kindness.
“Detective
Weston, this is Esteban Rodriquez. Esteban makes puppets. He has been kind
enough to help me hang some shelves up in the tower room.”
Weston fought
an internal battle and basic manners won. It probably helped that Esteban
wasn’t female.
“How
do you do?” He
nodded but didn’t offer his hand.
“If you see
Lieutenant Manoogin before we do, would you tell him that we’ll be in
directly?” Juliet asked.
“Tell him
yourself. I’m leaving.” Apparently nodding had used up his supply of good
manners. Then Juliet saw that he was looking past her. She turned. The
lieutenant was walking up from the fence along the service road at the back of
the property. Though separated by the hurricane fence, the pond was only a
short distance from the hidden tunnel. Judging by the state of his clothing, Manoogin had been out exploring the hillside outside the
tunnel and along the fence.
The lieutenant
looked hot and exasperated but spoke pleasantly enough.
“I’m glad that
I caught you,” he said, staring at Weston as the man retreated. “What is eating
him?”
“I don’t think
he cares for the pond,” Esteban said. “It does smell a little like a septic tank.”
“Or he doesn’t
like me. Though I don’t even smell bad.”
Manoogin shook
his head, clearly dismissing his partner’s moodiness.
“So what’s
up?” Juliet asked.
“It seems
Stephanie Gillard has disappeared. Her significant other has filed a missing
person’s report. She has been gone since the day of the murder. The security
guard said that she got to the castle around ten, but no one else admits to
seeing her after that. We’ve searched the castle but there is no sign of her.”
“You believe
this is related to Dolph’s murder?” Juliet asked.
“I think it is
probably best to assume it. She is friends with Antonia Warren who remodeled
the kitchen and might well have known about the entrance to the wine cellar. By
the way, it turns out the Mrs. Ex-Kingman wasn’t quite a legal ex when Dolph
got engaged to Brittany Saxon, who apparently also has a not quite ex of her
own that her family was unaware of. He is a souvenir of a drunken weekend in Cabo .” Manoogin clearly did not approve of such goings on.
“I bet if Dolph knew about that he was angry, however bigamous his
own state.” Juliet was talking to herself, but both men were staring.
“Manoogin, do you know what’s happened to the ducks?”
Now they were
both staring hard. Juliet tried not to sigh.
“Is it
relevant?” he asked.
“ Bella ?” Esteban was more used to how her mind
worked.
Juliet walked
to the edge of the pond and peered into the murky depths. It was slimy, foul.
“I don’t know.
I think that it might be.” She looked around the shoreline, first while trying
to focus on some irregularity in the landscape and then again without any
effort, letting her eyes explore where they willed. Some things, like movement,
were better detected when the gaze was unfocused.
The eyes
finally snagged on something. Juliet turned and began walking toward the fence and
its plants which were slightly wilted to one side. She followed it to the left
corner where it joined up with what was left of the masonry wall. The spiny
privet was uniformly green under its layer of construction dust, but to the
left the leathery shrubs were flaccid. It was only a small patch, about three
feet worth. The other privet a few inches farther on looked healthy.
“It’s been
cut,” she said to Manoogin who reached out and lifted the dead branches away.
The ends were cleanly chopped and not broken. “The fence has been cut too. The
mend is careless, hurried.”
No one asked
why the fence had been cut, though Juliet could think of two good reasons.
“I’ll have it
dusted for prints, but there won’t be any, will there?” Manoogin asked, a bit
wearily.
“No. But I
suppose it is best to go through the motions in case this ever comes to trial.”
Chapter
“Detective
Weston, this is Esteban Rodriquez. Esteban makes puppets. He has been kind
enough to help me hang some shelves up in the tower room.”
Weston fought
an internal battle and basic manners won. It probably helped that Esteban
wasn’t female.
“How
do you do?” He
nodded but didn’t offer his hand.
“If you see
Lieutenant Manoogin before we do, would you tell him that we’ll be in
directly?” Juliet asked.
“Tell him
yourself. I’m leaving.” Apparently nodding had used up his supply of good
manners. Then Juliet saw that he was looking past her. She turned. The
lieutenant was walking up from the fence along the service road at the back of
the property. Though separated by the hurricane fence, the pond was only a
short distance from the hidden tunnel. Judging by the state of his clothing, Manoogin had been out exploring the hillside outside the
tunnel and along the fence.
The lieutenant
looked hot and exasperated but spoke pleasantly enough.
“I’m glad that
I caught you,” he said, staring at Weston as the man retreated. “What is eating
him?”
“I don’t think
he cares for the pond,” Esteban said. “It does smell a little like a septic tank.”
“Or he doesn’t
like me. Though I don’t even smell bad.”
Manoogin shook
his head, clearly dismissing his partner’s moodiness.
“So what’s
up?” Juliet asked.
“It seems
Stephanie Gillard has disappeared. Her significant other has filed a missing
person’s report. She has been gone since the day of the murder. The security
guard said that she got to the castle around ten, but no one else admits to
seeing her after that. We’ve searched the castle but there is no sign of her.”
“You believe
this is related to Dolph’s murder?” Juliet asked.
“I think it is
probably best to assume it. She is friends with Antonia Warren who remodeled
the kitchen and might well have known about the entrance to the wine cellar. By
the way, it turns out the Mrs. Ex-Kingman wasn’t quite a legal ex when Dolph
got engaged to Brittany Saxon, who apparently also has a not quite ex of her
own that her family was unaware of. He is a souvenir of a drunken weekend in Cabo .” Manoogin clearly did not approve of such goings on.
“I bet if Dolph knew about that he was angry, however bigamous his
own state.” Juliet was talking to herself, but both men were staring.
“Manoogin, do you know what’s happened to the ducks?”
Now they were
both staring hard. Juliet tried not to sigh.
“Is it
relevant?” he asked.
“ Bella ?” Esteban was more used to how her mind
worked.
Juliet walked
to the edge of the pond and peered into the murky depths. It was slimy, foul.
“I don’t know.
I think that it might be.” She looked around the shoreline, first while trying
to focus on some irregularity in the landscape and then again without any
effort, letting her eyes explore where they willed. Some things, like movement,
were better detected when the gaze was unfocused.
The eyes
finally snagged on something. Juliet turned and began walking toward the fence and
its plants which were slightly wilted to one side. She followed it to the left
corner where it joined up with what was left of the masonry wall. The spiny
privet was uniformly green under its layer of construction dust, but to the
left the leathery shrubs were flaccid. It was only a small patch, about three
feet worth. The other privet a few inches farther on looked healthy.
“It’s been
cut,” she said to Manoogin who reached out and lifted the dead branches away.
The ends were cleanly chopped and not broken. “The fence has been cut too. The
mend is careless, hurried.”
No one asked
why the fence had been cut, though Juliet could think of two good reasons.
“I’ll have it
dusted for prints, but there won’t be any, will there?” Manoogin asked, a bit
wearily.
“No. But I
suppose it is best to go through the motions in case this ever comes to trial.”
Chapter
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