The Case of The Perplexed Painting

The Secret Passage

The four of us continued to walk through the secret passageway that was inside the fireplace although, I should use the word walk loosely. While Miss Cross and I crept through the darkness, Genoa was dragging Miss Hansen through it.

"You're hurting me!" She continued to complain. 

But Genoa rebuked her complaints. "If I wasn't hurting you, you'd run away."

"How can I run away in this darkness?" She shot back at him and she was right.

The walls of the secret passage were composed of the same gray brick that made up the inside of Uncle Merton's fireplace. There were no windows in the secret passage. There were no lamps or torches to light the way. It was only by the light from our cell phones that we were able to make the journey. 

It was the biggest secret passage I had ever seen, but then again, it was the only secret passage I had ever seen. The walls had to have been at least thirty feet apart from one another. The ceiling itself was being held up by stone pillars that reached up almost five feet above all of our heads. Even though we all felt we were in some medieval dungeon, that wasn't the strangest part.

There wasn't just dirt on the ground. There were cartons of food, cases of bottled water, and bundles of firewood. There were also first aid kits as well as hygiene materials such as soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper, all of which had been purchased in massive quantities of a hundred or more.

There were more than just survival materials though. There were also reading materials such as classic works of literature and vintage board games for people to play.

While we were staring at all of these things, Miss Hansen broke free from John Genoa's grip. 

"Stop her!" He cried.

"Where am I going to run?" She said and she did have a point. She was the only one of us who didn't have a cell phone. She couldn't call anyone to come save her and without any light in the secret passage, she would be lost.

"What is this place?" Genoa asked.

Miss Hansen claimed she didn't know, but she had said a few profanities while she was defending her point. It was the first time I had ever heard her swear.

When we came to the end of the secret passage, we were surprised by what we had found.

"Another fireplace?" Miss Cross asked.

Miss Hansen instructed me to do what I did last time and I felt around the fireplace until I found one of the gargoyles and pulled it down.

The back of the fireplace opened up. Miss Hansen tried to make a break for it, but Miss Cross grabbed her by the waist. 

She struggled for a second, but Mister Genoa and I pulled her back through and threw her on the ground.

"Normally, I would agree to ladies first but in this case, I will make an exception." He went through the fireplace first and I followed him.

Miss Hansen followed me after I heard Miss Cross say, "After you."

We arrived on the other side and Miss Cross asked, "Where are we."

"Apparently, we are in another library," Genoa said.

"Not just any library," I told him, "We are in Robert Valentine's library."