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Authors: DeAnna Julie Dodson
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another copy?”
“Sure. The old one my grandmother had. Let me get it.”
They both flipped pages and made notes until Alice finally put down her Bible with a sigh.
“I think we have the wrong book, Annie. Or we have the wrong idea about what the numbers mean. It doesn’t make sense.”
Annie glanced over what she had so far. “Tell me what you’ve got.”
“‘Each in the table no the they secret and.’ Something’s wrong, or he’s the worst clue writer ever.”
“Alice—”
“I mean, who writes ‘no the they’?”
“Alice, which Bible are you looking at?”
“The one I always use. The NIV.”
“And how many copies of the New International Version of the Bible did they have in the 1860s?”
“Ohhhhh.” Alice laughed. “OK, so what did you and your King James Version get, smarty?”
“‘Look in the writing table in the deeper secret place.’”
“Yeah,” Alice deadpanned, “now that makes much more sense.”
“So it’s a little odd, but it’s better than ‘no the they,’ isn’t it?”
“Hmm … Did Mary Beth say her great-great-grandmother had left her a writing table?”
“I don’t remember,” Annie admitted. “Maybe we’d better give her a call.”
“First you have to tell me what you found out. You said something about it before we got distracted with solving this.”
“Tell you what,” Annie said, “why don’t we go see Mary Beth? Then I can tell you both at the same time. I’m not sure how much help it will be at this point, but I think it’s something Mary Beth will want to know.”
“Great! We’ll take the Mustang.”
****
Alice’s red Mustang had them at Mary Beth’s house in record time. Annie had called Mary Beth on the way, and she was waiting for them when they pulled up in the driveway.
“Oh, hurry! I can’t wait to hear the news.”
“Which do you want first?” Alice asked, her blue eyes twinkling. “The answer to the puzzle, or what Annie found out about the guy who wrote it?”
“Oh, the puzzle.” Mary Beth hurried them into her living room. “I’ve had so much going on, I haven’t had a chance to really look at it.”
They sat down, and Alice spread her copy of the clue on the table. “It was actually fairly simple. Each word sounds like a letter, and the letters spell out the clue: LOOK IN GOOD BOOK.”
Mary Beth’s eyes lit. “Then the numbers are all Bible references.”
“Exactly,” Annie said. “But only the King James Version.”
Alice laughed. “It makes a difference. Trust me.”
Mary Beth picked up the page, squinting at Annie’s erased and rewritten words. “‘Look in writing table in the deeper secret place’?”
Annie nodded. “Did your great-great-grandmother leave you a writing table or a desk of some kind?”
Mary Beth’s face fell. “Yes. Oh Annie, she did.”
Annie glanced at Alice, seeing the bewilderment on her friend’s face. “Can we see it?”
“I sold it to Bob Kelsey last month.”
7
“ Sold it?”
Annie and Alice spoke at the same time, and Mary Beth could only nod, misery etched in every line of her face.
“Bob gave me a good price for it, and it was either that or have my lights and water cut off. Here and at the shop.”
“Call him,” Alice said, thrusting the telephone at her. “He can at least let you see if there’s anything in the table.”
Mary Beth looked at her for a moment and then grabbed her purse. “I kept his card,” she said with a knowing grin, “in case I had something else I needed to sell.”
They all waited, listening to the whirring of the phone ringing on the other end of the line. Finally there was a click. All three of them groaned to hear the recorded message: “You’ve reached Bob Kelsey at Kelsey’s Odds and Ends. I’d love to talk antiques with you. Leave a message, and I’ll get right back to you.”
There was a beep.
“Bob, this is Mary Beth Brock. I need to talk to you right away about the writing desk I sold you last
“Sure. The old one my grandmother had. Let me get it.”
They both flipped pages and made notes until Alice finally put down her Bible with a sigh.
“I think we have the wrong book, Annie. Or we have the wrong idea about what the numbers mean. It doesn’t make sense.”
Annie glanced over what she had so far. “Tell me what you’ve got.”
“‘Each in the table no the they secret and.’ Something’s wrong, or he’s the worst clue writer ever.”
“Alice—”
“I mean, who writes ‘no the they’?”
“Alice, which Bible are you looking at?”
“The one I always use. The NIV.”
“And how many copies of the New International Version of the Bible did they have in the 1860s?”
“Ohhhhh.” Alice laughed. “OK, so what did you and your King James Version get, smarty?”
“‘Look in the writing table in the deeper secret place.’”
“Yeah,” Alice deadpanned, “now that makes much more sense.”
“So it’s a little odd, but it’s better than ‘no the they,’ isn’t it?”
“Hmm … Did Mary Beth say her great-great-grandmother had left her a writing table?”
“I don’t remember,” Annie admitted. “Maybe we’d better give her a call.”
“First you have to tell me what you found out. You said something about it before we got distracted with solving this.”
“Tell you what,” Annie said, “why don’t we go see Mary Beth? Then I can tell you both at the same time. I’m not sure how much help it will be at this point, but I think it’s something Mary Beth will want to know.”
“Great! We’ll take the Mustang.”
****
Alice’s red Mustang had them at Mary Beth’s house in record time. Annie had called Mary Beth on the way, and she was waiting for them when they pulled up in the driveway.
“Oh, hurry! I can’t wait to hear the news.”
“Which do you want first?” Alice asked, her blue eyes twinkling. “The answer to the puzzle, or what Annie found out about the guy who wrote it?”
“Oh, the puzzle.” Mary Beth hurried them into her living room. “I’ve had so much going on, I haven’t had a chance to really look at it.”
They sat down, and Alice spread her copy of the clue on the table. “It was actually fairly simple. Each word sounds like a letter, and the letters spell out the clue: LOOK IN GOOD BOOK.”
Mary Beth’s eyes lit. “Then the numbers are all Bible references.”
“Exactly,” Annie said. “But only the King James Version.”
Alice laughed. “It makes a difference. Trust me.”
Mary Beth picked up the page, squinting at Annie’s erased and rewritten words. “‘Look in writing table in the deeper secret place’?”
Annie nodded. “Did your great-great-grandmother leave you a writing table or a desk of some kind?”
Mary Beth’s face fell. “Yes. Oh Annie, she did.”
Annie glanced at Alice, seeing the bewilderment on her friend’s face. “Can we see it?”
“I sold it to Bob Kelsey last month.”
7
“ Sold it?”
Annie and Alice spoke at the same time, and Mary Beth could only nod, misery etched in every line of her face.
“Bob gave me a good price for it, and it was either that or have my lights and water cut off. Here and at the shop.”
“Call him,” Alice said, thrusting the telephone at her. “He can at least let you see if there’s anything in the table.”
Mary Beth looked at her for a moment and then grabbed her purse. “I kept his card,” she said with a knowing grin, “in case I had something else I needed to sell.”
They all waited, listening to the whirring of the phone ringing on the other end of the line. Finally there was a click. All three of them groaned to hear the recorded message: “You’ve reached Bob Kelsey at Kelsey’s Odds and Ends. I’d love to talk antiques with you. Leave a message, and I’ll get right back to you.”
There was a beep.
“Bob, this is Mary Beth Brock. I need to talk to you right away about the writing desk I sold you last
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