With only Sherlock Holmes for company.
Quoth glanced over at Morrie’s desk. “We can’t bring his computer, but he’d probably like some books. Maybe that reverse harem one you were reading the other day, with the ghost haunting the elite music academy.”
“Ghostedby Steffanie Holmes? He’s not getting that. I’m still reading it. It’s giving me all sorts of ideas about what to do with the three of you.” I grinned wickedly.
“Right.” Quoth swallowed. “Um, Morrie probably wants his toothbrush. Also, that expensive aftershave he likes, perhaps some underwear—”
Heathcliff glanced at Quoth. ‘Don’t forget the stash.”
“What stash?”
“Morrie built up a stash of emergency supplies in case he ever had to go into hiding.” Heathcliff swung himself from the chair and headed into my bedroom. In the place above Morrie’s old bed, Heathcliff lifted a section of paneling from the wall. I couldn’t see a thing in the dark space, but as Heathcliff pulled objects out into the light I recognized the essentials of Morrie’s trade. Burner phones. A laptop and some other electronic devices. A small package of dehydrated food. A lock-picking kit. An envelope stuffed with fake passports and driving licenses. Heathcliff tossed it all into his rucksack.
“I have no idea what half of this is,” Heathcliff held up a long, silver object. “But he must’ve thought it important.”
“Heathcliff…” I’d just figured out what the silver thing was. “I’m… I’m not sure I’d touch that if I were you.”
“Why the devil not? It’s just some weird long shaft with a knob on the end and—Ah!” Heathcliff tossed the vibrator at the wall. “You do the rest. I need to go chop off my hands.”
He raced off to the bathroom, and I heard the water running.
I tossed the last of the items into the bag. As I did, my fingers brushed something wedged into the back corner of the compartment. I wiggled it free and inspected it under the light. It was a velvet drawstring bag with small, hard objects inside.
Quoth held out his hands, and I tugged the drawstring open, spilling the contents into his fingers. What fell out surprised me.
Jewels.
Glittering precious stones in beautiful colors tumbled across Quoth’s fingers. The light captured their exquisite facets, dancing a rainbow of light across my vision.
I turned the jewels in my fingers, mesmerized by their beauty.Why does Morrie have a stash of precious jewels hidden in his room?
An ugly thought twisted in my head, a thought I didn’t want to consider but had to.Are these… dirty? Are they connected to a crime in some way?
I dropped the jewels into Quoth’s hand and stepped away. His eyes met mine, and I saw my own concerns reflected there. Wordlessly, Quoth tipped the jewels into the pouch and placed it back into its hiding place.
“Are you sure you want to go on this course?” he asked. “We could solve this mystery just as well from the shop.”
“I’m sure.” I plastered a smile on my face. “Let’s learn how to eat bugs.”
Chapter Thirteen
Hayes gave us the all-clear to leave the village again, as long as we agreed to check in with him when we got to our destination. We couldn’t actually tell him where we were going, so I invented a rare manuscript convention in Leeds. Predictably, as soon as he heard that, Hayes’ eyes glazed over from boredom and he didn’t ask any further questions. I was getting far too good at being a criminal mastermind.
Edie was so impressed with my progress, she agreed to let me take Oscar for the weekend. We took the train to Crookshollow to arrive at the guide dog kennels as she opened up. Oscar leaped into my arms as soon as he saw me, nuzzling my face and smudging my makeup.
“I’d go with you, but I have a mountain of paperwork to do.” Edie gestured to her desk. “Have fun sleeping in the rain and eating tree bark.”
I had a feeling Edie’s ‘paperwork’ was really a convenient excuse not to have to spend a night in the wilderness. Personally, I’d prefer a bed over a pile of leaves, given the option, but if it helped us solve Morrie’s case and got us to see him again, it was worth the sacrifice.
We returned to the station and purchased tickets to Leeds, because I knew Hayes would check up on us. We got off at the second stop and transferred to a bus that would take us to Barset Reach, the tiny village at the base of the mountains. With every mile we covered, my chest tightened. I wanted to see Morrie again, to know that he was all right. (I also wanted to kick Sherlock’s arse, but I wasn’t prepared to admit that).
But Morrie would have to wait. We had investigating to do. If Kate had been killed with poison mushrooms, the most obvious suspects were anyone connected with Wild Oats.
As we climbed off the bus, a white minivan with mud splattered along the sides pulled up, looking every bit like the kind of car a creepy stalker would cruise around in. As we got closer I was able to make out the words ‘Wild Oats Wilderness Survival School’ stenciled along the side. A tall guy in his thirties with a scraggly beard and frizzy ginger hair pulled back in a ponytail practically bounced out of the cab.
“Hi,” he greeted me with an enormous bear hug. He smelled of dirt and moss and possibly badger urine. Oscar peered at him with curiosity, but he didn’t try to pet him, which I appreciated. “I’m Sam. I’ll be your instructor this weekend. We’re going to have the best time gorging ourselves on the delights of nature. You must be Mina. Hop on in. Do you need help?”
“I’m good, thanks.” I couldn’t help it, I liked Sam already. He had one of those earnest, open faces, and I could tell he was passionate to the point of evangelical about wilderness survival. Weird, yes, but he didn’t scream ‘crazed, stabby killer’ to me.
