Cornucopia by Melanie Jackson Page B

legs protested climbing more stairs, but I went slowly, and since the walls were all brick, I used my hand to find where the wall was hottest. After the fireplace was located, I moved to the left on the landing and began feeling for the panel. With pressure applied, a crack opened, emitting light and a narrow view of the library. It took a moment to find the latch which was over my head, but the panel slid open with a soft wheeze.
    It was a relief to step into the warmth and light, though I wasn’t happy to discover that my hands were gray with grime.
    Mr. and Mrs. Black were both tall people. I dragged a chair into the middle of the room and stood on it.
    They were tall and they also were not champion dusters. I saw where books had been disturbed on one of the highest shelves. Dragging my chair over I began moving the heavy volumes. They were Victorian erotica and I had to wonder what the last clue was.
    A quick peek in the box revealed a set of keys for an Arctic Cat, which I assumed was a snowmobile.
    Part of me wanted to rehide the box and watch the Blacks freak out. I weighed this against taking the box and presenting it to Alex. Or just pretending to find it when the library was open. There was every chance that Alex would be the first one to finish. He was smart and determined. However….
    A bell began to toll. I looked at the mantle clock and saw it was quarter of midnight. I lifted the box down, carried it to the panel and set it inside the hidden passage, and closed the door. There was no time to clean up, so I seated myself in a chair near the fire and tucked my hands out of sight.
    There were voices outside which went on for a few minutes and then the door was opened by Mr. Black. Everyone poured in. As I had anticipated, Alex had the clue in hand. He spotted me first and hurried over. He thrust the clue at me.

 
    Hard work and discipline sometimes get you off.

 
    It was a little crude, but a fair clue given what part of the library the box had been hidden in.
    “Top shelf, left wall, second case in. But it isn’t there anymore,” I told him.
    At this point everyone was staring at me.
    “How did you get in here?” Mrs. Black asked, looking baffled. “The window.…”
    But the window was closed tight and bolted with a serious lock. I could not have forced it from outside. And if I had, I would have been as wet as Stephie and Bill who were dripping on the faux Persian rug.
    “I just followed the clues. And I have a surprise for you—which I will show you later,” I added, realizing that they might not want their secret passage revealed to the public. It could come in very handy on their murder mystery weekends. “But now it’s almost New Year’s. Let’s have some champagne!”
    Mr. Black had climbed up on a stool to check the hiding place and turned to shake his head at his wife.
    Mrs. Black summoned up a smile and opened the champagne. The maid appeared with a tray of truffles and everyone decided to get on with the party, though there were several odd looks sent my way.
    Alex was seething with impatience though he managed to hide the worst of his edginess. Fortunately, no one seemed inclined to make a late night of it and one by one they wandered off to bed until it was just the Blacks, Alex, and I standing by the dying fire.
    “I’m betting you didn’t know that you had a secret passage running all through the house and out into the garden,” I said, going to the panel and pressing in the same place that I had used in my bedroom. My fingertips felt the slight stickiness of the wood and I knew I had the right spot. It would have ruined the reveal if I couldn’t get the panel open on the first try.
    Though I had told them what to expect, there were still gasps as the door swung open. I knelt down and handed them the box which held the keys to a snowmobile.
    “It begins up in our room in the tower and comes all the way down to the old wine cellar.”
    “I’ll get a flashlight!” Mr. Black