"He seems to have disappeared without trace. I'd like to know what happened to him," Harry said. "What did you find?"
"Town records confirm what you learned regarding Mr. Snook, Mr. Sherman and the Whyatts, but no mention of Buckler," she said. "From friends and neighbours, I discovered that Parsons bought the house from Whyatt's estate. Also, following her husband's death, Mrs. Whyatt moved to a seniors' cottage in the city to be closer to her sons. According to Mr. Whyatt's obituary, the sons are Edward and Colin."
"Excellent! Did you find phone numbers for them?"
She handed him a file card. "Home and business numbers for both."
"Not a bad day's work," Harry said, as they both picked up their jackets and left the office with a casual "See you tomorrow."
********************
The next morning, as they settled at their desks with coffee mugs in hand, Harry told Bertie that Professor Jones, the archaeologist, would meet them for the trip to the Whyatt house. "Parsons is expecting us around ten-thirty."
At ten-fifteen, Harry and Bertie set out in the truck, with the professor following in his little sports car. Parsons was watching for them and opened the door as they walked up the front steps. After introductions were made, he led them down the basement steps and to the room with the masks.
The door was propped against the wall and Harry's eyes widened. "Why did you remove it?"
"The hinges were rusted and had to be removed to open it," Parsons said.
The open doorway revealed a space about eight feet by twelve feet but their attention was focused on one thing. In the middle of the room was a narrow table, maybe two by six feet, with three lights hanging from the ceiling, directly over the centre. On the table was a glass display case, containing the three masks, in colours of turquoise, yellow and rusty brown.
Parsons began moving around the table, tipping his head this way and that. "There must be a way to open this thing."
Harry stepped closer, running his fingers under the edge of the table. Suddenly, he stopped as the front of the glass case began to rise. Parsons looked at him with raised eyebrows. "A button underneath the table," Harry explained.
Jones pulled a pair of surgical gloves from his pocket, slipped his hands into them, and moved closer. Parsons moved away to gave him space while Harry surveyed the rest of the room.
Bertie, however, went a few steps inside, then backtracked to the doorway. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw her step back and went towards her. "Do you feel the ghosts?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. but the room is... claustrophobic."
He nodded, with a slight smile, and moved aside so she could get photos with her phone.
