20. Prowling

Seven-oh-five. The Chapter meeting was in progress as scheduled but I was outside the meeting room--prowling is the only word I can use--the monastery.

I visited the refectory and the kitchen first.

I had a hunch about this case--that someone from the outside was not only responsible for the theft of the blue star crystal, but was still in hiding somewhere INSIDE the monastery.

And in my experience, cases were often solved by hunches--so, the kitchen visit.

If there was anyone besides the monks here,  they would get hungry and the kitchen and the kitchen cupboards and cooling closets were where the food was kept. 

It felt strange being in the kitchen alone because there was always some activity here, but I was quite alone. Silent. Nothing moving.

I went through the darkened hallways. Nothing stirring--to the garden door, and went out into the garden. 

The garden was walled and quite large. There was a wide variety of seaweed and kelp growing here. Some I recognized and some, probably medicinal plants, were unknown to me.

Moonlight Monastery was certainly a good name for this place because though the sea was fairly deep here, the light was bright enough for a good look around. Again nothing.

 I realized there were hundreds of good hiding places in this monastery--the bell tower, the music rooms, empty guest rooms, cellars and even a crypt.

Well, I didn't have time to explore it all, but I used my eyes and ears as well as I could for as long as I could--then I suspected the Chapter meeting was coming to an end--so I went to the chapel to join the others for the last service of the day.

I had discovered nothing.

  

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