Episode 29: Jane Eyre and Ominous Daydreams

Aubrey Lance, S.S. (Supernatural Sleuth) -- Season 1, Episode 29: Jane Eyre & Ominous Daydreams

I spent most of my first-period math class hiding my sister’s notebook in my lap so I could look over her sketches again without looking like I wasn’t paying attention to the lecture. 

Working on the assumption that each sketch held only one clue, I pulled out my fat, green highlighter pen with the intention of checking off the ones we’d already used in opening the locker... but then decided against it. I just couldn't bring myself to mark up Emery's drawings. I checked it off mentally, instead, then tried to focus on the rest of the sketches on the page.

It was possible there might be more than one clue hidden in some of the sketches, but until I had reason to think that, it made sense to move on to the sketches we hadn’t deciphered yet.

There were three clues left to untangle—or four, if the two Jane Eyre quotes were two separate clues. Based on Collin’s observations, I decided to work under the assumption that the Jane Eyre quotes were at least a connected puzzle to solve, like the Shakespeare quotes had been. 

I skimmed the page, but even the obvious connections between some of the quotes didn’t help unlock any answers. The quote in the left margin was from Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters, and the one on the bottom was a quote from “A Dream within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe. They were differing works, written sixty-six years apart, but both poems and both written by Edgars. Was there meaning in either of those similarities, or were they coincidental? I wasn’t sure. The more likely similarity was the questioning of perception versus reality in both poems… though I couldn’t be sure that was relevant to the clue. It was just as possible that Emery had chosen these quotes because she’d known both works well since their shared theme was one that had interested her, but that the clues she’d hidden in each quote had nothing to do with that theme.

I had no way of knowing for sure until some kind of epiphany hit me, so I moved on to the Jane Eyre quotes, hoping those might be easier to decipher now that I was looking at everything through the lens of having successfully interpreted the first two Shakespeare clues. 

They weren’t. The first Jane Eyre clue written in the sketched chair kept jumping out at me, but I couldn’t get any further with it than the thought that its quote sounded like advice Emery would’ve given me. Emery had always been the popular one, the more refined one, the one who knew how to act in social situations. I didn’t often put my foot in my mouth—mostly because I just kept my mouth shut—but Emery had known me well enough to know how parties made me anxious. Had we gotten the chance to go to parties together in high school, I could easily have imagined Emery advising me something like, “Don’t stress about socializing, Aubs. Just sit and observe until you have something you want to say. It’s okay.”  

Of course, that wasn’t at all the tone with which “remain silent” was said in Jane Eyre. In fact, in the book it was said by a cruel character who seemed not to care much for Jane at all, and who cared nothing for her thoughts or opinions. I wasn’t sure why Emery had chosen that quote… unless it reflected something she’d felt herself. Had someone tried to silence my sister? 

I looked back at the other Jane Eyre quote, and a chill slid down my spine. Emery had underlined last words and red-room in that quote. What did that mean? Was there a red room somewhere that we were supposed to find? And… last words? Was that literal? That underlined phrase, combined with my question of whether someone had been trying to silence Emery, set my stomach churning. 

Emery was trying to tell me something, and the fact that I couldn’t figure it out made my whole body itch, like my brain was trying to claw its way out of my skin. 

I tried to focus somewhat on the algebra lecture, but it was a lost cause, so I ran the two Jane Eyre quotes over and over in my mind, hitting nothing but mental dead-ends. 

By the time my math class was over, I was so jittery I could hardly sit still. I bolted from the room the moment the bell rang, on a quest to find Collin. 

He found me quickly in the crowded hallway—he’d been looking for me as well. “Any ideas or revelations?” he asked as we headed together toward our shared second-period class.

I shook my head. The key was still in my pocket, but I was no closer to knowing what it opened. “You?” 

“No.” He glanced over at me and lowered his voice.. “I suppose we could show the key to your dad this afternoon and see if he knows what it might go to?” 

I drew a breath. Part of me wanted to figure this out myself, but the bigger part just wanted to find Emery. “Yeah, I’ll show him. Hopefully he or Mom will recognize it.” It was a long shot, but I had no better plan. 

We reached the classroom and headed to our desks. Collin’s desk was in the row next to mine, one seat closer to the front but still close enough for us to talk quietly or even to shake hands. I’d previously found that proximity to Collin annoying, but today I was grateful for it.

“Could I look at Emery’s notebook before class?” Collin asked as he settled into his desk. “I just want to see if anything jumps out at me that we may have missed.” 

“Yeah, sure.” I pulled it from my backpack and handed it to him. 

I watched him for a moment as he slipped the notebook into his lap and surreptitiously studied it. He leaned over it at an angle, where I could still see part of his face. His brow did a cute, furrowing thing as he focused. 

More students funneled into the class, finding their desks or standing around chatting, which made me tense, but no one showed any interest in the notebook or what Collin was doing.

A couple of minutes later, Collin sighed and turned to look at me. “Nothing’s screaming at me.” He closed the notebook. “I’m sorry. I was hoping I’d suddenly developed a secret code-deciphering power, but it seems I’m still just me.” His lips quirked up in a little half-smile as he handed the notebook back, but I could tell he’d really hoped to be helpful. 

“Thanks for trying.” I took the notebook and returned it to my backpack. “Nothing’s jumping out at me, either. I think I’m just gonna let the ideas simmer. Maybe something will bubble up.” 

Collin’s smile returned. “Here’s hoping.” 

The bell rang, and the last of the straggling students hurried to their desks as Mr. Cleary took his position up front to begin his lesson.

Halfway through Mr. Cleary’s biology lecture, I could barely keep my eyes open. Despite how worked up I was about figuring out that key and deciphering the rest of Emery’s clues, the long night without sleep was catching up to me. 

I braced my chin in my hand, elbow on desk, and forced my eyes to watch the whiteboard, where Mr. Cleary was sketching out some kind of complicated diagram. 

Next thing I knew, I was somewhere else. 

I stood outside the doorway to the empty chemistry classroom, where we’d been earlier. I was alone, except for Mr. Pierce, who was walking away from me as though we’d just finished our conversation. Except—instead of the hallway, he was walking directly into the AV room where we did our radio show, as though the distance between the two places had vanished. As he opened the door to the AV room, adjacent to the library, I got a peek inside. Red walls. 

“Aubrey Lance!” 

I snapped awake, my head jerking, as the teacher called my name. 

I blushed as the whole class turned to stare at me—including Collin, who looked at me wide-eyed with concern.

The teacher seemed as though he were about to lecture me or demand I answer some question I clearly hadn’t heard, but then he took sudden pity on me and pivoted. “Come see me after class, please,” he said calmly, then turned back to the board and continued his instruction.

My heart pounded. I was surely in trouble, though at least Mr. Cleary hadn’t looked too mad. Why had he called me out? Had he noticed I was sleeping? Had I snored, or said something out loud? That was a terrifying thought.

I couldn’t dwell on that too much, though, because my mind was racing from what I’d seen in my dream. Red walls—I’d seen them hundreds of times. The AV room was a red room—just like the underlined words. I knew, immediately, that it tied to Emery’s quote. Something I was supposed to find was in that AV room. Was that where I was meant to use the key? I couldn’t think of anything in the room that used a tiny key, but then I wasn’t the one using most of the equipment. Mr. Pierce did all that. It was possible there was a piece of equipment or a drawer or something that the key would fit. Why hadn’t I thought of the AV room sooner? 

Probably because Emery hadn’t spent much time there… but she knew I did. In trying to think of everything I knew about her in hopes I’d figure out what she was trying to tell me, I’d forgotten to consider how well she knew me.

***

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