Tell Tale by Mark Sennen Page B

done to humans was one thing, cruelty to animals quite another. Irrational, he knew, but true.
    ‘These places,’ Riley said, indicating the rocks. ‘They must have some significance.’
    ‘It’ll be fairies and pagans and all that stuff. Sacrifice to the Gods. Deflowering virgins. Sticking candles up your bottom for all I know.’
    ‘Candles?’
    ‘Old case.’ Davies winked. ‘You had to be there, but I’ll tell you over a pint someday.’
    ‘We need to see that professor, sir. We’re out of our depth.’
    ‘What the hell is he doing here?’ Davies turned towards the track where a blue Volvo bounced along, pulling up next to Riley’s car. ‘Mr Dippy Hippy from Totnes.’
    ‘He owed me so I called in a favour. I thought he might be able to help.’
    The car stopped and the door opened. A figure got out, reached back in and pulled out a Tilley hat. Plonked the hat on his head. Scratched his Roman nose.
    ‘Layton?’ Davies said. ‘What does he know about this?’
    ‘He’s New Agey, isn’t he? Green, spiritual, Earth Mother wife. All that dancing he does. I figured he might know a thing or two.’
    Riley ignored Davies’ chuckling and walked back to the car park. ‘John. Good of you to come out.’
    ‘For a horse?’ Layton nodded. ‘Yeah, wasn’t it? Don’t know what the DSupt’s going to say when he finds out I’ve joined the ranks of the RSPCA.’
    ‘I’ll take the rap. This is the second one and they seem to be getting nastier. Your expertise would be welcome and we could hardly get Nesbit to come.’
    ‘He’d probably welcome the change, but I get your point.’ Layton moved to the rear of the car and hefted the tailgate up. He pulled out a large toolbox. ‘Let’s go see then.’
    As they strolled back to the circle Riley told Layton about the two ponies and then asked if he had any knowledge of the occult. Had he ever seen or heard of this sort of thing?
    ‘Hey?’ Layton paused as they reached the central stone. ‘You think living in Totnes qualifies me to speak on animal sacrifice? A bit of hummus in a canvas shopping bag from the wholefood shop and next you’re slicing ponies in half?’
    ‘No, John.’ Riley couldn’t help but glance down at Layton’s feet, bare in sandals. ‘But you know more about this than I do, right?’
    Layton sighed. ‘Yes, I guess I do. But let me get a good look at what you’ve got first, OK?’
    ‘Sure. No problem.’ Riley held his hands up in apology, stepped back and then strolled over to where Davies was sitting on an isolated boulder some distance away.
    A few minutes later and Layton finished up and came across.
    ‘Not much to say. Butchered by amateurs playing at rituals. Probably used a machete, along with some kitchen knives. The ground’s too hard for any footprints, but I got a butt from a roll-up spliff.’ Layton stared at Davies. ‘Assuming it’s not yours of course.’
    ‘No.’ Davies shook his head. ‘B&H, me.’
    ‘There’s also a can of Carlsberg with some dregs in the bottom over by one of the stones. Fresh, by the smell of it.’
    ‘Dope and lager?’ Riley said. ‘Doesn’t sound much like the sort of thing you’d be taking in the middle of some ritual.’
    ‘No.’ Layton turned back towards the circle. ‘I’m not sure this is the real deal.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I think these people are playing. They’ve got an idea of what this sort of thing is
supposed
to be like, probably from the internet. And they got some things right. You saw the intestines arranged in a pentagram shape? But they don’t know what they’re doing, what they’re messing with.’
    ‘
Messing with
?’ Riley said. ‘You sound like a character from some horror film.’
    ‘Science doesn’t tell us everything. Whichever way you want to look at it there’s things we don’t know, that we can’t explain.’
    ‘Tell us then,’ Davies said, plainly impatient.
    ‘This circle is well off the beaten track, right? You might