The Cat That Got Your Tongue
Page 17
“I think a judge might disagree with you there. You might not have intended to kill him, but you made no effort to help him or to call emergency services. You went down to your basement and started doodling dragons. You might not be convicted of murder, Mr. Leblanc, but you’re going to jail for a long time.”
“It’s not fair!” He almost sobbed with fury. “They wouldn’t let me in their stupid society, but I knew more about the dowry than the rest of them put together. I deserve that dowry. I earned it.”
“Did you also deserve the manuscripts you stole from Pinkerton’s bookshop?” asked Fay. “I hope you still have them because two officers from the Met in London are hot on your trail. That’s property belonging to the queen you stole.”
Paul shrugged. “How was I to know that? It was worth it to get closer to the dowry.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake.” David gave him a shake. “You don’t really believe there’s anything left down there, do you? After eight hundred years of storms and spring tides and floods and oystermen walking up and down? Let’s go and look at this precious dowry of yours.”
He frog-marched Leblanc down the steep slope, passing the cave he and Fay had waited in. She trotted behind them, trying to keep up, and gasping as her feet slid against the slippery rocks.
“You’ll agree that there’s no point in looking at the lower caves?” said David. “They are permanently flooded with seawater.”
Leblanc nodded grudgingly. “I suppose not.”
“Fay and I can attest to the fact that the cave we were waiting in is empty. So, let’s go lower.”
They explored several empty caves, getting lower and lower, until they could hardly hear each other over the roar of the water.
“We should go back,” yelled Fay. “The tide is coming in.”
“One more,” insisted Paul. “Just one more. I have to know for sure.”
And so, they went lower still. The last navigable cave was already ankle-deep in seawater. As David shone his light into it, Leblanc gave a great cry.
“The dowry!” He pulled away from David’s grip and fell forward on his knees. Fay shone her flashlight to see what he was crooning over.
It was an old metal trunk that had once been strapped up with leather. All that remained of those straps was a pair of blackened, corroded buckles with wisps of leather still clinging to them.
The trunk was standing open, encrusted with mud and overgrown with barnacles. It was as empty as the hollow dreams of this man who had taken the life of another in his pursuit of a fairytale.
The Cat’s Paw Cozy Mysteries Will Return
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Look out for THE CAT THAT PLAYED THE TOMBOLA, Book Three of The Cat’s Paw Cozy Mystery series, releasing in November 2018 on Amazon Kindle.
About the Author
Fiona Snyckers is the author of the Trinity series of young adult novels, the Eulalie Park Mysteries series, as well as the suspense novel Now Following You and the high-concept thriller Spire. She has published various short stories in magazines and collections. The Cat’s Paw Cozy Mysteries is her latest series of murder-mystery novels. Fiona has been nominated four times for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize. She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her family.
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