Murky Manor by Steven & Margaret Larson
Tony's breath was warm on her neck. It smelled faintly like onions and green peppers. The motion of the boat pushed her against him. She wished it would stop rocking. They must know that someone was onboard.
Bart took a step forward and there was a sudden snap. He paused and looked down.
Smiley chuckled and picked up the broken hair clip. "What have we here?" he said. A sneer spread across his face. "Looks like the little fashion plate was down this way."
"Maybe I'll get the chance to give her boyfriend that swimming lesson after all," Bart said.
"I wonder where they might have disappeared to?" Smiley almost sang the words as he stared at the boat cabin.
Meredith took a step back and pressed up against Tony. His hand squeezed her arm and he started to step past. Snarling and growling erupted outside. Meredith leaned forward. A white blur flashed by. Shouting was accompanied by pounding footsteps. The clamor ended abruptly with two loud splashes.
As the boys swam past the boat, Pirate followed them on the pier barking and growling. Then all was silent.
Meredith started giggling. "Sounds like Pirate's the one giving the swimming lessons."
"They should be getting pretty good at it by now." Tony said.
Meredith turned at the sound of soft thumping. Amari was opening and closing cabinet doors. Tony began searching shelves and drawers.
"What are you guys doing?" Meredith said. "We could be arrested for this." Would Heather be disgusted if she had a jail record, or would she be impressed? Of course her parents would be disappointed once they got over the shock.
"Here," Tony said, handing her several books. The shinny covers slipped in her hands and a paper fell out. She felt her nail break as she caught the books. Great, she thought. Where am I going to get a manicure?
Tony picked up the paper. "It's the newspaper clipping with the picture of the willow tree."
"That's the paper from the restaurant," Amari said. Spencer dropped it."
"Then it was you that left the bag of clothes in the gazebo," Meredith said.
Amari nodded. "But how did Spencer get the paper?"
"I left it in the turret room," Meredith said. "Spencer must have found it."
Tony put the clipping in the drawer and picked up a CD. "Donovan's Greatest Hits," he read.
"Donovan? Who's Donovan?" Meredith said as she shifted the books around.
Tony shrugged, and scanned the list of songs. "There's one called Atlantis."
"These books are all on Atlantis," Meredith said. "The History of Atlantis, Unearthing Atlantis, and Atlantis the Antediluvian World. Must be where he got the name for the boat."
"This is strange," Tony said as he examined a map on the wall. He tilted his head to read the printing. "It appears to be a map of the ocean floor . . ."
"We must find the sensor," Amari interrupted. "The water wisps have warned that time is short."
"Okay, okay." Tony opened a drawer and pulled out a glossy black wooden box. The lid had a white wood inlay in the shape of a trident. "Here's something." He opened the box. "It's paintings of cups." He pulled them out and spread them on the bunk. There were six.
"It looks like there's a whole collection of cups. How do we know which one is supposed to be causing all the trouble?" Meredith said.
Amari ran her fingers through her hair. "They are all the same."
"They can't be," Meredith said. "One is almost clear with a pink tint and etched flowers. One is solid black, and the others are shades of blue. . ."
"There's something on the corner of each picture," Tony said squinting at the paintings. "It's a signature. Captain Morgan. I think there's also a date."
He moved the paintings around and stood back. In the new order, the cups got progressively darker.
Amari pointed to the first picture where the cup was clear. "The water wisp warned that the sensor would get lighter as our worlds converged."
"But that's the oldest picture," Tony said. "The cup gets darker as time passes." He ran his finger over the pictures.
"The clear sensor is when it first came to your world. As our worlds drew apart, the sensor darkened."
"It was black when I first found it in Murky Manor," Meredith said. "When we left it in the shed, it was blue."
"Our worlds are coming together again," Amari said. "It brings the storm that approaches."
She leaned back against the wall. The boat started to sway. Meredith staggered. Curtains on the tiny cabin window billowed out and a breeze rustled the pictures.
"Better put those back in the box before something happens to them," Meredith said. "If the Captain painted those, I'd like to know how Spencer got them. Seems like they would have been part of the Murky Manor estate." She dumped the Atlantis books on the shelf, and a leather book fell over. It was Captain Morgan's journal.
Tony scooped up the paintings and laid them gently in the box. They could hear the soft patter of rain outside. The boat was rocking in its dock now. He gripped the railing along the wall as he put the box back in the drawer.
"We better get out of here," Meredith said. She pulled the silk scarf out of her pocket and wrapped it around the journal.
"What are you doing?" Tony had to raise his voice over the rising wind. The rain beat outside on the deck.
She stuffed the journal into her inside jacket pocket and staggered out the door. The wind caught her hair. It whipped around her face making it hard to see. She grasped the ship's railing and jumped onto the pier. Her feet slid on the wet boards. She twisted to keep from falling. The mist was blowing out to sea, and the rain came down in sheets. By the time they reached the main boardwalk, the rain had let up and the sun came out.
"That lasted just long enough to get us drenched," Meredith said. She squeezed out her hair and shook the water off her hands.
"I thought you were the one who didn't want to search the boat. What did you take?"
"It's Captain Morgan's journal. It belongs to Murky."
Tony's eyes got big. "Wow. That's a big find. Maybe we should go back and finish looking around. We may not get another chance."
"No way," Meredith said. "I'm going home to change. Besides, you can't go dripping all over the cabin."
A dog barked. Smitty and Pirate were making their way down the pier. He stopped to talk to someone on one of the boats.
"Well, we lost that chance," Tony said. "Might as well go home."
Amari gazed at the Antediluvian. With a sigh she turned and followed them.
CHAPTER 20 - EDISON'S ESCAPE
Meredith did not have an opportunity to look at Morgan's journal until the next day. Why had Spencer taken it? There must be something important she had overlooked.
Doris poked her head into the living room. "Looks like another rainy day," she said. "I'm going out to get a few groceries. Want anything special?"
Meredith shook her head. "I'm going to read for awhile, and then go meet Tony at the Clipper."
"Okay dear. See you later." The door locked when Doris pulled it shut.
"Come on, Edison," Meredith said and patted the sofa. "Let's see what's in this old journal."
She unwrapped the leather book and stuffed the scarf back in her jacket pocket. Edison jumped up beside her.
A ticket stub marked the page where the book opened, and she began to read an entry. The sea was calm. Clouds had moved in without warning, and now low visibility made movement hazardous. While they waited for the fog to lift, Morgan made entries in the ship's log. The fog reminded him of another time thirty years earlier. That was his first voyage. The fog had settled in on the ship like an animal tightening its grip on its prey. Strange voices floated through the vapor. Some of the crew saw ghosts and apparitions. They blamed the collision on uncharted rocks or a reef. No one would acknowledge there had been another ship.
He was the only one who had seen the girl. He tried to rescue her, but he lost sight of her in the fog. Before he could convince anyone to turn the sh
But there was no denying the cup was real. That strange cup that fell onto the deck at his feet. At first it was clear and the delicate flower etched in the glass glowed with blue light. As the storm lessened and the skies cleared, the light faded. The cup darkened from the pale blue of a clear sky to the color of the sea at night. All traces of the flower disappeared.
Meredith scratched the cat's ears. "Sounds like our cup, Edison. Maybe there is something to Amari's story after all."
She skimmed through several pages and found another entry. At one of the foreign ports, Morgan purchased a curious box in the shape of a gazebo. He decided to use it to store the cup. The last time he had taken it out, the glass was a solid dull black that looked more like ceramic than glass.
Meredith picked up the ticket stub. It read 10th Antediluvian Seamen Conference. Admit One. It was dated two years ago. She wrapped the leather strap around the journal and put it in her dresser.
"Time for me to go meet Tony. You stay here, Edison and watch the apartment."
Edison stretched and followed her to the door.
"Step aside so I can get out." She put several treats on the floor. While he munched on them, she opened the door. Edison looked up and darted through the opening.
"Come back here, Edison!" She grabbed several more treats and dashed after him. He was nowhere to be seen. Doris would be devastated if anything happened to that cat. She ran down the hall. A middle-aged woman was puffing up the stairs. She paused and looked up at Meredith.
"You wouldn't be looking for a cat would you?"
"Oh yes! Did you see him?"
"Headed for the garden. He slipped under that big bush where the flagstones start." She pointed.
"Thank you." Meredith bounded down the steps. The "Manager Out" sign was on the desk. That was hopeful. Maybe Argon was out of the building. She slowed down. No good startling him. If the Amazon was around and caught him first?she shuddered.
An excited voice emanated from the fountain area of the rainforest. She caught sight of Edison's cream colored tail extending from under a bush. It twitched back and forth. He was stalking something.
Meredith tiptoed down the flagstone path. She reached for the tail. Edison growled and pounced. Her hand closed on air. She peered through the branches of the fern and her heart sank.
Argon sat cross-legged on a woven mat. Her hands rested palms up on her knees. She didn't open her eyes as she said, "Spencer, you're not concentrating. Let your troubled thoughts melt away."
Spencer sat across from her. His legs were bent at an awkward angle, and his fingers gripped his knees. The knuckles were white. He leaned forward.
"I tell you I have found it. This will change the course of the world's economy."
Meredith spotted Edison. He was behind Argon and swatting the fringe on the mat's edge. She tossed one of the treats at him. He stared at it and yawned. Come on, Edison she urged silently.
Spencer's voice dropped to a whisper. "We can end global warming."
Argon opened her eyes. Her face contorted in disgust. "And just how do you propose to accomplish this amazing feat?"
His smile trembled with eagerness. "It controls the weather. We can control the weather. It will give us power."
Meredith froze. What was he talking about?
"Power?" Argon said. "Power is what got our world into this mess. It is greed and power that is killing our planet." She shifted and Edison dug his claws into the mat. Meredith threw another treat trying to lure the cat closer.
"Power in the wrong hands," he said. "But the right person could use it for good."
"And this. . . artifact? How did you find such a thing?"
"Research. I've studied Atlantis for years. It looks like an ordinary cup, but recently I discovered a journal that tells about its powers. My efforts are paying off, but there's more."
Meredith dropped the last treat just beyond the bush and glanced to see if they had noticed. Research indeed. He had stolen Captain Morgan's journal and the cup.
He dropped his voice. "The cup shows images of another world."
Argon's eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. "What are you suggesting?"
"When the cup is filled with water it shows images of a water world. The world of Atlantis. The Atlanteans were a highly innovative people. They invented a method for capturing moving pictures."
"You mean like an ancient television?" Her voice had a hint of humor.
"A poor comparison. Television is for the masses and is filled with mindless dribble. This would have been used by elite visionaries for the advancement of society."
"And you've seen this yourself?"
"Not exactly." His eyes shifted nervously. "But I've heard about it firsthand."
The gazebo, Meredith thought with disgust. He was spying on us when I told Tony about the image in the cup. It wasn't Amari. Edison twitched his tail and moved closer to Meredith's hiding spot. One more step, Edison. Just a little closer.
"This is absurd," Argon said. "There is no object that can control the weather. Perhaps you misunderstood. Maybe the prehistoric movies were shadows on cave walls instead of movies inside a teacup." She got to her feet and leaned down to pick up the mat.
Meredith grabbed Edison. He hissed when she squeezed him. His claws dug into her arm as she backed out of the bush.
Spencer was untangling his legs and struggling to his feet. He rubbed his leg. "Wait," he said, "you haven't seen the evidence."
Meredith fled for the elevator. The doors sealed as Spencer and Argon emerged into the lobby.
CHAPTER 21 - SAFE KEEPING
Meredith carefully locked the door with Edison inside. In the hallway she met the woman again coming out of her apartment.
"Did you find your cat?" she asked.
"Yes. Thanks for your help."
"No problem. My name's Millie. Wouldn't mind having a cat myself if I was home more. I'm off to meet the girls for a matinee. You have a nice day now."
Meredith took the back stairs, and headed for the Clipper to find Tony. The damp breeze tugged at her hair. Loose strands tickled her face. She brushed it out of her eyes, and stuffed the ends under her jacket collar. Strands kept creeping out. She stopped at a convenience store to get a new clip.
An array of brightly colored ponytail ties hung on the rack next to the clips. Maybe a tie would be better. It wasn't as stylish, but it might be more practical. As she reached for blue, her eyes focused on a pink tie with thin white stripes. Her hand hovered for a moment, then moved to the pink as if the color had captured her in its grip. Her fingers closed around the pink tie and she pulled it from the rack.
While waiting in line she scanned the aisle. The usual candy and magazines filled shelves, but there was also a rack of flower and vegetable seeds. She gave the rack a lazy turn. Morning glories, marigolds, tomatoes, pumpkins - and watermelons.
"Next," the cashier said.
Meredith grabbed a pack of watermelon seeds and checked out. Once outside she gathered her hair and wrapped the new tie around it. The bag with the seeds she put in her pocket and zipped it shut.
The Clipper's entryway was full of people waiting for a table. She read the day's specials.
Due to Helga's influence, we can only offer a limited selection of fresh seafood. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will join us for one of our tasty Italian specialties.
Meredith squeezed past a family with four kids. Swinging doors to the kitchen burst open, and Tony strode through. His shirt was splattered with water. He wiped his dripping hands on his jeans and grinned.
"Want a Coke?"
She nodded. He filled two glasses at the fountain and led her past the kitchen to a back corner.
"My private table," he said and gest
"I think that's the cleanest I've seen your hands," Meredith said. Immediately she wished she could pull the words back, but Tony didn't seem to notice.
"Washing dishes will do that," he said. "How are things in the rainforest?"
"Spencer and Argon were in the inhalatorium this morning. I overhead them talking."
While he drank his Coke, she filled him in on the journal entries and the rainforest conversation.
"It's obvious Spencer was listening when we were in the gazebo. But where did he get the idea the cup could control the weather?" Tony asked.
"I don't know. The cup's been around for over a hundred years. It can't be causing every storm that happened over that time. Helga has to be a coincidence."
"Is it? And what about Amari?"
"I'd like to believe her. She tells a good story, but it can't be true. As for Spencer, he's just plain strange."
"So we're siding with the Amazon on this one?"
Meredith made a face. "I didn't say that exactly." She looked out the window. "Speaking of Spencer." She nodded towards the window. "There he goes now. He's heading back toward the condos. What do you suppose he has in that briefcase?"
"He's not a briefcase kind of guy," Tony said. "I'll bet there's something in there other than house repair contracts." He pulled Meredith's Coke over and drained the glass. "Let's see where he's going."
Meredith stared at the empty glass in disbelief.
"Come on," Tony said.
She followed him around the tables, and out the door.
At first they were nervous that Spencer would see them, but he never looked back. In just ten minutes they were back at Green Earth.
"Give him a minute to get inside. Then we'll just stroll in casual like," Tony said.
"Right. Casual," Meredith said and smiled. She wondered what Heather would think of Tony. Her smile faded as she pictured introducing them. Then again, what would Tony think of Heather?
"Let's see what's happening," Tony said and headed for the front door.
When they entered the lobby, it was empty. The rainforest soundtrack covered their footsteps. Meredith pointed to the flagstone path leading into the foliage. Tony shook his head and pointed at the front desk.
Silently they made their way across the marble floor. Tony stopped and gripped her arm. A short hallway behind the desk led to two rooms. One door was glass. It acted like a mirror, reflecting what was happening in the opposite room.