8
That night Juliet dreamed about the murder. Not Dolph’s, but
about the poor woman in the chimney. Her death had been officially neglected,
at least so far, in favor of the current homicide. Which made
perfect sense, given that there was a killer on the loose who could possibly
harm someone else. The woman’s killer had already passed beyond doing
any more harm or legal justice.
Facts were still few, but one of the things they did know
about her was that she had departed the world under peculiar and violent
circumstances.
Dreams could be vehicles of the subconscious and her brain
was obviously pondering the dead woman’s fate. Only the dead woman in the
chimney had died from stabbing, not drowning in the duck pond.
“Why would I…?” she asked the cat in a scratchy voice.
After a few moments of thought she reached for her phone and
called Esteban. It was still mostly dark, but he didn’t seem to sleep much.
“You’re up early, bella . Why does this alarm me?”
“Look, I could be all wrong but … I think I need to have a
better look at that duck pond. And I would rather not do it alone.”
He sighed.
“I am willing, but must be paid for my labors.”
“Okay. Pumpkin cupcakes?”
“And coffee. There must be coffee.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Do you want Raphael to join us?”
Juliet sighed in turn.
“Yes. And that makes me the most selfish woman on the
planet. Let me call him. I may as well find out how many cupcakes this will
cost me and phone in an order to go.”
Raphael cut into Juliet’s apologies and said he could be
ready in fifteen minutes. Esteban was at her bungalow in five and had to wait
while she brushed her teeth and fed an annoyed Marley who could tell that Juliet
was planning on another day away.
They made a quick stop in town and then ate their cupcakes
in the car. Juliet forced herself to partake though her stomach was tied in
knots.
“Are you afraid that we will find something in the pond?”
Raphael asked. “Or that we will not?”
Juliet laughed a little ruefully.
“I am going to look like an idiot if nothing is there. But
that would be better than what I fear we shall find. There had to be a reason
for cutting that fence and for the ducks and geese to disappear.”
They parked at the back of the castle on the service road since
it was closer and let themselves in through the opening cut in the wire
enclosure.
“Juliet,” Raphael began.
“I know.” She got out her phone. “I’ve been putting it off. Manoogin
is going to hate me for this.”
The detective didn’t say anything to indicate annoyance, but
she had the feeling that her request for him to meet them at the duck pond did
not make him happy.
“We are going to need something to drag along the bottom. A
hook of some kind,” Juliet said when she tucked her phone away. The morning was
glorious and peaceful since work hadn’t started yet. A glancing ray of early
sun on the dark water seemed substantial enough to touch as it reflected back
into the air.
They finished off the coffee in Juliet’s thermos while they
waited, staying upwind of the dark pond, and after a couple moments Esteban
went to the castle to find some kind of dragging tool.
Manoogin, also having parked at the back fence, arrived just
as Esteban was returning from the castle with a twelve-foot piece of rebar. He
had bent the end to a more or less ninety degree angle.
“How cold is the water?” Raphael asked Esteban as he watched
the detective picking his way over the ground. “ It’s spring fed?”
“It’s not cold enough,” Juliet answered. “It’s fed by a
spring but the level is falling and the algae would not be this thick if it
were cold enough to preserve a body.”
They all took a bracing breath.
“So rigor will have worn off. That will make it more
difficult to retrieve the body,” Esteban said calmly and bent the rebar into
more of a hook. He began removing his shoes and socks, setting them on a
That night Juliet dreamed about the murder. Not Dolph’s, but
about the poor woman in the chimney. Her death had been officially neglected,
at least so far, in favor of the current homicide. Which made
perfect sense, given that there was a killer on the loose who could possibly
harm someone else. The woman’s killer had already passed beyond doing
any more harm or legal justice.
Facts were still few, but one of the things they did know
about her was that she had departed the world under peculiar and violent
circumstances.
Dreams could be vehicles of the subconscious and her brain
was obviously pondering the dead woman’s fate. Only the dead woman in the
chimney had died from stabbing, not drowning in the duck pond.
“Why would I…?” she asked the cat in a scratchy voice.
After a few moments of thought she reached for her phone and
called Esteban. It was still mostly dark, but he didn’t seem to sleep much.
“You’re up early, bella . Why does this alarm me?”
“Look, I could be all wrong but … I think I need to have a
better look at that duck pond. And I would rather not do it alone.”
He sighed.
“I am willing, but must be paid for my labors.”
“Okay. Pumpkin cupcakes?”
“And coffee. There must be coffee.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Do you want Raphael to join us?”
Juliet sighed in turn.
“Yes. And that makes me the most selfish woman on the
planet. Let me call him. I may as well find out how many cupcakes this will
cost me and phone in an order to go.”
Raphael cut into Juliet’s apologies and said he could be
ready in fifteen minutes. Esteban was at her bungalow in five and had to wait
while she brushed her teeth and fed an annoyed Marley who could tell that Juliet
was planning on another day away.
They made a quick stop in town and then ate their cupcakes
in the car. Juliet forced herself to partake though her stomach was tied in
knots.
“Are you afraid that we will find something in the pond?”
Raphael asked. “Or that we will not?”
Juliet laughed a little ruefully.
“I am going to look like an idiot if nothing is there. But
that would be better than what I fear we shall find. There had to be a reason
for cutting that fence and for the ducks and geese to disappear.”
They parked at the back of the castle on the service road since
it was closer and let themselves in through the opening cut in the wire
enclosure.
“Juliet,” Raphael began.
“I know.” She got out her phone. “I’ve been putting it off. Manoogin
is going to hate me for this.”
The detective didn’t say anything to indicate annoyance, but
she had the feeling that her request for him to meet them at the duck pond did
not make him happy.
“We are going to need something to drag along the bottom. A
hook of some kind,” Juliet said when she tucked her phone away. The morning was
glorious and peaceful since work hadn’t started yet. A glancing ray of early
sun on the dark water seemed substantial enough to touch as it reflected back
into the air.
They finished off the coffee in Juliet’s thermos while they
waited, staying upwind of the dark pond, and after a couple moments Esteban
went to the castle to find some kind of dragging tool.
Manoogin, also having parked at the back fence, arrived just
as Esteban was returning from the castle with a twelve-foot piece of rebar. He
had bent the end to a more or less ninety degree angle.
“How cold is the water?” Raphael asked Esteban as he watched
the detective picking his way over the ground. “ It’s spring fed?”
“It’s not cold enough,” Juliet answered. “It’s fed by a
spring but the level is falling and the algae would not be this thick if it
were cold enough to preserve a body.”
They all took a bracing breath.
“So rigor will have worn off. That will make it more
difficult to retrieve the body,” Esteban said calmly and bent the rebar into
more of a hook. He began removing his shoes and socks, setting them on a
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