monocle scurried from behind a curtain leading to the back room. The shop was filled to the brim with boxes, cases, clocks, furniture, steamer trunks, lamps, and possibly lost pirate treasure. Henry whispered, "Oh, God, this might take a while." Luna squeezed his arm in agreement as she greeted the tiny man behind the counter.

"Hello there, my name is Luna and this is my...friend...Henry," she said.

"Excellent, it is good to meet you. I am Wolfgang the manager," he said with a slight German accent and a familiarity that struck them both as odd. He spoke in short fast bursts with gaps too small to allow Henry or Luna to sneak in a word. "Wait right here..." And off he went though he continued to talk, "quite a storm last night....power just came back on..." There was a rustling sound, then a loud wooden sound of a drawer being opened and closed, then another. This went on for a couple of minutes as did his ramblings.

Wolfgang reappeared behind the counter with a tiny box. A small, rectangular, red velvet mat sat on the counter, and he placed the box in its center. "This is what you have come for. I have, as instructed, not opened it. It is paid for. I hope you enjoy it for many years to come. Good day." He disappeared behind the curtain.

Henry and Luna looked at each other blankly. Henry looked at the tiny box, then at Luna. There wasn't anyone else in the shop. Luna reached over and took off the lid. Inside there was a tiny, folded piece of white paper.

Luna and Henry walked back to the car in silence. Luna held the tiny box firmly in both hands. Henry broke the silence as he put his key in the door to unlock it. "That went well, though not at all as I had expected." He opened the passenger door, and Luna slid into the car with just a nod. The sound of the door closing and the silence that followed Henry back around the car reminded him that Luna was holding a message from her father. He thought about the fear she had been living with since the day he went missing, and how she had maintained her wits throughout it all. She was a tough cookie. He got in the car and started it.

They drove for a little while, again in silence. Luna said in a quiet voice, "Should I open it?"

"Yes," Henry said, keeping his eyes on the road.

Luna took off the lid and set it in her lap. She opened the piece of paper, then read its contents aloud.

Dear Luna,

I hope this message finds you well. We are doing fine but miss our girls. Please tell Sylvia and Winston that her father is safe. He feels terrible about what he put her through, but apologies will have to wait for later. I hope that this codex, the list of names, and the journal will be enough to put the people who would harm us behind bars.

Love,

Dad

"The rest is the remainder of the codex," she said with a sigh. "It isn't dated, so I don't know when he left this for us, but I do feel a little better."

Henry smiled at her. "Yes, I do, too. Now that we can decipher the journal, we will know what Tommy 'The Knife' has been up to and why your father had to disappear."

"It is a good thing we made that copy to give to the DA. I thought you were crazy at the time, but it looks like you were right about him," she said as she returned the message to the tiny box.

"Yes, I can smell a rat. And the stink on him is almost overwhelming."

There wasn't much more to say. Henry drove and Luna rapped her fingers on the lid of the box. She was thinking about her father and wondering where he was. Henry was forming a plan. He would need to get some help. He would need a bit of luck.