Spies at Mount Vernon: The Virginia Mysteries Book 7 by Smith Steven K

Author:Smith, Steven K.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MyBoys3 Press
Published: 2018-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

They walked outside through the front door of the mansion. Walker glanced back and forth, then put his finger to his lips. He pointed to the woman from the study as she walked past a window. He stealthily slinked around the corner to the side of the building.

"Why are we sneaking?" asked Sam.

Walker grinned. "It's sometimes more fun to pretend we're not supposed to be here, don't you think?"

Derek nodded. "We do that all the time!"

"That's because we're usually not supposed to be somewhere," Sam muttered, eyeing his brother.

Walker pulled open a side door, leading them down a small set of stone steps and into the basement. "Watch your head."

He flipped a light switch, revealing a passage with a low ceiling. Bricks were fitted across the floors and part of the walls. In other spots, crumbling stone was revealed under old layers of whitewash. Metal pipes and wires ran across the exposed beams just above their heads. Sam couldn't help thinking how most of this wouldn’t have existed back in Washington's time.

"This is kind of creepy," said Caitlin.

Sam nodded. "What did they do down here? Question British spies?" He thought back to being handcuffed to the desk in the basement of the Capitol and shuddered.

Walker chuckled. "No, for the most part, I think this was a functional space." He led them further down the central hallway. Small rooms with vaulted ceilings lay off to each side. Wooden barrels lined some of the walls.

"These rooms were a servants’ kitchen, wine cellar, storage rooms, and slave quarters, but over here is my favorite thing." He nodded to one of the dim side rooms. Caitlin followed beside him, stepping up to a shadowy spot in the floor.

"Careful," said Walker, grabbing her arm. He pointed at an open circular hole in the floor with brick-lined walls.

Caitlin gasped, hanging on to Walker's arm a bit longer than was probably necessary. "Oh, thanks."

"What's down there?" asked Derek. "A secret passage?"

"It's a dry well," said Walker. "Used for storing ice and probably food. It's twenty-two feet deep and was how they used to keep things cool."

"I think a freezer works better," said Sam.

"For sure," agreed Walker, turning back down the hall. "Oh, and over in this room is the cornerstone, or at least a replica of the original." A rectangular carving was set into the wall with writing between the images of two spears.

"LW," read Sam. "What's that mean?"

"Probably Lawrence Washington," answered Walker. "That was George's older half-brother. He owned the mansion just before George did."

"This would be a great place to play hide and seek," said Derek.

"It feels like being stuck in a tomb," said Sam. He remembered how St. John's Church, the site of Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech, actually had crypts in a corner of the basement.

"Speaking of tombs," said Caitlin. "Isn't Washington's tomb here on the estate? We saw the space in the Capitol crypt that was never used. That's because George was buried here instead, right?"

"It's like you're reading my mind," Walker said.

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