Butch, in turn, settled-in; leaning against the strong oak, he reached for yet another fresh toothpick. Pointing behind the group, his gaze lengthened.

"Do you know what's just over there?" Butch queried.

"Yeah, the water tower." Spinelli answered.

"And the old Sanders house." Mikey added.

"My dentist, Dr. Goldman, lives there! He says that there's a secret wine cellar in the basement!" Gus offered enthusiastically.

"I'm not surprised," Butch spoke coolly. "Professor Sanders built that house himself. Supposedly it is a one quarter scale replica of a manor house that Sanders saw from a train when he was at Oxford."

"Professor Conrad Sanders, Rhode Scholar, 1899-1975, taught at Harvard University and Occidental College. Famed for his journeys in the Northern British Isles and his study of pre-Celtic Scotland." Gretchen read from her handheld computer, Galileo. "How was I unaware that our small town had such a famous academic as a resident?"

"Because Sanders kept a low profile. Some might even say that he was hiding — or was keeping watch over something he had hidden."

"And that's what Jeff found?" TJ asked, beginning to believe.

"I don't know what Jeff found — but I know whatever it was, he wishes he hadn't. You see, for years, there were stories about the quirky, old professor who lived at the end of the one house street. About how he traded one parcel of his land to the town for the water tower to be built in exchange for something no one was quite sure about. Another piece of land? A private tunnel that connected to the main sewer drain for the town? Keys to the secret town bomb shelter?"

"Bomb shelter?!" Vince exclaimed.

"No one knew exactly. But what everyone did know is that Professor Sanders was as secretive as he was kind. He was known for buying whole counters of kids their milkshakes and ice cream at the old soda fountain. Yet, no one had ever been in his house. And it was such a beautiful house."

"It still is." Mikey ensured.

"That's right, it sure is. Hand-laid slate stone. Large library. After the professor passed away, and his nephew put the house on the market, nearly everyone in town went to the open house, just to finally see what was behind that large English oak door. My mother and grandmother went and said that they sure weren't disappointed." Butch pushed himself up and off of the tree and began to pace amongst the gang. "But there was a room upstairs, a room that Sander's nephew called the "private study" that no one was able to see. A large, old padlock made sure no one entered. My grandmother swears that when she walked-by that door she heard a whisper come from inside and felt a draft of cold air that gave her a chill."

"Jeez" Spinelli uttered without realizing it.

"'Jeez' is right. And what's more chilling is that when my grandmother told my grandfather about the locked door and her feeling, he told her that he wasn't surprised. He said that at his lodge he had heard, more than once, that Professor Sanders had come here to retire suddenly after his greatest discovery."

"What was it? The Holy Grail? The bones of a giant?" Gretchen pressed.

"No one knew. But somehow my grandfather was of the mind that the professor had taken it with him to keep anyone else from discovering it. My grandfather said it was something dark, something powerful, and that's why Ol' Sanders kept to himself. That's why you could see the light on in his study in the dead of night. He was always looking for a way to destroy it for once and all."

Another breeze rose-up — this time it was colder, sharper. TJ pulled his jacket close.

"But the professor never got the chance. He passed-away before he could."

"Wait a second — if no one knew anything about any of this — then how did people know any of this?!" Spinelli's skepticism returned with a vengeance.

"I said that no one back then was sure about the details of Professor Sanders — but people in small towns find a way." Butch answered.

"Yeah, a way to make up rumors and pass them along." Vince laughed.

"And I'd have to agree with you Vince, except you didn't let me finish." Butch chided. "You see when the house was sold, most of the artifacts were donated to museums around the world, most of the valuable art was sold at estate sale, and the rest was gifted-out to a handful of people around town. Over time some of those items ended-up in antique shops in the area. And that is where young Jeff Shepard enters the story. A fateful trip to Woodman's Antiques, the purchase of a French lap writing desk, — and then the discovery of a hidden compartment."

"A hidden compartment!" TJ looked at Vince. "This is straight-out of a Barnaby Boys mystery!"

"A hidden compartment — and a diary. A diary that put Jeff on the trail to Professor Sander's greatest discovery — and Jeff's own disappearance."