The Woodcarver's Secret (Samantha Sweet Mysteries) (42 page)

Their code word had worked. Each
Vongraf employee had one, just another part of the heightened security
measures. Isobel silently thanked the board of directors who had insisted upon
them.

She watched as Tom snapped
handcuffs on Marcus Fitch, marching him to a special room where she had a
feeling he would be interrogated far beyond what the police would then do when
they came for him. As the door closed on Fitch, she remembered to breathe.

She’d barely had time to retreat
to her office and exchange her soaked blouse for a dry lab coat before the
police arrived. Fitch, who now sported a red knot on his left temple, was taken
away and two officers stayed behind to get Isobel’s version of the story. It took
far longer to repeat the details of her abduction and forced return to the
office than for the events themselves to unfold earlier.

Eventually, there were no more
questions. Thankful for the reprieve, Isobel returned to her own office. There
stood the framed photo of her predecessor, Aurora Potts. The woman in the
Edwardian-era dress and hat looked out at Isobel with a great deal of wisdom.
Outside, the lightning receded into the distance and eventually the rain slowed
to a gentle patter as nightfall came on.

For now
, Aurora seemed to say,
we
can only proceed with our own investigations, apply scientific tests to prove
or disprove the claims presented to us.
One day, Isobel felt sure, a lead
would come that would take them to the box currently somewhere in Ireland, and
maybe another lead would take them to Rome. Or beyond.

The world was becoming a much
smaller place. Facts, suppositions and stories that once required journeys of
thousands of miles, weeks or months of time—now they could be found with a few keystrokes
on the Internet. She thought of the box she had so recently seen in New Mexico.
Right now they could only guess at its history; perhaps it had originated
continents away from where it sat now.

Of one thing she felt certain—if
there
were
three boxes in existence
they had most likely come from the same source, that same woodcarver whose
secret had remained enigmatic for centuries. Part of the thrill of discovery
was the way in which those secrets tended to unfold.

Excitement grew in her belly. To one
day have all three of the boxes in one place, to study them, take the necessary
samples to prove their origin, it would be a scientist’s dream. She stared at
Aurora again and the eagerness intensified.

She could feel it, deep inside,
the anticipation that they were nearing a pinnacle of some type. Call it the
end of days, call it a zenith of sorts. She envisioned a time when humans would
be able to learn unlimited amounts, to explore beyond the physical realm, to
have knowledge of both the scientific and the spiritual without restraints from
the established scions of either. Knowledge, rather than greed or misplaced
hero worship, would become the hope for mankind.

Isobel walked through the lab
admiring its polished steel tables, the gleaming glass containers and whirring
machines. Out into a night that seemed filled with stars and hope all at once.

A full moon broke through the
remaining ragged bits of cloud, bathing Vongraf’s brick walls in light,
illuminating treetops in a nearby park, creating a shimmering stripe of silver
on the river, blocks away. She sighed, releasing the last of her tension. Her
mission would continue but the storm was gone.

Author Notes:

Readers who have followed my Samantha Sweet mystery series have been treated
to many inside experiences with one of the three boxes, the one passed along to
Samantha by Bertha Martinez in the latter chapters of
The Woodcarver’s
Secret
.

In crafting this story I have blended real places with fictional events
and placed some real events in fictional places. The actions and words of
actual historical persons have been fictionalized here. A few highlights:

The Spanish Armada’s plan to invade England was practically doomed from
the start, the leaders being outnumbered and acting upon bad advice about the
weather. I could only imagine what one lone Spanish patriot might have
attempted in the effort to assist his king.

The port city of Vera Cruz was once the largest city in Mexico, the
landing point for nearly all Spanish trade ships during a time when the king of
Spain issued decrees regarding the New World. The raw materials of Mexico,
especially gold and silver, were taken to Spain in huge quantities, with all
resulting manufactured goods being made only in Spain. Throughout the 14th
century, even simple goods such as rope, cloth and paper had to be brought to
Mexico by ship. We know from historical accounts that many of these ships and
huge amounts of treasure went down in stormy seas.

The trade routes along El Camino Real have a long and fascinating
history spanning three centuries and two countries. In a time when many
Europeans ventured no farther than a few miles from their home cities, ordinary
people in the North American southwest became traders and regularly made the
year-long round trip of 1,600 miles from what is now northern New Mexico to
Mexico City. Today, a visitor’s center south of Socorro, New Mexico, houses
interesting displays and the largely unchanged landscape gives a very accurate
picture of the
Jornada
del
Muerto
, the Dead Man’s Journey, where water was scarce
and hostile Indian tribes were not.

The wine cellar described in this story exists today in Bernkastel,
Germany, in the wine region along the Mosel River. According to the stories, a
small side room actually was bricked up during World War II to hide the rare
wines; the room’s existence was revealed long after the war by a former winery
employee before his death. Other landmarks in Bernkastel include the ‘Pointed
House’, the Doktor Fountain, and the statue of the bears who in folklore so
famously saved the lost woman and her children.

This book was many years in the making as I have incorporated locations
and tales from my own travels over the past two decades. In addition to my home
region in northern New Mexico, I offer my thanks to those places I have
visited: Galway, Ireland; the cities of Seville and Cordoba in Spain; the
Forbidden City in China; the coastal areas and beautiful Caribbean waters of
Belize (subsequent to the timeframe of this story it was known as British
Honduras for a little over a hundred years) and Panama; the cities of San
Antonio and Galveston, Texas, where the Republic of Texas was born; many Rhine
and Mosel river cities in Germany including Bernkastel/Kues; poignant and
emotional visits to the battlefields and cemeteries of Germany, France and
Luxembourg; the city of Nuremburg with its infamous courtroom and Nazi parade
ground; the Caribbean coast of Mexico; Rome and Vatican City; and to dear
friends Jim and Debbie
Pawlik
who introduced us to
Alexandria, Virginia. Many guides walked with me through these places, during
many trips, over many years. You answered my countless questions, despite the
fact that neither of us knew at the time exactly how the information would
eventually come forth in a story. Thank you, all. You have my undying
gratitude.

Connie
Shelton, February, 2015

* * *

As
always, a huge thank you goes to those who help make my books a reality: Dan
Shelton, my partner in all adventures who is always there for me, working to
keep the place running efficiently while I am locked away at my keyboard. My
fantastic editing team—Susan Slater, Shirley Shaw, and proofreader Kim
Clark—each of you has suggested things that help me see something new in my
writing.

Follow Samantha Sweet’s modern-day
encounters with the magic box in the Samantha Sweet mystery series.
Click
here
to find them.

The Woodcarver’s Secret

Published by Secret
Staircase Books, an imprint of

Columbine Publishing Group

PO Box 416, Angel Fire, NM
87710

Copyright © 2015 Connie
Shelton

All rights reserved. No part
of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an
information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the
publisher.

This book is a work of
fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events
or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Although the
author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and
completeness of information contained in this book we assume no responsibility
for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights
of people, places or organizations are unintentional.

Book layout and design by
Secret Staircase Books

Cover illustration ©
Rkasprzak

Background illustration ©
Rolffimages

First trade paperback
edition: March, 2015

First e-book edition: March,
2015

Books by Connie Shelton

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Murder

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Be Murder

Memories Can Be
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Honeymoons Can
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Reunions Can Be
Murder

Competition Can
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Balloons Can Be
Murder

Obsessions Can
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Gossip Can Be
Murder

Stardom Can Be
Murder

Phantoms Can Be
Murder

Buried Secrets
Can Be Murder

Legends Can Be
Murder

Holidays Can Be
Murder - a Christmas novella

The
Samantha Sweet Series

Sweet
Masterpiece

Sweet’s Sweets

Sweet Holidays

Sweet Hearts

Bitter Sweet

Sweets Galore

Sweets Begorra

Sweet Payback

Sweet Somethings

The Woodcarver’s
Secret

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