Death Mask (4 page)

“Lucky for you I’m single, so my calendar is flexible. Call me when you have the details and I’ll meet you at the airport…Honey.”

She couldn’t resist this last bit.

Finn shook his head and grinned. “You’re quite the witty one aren’t you?” he said. “If all goes well, we’ll be back a little after dinner time tonight.”

***

Finn and Andria touched down at the Pittsburgh International Airport just before two o’clock that same afternoon. Both had carry-on baggage only. After a short walk and procuring their rental car they were on the road by two-thirty and nearing their farmhouse destination by four.

“So,” Finn asked. “What else
of interest
is locked up in that curiosities museum of yours, anyway?”

“Why, you scared of the boogeyman?” Andria said, playfully.

“Of course not. Just curious, that’s all.”

“Easy there, tiger. Well, let’s see. There’s just about anything you can imagine, and many things you can’t. Most of our items are genuine, but some are of questionable origins, hoaxes if you will, put on display with a disclaimer to satisfy the urban legend crowd. But authentic or not the entire collection draws more than a million paying visitors through the doors every year.”

“Amazing. What are the top three items that garner the most attention?” Finn asked.

“Hmm,” Andria mused. “Well, not including the newly added Death Mask, numbers one and two on that list would probably have to be a toss-up between the Shroud of Turin and Merlin’s crystal ball. Next, I suppose, would be Walt Disney’s cryogenically preserved body.”

“What!” Finn remarked.

Andria giggled. “I’m only kidding,” she said. “Walt Disney’s frozen body has been a longstanding myth for years, but…we do house some of Mickey Mouse’s original drawings along with his animator, Mr. Ub Iwerks’s, personal drawing pencil. But
my
top three personal favorites are: the bottle containing the Jekyll and Hyde salt elixir, Inspector Hercule Poirot’s pince-nez eyeglasses and the infamous Pandora’s Box—the latter being pad locked and laser protected for safety, of course.”

“That sounds sensational. You’ll have to give me a personal tour sometime.”

“My pleasure detective, but first you’ve got to solve my Death Mask mystery.”

Finn smiled and nodded his approval.

They drove the next couple of miles in silence before Andria directed Finn onto an unpaved side road.

“This is us,” she said, following the Google maps display on her phone. “Turn in here.”

“Wow,” Finn said, taking in the sight of a well-kept, old-fashioned farmhouse. Standing out in relief against a backdrop of lush, rolling hills it was breathtaking. “I could definitely get used to living in a place like this.”

“Yeah, so could Jeremiah Johnson,” Andria said. “The owner’s name is William McGinnis. He’s also the one who found the wooden crate in his barn where the mask had been stored. According to my records, this farm has been in the McGinnis family for at least three generations, and was owned by William’s uncle, Pat, until a few years ago. After the uncle died, William, being the last living relative, inherited the farm outright. It was during his examination of the property that he found the crate, containing the mask, hidden under piles of junk. Growing up in this region he’d heard stories about a possessed mask as a child from his elder family members and neighbors all his life. After finding the mask, he was pretty sure he had something worth value and immediately went in search of dealers to verify its authenticity. Once confirmed, he sought out those willing to make him an offer to own it. That’s how my boss, Mr. Gaines, eventually acquired it at auction for the museum. My theory, and hope, is that there are other clues in and around the barn that Mr. McGinnis missed. Or possibly, other associated items still inside the abandoned building where it was found.”

“Hmm,” Finn said, nodding in the affirmative. “The logic makes sense, but it’s hard to imagine Mr. McGinnis would miss something obvious that would be linked to the mask, especially since he had heard the stories as a child.”

“Yes,” Andria agreed. “But McGinnis never heard the mask speak to him either, so he doesn’t know about the riddle. To him, the mask isn’t special. It’s just an artifact with enough history to bring a pretty penny.”

“Yes, but the riddle, or whatever it is, is pretty thin on information,” Finn quipped.

“True, at least on the surface. But once we’re inside the building, I’m hoping to find something that stands out. From my experience, items like the mask with a long history seldom involve finding only isolated pieces. By virtue of people packing them up, there’s usually other, associated items close by.”

“Let’s hope you’re right. How about getting inside the building? Not sure a surprise knock on Mr. McGinnis’ door will create the goodwill we’re looking for in order to gain access without a warrant.”

“I’m sure he’s a reasonable man,” Andria said. “Plus, without prior notice of our visit, we’ll be putting him on the spot. In my experience, most folks feel social pressure under such situations to be hospitable, making them much more agreeable.”

“Shrewd,” Finn said.

“But effective, right? I’ll simply tell him I’m documenting the final details of its last whereabouts for the museum’s insurance records. He should buy that.”

“Hmm. That sounds thin again,” Finn said. “But okay, enough talk. Let’s go see how well Mr. McGinnis is willing to cooperate.”

Chapter 10

Finn led the way up a set of worn, but well maintained stairs and knocked on Mr. McGinnis’ front door. After nearly a minute of waiting patiently with no response, Andria turned to Finn and flashed a nervous smile.

Great. She thought. If we’ve come all this way and he’s not home, Finn will murder me.

Finn shrugged his shoulders and reached forward to give the door another knock when he heard a rustling noise from behind the door. The next moment the dead bolt clicked and a short, round man with a jolly, red face greeted them.

“Hi there stranger, how can I help you?” the man asked.

“Mr. McGinnis?” Finn said, extending his right hand.

“Yes, that’s me,” McGinnis said, not returning Finn’s handshake.

“I’m Finnegan Winters and this is my associate, Andria Walker. We’re here in relation to the Death Mask found on this property last year. If it’s not too much to ask, we’d like to take a look around the building where the mask was found.”

McGinnis’s eyebrows shot up. He squinted a strong glare and studied the two of them. “How do you know about that?” he asked. “And why would you need to look around?”

“Mr. McGinnis,” Andria said, leaning in to interrupt. “If I may interject, let me apologize for the inconvenience. It’s really more my fault than his,” she said, gesturing to Finn. “I’m head curator for the Atlanta Museum of Curiosities. I work for Mr. Gaines; the man who bought the mask from you at the auction last summer. Our museum is in the final stages of wrapping up our documentation pertaining to the history and origin of the mask, both for our own purposes and to satisfy our insurance company’s needs. I realize it’s a bit of a bother, but we’re required to be extremely thorough. If you could allow us a few minutes to take some photos and jot down some specifics about the barn, the wooden crate…that sort of thing, we would be very grateful.”

McGinnis was stone-faced.

He wants money, Andria thought.

A short silence passed before McGinnis looked at Finn and asked, “And how do you fit into all of this young fella? Do you also work for the museum?”

Luckily, Finn was on his “A” game and, as Andria was about to find out, knew a thing or two of his own about human psychology; including what made folks from McGinnis’ generation tick. He gave McGinnis a sheepish grin and a wink. “We’re…a couple, she and I, and a fairly new one at that. Where she goes…I go.”

The look of shock on Andria’s face was priceless and would have given them away if McGinnis had looked her way. Instead, McGinnis’ face lit up. He smiled and elbowed Finn in the side. “Looking out for your gal, huh?”

“Something like that,” Finn said, shifting his eyes to look down at his shoes.

“Well, it’s good to see, son, especially these days. There’s not enough chivalry left in the world today if you ask me.”

“Yes, sir,” Finn agreed, smiling back.

“Tell you folks what. I’m not accustomed to this sort of thing, but you seem honest enough to me so I’m gonna trust your good nature. I’ll be around the property for most of the afternoon, but with it being the middle of summer, I have plenty of chores to tend to. If you want, I can show you to the barn then you’ll be on your own from there. How does that sound?”

“That would suit us just fine, Mr. McGinnis,” Finn said. “Thank you very much for your understanding.”

“In that case, follow me.”

***

“Here we are folks,” McGinnis said, pointing toward a deserted, A-framed barn. It was situated on the edge of an open field, a few feet from the tree line. “If there’s anything else you two “lovebirds” need flag me down, otherwise it’s all yours. Just one favor, though. Leave everything as you find it. Capeesh?”

“Capeesh,” Finn said.

Finn and Andria watched intently as McGinnis drove away. They gave a curt wave just before he disappeared around the corner in case he was watching in his rear-view mirror.

“Lovebirds?” Andria said, sarcastically.

Finn shrugged and grinned. “1 Corinthians, my dear. Be all things to all people,” he said.

In unison, they turned and walked across the grassy field to the abandoned barn. Once there, they briefly inspected its weathered boards. There was no lock on the door; only an old axe handle jammed long ways between both door handles. Finn easily removed the handle and pulled open the barn doors. Thousands of disrupted dust particles danced around the stale air as the outside light invaded the building’s darkness.

As far as abandoned buildings go, this one was in pretty good shape. In fact, the word abandoned in this case referred more to it being unused rather than its uninhabitable nature. From the looks of things, the building had started out as a humble hay barn or tractor shed, but over time had turned into a dumping ground to store life’s miscellany. The biggest downside was not having electricity. It had obviously been disconnected years ago. The upside was, the natural light shining through its three windows and open door looked to be sufficient for their purposes.

“You take the left side,” Finn said, motioning his arm. “And I’ll take the right.”

“Okay,” Andria replied. “But remember, keep an eye out for anything unusual and call me over the instant you find something.”

Finn raised one eyebrow. “Who’s the cop here?”

“All right. I’m just sayin’.”

Finn gave a nod of approval and they split up to begin their search.

After twenty minutes, Andria had worked her way around a quarter of the room and into the northwest corner where she spotted a tarp covering a fairly large square object sitting atop several thick pieces of plywood being supported by two wooden sawhorses. She turned sideways and squeezed between two stacked rows of dust-covered boxes on her way to investigate. Upon reaching the sawhorses she pulled back a corner of the tarp to expose an old, dark mahogany wooden crate underneath.

Hmm, that’s interesting
.

She took out her cell phone and used a flashlight app to confirm her findings.

“Finn, come over here. I think I’ve found something.”

When Finn got to her, Andria was dusting off a line of stenciled numbers imprinted across the front of the box reading–EGOT 3201.

Bingo
! Excitement skittered up her spine. It fit the description she’d read in the documentation when the mask had first been delivered to the museum.

“This is it,” she said, pointing at the stencil. “I remember those numbers from the paperwork. Grab the handle and let’s move this thing into the light.”

Finn did her bidding and they both lifted with a grunt. The crate was much heavier than either of them anticipated. They moved the box only a few feet before easing it to the ground.

“Whoa, this thing weighs a ton,” Finn said, breathing deep.

“It must still be filled with sand,” Andria said.

“Sand?” Finn asked.

“Yes. It confused me a little at first too when I read it in the documentation, but now, after experiencing the talking episodes with the mask, it makes perfect sense. The original caretakers must have used the sand to keep the mask muffled. If left undisturbed, it could be kept quiet for an eternity.”

“That’s genius,” Finn said.

“Or desperate. That thing was probably more annoying than a crying baby in church. Let’s see if we can drag it a little closer to the doorway for better lighting.”

It took significant effort, but Finn and Andria eventually maneuvered the crate to a lighted spot in front of the door. Hands on his hips and breathing hard, Finn pointed down at the box and said, “Looks like we’re in luck. There’s nothing securing the top down.”

Andria, was still bent over at the waist with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath, but managed a thumbs-up.

Finn tugged up on the lid, which lifted easily, to expose a mound of beige, grainy sand.

“Now what?” Finn asked.

“Not sure. I thought there’d be something
inside
the box, but I guess that theory was wrong.”

“What did the report say?”

“That the mask was found in the wooden crate,” Andria said, aggravated by having to answer such an obvious question.

“Yes, but
where
in the crate was it found? Was it lying on top of the sand, was it buried underneath or what?”

“Ahhh, sorry,” she said. “I see where you’re going with the question now. If my memory is correct, it was buried
in
the sand.”

“Okay, then maybe…”

“We dig?” Andria said.

“Yes. If the mask was buried
in
the sand then maybe there’s
more
clues hidden down
deeper
in the sand that McGinnis didn’t think to look for. Once he found the mask he probably stopped looking.”