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I
had just come home from the salon, you know, and I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
    I interject, “Your hair looks lovely today, by the way.”
    Maud absently pats her hair as she paces. “Thank you, dear.
Anyway, there is this man standing on the porch smiling at me with a wheelbarrow
full of gardening tools behind him. I asked him if I could help him. I figured
he was a neighbor needing to borrow a tool. He said that he worked for Harry.
He told me that Harry sent him over to see if I wanted some work done in my
garden!” She throws her arms up in exasperation. “Can you believe that? How
insulting. As if I couldn’t manage my own garden if I’d a mind to.”
    Maud is nearly rustling up a whirlwind in the kitchen now with
the rate of her pacing, and I am enthralled by the drama.
    “So what did you say?”
    Maud stops and pivots toward me as she covers her mouth as
though she’s afraid to say. “I was honestly speechless for a moment. Then I
told him very sweetly that I appreciated the offer, but I didn’t need his help.
I asked him if he could give something to Harry for me to express my gratitude.
He said sure. So I gave him my beautician’s card and my coupon for fifty
percent off the next haircut.”
    I puzzle on this for a minute. “But Maud, Harry is bald,
isn’t he?”
    Maud smiles her wide, mischievous smile. “Exactly!”
    An image rises to my mind of Harry standing at his front
door, scratching his bald head with one hand and staring uncertainly at the haircut
coupon he holds in the other. “Hairless Harry Pickets,” I chuckle. Maud laughs
along with me. She laughs so hard she snorts. Then we both laugh until our
faces hurt and I’m afraid I might pee my pants.
    “Oh Maud,” I say. “You are a jewel, and you shine even
brighter than your hair.”
    Maud beams as she fluffs her hair. Then she pats my hand
before finally opening one of Paco’s Loco Tacos.

Chapter
04
Hidden Treasures
    Bluebell Kildare: May 26, 2022, Red Ages
    I slip as quietly as I can through the bell tower door. The stone
stairwell would be completely dark if not for the tall, narrow windows decorating
each landing. I start the six-floor ascent to my familiar childhood hideout. The
absent railing makes the winding stairway treacherous in the dim light. I trail
my finger along the stone walls, enjoying the rough bumps and grooves as I move
steadily upward. On the last landing, I climb a set of slim, wooden ladder
rungs until my head bumps against a solid object. Shoving the hatch upward, I boost
myself onto the wooden floor and stand to look around. The bell room has a stone
half wall topped with four arches in keystone construction, letting in the cool
air and the beautiful night sky. The roof is made of heavy oak timbers reaching
up further to steeple heights. An elaborate brass bell works hangs from the
timbers with the grand bell hanging in the center and extending down so that passersby
can see it through the arches.
    I set my pack down by the south wall and plop on the floor
next to it. The corner is in deep shadow, so my fingers work blindly, counting
the stones in the wall from the corner. One, two up from the floor and one, two,
three to the right. I wedge my fingers around the stone and gently shimmy it
out. It’s more difficult than I remember now that I’ve grown and my fingers are
larger. I deposit the amulet in an empty crevice behind the stone just to the
right of the one I removed and replace the stone carefully. Even if someone
were to remove the loose stone, they would not immediately see the evidence
bag.
    I stand and heft the pack to my shoulder, then take a moment
to enjoy the peace of the evening. The stars are out tonight, though somewhat
faded by the light pollution of the city. The city lights are sprinkled all
around, concentrating in downtown Crimson Hollow. The lights spread out and up
the mountains on all sides and dip down, disappearing between Black Mountain
and Thunderhead Mountain in Shroud