Beneath the Mall of Madness (A Jaspar Windisle Mystery Book 1) (15 page)

The library wasn’t on the first floor; it was in the basement. The basement stairs weren’t as well maintained as the rest of the hotel. The Whateleys hadn’t bothered replacing this section of the carpet when they’d remodeled. The old carpet was a paisley pattern in harvest gold and orange. I could see why they’d replaced it in the rest of the hotel. It wasn’t worn, so even the Whateleys didn’t go into the basement very often. I considered just asking one of them for a dictionary but dismissed the idea. They hadn’t given any indication that any of the rooms in the hotel were dangerous.

The stairs ended in a short hallway dimly lit by gas lamps. All the doors were closed, and none of them were labeled. The first door I tried wasn’t locked. The hinges creaked when I opened it. I stepped inside and felt along the wall for the light switch. My hand brushed against something hard and spiny. I pulled away and tried again. The switch was lower on the wall than I had expected. I turned on the light and looked at what I’d touched in the dark.

I had to smother a scream, and I stumbled back into the hallway. I’d found the room where Great-Grandpa Whateley’s trophies were stored. The old man had definitely gone after exotic game. There wasn’t a single skull I recognized the shape of. The thing I’d put my hand on was a mass of spiny protrusions, one giant eye socket, and four twisted tusks. The other trophies weren’t better. Across the room, seeming to stare at me through the door frame was a giant skull with three eye sockets and massive fangs. I gathered my courage and stepped back into the room. There were heads that seemed to be just balls of antlers, fish heads with spider fangs, and bony masses I couldn’t begin to describe. There was no furniture in the room; just row after row of skulls mounted on the walls.

I was so absorbed by horrified fascination that I almost missed the flicker of light behind me. I turned and saw the shade of the Cyclops skull materializing. I slammed it back into its skull and sprinted out of the room, and didn’t stop running until I was back in the lobby. The library could wait for another day.

***

Of course, Jeremiah found out what had happened. I’d left the light on after all.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said the next morning at breakfast. He brought me extra waffles, I assume as an apology. “I know Great-Grandfather’s trophies are unusual, but sometimes I forget how unsettling they are to people who didn’t grow up with them. I’ll lock the door.”

“No, Fiona warned me that they were around here somewhere,” I said. “Tell me; is there a library down there?” Jeremiah raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, it’s the door after the trophy room.” So much for pretending I hadn’t been rattled. “There’s also a smoking room down there at the end of the hall. You’re no longer permitted to smoke in there, but it does have some nice chairs if you get tired of reading in the lounge.”

“No, I don’t like being underground,” I said absently. “What’s on the other side of the hallway?”

“The boiler room and the laundry,” he said. He handed me hot chocolate with marshmallows. “What did you want in the library?”

“A dictionary,” I said. “There are some things I want to look up.”

“I can have it brought up to the lobby,” Jeremiah offered.

“No,” I protested. “I can handle going into the basement.” I hesitated. “As long as there aren’t any more skulls down there.”

“No, the trophy room is the only one in the hotel with skulls in it. I guarantee it.”

I still decided to get the dictionary some other time. I decided to bundle up and check out the construction before Mordecai showed up to drag me across the marsh. 

There was quite a turnout for the building of the wall of Jericho. Fiona and Mrs. Whateley had set out tables behind the hotel and covered them with baked goods. There was plenty of coffee, tea, and cider. I took the coffee. Gregory was sitting in the middle of the fruit selection disguised as an extra-large strawberry.

“You’re not fooling anybody,” I told him. He turned yellow and stretched himself out.

“No.” He shrank and inflated, turning dark purple as he did so.

“Cut that out,” Fiona said. “And get away from there. Those are for everybody, not just you.”

“Why did you bring him?” I asked her. She leaned towards me.

“I don’t, usually, but I didn’t like the way that professor was looking at him. I’m keeping him close until I get a chance to upgrade my security.”

“Good morning Mr. Windisle,” Pastor MacReady said. “Are you here to help out?”

“He’s working on another project,” Fiona said.

“If I’m back in time I will,” I promised. I looked at the pile of materials and the flags marking out where the wall would be. “Is this really going to take only one day to build?”

“We tell ourselves that every year,” the pastor said. “Every year we’re wrong, but I think we can get the frame up today. After that, we’ve got a whole week until the reenactment itself. If the weather isn’t too bad, we’ll finish in plenty of time.”

Steve and Mordecai showed up at almost the same time. Earl and Zebulon arrived shortly afterward.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked Steve. He nodded.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve gone after a magical site like this,” he reminded me.

When Cecilia arrived, we were ready to go. She was wearing a thick jacket and carrying a backpack.

“Are we ready?” She asked. We all answered in the affirmative.

“Has everyone got a lunch? And water, a flashlight, and extra batteries?”

“Take some food,” Fiona urged us. “We’ve got plenty, and you don’t know how long you’ll be gone.” I complied. Sparks didn’t like it and moved from my pocket to my collar.

“Has everyone gone to the bathroom?” Cecilia asked when we were finished.

“Cici!” Zebulon snapped. “We’re not children!”

“Well, I don’t want to have to come back early,” she said.

“We’re fine,” Earl said.

“And you’ll be fine here?” Cecilia asked Fiona. Fiona nodded.

“I’ll keep an eye on things.”

“Great! See you later!”

***

If anything it had gotten colder and more miserable since the last time I’d been in the marsh. Everyone except Cecilia had sunk into the mud by the time we got to the hill.

“It’s at the bottom,” I told them. Earl seemed to hesitate.

“Will we have to go into the woods?” He asked.

“You can’t,” Mordecai said flatly, starting down the hill. “You can try, but it’s not possible. So the tunnel entrance must be in the clearing somewhere.”

“Close,” I said. I started working my way down. It was easier going than last time since I had the luxury of choosing my path. Abner and Obadiah had both come down here many times, but there was no good way to do it.

At the bottom of the hill, it was quiet. There was a cloud hanging over the town, and wisps of fog poured down the hill like a waterfall. The forest didn’t have much undergrowth, and I couldn’t see anything that screamed stay away to me. Still, I felt uncomfortable standing even this close. Out of curiosity, I tested my pendant. It began to swing north to south, parallel to the tree line.

“What does that mean?” Cecilia asked.

“I’m not sure,” I told her. Sparks seemed to like the extreme motion and was rocking the pendant, deliberately increasing the swing. “I’d guess there are dead things on either side of us, but I’d have to go over there to check.”

“We can do that later,” Mordecai said. “First, show us where this tunnel is.”

“Right.” I went to the middle of the clearing and pushed past the butterfly bushes that were growing there. At this time of the year, they were a nasty wet mess. They grew right up to the face of the hill, completely hiding a metal plate the width of a barn door. While Mordecai and I looked for the hex wrench, Steve and Cecilia examined the plate.

“I don’t think it matters how we set the key in,” she said. “If you want you can try to line up the symbols, but they look like they’re just there for decoration to me.”

I envied them their job. Searching thick, wet brush is no fun, especially when you aren’t sure where to look. There were signs that I wasn’t the first to do so.

“I found a cell phone!” Mordecai shouted from somewhere to the left of me.

“I’ve found some pens and loose change!” I called back.

“I reckon we’ll have to come back here later with more men,” Earl said.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Mordecai said, “but if you’d done a more thorough search when you killed that cultist we could’ve found all this a week ago.”

“We
were
doing a thorough search,” Earl said, “when that cultist interrupted us.”

“I think I found it,” I said loudly.

“You think?”

“It’s a big metal stick,” I said. “How many can there be down here?” I couldn’t tell for sure because it was covered in blackberry vines. They were the small thin kind that look fuzzy and harmless until you grab them, and they draw blood. I poked at the hex wrench gingerly, trying to find a good spot to grip. Once I did, I found that the underside was a hiding place for baby slugs.

It was gross, but I’m a grown, professional man, so I picked it up and hauled it to the others. I wiped my hands on the grass and tried not to think about how long it would be before I could wash my hands. I’m not a big fan of slime.

Cecilia was not burdened with a need to preserve her dignity.

“Oh ick!” she said. “Steve, you can open the door.”

“Gee thanks,” he said. “This thing isn’t as heavy as I expected.” He attached the magic hubcap, stuck it in the door, and twisted.

“Could I have a little help here?” he asked. “I can’t get much leverage.” Mordecai and I helped and after jiggling it back and forth it began to move. After the first turn, it was no trouble at all. After a few rotations, there was a clank and the plate wobbled. We wheeled it to the side and were faced with a dark tunnel. Cold air hit our faces, and mist poured out. I shivered.

“There should be a light switch,” I said. Mordecai found it. There were some pops and snaps when the lights came on, but the tunnel lit up. The light was accompanied by the buzz of fluorescence. It reminded me of the whine of the cheese wasps. I pushed the thought out of my mind.

“I guess you’ll have to lead,” Steve said, “since you kind of know the way.”

“There is no way,” I told him. “It’s a single tunnel leading for miles out of town.”

“Well, you might spot something Obadiah and Abner missed.”

“Anyone might, but I doubt a professional tunnel maker missed anything.”

“So what’s next?” Cecilia asked. “Other than a long walk.”

“Can we close the door behind us?” Zebulon asked. “I don’t like the idea of someone finding this place and turning the lights out while we’re down here.”

“There are light switches at quarter mile intervals,” I told him. “If you want to close the door we need to take the key inside with us.”

***

There’s no feeling quite like being locked inside a man-made hole in the ground. I’ve had more than my share of the experience, and I don’t like it. I hadn’t really considered the implications until the door slid shut. When it did, I felt dizzy. Steve patted me on the shoulder.

“We can get out again,” he reminded me. “Even if we can’t, people will come looking for us within the week. Plus you’re getting paid.”

I took some slow, deep breaths. I put my hand in my pocket to touch the amber pendant. Instead, I felt something cool and squishy. I shrieked and yanked my hand away.

***

In moments of great stress, it can be difficult to see things clearly, particularly if you weren’t expecting them. For a moment I thought an alien monstrosity was attached to my hand. It took a very long few seconds to realize that while it
was
an alien monstrosity, it was also Gregory, the baby alien squid.

“Aaargh,” I said.

“What are you doing here?” Zebulon asked. He was lowering the gun he’d pointed at my hand. Gregory, naturally, had nothing to say for himself. He turned a rainbow of colors and remained wrapped around my hand. With my other hand, I checked to make sure my pendant was all right. Fiona did say he ate rock after all.

“Is anyone getting reception down here?” Cecilia asked. “We should let Fiona know where Gregory’s gone, but I’ve got no bars.”

“Me either,” Steve said.

“There’s too much rock in the way,” Earl said. “I had to climb back to the top of the hill to radio for help last time.”

“If we go back now someone else will find this place,” Mordecai said. “There’s a beaten path leading to it now. We’ll just have to make this quick, so she doesn’t have long to worry.”

I didn’t care how much Fiona worried; I didn’t want to babysit an alien squid. He must have snuck into my pocket while I was gathering snacks.

“Stay quiet, alright?” I told him as I put him in a different pocket.

The floor of the tunnel was flat and smooth, and the tunnel itself was dry despite the mist.

“We must be below the other tunnels,” Cecilia said after we had walked about a mile. “Otherwise we would have intersected with one by now.” I thought she was wrong about that. The tunnel made as straight a line as possible towards the construction site. Between the way the freeway turned and the layout of the town, it was a surprisingly short distance.

“It’s amazing the town is still standing with this much excavation,” Steve commented. “Do you think there’s magic involved?”

“I prefer to think it’s good engineering,” Mordecai said. “The other tunnels look more finished than this.”

Every once in a while there were paint marks on the walls. There were also a few abandoned tools.

“Why on earth would someone carry a shovel two miles then leave it?” Zebulon asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “They would have been hard to come by when this tunnel was built. Maybe Abner left it here.”

“Is anyone feeling odd?” Mordecai asked. “It could be absentmindedness is a side effect of whatever it is we’re looking for.”

“I’m not happy about being here, but otherwise I’m normal,” I told him.

“Right as rain over here,” Cecilia said.

“Under the circumstances, fine.”

“Never better,” said Steve.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Earl said, “but I’m not feeling the urge to drop my gun if that’s what you mean. How about you?”

“I think I’m all right,” Mordecai said. “We should keep an eye on each other. If you see anyone acting distracted or behaving oddly, say something.”

The most immediate effect of this advice was for everyone to start acting oddly. Cecilia started carefully staring at everyone else. Steve moved in an exaggeratedly casual way, stopping just short of whistling nonchalantly. Zebulon started walking more slowly and inspecting the walls. I went over to Mordecai.

“Apart from being mayor, what are your reasons for coming along?” I asked him.

“Cici is too absentminded to wander around in caves alone, and the last time Zebulon came down here he stayed past his nap time and Jeremiah and I had to take turns carrying him back,” he said. “We need a responsible adult here to represent our town’s interests. Since I am the mayor, and I’m reasonably fit, it falls to me.”

“Reasonably fit?”

“Do you think Pastor MacReady could make it down the hill?” he asked. “I might be the only member of the town council who can walk six miles in one go, let alone be any use at the end of it.”

“Do you have a problem with young people leaving town?” Every business I’d been in had customers, and there had been plenty of children in the congregation on Sunday. Given the weather and the crazed murderers roaming the street it seemed like a healthy small town to me. Then again, I was mostly seeing members of the same two or three families.

“Not at all,” he said. “If you like small town life we’ve got plenty of job opportunities. We’ve also got several festivals that you won’t find anywhere else. The reenactment is one example. We just have a hard time getting young people involved in leadership roles.”

“Of course you do,” Zebulon chimed in. “Council meetings are boring. Half the council is ancient, and asleep by the end of the meeting. At the same time, the meetings are so early that anyone who has school or a day job can’t make it.”

“The meeting I went to was lively,” I said.

“That was an emergency meeting,” he countered. “Everyone goes to those.”

“Zoning ordinances may be boring but if more people came to the meetings we wouldn’t have bat shaped street signs.” Mordecai lectured his cousin. Zebulon sighed.