Mysteries of Lawndale - The First Party - Part 2

 

Mysteries of Lawndale 02 – The First Party Part 2

Twenty minutes later, Daria, Jane and Jason met Stacy, Quinn and Corey at a park across from Jason’s house on the corner of Glen Oaks Lane and Page Drive.

 

After their mutual surprise had subsided Daria asked, “Now we’ll compare notes.”

 

“We have to take notes?” Stacy asked.

 

“Not literally, but that would help,” Daria said as she placed her notebook on the table.

 

“No problem, I have an eidetic memory,” Stacy said.

 

“Huh?” Corey asked.

 

“Photographic,” Stacy answered.

 

“Remember that if you want to help us long term,” Daria said, with tone of slight annoyance.

 

“Right,” Corey said.

 

“Stacy, that is a good thing. With your recall you’ll be a great help,” Daria said, with a slight tone of encouragement.

 

“Well, one thing I have noticed, not only today, but occasionally, is the manhole covers. They all have the town crest on them.”

 

“Manhole covers have the town crest,” Daria repeated as she wrote it down in her notebook. She turned back to Stacy. “Could you sketch it?”

 

“Not very well,” Stacy admitted.

 

Daria turned to Jane.

 

“Sure,” Jane answered. “It’ll take a while, though.”

 

“That’s fine, we’ll go through what else we have discovered.”

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, Jane had finished sketching the town crest. “It’s rather interesting.”

 

Indeed, the town crest was interesting, with the Giant Strawberry prominent, looming over everything else.

 

“There seems to be some Masonic influence there,” Daria said.

 

“Masonic? How?” Quinn asked.

 

Daria pointed to the lower corners of Jane’s sketch. “A G is present in the corners, I’m sure the actual font is the same as in the symbol.”

 

Stacy took the paper and rewrote one of the G’s. “Like this?”

 

Daria looked. “That’s right,” she said. “This is deeper than I thought.”

 

“What?” Jason asked.

 

“The Freemasons can be dangerous,” Daria whispered.

 

“OK...”  Stacy said.

 

“To find out more, you can ask Mr. DeMartino. I don’t think he would be involved. Make sure you’re in an area where Li isn’t snooping though.”

 

“Sure,” Stacy said.

 

“So, you think they have influence on the Council?” Jane asked quietly.

 

“I’m not jumping quite that far, but it’s possible,” Daria said. She wrote, ‘possible mason influence on council’ in the notebook. She turned to Corey and Jason. “Don’t tell your parents or siblings about this.”

 

“About the Mason thing?” Corey asked.

 

“Yes,” Daria said.

 

“Sure,” Jason said.

 

Daria turned a page “Now, what else have we noticed...”

 

 

Daria, Quinn and Stacy arrived back at the Morgendorffer residence half an hour later. “That was interesting,” Stacy said.

 

“So you want to join the Mystery Club?” Daria asked.

 

“Um. Sure,” Stacy said. “I hope Sandi says it’s OK...”

 

“Stacy! Sandi doesn’t run your life! You can join other clubs!” Quinn said.

 

“Sure!” Stacy said to Daria.

 

“Is Sandi overbearing?” Daria asked.

 

“Quite, she runs the Fashion Club with an iron fist!” Quinn said.

 

Stacy nodded..

 

“Right, just go to the office in the morning and fill out the paperwork,” Daria said.

 

“Sure!”

 

 

 

Thursday, 2 October 1997

It was a quarter hour before homeroom, when both Corey and Stacy entered the office to get the paperwork for entering the Mystery Club.

 

“Yes, Ms. Rowe and Mr. Bateman?”

 

“We would like to join the Mystery Club,” Stacy said.

 

“For a new club, it’s quite popular. With you two in it, it’s bigger than the other club you’re in, Ms. Rowe.”

 

“Cool,” Stacy said. The receptionist gave them the paperwork.

 

“Thanks,” she said.

 

 

Freshman History Class was immediately before lunch on Thursdays. Just as well, Stacy couldn’t wait to ask Mr. DeMartino about the Freemasons.

 

“Mr. DeMartino, are there any audio pickups here?” Stacy asked after she had asked to speak with him and he had acquiesced.

 

“Why are you asking that?” he asked.

 

“I don’t want Ms. Li to know what I am asking of you.” At DeMartino’s look of concern she added, “Something historical.”

 

“Ah something, controversial, Ms. Rowe?”

 

“Yes.”

“There aren’t. I filled the last one with glue, yesterday after school.”

 

“Right.” Stacy produced a photocopy of Jane’s sketch of the town crest. “The Town Crest.”

 

“Right, one of Ms. Lane’s works?”

 

“You know of her artistry?”

 

“Yes, Defoe speaks quite highly of her skill. Additionally, her renderings of dragons on the edges of maps are quite exquisite.”

 

“Right.”

 

“What is it you wanted to ask me?”

 

Stacy pointed to the ‘G’ she redrew. “The Freemasons,” she whispered.

 

“Ah, I admire your caution. It could be a ‘interesting’ field of enquiry. That organisation is quite mysterious.”

 

“Tell me more. That new girl, Daria, told me to go to you.”

 

“Ms. Morgendorffer is quite interesting. Seems to think that there is a mystery everywhere in this town.”

 

“Don’t you think having that symbol on the town crest is a mystery?”

 

“Certainly. However there is a book on secret societies somewhere in this room. I hope that someone hasn’t taken it.”

 

“Sure!”

 

Mr. DeMartino started searching for that book, with Stacy helping.