The Virginia Mysteries Collection: Books 1-3

by Steven K. Smith

  “Would you boys like something to eat?” Aunt Karen opened her eyes, springing back to life.

  Old people sure could be creepy.

  The boys thanked Aunt Karen for passing along the information and said they were headed back to the Wythe House. She pointed them in the direction of the Historic Area. Since she lived right in town, it was only a matter of cutting through a few lawns and parking lots until they saw the old wooden fences dead ahead.

  As they proceeded up Duke of Gloucester Street, Sam got even more nervous. On the way, he’d tried to explain to Derek that Jerry could be waiting for them. He insisted they stay close to the buildings rather than march down the middle of the street. This would make it harder for Jerry to spot them. Sam half expected Jerry to jump out at them from behind every building.

  As they walked past the stocks, the Wythe House came into view.

  “Sam!” a voice called out across the street.

  Startled, Sam nearly fell into a horse trough that was full of water. He recovered enough to see a figure walking toward them in the sunlight.

  “Hey, Caitlin. Fancy meeting you here.”

  “Hi, Derek.” Caitlin looked at Sam leaning against the water trough. “What’s the matter, Sam? You look like you saw a ghost!”

  “The ghost of Patrick Henry!” laughed Derek. “He’s worried that Jerry is going to grab him.”

  “For good reason,” replied Sam, standing up straight. “He is here, you know.” He didn’t understand why no one else was taking it seriously.

  “Where are your parents, Caitlin?” asked Derek.

  “I, uh, told them I was going on a tour with your family,” she confessed. “Where are your parents?”

  Sam thought about how they’d lied to Mom and Dad. He was excited to find things on their own, but he knew they shouldn’t be lying.

  “They’re busy at the chapel reliving their wedding vows,” said Derek. “They think we’re at Aunt Karen’s. But as long as we do this quickly, we should be able to beat them home. You can call your parents from there.”

  “Okay, well what are we waiting for?” asked Caitlin. “Let’s go see the Wythe House!”

  THIRTEEN

  The Solar Microscope

  The three kids stood under an oak tree up the street from the Wythe House. They eyed the building as if they were a couple of advance scouts for General Washington’s army. Derek filled Caitlin in on his plan for getting back to the study and the solar microscope.

  When it looked like no one was watching, Derek led them behind the Wythe House, sneaking past the stable and kitchen outbuildings next to the gardens. The grounds seemed empty in the late afternoon, so they walked straight up the path to the back of the house. Derek pulled at the door, but it was locked.

  “Okay, it’s locked. Let’s go,” urged Sam.

  Caitlin moved off the stairs and pointed to a short window near the ground. It was covered by wide white slats.

  “What about down there?” she suggested. “Is that the basement? Maybe we could we get in there.”

  “Good idea!” said Derek. They followed him to the side of the house where several stone steps led down to an old black door. A thick chain hung loose from an open lock.

  Sam gave Caitlin an annoyed glance. It was a good idea, but he wished they would just leave.

  Derek pulled at the door. It slowly creaked open. Poking his head through, he waved that the coast was clear.

  Inside, they saw what looked like an open storage room with closets. Wooden boxes and extra furnishings lay strewn in the corners. One of the walls contained a hefty stone fireplace. The ceiling was a series of huge wooden beams holding up the floor above them. The beams were dark brown and roughly sawn, like they were from an old barn. It reminded him of the basement at St. John’s Church.

  “Here are the stairs,” called Caitlin from around the corner.

  Together they scaled the stairs, cracking open the door at the top. Sam peered around Derek’s head and recognized the bright blue wallpaper. They were in the hallway on the first floor. They paused to listen for the tour guide walking around, but they didn’t hear anything. Derek waved them forward, and they scrambled into the hall, tiptoeing up the stairway to George Wythe’s study.

  When they entered the room, the boys went quickly over to the window. The solar microscope was no longer fastened onto the shutter. They looked around the table and found it lying among the other instruments.

  “Do you remember how to put it back on the shutter?” Caitlin asked Sam.

  “I think so,” he replied, carefully picking up the old device. He placed it through the hole in the shutter as he’d seen their tour guide do earlier.

  Caitlin listened at the door for anyone coming up the stairs. They agreed that if anyone caught them, they would act like they were lost from a tour. That wouldn’t be so easy if they were caught fooling with the solar microscope. They’d just have to wing it.

  Derek helped adjust the clamps, and soon the microscope was held firm against the shutter.

  “I don’t know if this is exactly right, but it should work for now,” said Derek. “Sam, put the key into the slide spot and cross your fingers.”

  Sam took the rectangular piece out of his pocket and slid it between the metal holders. He tried to remember how the tour guide had placed the glass flea slide. When it seemed secure, Sam stepped back and looked at the wall.

  Nothing happened.

  “What’s wrong? I put our key slide in just like he did before,” explained Sam. After all this, could they have the wrong device? Was it all just a wild goose chase?

  Caitlin looked over from the doorway. “Did you adjust the lens?”

  “Oh, right,” replied Sam. He should have thought of that. He looked closely at the microscope. If he could only figure out which piece adjusted the lens.

  “Here, let me try,” said Caitlin, suddenly standing next to him. “My dad has a microscope at home. Maybe it works the same way.”

  She tilted the round piece of glass a bit higher to catch the late-day sun and then turned a delicate looking dial.

  Sam looked up at the wall and began to see the round spotlight. But was there anything inside it? Caitlin turned the dial some more, and he began to see some lines.

  “Can you close those other shutters?” Caitlin pointed to the window on the far wall. “I think it’ll work better if the room’s really dark.”

  Sam went over and pulled the hinged shutters closed. They let out a loud creak as they banged shut against the window.

  “Sam! Be quiet about it,” scolded Derek.

  Sam hoped that no one had heard the noise from outside. As the room grew darker, the round light on the wall became more prominent. Caitlin gave the dial one more turn.

  “Look at that!” said Sam, running over to the wall. He saw a series of dark squares and lines.

  “What is it?” asked Derek, stepping further back to get a wider look. “Are those shapes?”

  “I think it’s…a map,” said Caitlin, moving from the microscope to the wall. “Look, these boxes are buildings, and this outside mark is like a fence. Maybe it marks off a piece of property. And what are these little words on this big rectangle?” She moved up close and tried to read.

  “W…H…, no that’s a Y....W, Y, T…Wythe, it says Wythe! Is it the Wythe House? Maybe a map of the Wythe House property? It has to be!”

  “Oh yeah,” said Derek. “You’re right. See, here’s the servant’s house that we were in front of this morning. Back here are the gardens, and here are the stables.”

  “And look!” added Sam. “There’s an ‘X’! X marks the spot, right? It looks like the back corner of the garden. That must be where Jefferson’s copy of the Declaration is buried! Sweet!”

  They’d done it! They’d figured out the mystery!

  As Sam gave Derek a big high five, another shadow filled the wall next to the spotlight.

  “Very impressive!” said a voice booming from the hallway.


  Sam’s heart stopped. He knew that voice too well.

  He turned and saw Jerry standing in the doorway. Memories of being trapped in the basement on Church Hill flooded his mind.

  “What do you want? Leave us alone!” he cried.

  “I have to say, I never would have expected a couple of kids to figure out the riddle before me,” Jerry said. “And look, you brought a little friend. Were you involved in this caper too, young lady? I’ll bet you are the brains behind the operation.”

  “I don’t know who you think you are, but we found this secret, not you,” responded Caitlin in a fiery voice. “We’re going to leave now, and then we’re going to tell the police and the head of Colonial Williamsburg what we found.”

  “And the FBI!” shouted Derek.

  Sam looked up at the man. He had forgotten how big and tall he was. Sam pictured Jerry squeezing the air out of him in a giant bear hug.

  “Oh, I have to disagree with you,” Jerry laughed. “It’s not your secret. It’s mine. I’ve been searching for this much longer than you have. If this one here,” he pointed down at Sam, “hadn’t stumbled upon the couple of idiots that were working for me over at the church, you’d never have known about my little treasure.”

  He walked over and pulled the key slide out of the microscope. “I appreciate you making all the noise with the shutter. I may not have found you up here otherwise.”

  Sam shook his head. He should have been more careful with the shutter.

  “And I don’t think you’re going to be telling anyone about this, either,” Jerry added in an even deeper voice than usual. His hand reached inside his fancy coat.

  Sam couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Jerry holding a gun! It was one of those old revolver types from colonial times. Was that real or just a prop for the show? It was hard to tell, but Sam wasn’t about to find out. He pictured himself lying on the floor in George Wythe’s study, crying out that he’d been murdered, just like poor George!

  “Let’s go,” Jerry barked. “All of you, down the stairs!”

  Derek seemed like he was thinking about trying to be the hero. Sam tried to get his attention and shook his head. Caitlin had a look on her face that Sam had never seen before. She was staring at the revolver, but he couldn’t tell whether she was scared to death or just really mad. Sam took her hand and they followed Derek out of the room.

  Jerry followed behind them holding the gun in one hand and the key he’d taken out of the microscope in the other. He marched them all the way down to the basement, ordering them against the wall next to the big fireplace.

  “What are you going to do to us?” Derek demanded. “Our parents know where we are. They’ll be looking for us any minute!”

  Sam started to feel even worse about lying now. He realized that Mom and Dad had no idea where they were. He’d told Aunt Karen, but who knows if she remembered what they’d said. And now Caitlin was mixed up in this, too.

  “You kids are going to take a little time off from your snooping so I can have some peace and quiet. Just sit tight and relax. By the time they find you in the morning, I’ll be long gone. Nighty-night!”

  FOURTEEN

  The Basement

  The heavy door slammed shut. They heard the lock turn and a chain jingled on the door. Sam could picture Jerry looping the thick black chain through the latch. There was no way they could get out now.

  As Jerry’s shoes clackety-clacked up the stone steps, a different voice called out. “Hello, Jerry.”

  Sam recognized it as their tour guide from earlier.

  “I was just coming to lock up for the day, but I see that you already have. Is everything squared away in there?”

  Sam jumped at the sound of the other voice. All the kids started yelling as loud as they could.

  “Help! Down here!” but their voices were drowned out by a thunderous boom. The cannons were going off at the Governor’s Palace again. When the explosions ended, there were no more voices outside. The tour guide must have left.

  When they realized their yelling wasn’t getting them anywhere, Sam, Derek and Caitlin rested silently against the cold stone wall.

  Sam looked up at the wooden ceiling beams and moaned. “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t think anyone is coming back here until the morning,” said Caitlin. “That cannon means that tours are done for the day and the buildings are all closing.”

  Derek stood up and walked around the room. “Okay, let’s not panic! We’ll find a way out of this. Sam, do you remember last summer when I got stuck in the cave with the lost coins? I started to get nervous and freaked out. I thought I was going to die in that cave. It was awful.”

  “Wow, thanks for the pep talk, Derek,” said Sam. “You should be a motivational speaker. Are you trying to make us feel even worse?”

  “No, listen. I’m not done. We can’t let ourselves get down. I found a way out of that, and we’ll find a way out of this, too. We just have to think. Maybe there’s another exit out of here.”

  “That’s not likely, Derek,” sighed Sam. He was starting to feel helpless.

  “I think Derek’s right,” said Caitlin. “Maybe there is some other way out of here. My research said George Washington also used this house for a short time. It was his headquarters for the colonial army during the revolution. Maybe there is a secret escape route.”

  Sam looked out the small window near the ceiling and could tell it would be dark soon. He pictured spending the night on the cold floor in the old house. A chill ran down his spine.

  He walked over to the big stone fireplace, wishing there was a fire going to keep them warm. He leaned in and peered up at the chimney. Maybe they could climb out that way? When he saw that it was bricked off, he slumped down on the floor in defeat.

  “I wonder where Jerry is now,” said Caitlin.

  “He’s probably back in the gardens digging up the Declaration at the spot on the map,” answered Derek. “Jefferson’s letter said it was lying in a shallow grave, right? That sounds like it was buried.”

  Sam leaned his head against the fireplace. “I just want to get out of here!” he yelled and kicked the stone with his foot in frustration. “Ouch!” he moaned even louder. His toe started throbbing.

  “Smooth, Sam,” said Derek. “Let’s try not to hurt ourselves. We’ve got enough trouble as it is.”

  “Are you okay, Sam?” asked Caitlin.

  “Yeah, sorry, that was dumb,” he answered. “I just wanted to…” He didn’t finish his sentence because he looked at the side of the fireplace and saw that a piece of the stone had chipped away. There was an opening about the size of a brick in the side of the fireplace.

  “Look at that!” Sam exclaimed.

  Derek and Caitlin walked over to the fireplace and looked where Sam was pointing.

  “No way!” shouted Derek. “Is that an opening? Maybe it really is a secret passage?”

  “Look there,” pointed Caitlin, “what are those letters etched into the stone?”

  “G.W.,” read Sam. “George Wythe?”

  “Or it could be George Washington,” said Caitlin. “Maybe it’s a secret escape tunnel from the revolution. They could have needed one to get the general out of the house.”

  “I don’t care whose initials they are,” said Derek. “Move out of the way. We have to see if that hole opens any further and see where it leads. Maybe we just found our way out of here.”

  Derek gave the side of the fireplace his best karate kick. Lo and behold, another chunk of stone fell away. A dark empty space had opened up behind it. After a few more kicks, he’d cleared an opening large enough for them to crawl through.

  Sam leaned his head into the passage and tried to look around, but it was pitch black. He couldn’t see a thing. “I wish we had a flashlight or something. There’s no telling what’s in there or where it leads.”

  “We don’t have time to worry about that,” answered Derek. “We’ll just have to risk it.
Come on!”

  Derek held his hand out in front of him, feeling his path as he climbed through the hole. He inched forward a few steps and then called back to the others. “There’s stairs going down. They must lead under the house. Come on, just be careful.”

  Sam and Caitlin followed, carefully descending the stone staircase. They walked single-file along the narrow passageway in the darkness, holding hands so they didn’t get separated. At the bottom of the stairs the ceiling dropped low, and they had to lean over to walk.

  Sam imagined General George Washington and George Wythe sneaking through the passageway with a candle held out in front of them. Maybe the British had been in the house upstairs and a fast horse had been waiting by the trees. They must have been nervous. He could relate to that.

  Sam wished he had a candle now.

  They moved along the passage a bit at a time. Derek kept testing the floor in front of them with his hand to make sure they didn’t smack into a wall or fall into a hole.

  The human chain stopped suddenly. “What’s the matter?” Sam called up to Derek.

  “There’s a wall here. It’s a dead end.”

  “No! That can’t be,” Sam cried. “Why would anyone build a passage like this that leads to nowhere? It doesn’t make any sense!”

  “Maybe it used to lead somewhere and they closed it off,” sighed Derek in frustration. “I guess we need to turn around.”

  “Wait,” said Caitlin. “What if it does lead somewhere?”

  “Caitlin, I know you’re smart and all,” answered Derek, “but I told you there’s a stone wall here. It’s a dead end, we’re stuck.”

  “I know, but what if it doesn’t keep going straight. What if it goes up?”

  “I don’t feel any stairs,” said Derek.

  “What if there is something else…” She started feeling the stone above them with her hands. “Something like this!”

  Sam reached his hand up and was surprised to feel a section in the ceiling made of wood. It felt like a door! They all moved underneath the wood section, pushing with their hands as hard as they could. The boards inched up, but then smacked right back down against the stone.