Page 11 of The Cobbler and His Elves
No answer. Jack pushed the door open wider, and we stepped inside.
The house was a mess. Drawers hung open, their contents strewn across the floor. Papers littered every surface. In the kitchen, a chair lay overturned, and a broken teacup lay in pieces by the sink.
“She left in a hurry,” Elijah murmured, surveying the chaos. “Or…”
“There was one heck of a fight,” Jack concluded.
We split up to search the house. I found myself in Martha’s bedroom, rifling through her belongings with shaking hands. What was I looking for? What did I expect to find?
As I ran my hand along the underside of her dresser, my fingers caught on something. A small latch, hidden from view. I pulled, and a secret compartment sprang open.
Inside lay a leather-bound ledger and a few folded pieces of paper. My heart raced as I opened the ledger. Page after page of entries, all detailing shipments of leather, including what must be the rare leather stolen from Thompson’s Tannery.
“Jack! Elijah!” I called out. “I found something!”
They rushed in as I unfolded a piece of paper. The small square piece of parchment looked suspiciously familiar. My eyes widened as I read it aloud:
Pay the piper, or you’ll wish exposure was your only concern. Tick tock, time’s running out…
Jack let out a low whistle. “Looks like Martha’s in more trouble than we thought.”
Elijah nodded grimly. “We need to call the sheriff.”
Twenty minutes later, Sheriff Hank Dawson stomped into Martha’s house, his heavy boots tracking snow onto the carpet. He was a bear of a man, with a bristling mustache and eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
“Alright, boys,” he growled, “what’s all this about?”
We explained our suspicions about Martha’s connection to Mr. Thompson and showed him the ledger I’d found hidden in the secret compartment. As I spoke, I couldn’t help but notice the sheriff’s dismissive expression.
“So, you’re telling me,” Dawson said, his voice dripping with skepticism, “that sweet, little Miss Sawyer is not only old Thompson’s long-lost daughter but she’s also involved in some kind of leather smuggling operation?”
Put like that, it did sound far-fetched. I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment.
“We’re just reporting what we found, Sheriff,” Jack said, his tone carefully neutral. “Martha’s missing, and this ledger was hidden in her room. Don’t you think that warrants investigation?”
Dawson grunted as he flipped through the ledger, brow furrowed. “I’ll look into it. But I wouldn’t get your hopes upabout some grand conspiracy. More likely, she just skipped town to avoid her debts.”
As the sheriff left, promising halfheartedly to put out an alert for Martha, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d overreacted by calling him. Jack and Elijah shared a glance, their expressions reflecting the same unease that churned in my gut.
“Let’s head back to your shop,” Elijah suggested. “We can go over everything there.”
I flipped the sign on the door to “Closed” and ushered Jack and Elijah inside Hart’s Shoe Repair. The familiar scent of leather and polish wrapped around me, momentarily pushing aside the unease that had settled in my gut. I pulled up a couple of rickety stools for the brothers and perched on the edge of my workbench.
“I have a confession,” I said, my voice quiet. “I... I didn’t show the sheriff everything we found.”
Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the threatening note and a couple of folded pieces of paper I’d taken from the secret compartment under Martha’s dresser. “I kept this.”
To my surprise, both brothers broke into grins.
“Well, well,” Jack said, a note of admiration in his voice. “I was wondering where that note got to. Looks like our little omega has some tricks up his sleeve.”
Elijah nodded approvingly. “Good instincts, Milo. I had a feeling the sheriff wasn’t taking this seriously.”
Their praise sent a warm flutter through my chest. I pushed the feeling aside, focusing on the task at hand.
I carefully unfolded the paper, smoothing out the creases with trembling fingers. Jack and Elijah pressed close, their warmth and scents enveloping me. Cedar, bergamot, sandalwood, and citrus mingled in the air, making my skin prickle. I fought the urge to squirm, acutely aware of their proximity.