Read A Drizzle of Deception: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 10) for Free Online

at the side of his outbuilding. “No. I didn’t know the window was cracked.”
     
    “So it must have happened recently then if you didn’t notice it?”
     
    Jeb sat down on a bale of hay. “I’m just so tired. I can’t sleep because the security alarm goes off and then I hear the noises and see the lights. It’s getting to be more than I can bear.”
     
    Jeb’s weary face and crestfallen attitude tugged at my heart. I felt so sorry for him. But we couldn’t help him until we knew what was inside those buildings.
     
    Stormi sat down beside Jeb. “Papaw, enough is enough. You need to let us see what’s in these buildings, and then maybe we can determine who is trying to steal from you. It’s me and Tara; we would never do to you what Howie did. You have to know that.”
     
    Jeb put his arm around Stormi’s shoulder and let out a big sigh. “I know that, I really do. It’s just that after your grandmother passed I didn’t want to look at the items that reminded me of her. We both liked to collect things…antiques, old signs, and what most people would probably refer to as junk. But they were precious to us because we found them together; maybe at auctions or sales. Sometimes we’d walk through these old outbuildings and laugh and reminisce about where we got some of that stuff.”
     
    Jeb scuffed his boot into the dirt. “But when she died I couldn’t bear to look at our collections anymore. So I locked up the buildings and haven’t been inside any of them since.”
     
    Stormi looked at Jeb quizzically. “You mean you haven’t even been in there since Mamaw died?”
     
    Jeb shook his head no. “I couldn’t…and I didn’t want anyone else to go inside and disturb the items either. Denny has asked to go into the buildings many times, but I just couldn’t.”
     
    Jeb was keeping whatever was in these buildings as homage to his late wife. I could understand the pain he might feel of going through the items himself or having other people sift through them. Like he said, to most of us the items might seem peculiar or not worth much, but to him they were priceless. Not because of any monetary value, but because he and his beloved wife had discovered them together.
     
    Jeb stood up and poked his thumbs through his suspenders. “But I know now that the time has come to put away foolish notions and let you kids see what’s inside. Maybe you can figure out what’s going on out here with the strange noises and lights by looking inside the buildings.”
     
    Stormi touched Jeb’s arm. “Are you sure Papaw? I had no idea how precious these items were to you.”
     
    Jeb nodded and smiled. “It’s okay girl. There comes a time when you should let people back into certain areas of your life. And I think that time is now.”
     
    He produced a key out of his pants pocket. “This key unlocks all the locks to the outbuildings. We might as well get started with this one.”
     
    He stuck the key into the old rusted lock. The lock opened and Jeb opened the door. At first it was difficult to see inside as our eyes adjusted. The light from the tiny octagon window from above didn’t offer much illumination, especially with the sun setting. Jeb grabbed an old lantern from outside, lit it, and hung it on a ledge overhead. Everything inside the building was covered with tarps. Jeb began to pull them off.
     
    Stormi waved her hand in front of her face. “It sure is dusty in here.” Inches of dust lay atop the tarps and filtered into the air as Jeb peeled them off the treasures hidden below.
     
    From the depths emerged old hand crafted and carved furniture including bed frames, chairs and dining tables. Coca-Cola and Texaco Gas signs laid against the furniture in pristine condition. An old gas station pump sat in the corner. Other knick-knacks such as old Coke and Pepsi bottles, carnival glass, and glass milk bottles stood in a glass cabinet. We looked in wonder at the treasures, all of it in perfect