The Singing Stones: Ria Quinn Mysteries, #3

By Regina Clarke

A consciousness-raising group is holding their retreat at the Merlyn Inn. Their plan for a fire ceremony in the meadow across Druid Lane makes innkeeper Deidre frantic, until Ria agrees to help. When a lute-player she meets at the retreat persuades Ria to join him in exploring an ancient boulder field behind the inn, he shows her how the stones ring in bell-like tones when tapped with a hammer. While clambering over the field, they are shocked to discover the bludgeoned body of a man in a business suit, a hammer beside him that has been used for much more than tapping on the stones.

 

Amateur archaeologist that she is, Ria wants to know why he was digging in that field. Is it possible the River Writers club staying at the inn knows what is going on? She has never met a quirkier group of people. What about their leader, who knows too much about Ria? There's no chance to find out. After the fire ceremony, amidst celebrations inside the inn, he is found murdered.

 

The fire ceremony itself haunts her. Ria joins the drumming circle, surrounded by high posts topped with flaming torches, the dark woods behind as a backdrop. It is mesmerizing. So often while exploring archaeological digs, she had imagined living in the prehistoric times the digs revealed. With the drumming, she feels suddenly as if she has come close.

 

Seeing a phone video of a hooded figure digging through the boulder field, Ria and friends go there and witness the same figure, only to end up scaring him away. Yet her presence and her constant questions have awakened someone else's curiosity. Whoever it is wants whatever the stones are hiding, and Ria knows he is not done yet. She feels safe in her home with her precious golden retriever Hailey at her side—but is she?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Regina Clarke
• Release date: Dec 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393793694

Book preview

Prologue

Someone was tapping on stones in the field, creating bell-like sounds that carried on the wind. Standing on the crest of the hill above, a watcher waited. A gun would be nice but of course it would make too much noise, and besides, it was still in its case back at the Merlyn Inn, a hundred yards away. There wasn’t time to get it and return. The presence of the man below had been a surprise. It could ruin everything. Fortunately, there were other ways to stop him. The watcher Began to walk down the long slope of the hill.

The man never looked up, intent on hitting the tumbled array of stones. Abruptly, he began to dislodge some of the rocks, letting out a cry of frustration as he pushed more of them out of the way.

Just as he picked up an empty canvas bag that lay beside him and opened it, he felt a sharp pain and then a blow that sent him rolling further down the hill until he was sprawled on the bank of a fast-flowing brook. He managed to raise himself halfway. There was no moon. He uttered a cry of alarm.

You! What on earth’s the matter with you? They’re here somewhere. This belongs to both of us! he said, but another blow struck him and everything went dark.

Chapter One

A late snowstorm had closed the roads and Ria looked out the wide windows of her living room in dismay. The seasons were lovely, especially in Shokan Falls, but it was late March—shouldn’t there be high winds and a hint of April showers instead of a cold winter snow?

Her golden retriever Hailey bounded into the room and stared up at her with a look that was impossible to ignore. She was done playing, it was cold outside, and she was hungry. How a dog could convey a world of meaning in one look still amazed Ria. Or maybe Hailey was better at doing that than other dogs. Must be, she decided, and walked into the kitchen. Hailey put her nose an inch away from the small closet where her dry food was stored.

Nothing gets by you, does it? Ria said, opening the door and measuring the right amount into her dog’s bowl. She refilled the water dish and sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. What was she going to do now? Had Deidre canceled the retreat, scheduled to start the next day at her inn?

The phone rang and her friend’s image appeared on the screen for a second before the call ended. Sometimes she wondered if Deidre was telepathic, but she claimed Ria was the one with that power. It’s like you can sense things before they happen, she’d often say, which explains why you keep getting involved in the mayhem around here.

That was one word for it. After a year in Shokan Falls, Ria had no doubt it was a most curious town to inhabit. Nothing was predictable, least of all the occasions of mayhem, which ranged from strange calls in the night to intruders attacking and frightening her—and the discovery of more than one dead body.

A ghoulish thought. No more of those, thank you, she said aloud, a habit she couldn’t seem to break, still carried over from her days exploring archaeological sites in Britain. Their isolation led her to welcome the sound of her own voice more often than not.

Everything had gone back to normal, once the truth had been revealed about the body she had found in a peat bog a few months before. That, together with the secrets emerging out of the abandoned state hospital on the edge of town, had consumed her for a time. She welcomed the peace of mind the solution had brought at last.

She couldn’t forget it had also brought the unexpected presence of Kyle Barrows, whose expertise and insights on sacred Native American artifacts had given her crucial information. On New Year’s Eve she’d seen another side of Kyle, one that had been attractive and intriguing. All too soon, he’d gone off on one of his worldwide journeys to foster cooperation in high-level negotiations, this time in Uganda. Was that a safe place to be? Ria doubted it. He’d told her before he left he’d keep in touch and he had, until two weeks ago, when he was headed toward the capitol city of Kampala. Where was he now?

Her phone rang again and as soon as she answered, Deidre began talking fast.

Ria, sorry about that, dropped the phone. I’m at my wit’s end. You know that retreat that’s starting tomorrow, run by that consciousness-raising group? Almost everyone in town wants to know why this retreat has to happen in Shokan Falls—why not in some rural hideaway, they keep saying to me.

You mean this isn’t the backwoods? Ria asked.

You’re no help. Well, I told the group I’d sponsor them at the inn because it’s too cold for everyone to go out camping in the field, which I would have thought they’d know. We’re in the northeast, for heaven’s sake, and it doesn’t get properly warm till May. Now it seems these people are planning some kind of elaborate outdoor event that has to happen in moonlight, and they want me to set up a fire circle. Like that’s going to happen. Can you imagine what the town council would think with pagans dancing all over the place?

Given Deidre owned the Merlyn Inn and it was the only habitation on Druid Lane—an address she had somehow persuaded the rather unimaginative town council to let her name—her worry seemed illogical. Ria wondered if something else was going on.

Our town council doesn’t have to know about it, do they? Ria said. I would doubt your guests are all pagans, by the way, she said, and chuckled. Besides, it sounds like it might be fun.

You think so? What do you know about this kind of thing?

Ria laughed. Absolutely nothing. Didn’t you check them out ahead of time?

I always do. They’re legitimate, independently owned, and go to festivals all over the country.

So why are you worried? Ria waited. There was definitely something Deidre wasn’t telling her. This was the woman who held ceremonies on the Winter Solstice at an ancient stone dolmen in Raven Woods. A few fires under moonlight would not be a problem for her.

A long sigh came over the phone. It’s gotten a little complicated in another way. Deidre paused a moment. Aletha wants to participate. With the group. She’s leaving Eona to run the shop for the whole five days. Her daughter can do that, though her goth makeup isn’t exactly what tourists expect in a crystal shop, and we get tourists all year long coming through town.

Do you think Aletha will lose money letting Eona run things?

No, I mean, well, no. I’m worried my sister could take the fire ceremonies too seriously. Since we were little, fire has always been like a magnet for Aletha. She gets mesmerized by it.

Hold on, are you afraid she’ll set fires or something? Ria couldn’t imagine Aletha doing any such thing.

Of course not! Deidre said, indignant. I just know she can get carried away and might sort of get immersed in whatever they’re doing, like you do with your stones.

I see, you mean with the archaeological digs I go to? They’re hardly ceremonial.

I’m not sure what I mean, at this point. I guess I’m just afraid she could get overwhelmed, and not in a good way.

What does Aletha say about it?

That she’d make me a bracelet of blue lace agate and sodalite. She’s impossible. I have to go. Someone is finally plowing the road. When this snow stops, give me a ring and we’ll meet at Sarah’s, okay? This better be the last storm of the season!

Got it, Ria said, but she was talking to dead air. On impulse she did a search on her phone for blue lace agate and found the pale blue, banded stone was considered useful for fixing problems in misunderstanding and helped relieve anxiety in tense times. Sodalite was a deep blue with white streaks in it and apparently helpful in calming situations where a person had become wound up and emotional. She doubted Deidre would appreciate receiving the intention of either crystal from Aletha.

A sudden whistling sound distracted her, but all she could see out the kitchen window were shallow drifts of snow blown about by the wind. She sat down again and closed her eyes and listened. There was the soft breathing of Hailey, who had fallen asleep on her cushion. Creaks and thumps came from outside the house as it was buffeted by the weather. Inside, amidst the pristine renovations made by Harriet, who had deeded the house to her, all was secure and warm.

A loud banging on the front door woke Hailey, who ran into the hallway barking madly but wagging her tail. When Ria opened the door, the wind sent in a rush of snow. Sheriff Gareth Matheson stood there stamping his feet to get snow off his boots.

Gareth, what on earth are you doing here?

Have I mentioned you’re supposed to check who’s out here before opening this door, or any door, or any window? Can I come in?

Of course, but I’ve told you before I’m not going to feel afraid living in my own house. I refuse to do that. Besides, Hailey wasn’t afraid.

The sheriff stepped on to the rug in the hallway and took off his boots, revealing Harry Potter socks on his feet.

A gift from my eleven-year-old neighbor, he said, when he saw her smiling. She thinks I need some TLC.

That explains it. I had no idea they made Hogwarts socks for men. Coffee? That’s the best I can do for TLC—all out of cookies and muffins. I’ll be at Sarah’s later and plan to stock up then.

Coffee’s good enough. For now.

Something in his voice made Ria look back at him as she went toward the kitchen, but he was preoccupied with Hailey, who always stayed glued to the sheriff whenever he visited.

Will the storm last long? she asked as she set out a cup for him and poured another cup for herself. He drank it the way she did, black, no sugar. For some unknown reason, that pleased her.

Don’t think so. A spring anomaly.

Definition: a peculiar or strange event. I love that word, anomaly. Ria sat down on the other side of the table.

Why am I not surprised?

I know you didn’t come here just for coffee and my love of the dictionary. What’s up?

Gareth chuckled. You’re picking up our slang. Any idea where that expression comes from?

I do, actually. Your Bugs Bunny cartoons. Transplanted to Britain, thank you very much. ‘What’s up, Doc’ was that rabbit’s favorite thing to say. Only, the expression really came from Texas, you know. He also said ‘Carrots are divine. You get a dozen for a dime. It’s maaaa-gic!’ I grew up listening to my dad recite that. I know more if you’d like to hear them.

The sheriff stared at her. You amaze me.

Because I know Bugs Bunny? You’re a pushover. Ria grinned and took a sip of her coffee. Why are you really here?

The roads are plowed for the most part and I wanted to make sure the residents of Shokan Falls were safe and sound. You’re right. I came here hoping to learn you’re going to attend this retreat Deidre has happening.

A sudden ray of light brightened the room. Ria looked out the window. The snow had stopped and sunlight appeared through the clouds. Already it was melting the snow off the trees.

No, I’m not. I have my own work to do and I’ve never enjoyed group things where people are in close quarters.

You go on those archaeology expeditions with other people all the time.

Not so much anymore, but when I do, we all work alone, for the most part. Plus, I’m an amateur, remember? It’s not like they take me under their wing. Most of what I do is explore on my own. Even at digs I have to make sure I don’t intrude on what others are doing. They respect my knowledge, but there are boundaries. Not like a retreat at all.

Gareth’s phone beeped and when he answered a look of concern crossed his features. Five minutes, he said and ended the call. A car slid off the road down near Raven Woods. My deputy says the driver is missing. Gotta go. Talk more about this soon, okay? I want you at that retreat. Please keep it in mind.

A minute later he was out the door and Ria heard his car start up. He must have driven his new SUV, she thought. His department had just purchased it in a long overdue concession to replace the ten-year-old police car he'd been using. Why was the sheriff so intent on having her attend the retreat? Maybe Deidre would know when they met up.

She contemplated going upstairs and clearing up the files lying around on the rug in her bedroom, volumes of notes from digs she’d been to in Northumberland. That English county held some of the best peat bogs in the world and she had explored them with fascination. Ria had hoped by rereading her notes to discover more distinct resemblances to the peat bog she’d investigated on the outskirts of Shokan Falls.

It was almost to the day twelve months before, she realized, when she had returned to London from one of the Northumberland digs and learned of a legacy from an aunt she’d never heard of who turned out to be her older sister. That legacy had been this house, and a bank account she’d never imagined having. Then, what was to be a short trip over the pond to sell the house had become the entrance into a new way of life, one that was an ocean and continent away from all she had ever known. It still felt remarkable to realize this Hudson River Valley she was in had many artifacts and a terrain not unlike those of the Britain she had left behind. It was an outcome, Ria thought in hindsight, she would not have forfeited for anything.

As she left the kitchen, she passed a small table in the corner where she had tossed mail for the last few days before the unexpected storm hit. It was usually nothing but bills and junk mail, but there might be a message from her London flatmate, Emma. Casually checking the pile, she saw one with the logo of the nearby university from James Bradley, the professor who she’d briefly encountered during her last investigation. He and Harriet had been lovers in their time, and Ria knew he still mourned her sister’s death.

She tore open the envelope with excitement. She had given him the pottery fragment she’d found during a postmortem study of the peat bog, for he said he could have it assessed by someone he knew at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Engravings on it showed geometric lines connecting to each other, wrapping over to the top and bottom as if the design was intended as art—or for ceremony? She had seen such lines on pottery before in the British Museum and on site in Wiltshire and was sure it was Neolithic. Though it begged belief to find it buried in this landscape, yet there it was.

Scanning the letter, Ria shouted Yes!—startling Hailey, who raised her head for a moment before sinking back onto her cushion. The pottery had not only been curated by the museum and authenticated as being Neolithic, but another museum was interested in sponsoring a new excavation in Shokan Falls to see what else could be unearthed. A copy of the evaluation was attached.

So that meant Anna Siegel, whose body had surfaced in the bog, had been right! The woman’s face flashed before her, not the distorted features from her underwater prison, but the way she had looked in a documentary film recording the excavation, which had been carried out between the peat bog and the abandoned state hospital. So much intensity showed in her in the film as she supervised the staff and walked the dig boundaries over and over.

In his letter, Bradley reminded her that the first excavation, resisted by most of the town and almost canceled, had been a consuming project of Anna’s. She was convinced a Neolithic settlement lay under the ground where she had situated the dig, and that it extended under the ruins of the hospital. Her plan had been to eventually get the abandoned structure demolished so she could dig there and prove it. So now, with this confirmation from the museum, all that was needed was the town’s permission for a new dig. He’d be happy to lead it for her and help her talk to the town council.

Alas, Ria thought, the resistance to literally digging into the past might be too strong. It wasn’t just town officials who objected. Friends she valued, among them Glynis, Sylvia, and Kyle, found the idea of an excavation destructive.

The notes upstairs would have to wait. After a quick call to Deidre to tell her she was heading to Sarah’s, Ria tucked the letter into her purse and put on her jacket. Though it had a wonderfully warm lining, it would be time soon, she hoped, to check out Harriet’s spring wardrobe again. The woman had impeccable taste in clothes, and they all seemed to fit Ria perfectly, something that puzzled her but was gratifying. Though, all things considered, she supposed there was no surprise in that, was there? Sisters alike.

Not this time, girl, she said to Hailey, who had gotten up to follow her. You’d collect all that wet snow and bring it into the car, precious. In compensation, she gave her dog a favorite treat, which immediately occupied the retriever’s attention.

Outside, the air smelled of spring, even though the snow still lay on the ground in patches. It spoke of lovely promise. Crocuses had pushed up. The back yard had blossomed for months the spring and summer before, the color and scent intoxicating. This year she’d have more leisure to truly enjoy it all.

Chapter Two

Much to Ria’s relief, the driveway had only a few inches of snow, protected as it had been by the massive oak tree in her front yard, and the street plow hadn’t blocked the entrance. Not to mention the snow was melting fast everywhere in the strong sunlight.

There had been no cars on the road and the town center was strangely empty when she got there. Usually on a Friday there were people out and about everywhere doing weekend shopping, and some tourists were always coming through, even in cold weather. Inside Sarah’s Café she saw Deidre at their usual table near the window. She noted her friend looked haggard, as if she had slept little.

Am I glad to get away from that inn of mine! Deidre said as Ria joined her.

You can’t be so upset about Aletha, surely?

The waitress Moira came over with coffee for them both and smiled, which was rare for her. Isn’t it lovely? Everybody gone. Peaceful. Same order as usual? When both women nodded, Moira went back toward the counter.

What on earth was that about? Where are all the people? Did I miss a newsflash?

Deidre glanced over at the waitress, who was setting out muffins into trays. You’d think she’d be worried at getting no tips if there are no customers. I’ve always wondered why Moira stays at the job. As to where everyone is, most of them are at the annual rite of the winter waterfall immersion, which should be over just about now, she said, glancing her cell phone.

How could I not know about that? Ria took a bite of the pineapple and coconut muffin Moira had brought over.

Last year it was held before you showed up. It only happens if we have a snowstorm in March. Well, I should say it occurs every year in March but if there’s a late snowstorm it gets even more crowds. Some people elect to dive into the pool under the waterfall on River Road and swim in the water for up to ten minutes. More than that might bring on hypothermia since the water temp is likely around 36 degrees—that’s Fahrenheit—sorry, no idea what it is in your Celsius.

About two degrees, Ria said.

You can bet the whole town goes to see who dares to jump in. Whoever lasts longest, without risk, of course, wins the prize. Last year, it was Glynis.

Ria almost spit out her coffee. Glynis? Swimming in freezing water?

Yep. She says it’s not only invigorating, but very restorative. Helps her joint pain.

Ria saw cars starting to come down the street from the east. Looks like the adventure has ended. This town is a very curious place. I wonder who won this time, she said.

Deidre turned her head and nodded. We’ll know soon enough. Some of them will come in here before going home, including those hardy swimmers.

Then let’s get back to what’s bothering you so much before they get here. As I said, it can’t be Aletha’s wanting to go on the retreat, surely?

With a sigh, Deidre set down her coffee cup and signaled to Moira for more. Partly, but not just that. This fire circle is getting to me. I wish I’d never agreed to the retreat in the first place.

Deidre, you run an inn and I know firsthand how you’ve managed to successfully deal with some pretty strange visitors there.

Not when it involves weird rituals, and before you say anything, I don’t consider my honoring the Winter Solstice at the dolmen in Raven Woods the same sort of thing. It’s the fires. I’m not good with that, and Aletha knows it.

Ria raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"I haven’t told you this because—well, but my parents almost died in a fire I’d inadvertently set in our cellar when I was twelve. They got out just in time,