The Virginia Mysteries Collection: Books 1-3

by Steven K. Smith

  Sam’s cheeks flushed, realizing that he must have sounded like a pig. Caitlin didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so it was just her and her mom and dad. “No, I meant I like both. We can have either. I didn’t mean we have to have both—”

  “No, not a problem,” said Mrs. Murphy. “Hot dogs and mac and cheese it is.” She took a step down the sidewalk. “Let’s go, guys. The car is parked up here.”

  Oh brother, thought Sam. He didn’t want to impose, but he was too hungry to argue.

  Caitlin shook her head and followed her mom, pushing Sam on the shoulder as she passed.

  “What?” asked Sam, innocently. “I do like both!”

  TEN

  Later that night, Sam was back home and getting ready for bed. He stood next to Derek at the bathroom sink, both of them brushing their teeth. They’d shared one room with bunk beds when they first moved in. It had been fun to have company in a new house, talking to each other in bed at night, listening to the wind blow through the tall trees outside. But after a while, they started getting on each other’s nerves. Sometimes Sam just wanted to be alone. Their mom and dad had agreed to split them up, moving Sam to the extra guest room.

  The bathroom had doors on both ends, providing direct access to their two bedrooms. Their mom called it a Jack and Jill layout, which seemed like a stupid name to Sam. Of course, Derek immediately began saying that his room was the ‘Jack’ and Sam’s was the ‘Jill.’ Now Sam just wished he had a private bathroom.

  Derek finished brushing and stood shirtless in his pajama pants, admiring himself in the mirror. “So how was your date?”

  Sam nearly choked on his toothpaste, glaring up at his brother in the mirror. “Shut up,” he garbled. “It wasn’t a date.”

  “Did you have dinner?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you watch a movie?”

  “Sure, but—”

  “Sounds like a date to me,” Derek said, laughing. “What movie did you watch?”

  Sam spit into the sink, wiping his mouth on a towel. He was about to argue further, but decided to let it go. “E.T.. It was really good.”

  “Did you cuddle?”

  “That’s it!” Sam grabbed Derek’s arm and moved in for a bear hug. Derek reacted quickly and wriggled loose, sending Sam’s hand smacking onto on the sink counter and knocking his toothbrush off the edge. Plop! It sank right into the open toilet. “Derek!”

  “What? I didn’t do it. You attacked me. It’s not my fault you gave your toothbrush a royal flush.”

  Sam grimaced and let out a long sigh.

  “Admit it, I’m just too strong for you!” said Derek, squeezing his raised bicep into a muscle. “Ooh, look at that.”

  Sam fished his toothbrush out of the toilet bowl, rinsing it thoroughly under the sink faucet. “Look at what?”

  “My muscle. You can’t handle my guns.” Derek raised his arms up to his head and kissed his “guns” like a professional wrestler.

  All Sam saw was Derek’s regular, skinny arms. He looked away in disgust, still annoyed by his brother calling his time with Caitlin a date, not to mention his toothbrush flying into the toilet.

  Sam thought Derek had to be the cockiest twelve-year-old around. Their mom and dad always said they dreaded the day that both of them would be teenagers given all the mischief they seemed to get into already. Now that Derek was in middle school, he seemed more convinced than ever that he was super tough and super cool. More like super annoying. All of which made it even more surprising that Cameron and the other guys had been hassling him earlier.

  Sam walked into his room, more grateful than ever for his own space. Lying on his bed, he thought about what Mr. Haskins had said about brother fighting against brother in the Civil War. He glanced over at Derek’s room, thinking that it might not be so bad to be on an even battle ground with his brother occasionally. Not for real, though. Not with actual weapons and to the death.

  Sam had never thought much about being a soldier, but it seemed scary. He knew it was important to have people who were soldiers to keep everyone safe, but he was happy to let somebody else do that. Did that make him a chicken? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t know what he wanted to be when he grew up, other than a professional baseball player, but he was pretty sure that soldier would be far down the list.

  He got up and sat down next to his bookcase, searching the titles printed on the colorful spines until he found a thick hardcover called The History of the World for Kids that his uncle Drew had bought him. He was always buying them books. Sam wasn’t sure why. He guessed it had something to do with him being a teacher. Some of the books were a little strange, but most were interesting.

  Sam especially liked this one. It had page after page of pictures and descriptions of important things and events in history, like the Egyptian pyramids, the Apollo moon landing, and all the major wars. He flipped through the pages until he reached the section on the Civil War. There were several grainy, black and white photos. One was of two tall, thin men looking serious in front of a cannon. Another showed a wooden fence and a wide field, with dead bodies scattered in the grass. Across the page, he spied something he recognized.

  “It’s General Lee,” he said aloud. It was a picture of the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue. He was sure of it.

  “The General Lee?” Derek asked, walking into the room through the bathroom door. “You found a picture of the car? I love it how it makes all those cool jumps! I’m going to get a sweet sports car like that when I get my license in a few years.”

  Sam looked up from his book. “Don’t you ever knock?” Derek was always barging into places unexpectedly. The car that he was talking about was from an old TV show called The Dukes of Hazzard that they’d seen at their grandpa’s house before they moved. An orange car the characters had named the General Lee was always getting chased by the cops and doing all sorts of crazy maneuvers. Grandpa loved it for some reason, but it always seemed a little silly to Sam. Although, it was cool how the car doors never opened and the guys always slid in through the windows. He didn’t think his mom and dad would like it much if he tried to do that in their minivan. He probably couldn’t even jump that high.

  “The door was open,” said Derek, innocently. “What are you looking at?” He leaned down and snatched the book from Sam’s hands. “Oh, I love this book.”

  “Hey, I’m looking at it!” Sam grabbed it back and socked his brother on the shoulder. “Get out of here!”

  “Okay, okay,” Derek backed away, but he sat down on Sam’s bed instead of leaving. “I’m sorry, dude. Relax. Seriously, what are you looking at?”

  Sam took a breath and tried to focus back on his book. “I’m looking at this chapter about the Civil War. Right here is a picture of the General Robert E. Lee statue I saw today outside Mrs. Murphy’s bookstore. It was while you were at soccer practice. On the way home she drove us all the way down Monument Avenue. It was filled with statues on nearly every block. It was crazy.” He described to Derek the biker gang and the rally around the Lee monument. “It got me thinking about what Mr. Haskins said about brothers fighting against brothers in the Civil War.”

  “Well,” said Derek, standing up in the middle of the room. He danced back and forth like a boxer, raising his fists to Sam. “It could have been you and me, Sam, fighting to the death!” He threw a pretend punch to Sam’s chin.

  “It wasn’t a fist fight,” said Sam, standing up. “But if it was, I’d be in the Northern Army.” He dodged a left hook from his brother. “You’d lose.”

  “Ha!” Derek threw a phantom punch at Sam’s chest. “Well, then I’d get the General Lee and do awesome car jumps.” He hit Sam’s stomach with a sneaky jab and scampered back to his room before Sam could retaliate. “Retreat!”

  Sam sat down on his rug to read more from his book, keeping watch out of the corner of his eye in case Derek came back. It said that Lee’s army defended Richmond against the Union army, led by General Ulysses S. Gran
t, for ten months. In early 1865, Lee’s troops evacuated, sending the city into chaos. Supplies of whiskey were set on fire, artillery exploded at the Tredegar Ironworks factory where they made the ammunition, and people rioted and looted in the panic. Before long, more than fifty blocks of the city were on fire. The only thing that saved the rest of Richmond from destruction was the Union Army marching in the next morning and putting out the fires.

  Sam stopped reading. He tried to imagine the city in flames, just like Mr. Haskins had imagined his dandelion-filled yard.

  “Hey, I just have one more question,” Derek interrupted, sticking his head through the doorway again.

  Sam sighed and closed the book, looking up at his brother. “What is it?”

  “Did you kiss her?”

  “Will you get out of here?!” Sam grabbed a pillow off the floor next to him, heaving it at the doorway.

  Derek pulled back just in time, and the pillow crashed up against a Yankees poster on the wall. “Missed me!” he laughed, slamming the door shut before Sam could reload.

  I don’t need a separate room, thought Sam. I need a separate house!

  ELEVEN

  The next morning, the boys were outside playing catch in the yard when a white SUV pulled up to their house.

  “Who is that?” asked Derek.

  Before Sam could answer, the back door opened and Caitlin jumped out. “Hey, guys!”

  Derek tapped Sam on the shoulder and gave him an obnoxious smirk.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Sam. He didn’t remember making any plans for her to come by.

  “I brought you this,” Caitlin replied, holding out a book. “You left it at my house. I thought you’d want it back.”

  It was the submarine book he’d bought at the bookstore. “Oh, that’s what happened to it. I’ve been looking all over for that.” The edge of the cover was torn from where the biker had knocked it right out of his hand, but it was still a book he hadn’t read yet. “Thanks!”

  The SUV’s front window rolled down and Mrs. Murphy waved. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes to get you, Caitlin. I just have to stop at the dry cleaners. Hi, boys!”

  “Hey, Mrs. Murphy,” answered Sam.

  “Okay, Mom,” said Caitlin as her mom pulled away.

  A door creaked next to them on the cul-de-sac. Sam looked over to see Mr. Haskins flipping through a stack of envelopes in front of his mailbox. “Can you believe these are all bills? I don’t buy anything, and I still get nothing but bills. I tell you what!”

  “Hi, Mr. Haskins,” said Sam.

  The old man glanced up and came close to smiling. “How was your bike ride? See any ghosts over on Belle Isle?”

  Sam didn’t feel like getting into another long conversation with the man. He’d heard enough about ghosts to last him a long time. “Just fine…no ghosts,” he answered.

  Derek walked over. “Hey, Mr. Haskins, have you ever heard of the Confederate Ghosts? They’re apparently some kind of biker gang.”

  Sam shook his head, wishing Derek hadn’t opened his big mouth.

  Mr. Haskins turned around with a serious look on his face. “Now why would you ask a question like that, boy?” He put a hand against his mailbox and shifted his weight.

  “Sam had a run-in with them,” said Derek, laughing. “Caitlin here actually saved his life.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” said Sam. He didn’t really want to admit to being saved by a girl, even if it was Caitlin.

  Caitlin shook her head. “It was the biker’s fault. He needs to watch out more for pedestrians.”

  “Sam usually needs to watch where he’s going too,” teased Derek.

  “What’s that now?” asked Mr. Haskins.

  “Well, we were over on Monument Avenue the other day, and a whole bunch of them drove by on their motorcycles,” explained Sam. “They circled the Robert E. Lee monument in a big parade. They had the Confederate flag on their helmets and bikes, and Caitlin’s mom said they were called the Ghosts of the Confederacy.”

  “It’s like your story about the ghosts on Belle Isle,” said Derek. “So, do you know about them?”

  “Now listen,” Mr. Haskins said in a serious tone. “Those are some nasty fellas that you need to stay away from. I’m not joking with ya. They’re dangerous.”

  “Who are they?” asked Derek, his ears perking up at the word danger.

  “Just a group of dirty, no good scoundrels,” said Mr. Haskins.

  “You mean like neer-do-wells?” said Sam. That was a word he had learned on another adventure.

  “Hmph,” cackled Mr. Haskins. “Sure. Whatever you want to call them. They’re led by a particularly bad guy named DeWitt. But people call him Mad Dog.”

  “Mad Dog?” said Caitlin. “What kind of parent names their kid Mad Dog?”

  “I’m sure that’s not his real name,” said Sam.

  “Then why do they call him that?” asked Caitlin.

  “It’s probably a nickname. Just like how we call Sam, Jill,” said Derek.

  “Be quiet!” shouted Sam, faking a punch in Derek’s direction.

  “Hey, knock it off,” barked Mr. Haskins. He leaned closer to them, speaking in a low voice. “Legend goes that he killed a man down in Petersburg over a game of cards.”

  Yikes. Sam made a mental note not to play cards with Mad Dog DeWitt.

  “Was it Crazy Eights?” asked Derek. “I’m a pro at that game. I bet I could take him.”

  “Aw, don’t worry about that, boy,” muttered Mr. Haskins. “You just stay away from those fellas. They’ll bring you nothing but trouble.”

  “Okay,” said Sam. It wasn’t very hard for him to agree. He didn’t want to go anywhere near them, although he also didn’t imagine he’d ever see them again either—certainly not if he could help it. He waved the baseball at Derek and motioned to their house. “See ya, Mr. Haskins.”

  “Don’t mention it, boys.” Mr. Haskins turned back toward his kitchen door. “And stay off my grass!”

  “The Confederate Ghosts,” said Caitlin. “They seemed tough. I don’t like them, though. They’re rude.”

  “I bet they’re cool, riding around on those motorcycles, wind in their hair…” Derek seemed to drift off into an imaginary world as his speech stopped.

  “We’ll probably never see them again,” said Sam.

  “I wonder why they were circling General Lee’s statue?” asked Caitlin. “They must be paying tribute or something.”

  “I wish I’d been there. I love seeing cool monuments,” said Derek.

  “You know where you should go if you want to see more Civil War monuments?” said Caitlin.

  “Washington, D.C.?” said Derek.

  “No, Hollywood Cemetery,” replied Caitlin.

  “Oh, yeah, we’re going to Hollywood, baby!” exclaimed Derek. “Now how can we convince Meghan to take us to California before Mom and Dad get home? I’ve got it! We can get Paul to go there first. Meghan’s sure to follow him!”

  “Actually, she’d probably just call him on the phone,” said Sam, turning to Caitlin. “That’s all she ever does.”

  “I’m not talking about Hollywood, California,” said Caitlin. “Hollywood Cemetery. It’s in Richmond.”

  “Oh,” said Derek with a sigh. “That’s not as exciting.”

  “Isn’t that the name of the place in Mr. Haskins’ ghost story? He said the Union soldier ghosts from the island battled the Confederate soldier ghosts from Hollywood Cemetery on the river, or something crazy like that.”

  “Hmm,” said Caitlin. “I don’t know about all of that, but you totally should see it. There’s thousands of Confederate soldier graves there, plus two U.S. presidents. My parents took me there a couple years ago. Oh, and also Jefferson Davis’ grave.”

  “Wow, that is pretty cool,” said Sam, trying to focus on something other than all the ghost talk.

  “And one last thing,” said Caitlin. “And this is the best one of all.”

 
“Better than Jefferson Davis?” asked Derek, sarcastically. “I don’t know if that’s possible.” He grabbed the baseball from Sam’s glove and threw it high into the sky, his attention seeming to fade.

  Caitlin turned to Sam, eager to finish her thought. “There’s an enormous monument to the Confederate soldiers that looks like a giant pyramid. It’s amazing. I won’t tell you any more about it. You’ll have to see it for yourself to believe it.”

  Sam knew that Caitlin got a little over excited about history stuff, but a ginormous pyramid did sound pretty sweet. He’d never heard of such a thing in Richmond. “Maybe we can get Meghan to take us to Hollywood after all.”

  “Where is Meghan?” asked Caitlin. “I’ve never seen her. It seems like you guys are running around on your own since your parents left.”

  “Oh, she’s inside, probably on the phone with Paul,” answered Sam. “She’s here though, don’t worry.”

  “Yeah, it’s not like we tied her up and locked her in the closet or anything…” said Derek.

  Caitlin gave him a look that showed she wasn’t so sure.

  “What?” Derek laughed. “We didn’t. I promise.”

  “Okay,” said Caitlin. “When do your parents get home from Europe?”

  Sam thought for a moment. “Three days and four hours. But I’m not counting or anything.”

  A horn honked and Mrs. Murphy’s SUV pulled up to the end of the driveway again. “I gotta go,” said Caitlin. “Talk to you later. Let me know if you end up going to the cemetery. It’s really neat.”

  “We’ll take that under advisement,” said Derek.

  “Oh, and thanks for the book,” called Sam.

  TWELVE

  A burning smell greeted Sam at the front door as he walked in the house. He followed his nose to the kitchen and found three mini pizzas smoldering in the toaster oven, small tufts of smoke slipping into the air.

  “Meghan!”

  “So I told him that I need to be his number one priority. It’s a serious thing, you know?”