The Girl and the Clock Tower Murder: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #2

Chapter 5

"Good authority from whom?" Guy asked, frowning.

"Neema mentioned it before I left. Where were you, anyway? You've been disappearing a lot lately."

Guy gave a noncommittal shrug but didn't offer any insight.

Mahogany shook her hand. "Help me search."

"What are we looking for?"

"Hollow rocks, flower pots, statues, something that could hide a key."

They surveyed the area near the clock tower's entrance. Bric-a-brac littered the narrow garden space running the perimeter of the building. Several lawn gnomes, ornate pots brimming with flowers, and discarded trinkets gleamed in the yellow street lights.

Guy began rummaging his hands through objects, searching for a key while Mahogany lifted foliage in the many pots.

"Over here," Guy said, his head half-buried in a cracked teapot turned planter where a collection of tiny succulents grew. "In the spout."

Mahogany caught a glimpse of something shiny just past the mouth of the teapot's spout. With care, she removed a small brass skeleton key.

"Figures. Matt loved tea." Mahogany unlocked the clock tower door and slipped inside.

At the center of the large, circular room sat a table with a scale model of Pandemonium. A set of stairs hugged the far wall, spiraling up to a platform several stories to where the clock's mechanism lived. To the left, a door led to offices where the clock tower committee conducted business.

Bazgul leaped from Mahogany's shoulder onto the scale model, appearing like a movie monster attacking a small 1950s village.

Mahogany ran her fingertips over the model, remembering the school field trip to the clock tower as a child. Matt had been here then, educating the kids on Pandemonium's history, the clock's importance, and its chimes' significance.

She closed her eyes and thought back. What had Matt said about the clock's chimes? It had something to do with how the clock rang the bells. If it just rang in the hour, there was nothing to fear. The town was safe. If it played a tune, then trouble was coming.

In all the centuries the tower has stood, only twice had the tune played, alerting the residents to take cover. Mahogany's eyes opened. That was why Matt was so up in arms about changing how and when the clock tolled.

"Earth to Mahogany," Guy said, waving his hand in front of Mahogany's face. "I said, what are we here for?"

"Oh, sorry." Mahogany reached into her pocket and retrieved a crumpled piece of paper. As she unfolded it, words appeared.

"What's an echo chronograph?" Guy asked, reading over Mahogany's shoulder.

"I'm not sure," Mahogany said, her brow knitting together, "but I'm sure it's this way." She headed to the door where the offices lay.

The space reached ahead in a long rectangle that ended in another door. A long table ran down the middle of the room, filled with file folders and various stacks of paper. Near the door sat a small desk with a phone and a lamp, but nothing else. Along the wall, behind the desk, stood several filing cabinets.

"Look around here for something that isn't normal," Mahogany said, heading to the door at the far end of the room.

"Define normal," Guy said as he peered around the office.

"Chrono means time, and an echo is a residue of something from the past. Maybe a clock that remembers stuff?"

"Like a day planner?" Guy said, his voice skeptical.