George stepped out of the room, taking the owner with him, and the four remained to contemplate the next course of action.

Jane glanced around, taking in her surroundings for the first time. "I'm not sure what I should be doing," she admitted. "I'm not used to not being in charge."

William dipped his head in understanding. "While you have no legal jurisdiction here, I can't say I wouldn't mind another set of eyes to assist me. However, I would ask that you don't touch anything."

"Of course," she replied.

They all slowly turned to examine the room. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be a small drawing room, but like the rest of the house, seemed 'off' in its appearance. A sofa and ottoman sat in its expected positions, and a writing table claimed its spot in the far corner. A bookcase discreetly projected an aura of intelligence, while the small piano boasted of a musical dim lights did just enough to illuminate the middle, but barely reached the dark corners. Whether intended or not, it added to the sinking feeling the room emanated. It was Julia who spotted the anomaly.

"The window is bricked. It doesn't look out to anything."

"She's right," Maura said, walking to it. The heavy curtains were parted just enough for the discovery to be made. Brushing aside the covering, she added, "There's a glass pane but it leads to nothing."

"Not entirely surprising considering the nature of the house," William noted.

Jane nodded. "Still, creepy as all he-" She didn't have to see William's shock nor Julia's bemused surprise to know enough to catch herself. "Heck. I was going to say 'heck'.." Bringing things back to the matter at hand, she said, "Bricked up window means there was only one way in and one way out."

"Very good," William said, also happy to be changing the subject. "Julia, do we know if the victim was killed here or moved?"

"Hard to say without further examination. Cause of death will determine where."

William pondered the options. "Based on initial observation, the lack of blood or outward wounds would seem to indicate the body was moved here. And no one saw anything?"

"You'll have to find out when the house is open to the public," Jane said. "Then see who has access to it when it's closed. I can't believe anyone could have moved the body while everyone was here."

"Agreed," he said.

He walked along the room, examining the walls and the bookcase for any sign of a hidden door. Maura did the same, walking in the opposite direction. Jane and Julia inspected the floors and furniture looking for anything that might have been left behind by the killer or victim. Their searches offered nothing and ended at the piano against the wall.

"Cottage piano," Jane admired. When the trio looked to her to continue, she said, "82 notes. I used to play it in church."

Julia scrutinized the music sheet that rested on top. "There's no name listed. Perhaps it's 'Funeral March'?" she speculated, only half joking.

William leaned over her shoulder, pretending not to notice their proximity. With his right hand reaching around her waist, he depressed one key, then another, then another, until the notes triggered a meaning. "Moonlight Sonata," he said.

Jane stepped closer and placed her left hand on the keyboard. Counting in William by bobbing her head, they started as one, the somber notes wafting through the room. Suddenly, the room began to move. Startled by the unexpected, the four froze and watched in awe as the floor and wall swivelled on an unseen device, until they were in another room.

"It's like a secret door," Julia whispered.

"Triggered by the piano," William said.

In the darkness, Jane asked, "Should I strike a match?"

"I'm not sure we have much choice, Sheriff," he replied.

A bright light sparked and Jane held up the match, giving everyone a chance to look around. Maura gasped.

"It's the same room."

Julia's voice was filled with matching wonder. "The exact same room, William."

Even in the faint illumination offered by the match, they could see the sofa and ottoman, the writing table and the bookcase all in the same places. Even the bricked window was duplicated. A lamp in the corner gave Jane an idea.

"Let me light that."

"No electricity in this room," William noted when the lamp offered more light. "I wonder why."

"Why anything?" Julia asked. "Why go to the trouble to duplicate an entire room? And are we to assume the other side of this wall is an exact replica of this piano?"

Maura could only shake her head in amazement. Glancing down at the floor, she said, "If you look closely enough, you can see the semi-circle in the wood." She traced it in the air. "Only this portion of the room turns. The mind behind this is incredible."

"Or crazy," Jane said. "Who creates a secret room of a regular room?"

"More importantly," Julia said, "how do we get back? Let's not forget there's still a body on the other side."

"The obvious answer is to do the thing that got us here." Jane raised her eyebrows at William who nodded. With each resting a hand on the keys, they began playing the piece once more. Nearly a minute passed before Jane shook her head. "We didn't get that far the first time. I'm almost positive you hit the G sharp and the floor turned."

William nodded. "Agreed. Certainly we didn't get much farther than 30 or 35 seconds." He glanced around the room. "So what is the trigger on this side?"

No sooner were the words were out of his mouth than he and Maura turned to each other. "The bookcase!" they said simultaneously.

Leaving them to examine their findings, Jane rested her hands on her hips and made a face.

"What is it?" Julia asked.

She struggled to find the words. "I don't know. There's something not right here. Something's different."

Julia moved closer and tried to see things from Jane's perspective. "Has something been added? Different paintings, perhaps? Is something missing?"

Her eyes darted around the room, searching for the answer. Finding nothing, she closed her eyes and lowered her head, hoping to draw on her memory of the room on the other side of the wall. Just as she opened her eyes to try again, she saw it. Offering a self-deprecating chuckle at the obvious discovery, she tapped her foot.

"It's the rug," she grinned.

Julia looked down. "There isn't one."

"But there is one in the other room."

They both crouched down while William and Maura continued searching the books. Jane frowned and began tracing a groove in the floor. Julia began doing the same, moving in the opposite direction. It only took a few seconds to realize what they had discovered.

"It's a trap door," Julia said.

Jane nodded her agreement and was about to comment when her eyes widened in alarm. Turning sharply to William and Maura, she blurted out, "Stop!"

As if in slow motion, her words reached their ears a split-second too late. One of the books was the latch to a secret door, but not the one between the rooms; it opened the door underneath Jane and Julia. In the time it took her to shout her warning, the wooden doors dropped and the two women disappeared from sight.

…..

"Julia!"

Maura grabbed his arm before he could get any closer to the opening in the floor.

"Detective, be careful!"

He resisted pulling his arm away, realizing she was only looking out for his well-being. "Yes, of course."

Composing himself, he carefully knelt at the edge of the trap door. Shouting into the black void, he called out Julia's name again. Maura joined him at his side.

"Jane!"

Several attempts were made until they sat back on their heels. William took off his hat and wiped his brow.

"They're fine," Maura assured him. "Jane's incredibly resilient and in the little time I've gotten to know Dr. Ogden, I'd bet she is, too."

He pressed his lips together and nodded. Tamping down his fear, he knew he was being irrational. "You're right. I shouldn't doubt either of them. We should be focussing on getting out of here and getting them back." Standing, he put his hat back on and scanned the room for an answer. "It's clearly not the books, and we can't get back the way we came in." He scowled at the piano.

"Sir?"

The voice came from the other side of the wall. Beaming, William said, "You're an angel, George!"

…..

The only thing that had greeted him when he returned to the room was the victim. Not unaccustomed to the random investigations of Detective Murdoch, George wasn't entirely surprised to not find him here. However, the absence of the three women seemed out of place. Uncertain of what to do, he thought the best thing would be to wait for the morgue attendants, hesitant as he was to leave the body alone. He was examining the bookcase when he heard it, something that sounded surprisingly like the detective's voice. George's eyes darted about the room, half-wondering if this wasn't some kind of trick. His ears craned to hear more, and was rewarded by another voice, this time, Dr. Isles. It seemed to be coming from… behind the piano.

Puzzled, he stepped in front of it and looked around to make sure no one was watching before he called out, "Sir?"

…..

It happened so fast they barely had time to sit upright. They had landed in an unceremonious heap at the bottom of the trap door, but before they could gather their bearings, the steep angle of the tunnel sent them down the dark cylinder. Jane stuck out her feet and hands in an effort to try and halt their descent which came at a breakneck speed. In the dark, Julia anticipated Jane's actions and did the same which prevented her from barrelling into the sheriff from behind. They weren't sure how long they had travelled before their efforts were finally rewarded. They came to a stop just in time, as Jane's boots hit the end of the tunnel. In the dark, they couldn't tell what came next.

"I'm afraid I recognize that smell," Julia said, her voice lightly reverberating off the walls.

"Let me light a match." The paraffin odour followed the flame. Startled by what it revealed, Jane dropped the match, leaving them in darkness once again. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Let me try that again, this time without the squeaking noise."

Julia couldn't help but laugh softly over Jane's shoulder, but the levity was quickly dispelled. The end of the tunnel appeared to lead to a large drop into a room, where they were greeted by a decomposing body that had been caught on the spikes that lined the floor. Jane covered her nose with one arm and held out the match with the other.

"What the hell?"

"It's some kind of killing room," Julia whispered. "Had we not stopped when we did, we'd very likely been down there with her."

"Do you think she died there or was she dead before she hit the floor?"

"Too difficult to say from here. We'll have to bring her out."

"We'll have to get ourselves out first."

"How you propose we do that?"

The match flickered out, leaving them in the dark again. There was nothing but the sound of their breathing for several minutes until Jane finally spoke.

"Only thing we can do is go back up. The drop was pretty steep but we can figure that out when we get there."

"You know," Julia said, "in the midst of our travel, I may have seen an adjoining tunnel. Or to be more precise, felt one."

Jane replayed the trip behind her eyes. Images flashed across her brain until they zeroed in on Julia's information. "You're right. About 30 feet back. On the right hand side."

"How far do you think we travelled?"

"The drop had to be 6 or 7 feet." Though it was a statement, Jane left it open for Julia's response.

"I'd say that's a reasonable guess if my aches are anything to go by."

"Aches?" Jane repeated, twisting her head around. "You landed on me."

Julia dismissed the light accusation with a laugh. "A body falling on a body isn't much of a buffer, Sheriff, regardless of the height. Or the body."

"Uh-huh. Says the body landing on the body. Anyway, after that, I'd say we slid at least..." She struggled to visualize the distance. "50 feet? 60 feet?"

Julia understood the lack of clarity. "It did take me several seconds to get my bearings settled," she said. "But yes, certainly 50 feet at least."

"Well, we're not going to get any closer if we don't start moving. C'mon, turn around. You get to lead."

It was a tight fit, but there was just enough room to twist around to their hands and knees. In their new positions, they were able to start their cautious journey back up the tunnel.

"Don't make any sudden stops," Jane said, "or we'll find ourselves in an embarrassing situation that we'll have to keep secret forever."

It took a moment for Julia to decipher Jane's meaning, but when the image finally developed in her mind, she agreed with a light-hearted, "Quite."

The return trip proved more arduous than they had anticipated, and minutes passed without a word from either woman. Julia's dress only made the endeavour more difficult.

"What I wouldn't do to be in your pants right now, Sheriff."

Without missing a beat, Jane said, "With that kind of talk, you should call me 'Jane'."

The meaning came to Julia much quicker this time, and she burst out laughing. "Despite the events of the last hour, I must say, it's been wonderful to meet you."

"Oh, so this isn't a usual evening for you and your detective?"

Though the question was obviously facetious, Julia replied, "No." She refrained from correcting Jane on the rest.

Sensing the change in the air, Jane directed the conversation to their situation. "I think I see a void just ahead."

Julia looked away from the spot in the hopes the rhodopsin in her eyes would make the object clearer. "Yes, I believe you're right. Only a few more feet."

It didn't take long to reach their destination, but once they arrived, they were uncertain what to do next.

"Guess it depends on whether this comes out to a death trap, huh?" Jane said, voicing their silent worry.

"There's only one way to find out," Julia replied firmly. "May I have a match?" Jane wordlessly handed her the book. The white phosphorus quickly came to life. Craning her neck into the unknown, it only took Julia seconds before pulling back. "It leads directly into a room," she revealed.

"Ceiling or floor?" Jane asked.

"No more than a foot from the floor."

"Well that's one good thing, I guess. Anything else?"

"Only what the match could give me," Julia confessed. "But I don't think we have many options."

"No," Jane agreed. "It's this or try to get up that 6 foot drop."

"This might give us something to work with."

Jane nodded. "What choice do we have? After you, Doctor."

…..

"Sir! What in the world?"

"George!" William shouted back. "We're on the other side of the wall."

Knowing there would be a better time to ask how the detective ended up in his predicament, George instead asked, "Is everyone all right?"

"I'll explain everything once we return, but in order to do that, I need your help."

"Of course, sir. Anything."

"Do you see the piano?"

"I'm standing directly in front of it."

"I don't suppose you can read music, can you, George?"

"Oh, I dabble in it somewhat. My aunt Begonia tried with all her might to get me to play the instrument, but it just never seemed to stay with me. Two long laborious summers stuck inside with Mr. Taylor, a nefarious taskmaster who would rap my knuckles with-"

"George!"

"Sorry, sir! It was quite a circuitous way of telling you I might indeed be able to read some music, wasn't it?"

"We need you to play the song on the paper you see, George," Maura said.

"Dr. Isles! I'm so happy to hear your voice. Yes, give me a moment." He scanned the sheet, then sighed in relief. "Thank goodness, this appears to be somewhat decipherable. How much should I play, sir?"

"You'll know when to stop, George," William assured him.

Frowning at the cryptic reply, he hovered his fingers over the black and white keys until he was satisfied the start was correct. His playing wasn't nearly as fluid as William and Jane's; nevertheless, he was able to stumble through the notes enough to set the tumblers turning again. Startled by the movement, George froze, his fingers still holding down the keys.

Back in the original room, William was keen to return to action, finding Julia his immediate priority. After making sure Maura was okay, he turned to find his constable... only to discover he wasn't there. Sighing, William spoke to the wall.

"George?"

"Yes, sir?"

Rather than reply, William played the song again, and quickly stepped back as the floor began to move. George's expression was one of wonder and awe.

"Sir! A secret room!"

"Yes, we've discovered the same, George."

The wry comment went unnoticed by the constable. "Imagine the possibilities! Well, I suppose the first thing one should wonder is the craftsmanship and the wherewithal to imagine such a thing in the first place. Do you think it's one of the 55 rooms they've discovered, or do you think you're the first one to find it?" His voice raised in excitement. "Imagine, sir! You may have found a secret room in the Murder Hou-" He stopped abruptly. "Where are Dr. Ogden and the sheriff?"

Rather than berate him for his ramble, William simply said, "In the house. Where exactly, we don't know."

…..