Dashiell stood there, his hand outstretched.
Long seconds ticked by.
Still nothing happened.
Dashiell let his hand fall to his side. “I guess we’re too late.”
“Impossible!” Watson exclaimed.
Dashiell turned his head to regard the butler, as did
“The spell should work for seven hours, according to my research!”
“Six, actually,” Dashiell replied.
Watson looked undeterred. “Six then. The point is, Mrs. Scofield was alive six hours ago.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am sure. Mrs. Scofield had an appointment at 10 am. I assure you the people from Washington Woman would have mentioned if she was dead when they arrived.”
Dashiell checked his watch. It read 1:17 p.m. “Alright then. We have a case of a soul departed before its nature says it should depart. There must be another explanation.”
“I can think of one,” Watson said.
Dashiell looked calmly at Watson, not rising to the bait. Instead, he looked around the room. “Was there, by any chance, a cat in here between the time she died and when we arrived?”
Dashiell looked interested. “How allergic?”
“What does that matter, Dash?”
“Well, if she was deathly allergic, she could have died of anaphylactic shock. And cats have long been believed to carry souls away to the underworld. It would be the perfect crime.”
“She sneezed in their presence. That is all. It was annoying, but not life threatening. Besides, does that look like the body of someone who died due to an allergic reaction?”
Dashiell considered this. “No, it doesn’t,” he conceded. “Then again, it doesn’t look like the body of a woman who died of any unnatural cause.”
2 comments:
Damn, at the end of the archives again. Now I have to wait for more updates the long way.
Also it amuses me that the google ad on the bottom of this chaper was for allergy medication. XD
hahaha - I hadn't even noticed that.
Glad to know you're eagerly anticipating the next chapter.
It'll be up Tuesday/Wed, depending on where you are.
Post a Comment