Chapter 8. Wretchedly Wrong QuestionsWillis, Zortegus, and roxy222 arrived at the library first. Jean Lucio insisted on finishing his masterpiece in the studio. In reality, the three suspected that Jean mostly just wanted to avoid Terry Craig, who he still suspected of being Daniel Handler.
“Okay, team,” Willis instructed, “While we’re waiting for the others, we need to pull everything we can find here on missing persons, the building, passageways, anything. This isn’t just a missing persons case anymore - this is a conspiracy.”
“You got it, boss,” roxy222 answered. She much preferred this teamwork-oriented approach to problem-solving to Bee’s dictatorial directives. Before the three could set about their work, however, a bookshelf on the wall opposite the entrance began to shake.
“Uh … did you guys see that?” Zortegus asked.
The bookshelf shook some more. And some more. Soon, it began to topple, and before anyone knew what to do, klausfan1, Antenora, Hermes, and Terry Craig poured out of the tunnel, coughing, sputtering, and covered in dust and dirt.
“Yes, we were definitely supposed to take that second left,” Antenora coughed, reindeer antlers drawn. “We should have come out of that bookshelf,” she pointed to a shelf a few feet away, which was clearly attached to hinges and looked like it might have even been used recently. “Sorry, everyone.”
“Antenora! Thank goodness it’s you,” Willis said, relieved.
“Couldn’t you hear us screaming?!” klausfan1 asked, outraged.
“No,” roxy222 answered, “We actually couldn’t.”
“The passageways are soundproof,” Antenora explained, “As I tried to tell you when you were screaming.”
Willis had already explained what he knew about the passageways to Zortegus and roxy222 on their way from the art studio. “Some of us used to use them to surprise our friends with gifts,” he told them, “but I don’t think any of them are still in use.”
“I didn’t think any of the passageways were still in use,” Willis said to the group.
“Apparently this one isn’t,” klausfan1 noted, still recovering from all the stairs, and the panic of thinking he would die in a tunnel. And then, “Good God, Willis, what are you wearing?”
“It was a gift,” Willis explained.
“Where’s Grinchelaiire?” Hermes asked the group. “Wasn’t she supposed to be with you?”
Zortegus, Willis, and roxy222 looked at each other.
“We sort of lost her,” roxy222 broke the news.
“Lost her?” Terry Craig was confused. “What do you mean, you lost her? Where did she go?”
“We have no idea,” Zortegus answered. “One moment, we were all looking at a wall in the art studio, and the next moment, baudelaiire was missing. Jean Lucio couldn’t see anything over his ‘Willis Wonderland’ canvas, so he wasn’t any help.”
“Willis Wonder - what?” Terry Craig asked. “Jean Lucio was in the art studio when you arrived? He could have kidnapped ewok40.”
“No, we already discussed that,” roxy222 shook her head. “When we arrived, the painting he was working on had several layers and was still completely wet with paint. He had to have been working on it the whole time we were in the lobby, or it would have dried already. And he was still with us even after baudelaiire disappeared, so he couldn’t have kidnapped her.”
“Urgh,” Terry Craig grunted. “I don’t understand how you could lose one of your own people. You only had the four of you to keep track of.”
“Well, aren’t you a great detective?” Zortegus retorted. “If you’re so good at keeping track of your own people, then where’s Antenora?”
Everyone looked around and realized that, indeed, Antenora was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m over here!” she called from the Mystery section a few paces away. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except Zortegus, who had seen her walk over moments before and just wanted to make a point. Antenora returned with a thick tome titled
Be Sure to Lock Your Homes by author Cone N. Toil. “This was on the floor,” Antenora told the group, “I thought it was unusual, given how tidy Dante normally keeps this place, though I suppose he is away.”
“I’ve read this,” Hermes realized. “May I?” He retrieved the book from Antenora’s hands and flipped through the pages. “In the stories, Detective Don Watsoff solves a series of thefts by analysing a document of initials,” he summarizes, pronouncing “analyzing” in an especially British way. “The initials represent the item that will go missing next, and they use the final item as bait to catch the thief.” Hermes paused and furrowed his brow. “For some reason, I can’t recall how it ends, though it was once one of my favourite books.”
“Age might be catching up with you,” klausfan1 suggested. roxy222 glared at him. “Sorry.”
As klausfan1 said “Sorry,” Anka and MisterM burst through the library’s double doors. “We lost Marlowe,” Anka admitted.
By this point, no one was surprised.
