The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (i love reading txt) 📗

on the rug under the bed and a faint warmth against my side.

“Yes, little girl?”

She jumps and squeaks. “We were trying not to wake you, Daddy.”

“Come here, monkey.” I hold my arms out and sigh when she climbs on top of me and snuggles. “I don’t mind being woken up for snuggles with my little girl.”

“I love snuggles with you, too, Daddy.” She peppers kisses over my chin and throat. “We’re going to try to contact Molly’s spirit again and see if she can guide us to where my collar is.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Gimme a minute and I’ll get up.”

“Me, too,” Niall grumbles from beside me.

She slides out of my arms and joins the whispering circle on the floor. I roll to my side and then to my feet with a groan, but I actually feel much better. The lingering bands of the headache have relented and my stomach’s settled. I sit on the floor behind Emily and rub her back gently.

Emily, Austin, Aggie, and Cappa circle the Ouija board they’ve set on the rug between them. Each touch two fingers to the funny-shaped pointer while Laurel, Vashi, and Shaan look on.

Niall heaves himself off the bed with a protest from the bedframe. When he throws himself down next to Vashi, I swear the floor shakes. Vashi reaches out and guides Niall’s head into her lap. He closes his eyes with a gusty sigh. When Shaan rests his hand on Niall’s arm, Niall grabs his partner’s hand and pulls him down so Niall can clutch Shaan’s arm to his chest. Shaan spoons in behind Niall. I can’t help but smile at the contentment on all three faces.

“Okay, let’s all of us focus on the same question this time,” Austin says in a hushed tone, although why he’s trying to be quiet when both Niall and I are up is a mystery. “Molly, do you know where Emily’s collar is?”

The funny pointer slides straight to “yes.”

“Did you take my collar?” Emmy asks in a whisper.

The pointer slides to “no.”

Emily bows her head. “Thank you, Molly. Do you know where my collar is?”

The pointer slides back to “yes.”

“Please help me, Molly,” Emily pleads. “Where is my collar?”

The pointer begins zipping over the letters. D. R. A. W. E. R.

“Daddy,” Emily breathes.

I climb to my feet and open the drawer, not believing I’m following the instructions of a ghost. The drawer is still empty.

I turn and shake my head.

The pointer slides to “yes.”

“Emmy, I’m sorry, baby girl, but there’s nothing in here.” I pat the drawer.

There’s a hollow thunk and a rustle.

Niall lifts his head from Vashi’s lap. “Feck was that?”

He pikes to his feet as I try to pull the drawer all the way out. It slides out half-way and then won’t budge.

“There must be a latch or something,” I tell Niall as I tug.

He slides his hands along the underside of the dresser’s top, feeling for a latch. Shaking his head, he peers into the drawer. “Thought it looked wrong. Drawer’s too short.”

He reaches in, patting at the back. I hear again that hollow sound.

“Can you get it out?”

“Lemme get some tools.” He slaps me on the back and lopes out of the room, moving faster than I’ve seen him shift all day.

He returns with Martyn and Mac while I’m still trying to find a latch or something to release the drawer.

Eventually, with Martyn’s consent, Niall unscrews the top of the dresser and we lift it off to peer within.

There’s a clever mechanism embedded in the top of the dresser that catches the back of the drawer, preventing it from being pulled all the way out. At the back of the drawer, there’s a long, narrow compartment. The velvet box with Emily’s collar and lock sits in the compartment on top of three bundles of letters.

I can’t stifle a cry of triumph as I lift out the velvet box.

“Daddy!”

I turn and catch my baby doll as she launches herself at me. I wrap my free arm around her and kiss her laughing little face.

“Molly found it!”

I have to agree. “She did, little love.”

Martyn sits in one of the chairs, careful not to crush the stuffies, and gingerly opens one of the letters. “She also led us to a treasure. These are letters from Teddy to Molly.”

Emily wriggles in my arms with excitement. “They could answer whether there really was a secret marriage.”

“Certainly could,” Martyn agrees.

Niall and Mac have lifted the drawer out of the dresser and are examining it. When they turn it over, they find a little brass combination lock set into the lower lip of the drawer.

“Three tumblers,” Niall muses. “Nine digits on each. Lots of potential combinations.”

“Eight-nine-four,” Cappa says.

“What?” Niall and I say in unison.

“Eight-nine-four,” he repeats. “Those are the numbers Molly gave us yesterday.”

Niall slowly thumbs the lock. There’s a click and a pair of rusty pins pop up out of the back of the drawer.

“Bet that releases the mechanism so you can slide the drawer out,” Niall says. Then he and Mac reassemble the dresser and demonstrate that the combination lock does exactly that.

“That’s very clever,” Martyn says. “I bet there aren’t many other examples from the eighteenth century.”

“That’s original?” I ask as a shudder passes through me. “And you let us take it apart?”

Martyn shrugs. “It’s just a piece of old furniture. Not nearly as important as a little girl’s happiness. Now, I’m going to head downstairs and call my good friend Thomas who is the curator of the Niagara Falls Museum and make his whole year. I will see all of you in the dungeon promptly at noon.” He takes out a pocket watch and taps it. “That’s just over an hour. Don’t be late.”

He leaves with a huge grin.

* * *

An hour later, I stand on a platform Martyn’s set up in the second dungeon, facing Niall and Mac. Niall’s wearing his Boglioli suit, and I’ll admit the jacket looks like it was made for him, but I’m still not sure I’d