The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [47]
When she got home, she set to work searching the garage, opening as many boxes as she could reach, getting dusty and grimy. She carefully set up a ladder and reached for the boxes that were up high. Some were too heavy, and she had to leave them where they were and hope that they were just filled with books or something. After what seemed like hours, she pushed the last box back in place and sat down on the workbench.
Whatever it was, the lock that fit this key did not seem to be in the garage. And she'd never seen any kind offunky old trunks anywhere in the house. Maybe it was in her parents' room.
You will find it, she reminded herself.
She stood at the doorway of her parents' room, looking in. The thought of going through their drawers and closets made her feel slightly ill, but it had to be done.
Just not today.
CHAPTER 26
"Lena, want anything from the store?" called her dad.
"No, thanks," said Lena. "Wait! Yes, I do. Could you get me some sushi from Miso on Main for lunch?"
Miso on Main was always packed with day-trippers on the weekends. By the time her dad finished the grocery shopping, he would have to wait twenty minutes or more for a sushi order.
"Well, I wasn't really planning on going there."
"Oh, Dad, come on. I have a craving for shrimp rolls with seaweed."
"What a surprise," she heard him mutter from below. "Fine, I'll add that to my list."
She hung over the banister. "Thanks, Dad. Love you."
"Love you, too. See you in an hour or so."
Lena listened to the back door close, the car engine start, and the garage door open and close.
Then, with a reluctant step, she entered her parents' bedroom. Her mom was at a wedding and would not be back for hours. Cole was across the street at Austin's house. As squicky as she felt at the idea of invading her parents' privacy, Lena knew she might not get another chance to search their room. And her desire to unlock this mystery was stronger than her guilt.
For the past week, she had spent every spare moment looking through all the cupboards, drawers, and closets in the house, except in her parents' room. She had even wandered around outside in the front and back yards, fretting over a possible buried chest, and wondering if she would have to dig up every square foot of garden.
Somehow, after wearing the key close to her heart for seven days, she felt that it would not lead her astray. And she did not believe the lock she sought was underground.
Pulling the key from under her shirt, Lena held it loosely in her hand for a moment, as if seeking guidance. The sun had gone behind a cloud, making her parents' bedroom seem darker than usual. She smelled the scent of her mom's jasmine lotion and her dad's woodsy after-shave.
Where to start?
Lena looked at the bedside tables. On her mom's side was a stack of books, mostly mysteries, with a gardening magazine lying on top. On her father's side was just one book, a Stephen King paperback. Lena didn't know how he could read horror novels and then fall asleep, but he loved them. She glanced at her mom's dresser drawer and opened it. Mostly just lacy, silky things, wafting the scent of jasmine up to her more strongly. She closed the drawer hastily. She paused at her father's drawer.
Ew, what if there are ... marital things ... in there? she thought. Her mind skated over the idea like it was a patch of black ice.
Holding her breath, she pulled the drawer open and glanced inside quickly, making sure there was nothing like a locked box, then shut the drawer. Whew.
She turned to their big mahogany bureau next. Coins, scraps of paper, a book of crossword puzzles, and various other objects littered the top. A large cobalt-blue hand—used for holding rings and other pieces of jewelry—stood at one end of the bureau. It was, of course, a gift from Grandma Kath. Lena shuddered. That disembodied hand, frozen in a blue-fingered reach, had always creeped her out. Trying not to look at the hand, Lena opened and closed the drawers, scanning their