back to the piano.
“This is what I called you about. I didn’t know what else to do. I mean, I got one hell of a shock when I found it a few hours ago.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a live rat.”
“Trust me, it isn’t alive. The lid was sealed tight. I had to pry it open.”
Anya didn’t like dead rats any more than live ones, but she slid off the lounge and onto the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brody stand and move further away. Whatever was inside really had him spooked.
She tentatively wiped some dust off the lid with the back of her hand and revealed a detailed marquetry design. “This is beautiful craftsmanship,” she said, but her host was staring out the window. She couldn’t imagine what was inside that could be so disturbing. Undoing the clasp, she flipped open the lid and lifted what felt like wax-paper wrapping. She quickly sat back on her haunches, unable to believe her eyes.
“Where did you find it?”
Brody didn’t move. “Under the floorboards in what was my parents’ bedroom. I was rearranging the walk-in wardrobe when part of the old floor gave way. When I eventually yanked my ankle out, the box was right there.”
Anya studied the tiny dead form, curled up inside the small chamber. The miniature body lay in a fetal position, knees resting against the chin. There was no doubt. This was a fossilized human baby.
The pair remained in silence for a few moments.
“I could do with that coffee now,” Anya said, returning the lid and closing the latch. “After I wash my hands.”
“Of course.”
Brody moved to the kitchen area with a glass conservatory overlooking more gardens. A granite island-bench dominated the area, with copper pots hanging from a chained metal grid above it. Dan obviously had no trouble reaching the utensils that were out of reach of most people.
His hands trembled as he loaded a small machine with a metal capsule and placed a demitasse cup, the only size small enough to fit, under the nozzle. The smell of rich coffee filled the air.
He pulled a carton of full-cream milk from a serving door in the stainless steel fridge and placed some in a steel mug adjacent to the machine. Within seconds, he poured frothy milk into a china mug and repeated the process.
Anya washed her hands in the sink and dried them with paper towel from a dispenser at the wall. The mug warmed her hands. She could appreciate the lawyer’s anxiety at the find. Despite dealing with criminal trials, he had probably never seen a human body before, let alone experienced the shock of discovering one in his parents’ wardrobe.
“Do you have any idea whose child it could be?”
He offered his guest a cane stool, which she accepted.
“This house has been in Dad’s side of the family since it was built three generations ago. It was always passed on to the eldest son.”
“Was there ever any scandal about illegitimate pregnancies?”
Dan shook his head and washed out the used steel mug. Apart from fresh basil in a small vase, the benches were empty of clutter.
“Do we need to call crime scene? I mean, will they want to photograph the…”
“Possibly. I’ll check with them, but it’s not as uncommon as you might think. With garden renovations, it’s not unheard of for someone to discover tiny remains, particularly given the number of stillbirths and backyard abortions in the past.”
Brody nodded but didn’t appear relieved in any way.
Anya excused herself to make the call. Moments later she returned, with a swab kit from the bag in her car.
“I just need to take some shots of the wardrobe with my mobile. I’ll take the box with me if you like, and take it to the morgue. There’ll have to be a post-mortem.”
“Of course. I’ll show you where I found it.”
“I should probably take a DNA swab from you now, if you don’t mind, for comparison to the child.”
Dan leaned against the bench. “It…it isn’t mine.”
“I’m not suggesting that. We know it’s
“This is what I called you about. I didn’t know what else to do. I mean, I got one hell of a shock when I found it a few hours ago.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a live rat.”
“Trust me, it isn’t alive. The lid was sealed tight. I had to pry it open.”
Anya didn’t like dead rats any more than live ones, but she slid off the lounge and onto the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brody stand and move further away. Whatever was inside really had him spooked.
She tentatively wiped some dust off the lid with the back of her hand and revealed a detailed marquetry design. “This is beautiful craftsmanship,” she said, but her host was staring out the window. She couldn’t imagine what was inside that could be so disturbing. Undoing the clasp, she flipped open the lid and lifted what felt like wax-paper wrapping. She quickly sat back on her haunches, unable to believe her eyes.
“Where did you find it?”
Brody didn’t move. “Under the floorboards in what was my parents’ bedroom. I was rearranging the walk-in wardrobe when part of the old floor gave way. When I eventually yanked my ankle out, the box was right there.”
Anya studied the tiny dead form, curled up inside the small chamber. The miniature body lay in a fetal position, knees resting against the chin. There was no doubt. This was a fossilized human baby.
The pair remained in silence for a few moments.
“I could do with that coffee now,” Anya said, returning the lid and closing the latch. “After I wash my hands.”
“Of course.”
Brody moved to the kitchen area with a glass conservatory overlooking more gardens. A granite island-bench dominated the area, with copper pots hanging from a chained metal grid above it. Dan obviously had no trouble reaching the utensils that were out of reach of most people.
His hands trembled as he loaded a small machine with a metal capsule and placed a demitasse cup, the only size small enough to fit, under the nozzle. The smell of rich coffee filled the air.
He pulled a carton of full-cream milk from a serving door in the stainless steel fridge and placed some in a steel mug adjacent to the machine. Within seconds, he poured frothy milk into a china mug and repeated the process.
Anya washed her hands in the sink and dried them with paper towel from a dispenser at the wall. The mug warmed her hands. She could appreciate the lawyer’s anxiety at the find. Despite dealing with criminal trials, he had probably never seen a human body before, let alone experienced the shock of discovering one in his parents’ wardrobe.
“Do you have any idea whose child it could be?”
He offered his guest a cane stool, which she accepted.
“This house has been in Dad’s side of the family since it was built three generations ago. It was always passed on to the eldest son.”
“Was there ever any scandal about illegitimate pregnancies?”
Dan shook his head and washed out the used steel mug. Apart from fresh basil in a small vase, the benches were empty of clutter.
“Do we need to call crime scene? I mean, will they want to photograph the…”
“Possibly. I’ll check with them, but it’s not as uncommon as you might think. With garden renovations, it’s not unheard of for someone to discover tiny remains, particularly given the number of stillbirths and backyard abortions in the past.”
Brody nodded but didn’t appear relieved in any way.
Anya excused herself to make the call. Moments later she returned, with a swab kit from the bag in her car.
“I just need to take some shots of the wardrobe with my mobile. I’ll take the box with me if you like, and take it to the morgue. There’ll have to be a post-mortem.”
“Of course. I’ll show you where I found it.”
“I should probably take a DNA swab from you now, if you don’t mind, for comparison to the child.”
Dan leaned against the bench. “It…it isn’t mine.”
“I’m not suggesting that. We know it’s
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