“Should we go straight to the staircase, or try to find the secret room?” Annie asked.
“The wise thing would be to go straight to the staircase. But the fool in me wants me to see the secret room.”
Annie smiled and nodded. “You read my mind. But if we don’t find it in five minutes we should move on.”
Rafter directed the flashlight beam onto the wall next to him and nearest the attic. He guided the light from the ceiling to the floor and slowly illuminated the thick oak-paneling that covered the landing walls. The darkly stained woodwork in this forgotten region of the home rivaled the fancier rooms elsewhere in the home. The craftsmanship stunned Rafter.
“I don’t see a doorknob anywhere,” Annie said as she inched forward, scanning the walls.
“I’m thinking there won’t be one. A secret room has to have a hidden door.” Rafter set his longbow down. “We’re going to have to run our hands along the wall and feel for anomalies. Bobby and Rose fell into the room, so I assume the hidden door swings inward.”
“That makes sense,” Annie said as she ran a hand along the wall.
“Look for seams, probably next to the vertical trim pieces. Or push in on the trim boards.”
“I know this sounds crazy, but my heart is pounding, Jon. This is exciting.”
“Mine, too.” Rafter mumbled. He didn’t think it necessary to tell Annie his heart pounded because of the looming showdown with the Charbonneaus, and not from looking for a secret room.
Annie stopped in her tracks. “I just felt the wall give a bit.”
Rafter joined her. “Here, hold the flashlight, will you?”
Annie took the light and aimed it on the spot in question. “Right there is where my hand was when the wall began to give.”
Rafter examined the wall. He saw no seam or anything else that might indicate a hidden door. He turned and held out a hand to Annie. He smiled. “I think the key to opening the wall is to make out with a pretty girl.”
Annie rolled her eyes and stepped closer to him. “You really want to make out with me now? I’m all sweaty.”
“Anytime is good for me, Babe,” Rafter said.
Annie shook her head in disbelief, but then giggled. “Okay, you crazy man,” she said and lifted her face to meet his.
Their lips came together shyly at first, but then they soon kissed hungrily like Rose and Bobby had many years ago. Rafter pulled Annie closer, enjoying the intimacy of her embrace, the curves of her body pressing against his. As they kissed, he pushed gently against the wall with their combined weight. The wall gave way and revolved inward. The secret room appeared.
Annie pulled away. She shone the flashlight into the room. And then they walked inside. “It’s empty, Jon. The box is gone,” she said breathlessly.
“The Charbonneau brothers are going to be disappointed. Someone else has already found it.”
“Or maybe someone moved it after Rose and Bobby found it,” Annie speculated. “It could still be here somewhere.” She squatted down and shone the flashlight across the floor. “Whoever moved the box did it a long time ago. The dust on the floor hasn’t been disturbed in a long, long time.”
Rafter picked up the longbow. “I think we’ve seen all there is to see here. Let’s go down the servant’s staircase to the pantry. Maybe we can break out of here. But let’s go slow. If a step should creak I don’t want anyone to hear it.”
Annie stood up and looked at his face, zeroing in on his eyes. Her eyebrows tilted into a scowl. “I’ve seen that look in your eyes before, Jon. You wore it when you rescued Gabby Witherspoon and me from the Boudreaux fishing shack. It’s the look you have when you’re about to go into your action hero mode.”
“It may come to a fight, Annie. The police aren’t even aware of our situation. We have no way to contact them. They can’t help us.”
Annie poked him gently in the chest. “You pushed your luck the last time, Jon. You almost died.”
“I’m ready to die protecting you, Annie. I love you that much.”
“You’re not leaving me a widow. If someone has to die, we both die together.”
Rafter stepped forward and embraced his wife, did his best to comfort and reassure her that everything would work out. And yet he could use some assurance himself. He harbored the same doubts as Annie. The Charbonneau brothers didn’t seem like coldblooded killers. But treasure, especially gold, can change a person. “God is on our side, Annie. And no matter how this turns out, nothing can separate us from His love. He’s always with us.”
“I know…but it’s so hard believing that sometimes. Right now it doesn’t seem like God is with us at all.”
Rafter caressed her hair. “It isn’t easy trusting God. But no one ever said it would be. I struggle with my faith all the time.”
“But why does God keep allowing this to happen to us? We’re like magnets for criminals.”
Rafter shrugged. “Maybe it’s our calling to get rid of Louisiana’s bad apples.”
“I want a different calling—a peaceful one.”
“Well, at least this time we don’t have to contend with a hurricane.”
“I guess that is the one positive in all this,” Annie said with a sigh.
“I think a prayer is in order. We need some supernatural guidance,” Rafter said.
“I agree.” Annie bowed her head and closed her eyes. Rafter held her hands and started to pray. “Dear God, you know our circumstances and you know how this will all turn out. We place our lives into your hands. I ask you to give us strength and courage. Please help us to think clearly. Foil the plans of Arcadias and his brother. You gave us this house, and you know every board in it. If it’s your will, help us to escape this house. Show us how to get out undetected. Please make something beautiful come out of this ugly situation. In Christ’s name I pray, amen.”
They headed down the narrow staircase, dodging the cobweb drapery and treading lightly on the steps, the flashlight working hard to illuminate their way. Despite their tiptoeing efforts, the steps creaked in places, slowing their descent. A dozen seconds later they negotiated the last step.
Rafter’s head and shoulders sank when the flashlight revealed a dead-end. A formidable concrete wall blocked their way into the pantry. “Whoever removed the box from the secret room must’ve also poured this concrete wall. We’re not getting into the pantry,” he said in a low voice.
Annie ran a hand along the concrete. “This stinks. We’re trapped. What do we do now?”
“We’re revert back to plan A. We go back to the attic and try to find a way through the roof.”
“I don’t think there is a way through the roof, Jon. We need some kind of saw to do it. And I don’t think there’s one up there.”
“Maybe you should read more entries from Rose’s journal. Maybe the journal will show us the way out.”
Annie nodded. “Okay, if nothing else it’s an entertaining read.”
They retraced their steps, walking as if on eggshells to avoid making the steps creak. A few seconds later they reentered the attic. Annie sat down in a chair, while Rafter leaned up against the mammoth brick chimney that jutted into the attic, his mind churning for answers.
Annie flipped open the journal to the next entry. She looked up at him. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
Annie began to read aloud.