Read Threads of Deceit (Vineyard Quilt Mysteries Book 1) for Free Online

open lock on the dangling latch. “Let’s go find your treasure beam.”
    The low-wattage lights were widely spaced in the cellar and covered with dust. This made everything dim as they walked down the shaky steps. Hanging cobwebs made it clear that the efficient Inga didn’t venture into the cellar very often—if ever. Julie winced at the soft, slippery feeling of thick dust under her bare feet.
    The floor of the cellar was packed earth. Dampness made the floor chilly, and Julie hopped in place to try and keep the soles of her feet warm.
    “Charming place,” Daniel commented.
    “We don’t keep anything down here but the furnace and electrical panel,” Julie said, trying to ignore the musty air she tasted with each word she spoke. She led the way around the perimeter of the room. It didn’t take long. As she’d said, the only large thing in the cellar was the furnace.
    A few wooden crates, most covered with patches of mold, lay on the floor near the furnace. Julie wrinkled her nose as she spotted them. “I need to get rid of those.” She gave the crates a nudge with her toe and the one on the bottom burst apart, spilling out old newspapers. She jumped back, treading on the toes of Daniel’s boots as she did. “Well, Millie seems to have her very own antique fire hazard.”
    Daniel didn’t spare them so much as a glance. Instead, he backed away from her and studied the floor joists over their heads, then returned to the stairs and studied their underside where rough wooden shelves had been fitted into the space.
    Julie used the time to examine the walls. Two of the cellar walls were brick with narrow windows high on the wall. The windows were so thick with grime, she couldn’t imagine getting any of them open. On one of the brick walls, an old coal chute sloped steeply upward.
    The other two walls were sheer rock, as if the cellar had been blasted instead of dug. She put a hand on the rock surface. It felt cold and slightly damp, the same as the floor. She didn’t really know anything about cellar construction but wondered if something could be done about the dampness. It occurred to her that if the grouchy twin sisters she’d dealt with that morning ever saw the cellar, they’d probably sue poor Millie for exposure to all kinds of bad things. The cool, damp room even made Julie a bit uneasy about the kinds of things that might be thriving in the packed dirt, the walls, orthe half-rotten wooden crates. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she wasn’t feeling just a little short of breath.
    “It’s not down here.” Daniel’s voice boomed from the shadows beneath the stairs, causing Julie to jump.
    To cover her unease, she spoke more roughly than she normally would have. “Well, I like a wild goose chase as much as the next person, but we should probably call it a night. I’m cold, and I need to get some sleep. I’m sure I’ll have a whole new collection of guests’ crises to deal with in the morning.”
    “I was sure the beam was in the inn,” Daniel muttered, shaking his head. “Maybe it’s in one of the guest rooms I haven’t seen.”
    “It’s not. I’ve seen them all,” Julie said. “Several times. Nothing like that is up there. The fireplace mantels are all delicate and small. And there are no beams in the ceilings.”
    Daniel looked around, his eyes narrowed. “Maybe it’s built into the construction of the inn. It could be a doorway header or some other structural element.”
    “I’m fairly certain you are not going to get permission from Millie to tear up the inn looking for a wooden beam that might be hidden behind the walls somewhere.”
    “I haven’t seen the kitchen yet.”
    “You’re welcome to look, but the kitchen is the one totally modern room in this building. There are no exposed beams. And, no, you can’t pull any walls down in there either.”
    “If you don’t mind my looking, I would appreciate it,” he said. “Are there any outbuildings?