Case of the Highland House Haunting Page 17

  “That’s a good idea. Thank you, Zachary.”

  It only took me a few minutes to stash the boxes in a corner in the furthest corner of the closet’s secret room. I ended up pulling a few outfits from their hangers and draping them over the boxes, concealing them from sight. Satisfied, I took a few steps back and smiled. If anyone would happen to discover this secret room, all they would see would be what looked like a pile of discarded clothes.

  “Done,” I announced, as I arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

  I had expected Jillian to offer thanks, or at least make a noise, like she was rising from the couch. Instead, what I heard stopped me in my tracks.

  “That’s far enough, pal. Get your hands up, where I can see ‘em.”

  There, standing in plain sight in the living room, was Curtis Stiller and an unknown second man. Curtis had a gun and was pointing it straight at Jillian and the dogs.

  ELEVEN

  Exiting the stairs and out onto the foyer, I could only stare, dumbfounded, at the two men. Curtis Stiller had an accomplice? Since when? And, who was he?

  “I said, hands up!” Curtis barked.

  Sherlock and Watson both growled at the intruders. Watson had her hackles raised, and Sherlock was baring his teeth. On a corgi, however, it just wasn’t that intimidating. The problem was, no matter the age or the temperament, practically all Welsh Corgi Pembrokes looked as though they were smiling. Yes, Sherlock was baring his teeth, but there’s no doubt about it: he just wasn’t invoking any fear. Well, not much, anyway.

  “Hush, you two. Look, pal, my hands are up, okay? There’s no need for the gun.”

  “Agree to disagree,” the second man sneered.

  “And you are?” I politely inquired, as I turned my attention on the second man. For the record, I have no idea how I remained so calm addressing someone while a gun was pointed at us.

  “If you don’t know it by now,” the second man snapped, “then I see no reason why you need to know now.”

  Curtis nodded, “You tell ‘im, Bart. Oh. Dammit.”

  “Dude, what the hell!” Bart exclaimed. “I always said you weren’t the sharpest tool in the picnic basket, didn’t I?”

  “You did,” Curtis sullenly admitted. He waved the gun at Jillian. “You. Princess. You’re gonna tell us what you did with the loot. Where’s the jewelry? Where have you hid it? I’ve searched high and low, but can’t find no trace of it anywhere.”

  “That should be, ‘what have I done’, not ‘what you did’,” Jillian corrected, with a frown. “If you’re going to threaten me, at least use proper grammar. Now, Curtis, you and Mr. Bart here are obviously looking for Dame Hilda Highland’s missing jewelry, are you not?”

  Both thieves nodded excitedly.

  “Would it surprise you to learn that neither Zachary nor I have discovered it? We really don’t care about the missing jewelry at all. The only thing I want to do is restore this house to its full glory.”

  “You’re full of shit, lady,” Bart sneered. “I know damn well you found a necklace in here. Problem is, you got it out of here while Curtis had stepped out, even though he was under strict orders to watch you guys whenever you were here. Now, tell me, what have you done with it? It’s ours!”

  “Yours?” Jillian repeated, puzzled. “I’m sorry, are you two actually descendants of Dame Highland?”

  “Well, no,” Curtis automatically answered.

  Bart, being a few watts brighter than his cohort, nodded vigorously.

  “Of course.”

  “One says no, and the other says yes,” Jillian reported. “I do believe someone isn’t telling the truth. If you want me to return the jewelry to the rightful owner, I would be more than happy to oblige. However, you have to prove to me you are a direct relative. So, can either of you do that?”

  The two intruders looked at each other, as if each suspected the other might be withholding information.

  “Ummm…” Curtis stammered.

  “Listen, guys,” I cut in. “It’s clear you’ve been here a while. The two of you have been living in that second basement you dug below the first. How long did it take for you two to do that, anyway?”

  “It was already there,” Bart insisted. “We didn’t dig anything. It was the perfect place to hide while we searched the house.”

  “How long have you been down there?” Jillian asked, genuinely curious.

  “Long time,” Curtis automatically answered. He gulped nervously as he noticed the dark glare his companion was giving him. “What? I didn’t give her an exact time, did I?”

  “It wouldn’t be hard to figure out,” I decided. “All you have to do is figure out when the reported ghost sightings started up. I’m sure if we check, then we’ll see that more than likely, there was a time when the ‘ghost’ was mysteriously absent.”

  “Eight months, all right?” Bart snapped. “We’ve lived here for eight miserable months.”

  “This time,” Curtis softly added.

  “What does that mean?” I asked. “This time? Holy crap. I get it now. You’ve been in this house before. Prior to your eight months. How long have you been coming to this house?”

  “More time than I care to admit,” Bart said, scowling. “That jewelry is rightfully ours. If you say you aren’t interested in it, then give it to us now, and we’ll be on our way. You can have this cursed house. That necklace you found? We want it back. We heard what you said about it. It’s worth over sixty thousand dollars? That will pay off a lot of debt.”

  “But not all,” Curtis whined. “Once we find the rest of it, all will be good.”

  “All of what will be good?” I wanted to know.

  Both thugs fell silent.

  “The necklace is upstairs,” I said, after pretending to hesitate so I could ‘consider’ their request.

  “The only thing upstairs are those boxes full of fake shit,” Bart sneered. “We already know what’s inside. I gotta hand it to you, they look real. They just might have fooled us with it, so it’s a damn good thing we’ve been here, watching you two, the whole time.”

  “We know all about the trap your cop friend is going to try and lay on us tomorrow,” Curtis proudly added. “It ain’t gonna work. We’re way too smart to fall for that.”

  “At least one of us is,” Bart softly muttered, under his breath.

  “Besides, it don’t matter,” Curtis continued.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jillian sternly corrected.

  “Fine. It doesn’t matter,” Curtis amended.

  “Why doesn’t it matter?” I asked.

  “We’ll be long gone by tomorrow morning,” Curtis answered. “Ain’t that right, Bart?”

  His companion nodded, “Oh, that’s the truth.”

  As God is my witness, I have no idea what prompted me to say the following sentence.

  “Why in the world would you leave without the jewelry?” I innocently asked.

  “The jewelry’s already been found,” Bart angrily snapped.

  It had? This was news to me.

  “Oh, yeah?” I curiously asked. “By who?”

  “Whom,” Jillian corrected, offering me a smile.

  I shrugged, “Fine. What she said.”

  Curtis pointed at Jillian, “Her. You found it! I know you done found the goods, lady. Cough ‘em up!”

  “But I’ve only found one necklace!” Jillian insisted.

  “You’re lying!” Curtis accused

  “You know we’re not,” I tried to calmly point out. “If what you guys say is true, then you’ll know the insides of this house better than us. You’ve had more time to search. If there was anything else here, then logic would suggest you would have found it by now. Guys, there’s nothing left to find. Besides, if we had found it, you would have seen us find it, right?”

  “And that confirms it,” Bart softly announced. “You found it. Curt said you did, but I didn’t believe him. Now I do.”

  “Told you,” Curtis grumped.

>   “Found what?” I wanted to know.

  Bart held out a hand.

  “The Czarina’s Tear. We know you know what it is. We also know that you know how much it’s worth. Where is it? What have you done with it?”

  “How many damn times do I have to say the same thing?” I demanded, growing angry. “We don’t have any other stashes of jewelry hidden away anywhere. We haven’t found anything beside that one blue necklace. You want me to be honest? Fine, I’ll be honest. I want you two out of here. Completely. If I had the damn jewel, then I would give it to you. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, and that’s the truth.”

  “Where have you searched?” Jillian gently asked. “Maybe we can help you.”

  “Our family has searched everywhere,” Curtis sadly reported. “For years.”

  “For years?” Jillian repeated, using a tone of voice which suggested she didn’t believe him.

  “Yeah, lady,” Bart added. “Years. You have no idea what this damn place has done to our family.”

  “It’s like a curse,” Curtis whispered.

  Overhearing, Bart nodded, “Exactly. First, it claims the life of my grandpa. Then, my father wastes his whole life trying to finish what Grandpa John started. He ran our finances into the ground. Do you get it? He ruined us, lady! I’m trying to restore my family’s honor. Those jewels are going to right a lot of wrongs.”

  “A lot of wrongs,” Jillian softly repeated. “Bart, about your grandfather. John, was it? You say he’s been searching for the missing jewels, too? Dame Hilda Highland only died in 1947. You’re not that much older than me. What possessed your father to dedicate his entire life to finding the Highland treasure?”

  “That’s a good way of phrasing it,” I whispered to my girlfriend.

  “Shush. Let Bart speak.”

  Bart, however, fell silent. Jillian, waiting expectantly for an answer, turned her beautiful hazel eyes on Curtis. When both men began fidgeting uncomfortably, I suddenly put two and two together, and realized how these two men fit into the picture.

  “You’re descendants of the men who killed Dame Highland, aren’t you?” I guessed, drawing a gasp from Jillian. “Your grandfather, John, was one of the men found dead the following week, wasn’t he?”

  A dark expression fell over Bart’s face. He slowly nodded.

  “My grandfather unwisely teamed up with some bum he recently met. Together, the two of them tried to get the old lady to cough up the location to her jewelry.”

  “Your grandfather tortured a poor woman to death!” I all but shouted. “And you two dare to come here to try and finish what he started? What the hell kind of men are you? You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

  “My father blew all our money on this place,” Bart snapped. Just then, he reached into the waistband of his pants and produced a pistol of his own. Thankfully, he simply held it in his hand without pointing it at anyone. “He shed his blood in this god-forsaken house. His obsession created a rift in our family. Finding those missing jewels once and for all will not only restore our family’s finances, but will help me try and mend the fences with my family.”

  “Think you’re nuts, do they?” I quipped.

  I realize now that wasn’t my smartest move of the night. All of a sudden, I was looking at the business end of a gun.

  “What are you doing?” Jillian hissed. “Stop provoking them!”

  “I can’t help it,” I whispered back. “It keeps coming out every time I open my mouth!”

  “Then close it,” Jillian pleaded. “For me!”

  “Good advice,” Bart agreed. The gun briefly swung over to Jillian before landing back on me. “Now, get up the stairs, both of you. Take the dogs with you.”

  I looked up the curving stairs and then back at Bart.

  “Up the stairs?” I curiously asked. “Umm, why?”

  “Just get movin’,” Curtis snapped. “Come on. We ain’t got all day.”

  “We don’t have all day,” Jillian corrected.

  “What is it with you, lady?” Curtis grumped. “You’re worse than my mother.”

  Back in the master bedroom, I could only turn to look at the two thieves with a skeptical look. What could they possibly want in here? Yes, there was a secret compartment in the closet, but they had (admittedly) already been through it. Yes, there was the large bas-relief sculpture stretching across most of the room’s southern wall. But, we had already investigated that, too. It was just as it appeared: a floor-to-ceiling fifteen foot wide sculpture depicting all manner of scenes. The room also had two large bay windows, but those had also been checked. What, then, could these two be doing back in here? Was there something we were missing?

  Curtis gestured with his gun. He wanted the four of us against the southern wall. Once Jillian and I, each holding the leash to a dog, had our backs against the carving, Bart indicated he wanted us to move to the right. He then reached over to the bas-relief and pressed what looked like a small chest.

  We heard a click and a small, 3’ by 5’ door popped open. Curtis yanked the door all the way open and pointed at the darkened interior. Curious, I angled myself so I could see inside the hidden compartment. Like the secret room we found in the kitchen, this compartment was shallow, at no more than four feet deep. However, the compartment also stretched up, to more than six feet tall, and extended the entire length of the room from left to right. I guesstimated the chamber was around 15 feet in length. 15’ wide by 6’ tall by 4’ deep. Off the top of my head, I didn’t know how much square footage that amounted to, but I did know it was the perfect place to hide valuables.

  I eagerly slipped out my cell and hit the flashlight app. What I saw brought a groan of dismay from the two of us. This area, like the kitchen, had been well plundered.

  “How long have you guys known about this one?” I asked, as I looked up at Bart. “I must confess, this is a new one on us.”

  “You didn’t know about this one?” Bart incredulously demanded. “Please. We knew there was something here as soon as we saw that big-ass carving. What, do you think people typically have somethin’ like that in their master bedrooms ‘cause they like lookin’ at it? It’s clearly here to hide somethin’.”

  “He’s got a point,” Jillian admitted.

  “Shush,” I said, as I gave her a friendly nudge.

  “What do you expect us to do now?” Jillian asked. “Neither of us have ever seen this. We just told you that we didn’t know this was here.”

  “Ain’t this the place where you found the necklace?” Bart asked, puzzled.

  “No,” I answered. “If the necklace had been in there, wouldn’t you two have found it long ago?”

  “He’s got a point,” Curtis said, with a snicker.

  Bart’s look shot daggers at his cousin.

  “Where did you find it?” Curtis demanded.

  “How is it that neither of you know?” I asked. “Bart, didn’t you say Curtis’ only job was to keep an eye on us? What was Curtis doing when you were away?”

  Curtis punched me on the arm, “Zip it, buddy. You tryin’ to get me in trouble?”

  “Where were you?” Bart demanded, as he turned on his cousin. “You never said. Every time I asked, you changed the subject.”

  “It ain’t important,” Curtis insisted. “Let it go, bro.”

  Eyeing the two relatives, who in turn, were now glaring at each other, a thought occurred. If I could get these two into a full-blown fight, maybe we could escape during the ruckus?

  “Bart, did you know that I wasn’t even here when Jillian discovered the necklace? She was by herself. So, my question is, where was Curtis?”

  “Shut your trap, fool!” Curtis hissed. His gun, which had been held limp in his hand, now swung around to center on me. “It ain’t none of your business.”

  “But it’s mine,” Bart dangerously said. “Spill, cousin. Where were you?”

  “I was hungry, all right? I’m tired of eating cold beans. I wanted hot food.”

>   “Where did you go?”

  Curtis mumbled something, but no one heard the answer.

  “What was that? A little louder, dude.”

  “I went to Taco Bell, okay? I love their burritos.”

  “You say you’re tired o’ beans, but yet you ate a damn burrito? Are you kiddin’ me?”

  Flecks of spittle flew out of Bart’s mouth and landed on Curtis’ cheek.

  “Eww! Watch it, idiot! You spit on me!”

  “Did not!”

  “Did so!”

  “How did these two ever make it by the cops?” I wondered aloud, as we watched the argument grow more and more heated.

  “It was easy,” Bart sneered, as he cast another dark look at his cousin. “Especially when there’s more than one way to get in here.”

  “There’s four,” Curtis proudly answered.

  “I know of only two,” Jillian said. “Are there secret ways to get in and out of the house, too?”

  “The old lady was a smuggler,” Bart snapped. “She hid all kinds of things in her house. Do you know how many times she got raided? Five! Did the Feds ever find anything? Not once. So, of course there are other, more discreet ways to enter this place.”

  “Snuck right by him,” Curtis crowed. “Never looked up.”

  Bart’s gun was suddenly aimed once more at Jillian.

  “Enough talk. You, lady, are gonna tell us what we want to know, or else we start pulling the trigger, get it? What more do we have to lose? Don’t try my patience.”

  I held up both arms in the I surrender pose.

  “Look, pal. Tell you what. Put the guns away. Let us find these jewels for you. If there’s anyone in this town who can find loot that’s been missing for years, then it’s these two.”

  Both thieves looked down at the dogs, as if noticing them for the first time. Bart snorted with disbelief, while Curtis was in the process of holding out a hand so he could pet Sherlock. A quick growl and baring of his teeth had the aforementioned hand yanked well back, out of harm’s way.

  “Why should I trust you?” Bart demanded.