Cluttered Attic Secrets (8 page)

They were both yawning when a knock on the door made them jump. They both went to the door, and Brandon let Hank in. Everyone said hello.

“I have news. They’ve tentatively identified the body in the yard.”

Tina’s breath caught in her throat. “Who was it?” She walked to the couch and sank into it. Hank removed his coat, and he and Brandon sat down, as well.

“A man named Joshua Young.”

“What? That’s my father’s name.” Brandon looked totally baffled. “My father’s not dead! I just saw him a few hours ago. My God!”

“No, no, I’m sorry, Brandon. I wasn’t thinking. It’s not your father. But he’s a man of about your father’s age.”

“But I don’t have another relative named Joshua.”

“That you knew of. Of course, your last name is rather common, so this Joshua Young might not be related. But what are the odds? He has your father’s name and was found in the yard next to or actually in your old family home.”

Brandon stood up and swayed. Alarmed, Tina jumped up to grab his arm. “Easy.”

Hank said, “Sit down, Brandon. Relax. I told Lisbeth about the genealogy we found, and she wants a copy. The police are trying to find out more about Joshua, but they can find no records. No driver’s license, criminal records, fingerprints in the system, anything.”

“How did they identify him then?” Tina made sure Brandon got back in his chair.

“Tentatively identified him. He had a tiny folded up piece of paper in the watch pocket of his jeans. It said, “My name is Joshua Young.”

“That’s all?” Brandon looked astonished.

Hank nodded. “Hard to believe in today’s world. The only other clue is the handwriting. Crude, block printing. Caps mixed with small letters. If the man wrote it himself, it indicates a very low level of education or possibly mental disability.”

“Oh,” Tina’s breath caught. “Poor man.”

“Did you tell Lisbeth about the noises in the attic?” Brandon asked.

“No. I didn’t go into that. I decided it would be better if we continued the investigation on our own. We’re more open to looking into that area than the police will be. We all heard the noises. At least Tina and I are open. Not so sure about you, Brandon.”

Brandon laughed. “Not to anything supernatural. But I’ve known a lot of lawbreakers in my relatively short time as a criminal lawyer. I might lend some insight to that aspect of our investigation.”

“You mean you’ve defended guilty people?” Tina’s voice was teasing.

Brandon shrugged. “Part of the job. They’re more often guilty than not, I’m afraid. Especially in today’s world when prosecutors have access to so much forensic evidence before they go to trial. Let’s see what we can find out about Joshua Young on my computer, if anything.”

Tina studied Brandon for a moment. The frown hadn’t left his face for an hour or more. His usual carefully combed hair stuck up in a few places, and he slumped in his chair.

“I think we should wait until we’re all less tired.”

Hank started to protest, but stopped when he saw Tina look from him to Brandon. Hank nodded. “Tina’s right. Let’s have something to drink and talk about something else.”

“All right.” Brandon didn’t push it.

“Come to think of it,” Tina said, “I wonder if the advice about not letting someone with a head injury sleep still holds. Our mothers believed that, so we do now, too. But you know how quickly all the medical advice of old changes. One of us should check it out.”

“I’ll do that.” Brandon said.

“No, you rest,” Hank said. “I’ll get on the computer and check out head injuries. Meanwhile, Tina can get us something to drink.”

Within five minutes both Hank and Tina were back in the living room. Tina handed the men glasses of ice cold water, and sat down.

Hank laughed. “We’ve been torturing you, Brandon. You can go to sleep. We should wake you every two hours to be sure you’re okay. They now say you probably need more sleep after a head injury than normal. Go to bed. We’ll stick around and wake you up in two hours.”

Brandon closed his eyes. “I knew I should never listen to you two.” He opened his eyes and grinned at them.

At that moment, Tina knew she still loved him. But not as a lover. She caught Hank studying her. Did he misunderstand her expression? It was her turn to close her eyes. Why was life so complicated?

Brandon left them to go to his bedroom. Tina avoided Hank’s glance.

“Let’s try to get some rest.” His voice didn’t give his feelings away. It never did, she realized.

She finally looked at him. He sat as still as a sphinx. She knew he was waiting for her to make the next move. It was always up to her to do that in their relationship. And she realized she wished he’d do it. She guessed a lot of women would like the idea of the man waiting, and she had, too, at first.

She was surprised when he stood up, walked over to her, and opened his arms. “Come here.”

Wide-eyed, she rose and stepped into his embrace. It felt like home. She melted into him.

“You know I love you,” he murmured into her ear. “I’ll always love you. Isn’t that enough?”

Her eyelids drooped, and she let herself be held, let herself feel him against herself, knowing he was aroused. “Yes,” she finally admitted. “It’s enough. Hold me.”

After a while, Tina pulled away. “We can’t do anything here,” she said, leaving out
where Brandon and I used to make love.

Hank sighed. “I know.” He looked at his watch. “In two hours, the sun will be up. We’ll wake Brandon and go to Leslie’s again. We can keep an eye on him there while we look for a secret room. Right now, let’s try to get some sleep. I’ll set the alarm on my phone.”

***

A little more than two hours later after some debate, they settled Brandon in a guest bedroom at Leslie’s house. Tina thought they should all be in the attic. Brandon said it would slow them down if they had to worry about being quiet, it was daytime, so he’d be fine one floor down. Tina finally gave in.

She and Hank climbed the attic stairs, Hank’s gun was in its holster, and Tina had stuck hers in her blazer pocket.

“What are we going to do first?” Tina asked.

“Tap on the walls.”

“You think the intruder, if there is one, will open a secret door and pop out to surprise us?”

“Always a possibility. But doubtful.” He smiled at her.

Tina frowned and looked uneasily around the attic. Her cell phone played Whitney Houston’s “Count of Me,” making her jump. She said hello.

Leslie asked her where she was.

“In the attic with Hank.”

“Where’s Brandon?”

Tina hesitated, trying to decide what to tell Leslie about her brother.

Before Tina could answer, Leslie said, “I’m coming home. It’s not right that the rest of you do this without me.”

“You don’t have to.” Tina decided she’d better bring Leslie up-to-date on what they’d found. But first, Brandon. “Your brother ran into some difficulty last night.”

“What do you mean, difficulty?”

Tina walked over to the chair she’d used, was it only yesterday, and sat down. Hank stayed still, watching her.

“He came downstairs to find some tissues because I was sneezing. He was looking in your bedroom when someone hit him from behind. He fell down, and Hank and I heard him, so we ran to see what happened.”

“Is he okay?”

“He seems fine. His head hurts a little, and he’s resting in one of your guest rooms while Hank and I work in the attic. We check on him every couple of hours.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Leslie hung up.

Tina took the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a few moments. She finally hit end. “Leslie’s on her way. Let’s start tapping on the wall while we wait.”

“Okay.” Hank pointed to the area where they’d heard the noises. “You start at that end, and I’ll try the other one. It’s going to be rough going with all the stuff in the way, but let’s try to meet in the middle.”

They were almost done when they heard movement from downstairs. They stood listening, and after a few minutes, the attic door opened. “It’s me,” Leslie called as she climbed the stairs. “I was checking on Brandon. He’s asleep, seems to be breathing normally.”

After Tina and Hank said hello, Leslie pointed to the chairs. “Let’s sit while you tell me everything.”

After Tina finished explaining what they’d done after Leslie left the night before, Leslie said, “I don’t quite understand. Brandon was attacked, and you didn’t call the police?”

Tina hesitated. “It seemed the right decision at the time. Hank is a consultant, after all, and we can do anything, maybe more, than the police. You want them trampling around in your house?”

“Not really. And you now think there’s a secret room?” Leslie shuddered. “So someone could have been hiding in there the whole time I’ve been living here?”

“Possible,” Hank said. “But not very likely. They may only be using it occasionally, or just found out about it, or any number of other things we haven’t thought of. Did you get to talk to your folks about this?”

“Yes. And they saw a report on the news this morning, and that the man had a piece of paper in his pocket with my father’s name on it. But my father knows nothing about another Joshua Young. He admits that his parents hardly ever discussed family, and supposes that Joshua could be his brother. He seems totally confused about it.”

“Maybe the murdered man was mentally challenged,” Tina said, “and hidden away because it was such a stigma back then.”

Leslie’s eyes widened. “Hidden away in a secret room?”

“That would explain a lot,” Hank said. “Except for who’s in there now, supposing both that there’s a secret room and a person is making the noises we’ve been hearing.”

Tina jumped up. “If that’s true,” she whispered, “they might be able to hear what we’re saying. And the tapping we’ve been doing on the wall.”

Hank stood up. “Let’s finish that, then start going through everything we can to see if there’re are any papers that can give us some clues.”

“One more question,” Leslie said. “Why isn’t this Joshua Young in the genealogy?”

Tina and Hank stared at her. Finally Tina said, “Maybe it was written after the fact by someone who didn’t know of his existence. Does that Bible have a publishing date on it?”

“I never thought to look.” Leslie started for the stairs. “I’ll go get it.”

“Not by yourself,” Hank said. “We’ll all go. We need to check on Brandon, too.”

Tina and Leslie exchanged horrified glances. “I knew we never should have left him alone,” Tina rushed past Leslie and ran down the stairs.

Brandon snored quietly on the bed. It didn’t look as if he’d moved since Tina last saw him.

“He’s okay.” Leslie took a deep breath. “I’m going to wake him up, though, and get him home. Mom can watch over him.”

“That’s a good idea,” Hank said.

Leslie gently shook Brandon’s shoulder. “Wake up, sleepy head. Let’s go home to mama.”

He woke slowly, blinking, then sat up, swinging his feet to the floor. He rubbed the back of his head and winced. “Sis. What’re you doing here?”

Leslie laughed. “I live here, silly.”

Brandon looked at Tina, his glance lingering on her face, then he noticed Hank standing in the doorway, and gazed at the floor. “The gang’s all here, I see. Find anything interesting in the attic while I napped?”

“No,” Hank said. “We barely started when Leslie decided to come back. We’ve been catching her up on what we’ve found out so far.”

“I’m taking you home.” Leslie touched his shoulder, frowning. “It looks as if you could use some more sleep.”

Brandon stood up quickly, then wobbled. “I’m fine.” His voice sounded weak, and Leslie shook her head.

“No, you’re not.”

“Need to go to the office.”

“It’s Sunday.”

“Oh. Okay. Mom’s not going to be happy.”

Leslie stared at him. “You’re right. This will upset her. Damn.”

Brandon sank back onto the bed. “Let me just stay here and rest.”

“Not alone,” Hank said. “We need to stick together at all times while in this house.”

“Hank’s right,” Leslie said. “Everyone out. Brandon, I’m taking you back to your place and letting you sleep until you’re all slept out. Tina and Hank, I’m sure you can think of something to do with yourselves.”

Tina and Hank exchanged glances.

“Look,” Leslie said. “This is my house. My problem. Right now I want everyone out while we can think about what to do next. Get up, Brandon, Put your shoes on. We’re leaving.”

Tina stared at her friend. She’d never her seen her take charge before. She had always been a follower. Then Tina realized that Leslie ran a business, one that was doing well. She’d changed over the years, and Tina hadn’t noticed until now.

Brandon put on his shoes and stood up, less wobbly, Tina noticed. Downstairs, they checked each door to be sure it was locked, then went outside and stood in the driveway.

Leslie turned to Tina. “I’ll call you when I think Brandon is okay to stay by himself. After that I’m going to camp out at the parents’ until I figure out what to do next. Thanks so much for putting up with me and my house.” She looked up at it. “I love it. I won’t give it up.” She took Brandon’s arm and settled him into the passenger seat of her car and, with a wave, drove off.

Tina and Hank stood looking at each other. “What should we do now?” Tina asked.

“Talk to the old folks.”

Tina’s eyes widened. “Which old folks did you have in mind?”

“Your mother and uncle. My mother. Leslie can talk to her parents some more. Anyone we can find who knew the Youngs way back when.”

“Okay, that could be interesting. Who first?”

“How about your place? Two birds with one stone.”

Tina grinned. “You getting ready to match Uncle Bob cliché for cliché? I’m not sure Mom would like you calling her a bird.”

Hank smiled. “Probably not, or killing her, especially inside a cliché. I’ll follow you home.”

When they walked into the house, Tina called out that she was home. No one answered. “They must have gone to church.” She looked at Hank. He had the intense expression that she knew meant he wanted her but wouldn’t do a thing about it. She turned away and walked to the kitchen, not knowing what to do.

“Coffee?” Her voice was so faint, she wasn’t sure he could hear her.

“Okay.” He sounded indifferent and wouldn’t look at her.

She stood there. “What are we going to do?”

H reached out a hand to her, then let it fall to his side. “I don’t know. It’s all up to you.”

She heard tires on the gravel driveway and relaxed. “They’re home.”

Hank nodded and sat down at the kitchen table.

By the time Laura, Uncle Bob, and Princess came in, she’s set up the coffee maker and was putting out cream and sugar. Uncle Bob carried an Anthony’s bag that smelled of seafood.

She smiled and took it from him to open on the kitchen counter.

“Hello to you, too, miss,” Uncle Bob said as he hung up Princess’s leash.

Tina laughed and turned to face him so he could read her lips. “Sorry. Hello.”

Laura looked from Tina to Hank. “What’s wrong?”

Tina took a deep breath. Her mother never missed a thing. She poured cream into a pitcher, and set it on the table. “We ran into some problems at Leslie’s. You haven’t heard or read the news this morning?”

“No.” Uncle Bob glanced at the Sunday paper, still in its wrapper on the built-in kitchen desk. Then he sat down, and Princess sat beside him, looking alert.

Tina didn’t know where to start. Then she decided. “Worst news first.”

Laura frowned. “You sit down so Uncle Bob can read your lips, and I’ll set the food out. Good thing we bought a lot. Nice to see you, Hank.”

Hank smiled at her and nodded.

Tina waited until her mother finished arranging the seafood and French fries on a platter, took the lid off the coleslaw, and set out plates, and sat down. “Well?” she asked.

“Okay. A man was murdered outside of Leslie’s house last night.”

“What?” Both Uncle and Laura said together, eyes wide, mouths gaping.

“Who?” Uncle Bob asked.

“How?” Laura said at the same time.

“They’re not sure of his identity, but he had a piece of paper in his pocket with the name Joshua Young printed on it.”

“Not Leslie’s father?” Laura looked stunned. “Surely they’d be able to identify him by now.”

“No. Her father is fine. Someone else with the same name.”

“That’s very odd.” Laura took a sip of her coffee. “Does Leslie’s father know this man?”

“He says he doesn’t.” Hank used the tongs to grab a few fried clams and put them on his plate.

Laura raised her eyebrows. “You don’t believe him?”

Hank shrugged. “I haven’t talked to him. Leslie did.”

Uncle Bob looked astonished. “You think Josh is lying?”

“Not necessarily. He could be hiding something, though. If he is, I’m sure he has his reasons.”

Tina hadn’t thought of Mr. Young lying to Leslie. Which was why, she guessed, she wasn’t a police officer. She stared at Hank.

“What?” He put the tongs down and looked back at her.

“You’re so suspicious.”

“Need to be.”

She wondered if he’d missed something in New York, had believed what wasn’t true. She suppressed a sigh.

“What else happened?” Laura asked impatiently.

Tina gaped at her. “How did you know anything else had?”

Laura smiled. “Mother’s intuition.”

Annoyed, Tina blurted out, “Brandon was attacked.”

This time, neither mother nor uncle said anything. They just stared at her.

“We were in the attic, I started sneezing, and he went downstairs to get some tissues. He was hit from behind. By the time Hank and I got there, no one else was around.” She tuned to Hank. “Come to think of it, whoever it was got away awfully quick. Did you hear footsteps?”

“You’re right. No, I didn’t hear anything except Brandon falling.”

“Is he all right?” Laura asked.

“Seems to be,” Hank said.

“And how’s Leslie?” Laura moved a friend shrimp around on her plate.

“Shook up,” Tina answered. “She decided no one should go back inside the house until we learn more about Joshua Young and about the house itself, if we can. What do you and Uncle Bob know about it, if anything?”

Uncle Bob cleared his throat. “I can probably tell you who Joshua Young is.”