The Key in the Attic by DeAnna Julie Dodson Page A

me. But I have plenty of other things I could show you.”
    “No, thank you. But would it be possible for us to just see the desk for a minute?”
    Sanders still smiled, but he looked a little wary now. “See it?”
    Mary Beth held out her hand. “My name is Mary Beth Brock. That desk has been in my family since before the Civil War.”
    He took the hand she offered and released it quickly. “I’m sorry, Ms. Brock, but my understanding is that you sold that desk outright. Janet at Park Cambridge sold it to me. I really couldn’t think of selling it back.”
    “No, no, and I wouldn’t ask that of you. I just think I might have left some family papers in it and was hoping you’d let us have a look.”
    “Papers?” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. Janet didn’t mention any papers.”
    “I don’t even know if there are any papers,” Mary Beth admitted. “But I’d like to check.”
    His smile brightened. “Oh well, of course.”
    “Don’t forget the key,” Annie prompted, and Mary Beth immediately started rummaging in her purse.
    “We, um, found an old key we think goes to that desk, and we’d like to see if it fits.”
    “No problem.” Sanders motioned for them to follow as he walked toward the back of the shop. “But it’s not locked.”
    “Yes, I know. It was never locked as far as I know, not in my lifetime anyway, and I think I took everything out of it before I sold it. Since I have the key now, at least what I think might be the key, I just want to make sure I haven’t missed anything.”
    “Sounds fair enough.”
    Sanders led them through an office that was even more cluttered than the shop and back into a warehouse area. It was amazingly neat and well ordered. Annie gave Mary Beth a “Who knew?” glance, but she managed to hold her tongue. The desk was near the loading dock.
    “There she is. I was about to put it into my truck.” Sanders looked sympathetic. “I have to tell you, though, I went over it pretty thoroughly after I bought it. Some of these pieces have the most interesting little drawers and cubbies. Everything in this one was empty.”
    Annie and Mary Beth both started examining the desk, opening drawers and cabinet doors. As he said, and as they had suspected, it was empty. The only keyhole was to a lock on a cabinet door on the right side of the desk. It was maybe five inches square.
    “At least try the key,” Annie suggested.
    Mary Beth fumbled with the little brass key, but it fit into the hole with a minimal amount of wiggling. In another moment there was a gratifying click, and the door was locked. With another click, it opened again. It was still empty.
    Mary Beth sighed.
    Sanders pointed to the open cabinet. “I suppose you checked in the back in there.”
    “In the back?” Mary Beth and Annie said at the same time.
    “Sure.” Sanders reached in and, with a little jiggling, worked free a well-fitted false back inside the cabinet, revealing another cubbyhole behind it. “I’ve seen a number of these old beauties with hidden spaces.”
    “A deeper secret place,” Mary Beth whispered.
    Sanders’s smile turned a little puzzled. “What?”
    “Nothing, really.” Annie felt inside. “It certainly is empty.”
    Mary Beth looked at Annie. “I don’t know whether to be happy or sad. It’s nice to know this is the right key, I guess. But the next clue—”
    “Probably gone a long time ago.” Annie patted her arm. “Oh well, it was fun anyway.”
    “I’m sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for. If there’s anything else I can do, let me know.”
    Mary Beth nodded.
    “And if you have any other great pieces from this period, I’d love to take a look at them. As you can see, I like a big variety.”
    Annie laughed. “I don’t know how you keep track of everything you have. Or how your customers find anything.”
    “It’s my own personal business theory. Let the customers uncover things for themselves. A shopping adventure. A treasure