Page 5 of Ghost Hunters 2

“When did you last see your um... dad?”

Dino shrugged. “Like he said, a couple of years?” He sat back and sighed. “I can’t believe he showed up here like that. It is just...”

“I can see we need to change the subject.” She smiled at him. “ Ok...I know we don’t have the right plans but I think there has to be some kind of basement like a wine room type thing. Maybe Tilly is there? So how do we get to the basement?” Jillian asked.

“You said it yourself; the root cellar would be accessible through the kitchen. There must have been a doorway of some kind in the kitchen.”

Jillian looked around the room. She and Dino both got up from the table to look around the kitchen. They tapped on walls and opened doors until they came to the pantry area. They saw a throw rug on the floor and when they moved it Jillian was disappointed to find a solid floor and not a trap door there. They checked the walls but they seemed solid enough, at least they didn’t hear an echo that would indicate an opening behind the wall. They didn’t find anything until they came to the old-fashioned hutch built right into the wall space. It went from wall to wall.

“Wow this is a monster antique,” Dino exclaimed.

“I know, like it must hold all the nice dishes at the Inn.” Jillian tapped the wall above the hutch and paused. There was a bit of an echo. She looked at Dino and tapped again. This time they both heard a slight echo.

“Okay I think we found the false door, but how do we get it to open?” Dino murmured. He began checking the sides and back of the hutch only to find the hutch was firmly anchored to the wall.

“It looks like that piece wasn’t meant to be moved,” Jillian noted.

“Yeah, that’s true and you can’t swing it toward the wall, there wouldn’t have been room,” Dino admitted.

Jillian paused. “Do you watch old movies?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Depends on how old we’re talkin’ here.”

“Like the late 70’s, early 80’s.” She beamed at him as she took her cell out and tapped the screen then scrolled and tapped it again. Raising it, she spoke, “Tell me about the book shelf moving wall scene in Young Frankenstein. Put the candle back.”

The Alexa voice replied, “While investigating a mysterious violin sound, Frederick and Inga realize it is coming from behind a heavy wooden bookcase. Frederick looks for a triggering mechanism and asks Inga to hand him a candle sitting in a wall sconce nearby. As soon as Inga pulls the candle out of the wall sconce, the bookcase rapidly spins 180 degrees, trapping Frederick on the hidden side and rotating Inga into the secret room. Realizing the candle is the switch, Frederick screams through the wall: ‘Put... the candle... back!’ Inga puts the candle back, which spins the bookcase again—bringing her back out but instantly pinning Frederick flat against the wall on the other side.”

Both Dino and Jillian laughed at this.

Alexa went on, “Then speaking in a muffled, squished voice, Frederick tells Inga the new strategy: He will block the bookcase with his body. He instructs her to remove the candle, and while he holds the wall, she must run to the other side and shove it with all her might. And he warns her, ‘Don't put the candle back!’ Inga follows the directions perfectly at first. She removes the candle, runs over, and shoves the bookcase. But out of sheer habit or confusion, she replaces it, slamming the bookcase shut and trapping Frederick behind the wall again.”

Dino stared at Jillian. “ Holy shit! That was funny. I loved it. Then she gets stuck in the same spot and looks at the candle and says, ‘Put... ze candle... back!’ In like a... German accent.”

They both laughed again.

“I love that movie!” Dino said. “But I sure didn’t think you would watch it?”

She planted her hands onto her hips and asked, “And why not?”

He raised his hands up in defense. “Like the sexual um... innuendos and the dirty humor.”

“They were the best parts!” She shook her head. “Like when they were stepping up to the castle doors, Frankenstein looks up at the massive, iron door handles and says, ‘What knockers!’ Inga thinks it is a compliment about her chest, so she grins at him and replies...”

“Why, thank you, Doctor,” both Dino and Jillian exclaimed.

More laughter.

Finally, they quieted down and Jillian looked up at the hutch again. “So could it be swung back the other way? Like in that movie?”

“I don’t see a candle thing on the wall though,” Dino noted.

“Yeah and it’s a hutch not a library shelf. But it could have the same idea going on.” She stepped over again and pushed onto the wall above the hutch. To no avail, the wall above it seemed to be nailed tight.

They both tried to push the wall out but the wall didn’t budge.

Finally, they went back to the table and sat down.

Jillian poured them another cup of coffee and sighed in disappointment