Castle on the Edge by Douglas Strang Page A

and his pajamas and undergarments were meticulously folded in the draws. His three pairs of shoes and one pair of slippers were situated under the bed in a perfect straight line. Everything was as it should be…but Mister Strutmire wasn’t in his room. Where was Mister Strutmire, and who, or what, was making that thumping, dragging sound from a couple of moments ago prior to our entry…and where did it go?
    As we were about to leave, Mary said, “Alex, wait. What about the balcony?”
    “Balcony? What balcony?” I responded, taken aback with surprise.
    “There’s a door that opens on to a balcony behind that tapestry…the one on the left side of the bed; you can’t see it from the adjacent window, even in the daytime, because there’s a stone pillar that blocks it.”
    “I never knew there was an outside balcony connected to this room, Mary.”
    “I don’t think it’s been used for years…at least as long as I’ve been here. I only know about it because six months ago or so while I was checking Mister Lynch’s chart you remember Mister Lynch, Alex, he had this room at the time. Well, I dropped my pen and it rolled under the tapestry and when I went to retrieve it, I pulled back the tapestry and eyeballed a paneled door. I opened it as it was unlocked, and discovered the balcony. I thought it was only the wall before that.”
    “Well let’s open the door and look out there now,” I said, “that would explain how our noise maker got away.”
    “Be careful, Alex, it might be dangerous.”
    Then Mister Dudley said assuredly, “Don’t you worry, Miss Holden. Here, you hold the torch and Doctor Ramsey and I will handle whoever might be out there.”
    “Yes, Mary, you just hold the light on the door.” Then I turned to Mister Dudley and said in a low voice, “I’m going to open the door. This might get physical so stay right behind me and ready to back me up, if necessary.”
    “Right, Doctor Ramsey.”
    Mary positioned herself and focused the light on the tapestry then I pulled it back. Sure enough, there it was, a gray camouflaged panel door that perfectly blended in with the surrounding paneled wall; it had no visible frame. The only thing that distinguished it from the other panels was on the middle edge, it had a small flat, matching narrow bar. It discreetly slid out from its tailored aperture and reached over the divide, thus fitting in to the matched slit of the adjacent panel. The position of the opening was on the right side. Many doors open from a left-side facing. Either way it could be easily overlooked by most people. It didn’t get past Mary’s sharp eye...those beautiful green eyes.
    I took a deep breath and said, “All right, Mister Dudley.” Then slid the bar back and pulled the door open into the room; that’s when I could see the two small hinges spaced about five feet apart embedded at the left side. There was complete blackness out there. I heard a light wind whistle through the nearby pine trees as well as the rustling of their branches and the roaring of the sea that lay below the great cliff to the west. Mister Dudley took the flashlight from Mary. I told her to stay inside. Then I led the way out with Mister Dudley right behind me, guiding with the light.
    “Glory be, Doctor Ramsey.” Dudley said in amazement as he darted the light around, “In my seven years here as groundskeeper, I never noticed this perch; I guess I just never looked up.”
    It was a Spanish-styled balcony, about twelve feet long and four feet wide. It was completely devoid of any items, such as potted plants for aesthetics, and there was nobody on it. It had a black wrought-iron barrier that was showing a lot of rust all the way around. The wood-board floor appeared to have a lot of dry rot. As Mister Dudley and I stepped out and commenced walking on it, most of the floorboards squeaked and a couple even buckled; then the rail started to undulate. That was followed by the sounds of scraping