The Travelling Detective: Boxed Set

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  Finally, one of the men stepped to the entrance and beckoned them. Gwin smiled at him. She'd thought that because of the days it had taken them to let her in the cave, they wouldn't make a decision so fast.

  Gwin led Mikk into the cave. She introduced him to her friends including the children. Mikk nodded at each introduction. They just stared at him as they had done at her. They'd gotten used to her but to meet a male of her species was new to them.

  Gwin tried to explain how they lived, how they hunted and dug plants and picked berries for food. Mikk looked around the cave and Gwin could see that he wasn't impressed. Seeing it through his eyes she could understand why. But seeing it from her eyes, she was still grateful for them taking her in and showing her how to live their life.

  Most of their possessions had been packed for their journey. The woman, Lyla, who was giving birth lay on a robe of skins with the other women around her. Suddenly they raised her into the squatting position. The baby came silently into the world and was wrapped in a hide. As was the custom the father showed it to the rest of the tribe and then to Gwin and Mikk. The baby blinked innocently up at them. Gwin smiled happily at the newest child and congratulated the father.

  "Why is the child so quiet?" Mikk asked.

  "It takes about a year for the baby to learn to speak or to walk," Gwin explained. "Until then it is carried by the mother or the father."

  "An unformed mind," Mikk said.

  "What?" Gwin asked.

  "Nothing," Mikk replied.

  Gwin and Mikk left the cave.

  * * *

  Wow, does this mean what I think it does? Why did she stop? Is Mikk going to carry on? I wait expectantly but no aura, no story. I quickly email the chapter to Kat Mac without editing. This is so exciting. I phone her to make sure she got it. I want her to read it and call me back. She’s a little disgruntled but I know she’ll get over it when she has read this chapter.

  Chapter 11

  Elizabeth wondered where Sally was when she arrived at the bed and breakfast. Usually she was working in her room when Elizabeth got back. She dropped her camera and tape recorder on her bed and turn her computer on. She’d get some work done and then maybe the two of them could go out to one of the restaurants in the Village for supper.

  She heard the door open and poked her head around the corner. Sally walked in, a lopsided grin on her face.

  "What’s happened?" Elizabeth asked, coming into the living room.

  "You’re not going to believe it," Sally said, setting her back pack on the couch.

  "Try me."

  "I’ve been asked to find out if Bonnie’s cousin, Sylvia, was murdered two years ago."

  "What?" Elizabeth stared in disbelief.

  "Yup. Bonnie heard that you have worked on four murders and she thinks that because we are friends I can help her."

  Elizabeth plopped into one of the chair. "So, tell me all about it."

  Sally bit at her bottom lip. "There really isn’t much to tell. Sylvia fell down some concrete steps by the Upper Village and died. Bonnie believes she was murdered but she doesn’t know why or by whom."

  "So what makes her believe she was murdered?" Elizabeth could feel her interest rising.

  "Well, that’s the catch. She says that Sylvia had already visited the Upper Village and said it was for kids, so there was no reason for her to go there again."

  "That’s it?" Elizabeth tried not to laugh.

  Sally nodded. "That’s what I said but she seems to think it’s enough. I figured I’d ask you what you thought."

  "I think she’s a little weird," Elizabeth said, getting up. She could still get some transcribing done.

  "Well, that could be true," Sally admitted, following Elizabeth into her room. "She does believe what her Angel cards tell her."

  "That’s those cards that Daryl got so mad about?"

  Sally nodded.

  "So what are they?"

  Sally explained as best she could. "She’ll give you a reading if you want," she concluded.

  "Did you have one?"

  Sally shook her head. "No. I’m content to wait and see what happens in my life. I don’t have to know ahead of time."

  Elizabeth opened her computer as Sally left the room. She was just about finished when there was a knock at the suite door.

  "I’ll get it," Sally called.

  Elizabeth tried to get back to her work but at the same time listened to what was happening. Although she could hear the voices she couldn’t quite make out what was being said. When Sally tapped on her door frame, she looked up.

  "Bonnie is wondering if she could talk with you," Sally said.

  Elizabeth grimaced. Damn, she just needed a little more time. She saved what she’d done and shut off the computer.

  "Elizabeth, this is Bonnie," Sally introduced.

  The women shook hands.

  "I’m sorry to bother you," Bonnie apologized. "but I just need to talk with someone about this, someone who might be able to help me."

  Elizabeth looked at Sally. This was her case, so to speak.

  "It’s okay," Sally said. "Bonnie and I already discussed it. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of questions to ask and people to talk to and I can’t come up with anything. So I know that the person she is looking for isn’t me."

  "Sit down," Elizabeth said, taking the end of the couch after Bonnie had chosen a chair. "Sally has told me about your cousin but I really don’t understand why you think she was murdered."

  "I know it sounds silly but it’s just a feeling I have," Bonnie said, setting her back pack on the floor beside her.

  "Would you like a drink of juice or some coffee?" Sally asked.

  "A glass of water would be fine," Bonnie said.

  Sally brought back a glass of water for Bonnie, a Pepsi for Elizabeth and a juice for herself. She settled in the other chair.

  "Okay," Elizabeth said. "Sally told me you and Sylvia were like sisters. Start from there." She would listen, give some pointers, and then tell her there was nothing she could do.

  "My aunt, and my uncle until he left, helped raise me. I spent days at a time at their place when my parents were too drunk or high on drugs to remember they had a daughter to look after. My aunt asked for custody of me when I was about four and then a few years later my uncle left my aunt."

  "How old were you and Sylvia when that happened?"

  "Sylvia was eight and I was nine."

  "Did you see your parents?"

  "Occasionally. Every once in a while they would have a twinge of conscience and pick me up for a day of togetherness," Bonnie said, harshly. "Even my uncle only came back to see us for the first year then he married and started a new life."

  Sounded like she had abandonment issues. "You and Sylvia grew up together. What happened after high school?" This really had nothing to do with Sylvia’s death but at least it would sound like Elizabeth was taking an interest.

  "Sylvia went through for a nurse, I became legal secretary. We shared an apartment until I married."

  "Was Sylvia married?"

  "Yes. She married a man named Ken Bush. He died in a small plane crash. After that she had a few serious relationships, but never took the leap again."

  "Okay, fast forward to two years ago," Elizabeth said. Might was well get this over with.

  "One day Sylvia told me she wanted to be a fantasy writer and had enrolled in the retreat here."

  "You make it sound like that was a surprise."

  "It was," Bonnie agreed. "She’d never mentioned it before although I knew she like to read fantasy. Apparently, she’d completed a novel and was in the editing stage. She’d sent the first three chapters to the instructor, Kat Mac."

  "The same person who is teaching you now?"

  Bonnie nodded.

  "So she came here to take the course," Elizabeth said. "Did she correspond with you at all?"

  "She sent me text messages just about every day telling me what she was learning and how her
editing was progressing. It seemed that Kat Mac liked it and was after her to hurry and finish it before the retreat ended so she could read it all."

  "Did she tell you anything else about the retreat, like the people she’d met?"

  "Yeah, did she have a person like Daryl in her class?" Sally asked, with a grin.

  Bonnie smiled faintly then her face clouded. "She did say she’d met a guy in the class. They went out three times and then she said that he seemed to think they had a relationship while she thought they were just friends. ‘I guess it’s time I got out of this’, was the last she’d text me about it."

  "How close was this to when she died?" Love, or lack thereof, was often considered a good reason for murder.

  Bonnie shook her head. "A couple days before, I think. She was always getting herself out of something like that. I’d quit paying attention."

  "Did she give his name, describe him?"

  "No name. He was in his forties with graying hair."

  "Did she text you about anything else?" This was getting them nowhere. It was going to be difficult telling Bonnie that she didn’t know how she could help her, that there just wasn’t anything she could go on.

  "Well, on the day she died, she did text me that she had great news and would tell me all about it when she got home."

  "Did she hint what it was?"

  "No, but I assumed it was about her novel. Maybe Kat Mac liked it enough to help her find an agent or a publisher."

  "Do you know if there was a publisher who was to come on the last Friday like is coming to our retreat?" Sally asked.

  Elizabeth looked at her and smiled. She did know how to ask questions. And that was good because she knew about the retreat.

  "No." Bonnie brightened. "But we could ask Kat Mac."

  Sally nodded.

  "Did you find her manuscript?" Elizabeth asked.

  "I never thought to look for it. My aunt was given all her stuff from here. It may have been in there."

  Elizabeth didn’t know what else to ask. Nothing Bonnie had said pointed to murder. There wasn’t a jealous husband, a divorce happening, and it was doubtful that a guy she’d just met would kill her, unless he was one of those serial killers. And that would be up to the police to know about.

  "So tell me why you think it was murder instead of an accident."

  "Ever since we were children Sylvia hated to see or do something twice. She wouldn’t watch a movie she’d already seen, she wouldn’t reread a book, she never wanted to go to a place she’d already visited. She always said, ‘Been there, done that.’"

  "Can you describe where she was found?"

  "The police said that she tripped or slipped on the concrete steps leading into the Upper Village and fell down some of them, banging her head on the edge of one. She died instantly." Bonnie looked down at her hands. "I went there to see them. I really can’t understand how she could fall on them. They are certainly wide enough and not steep."

  "Yes," Elizabeth nodded. "I’ve been there."

  "Why didn’t you come last year?" Sally asked.

  "Because Kat Mac didn’t teach last year. She took a year off to work on a book and it’s being published this year."

  "Do you have a picture of Sylvia?" Elizabeth asked.

  Bonnie reached into her pack and pulled out a small album. She turned to the back and showed Elizabeth a picture. Sally leaned over to look.

  "Wow, you two do look alike," Sally said.

  "Yes, people often mistook us for sisters."

  "Do you have an extra one for us?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Yes." Bonnie flipped through the album until she found one. "Here, this was taken a year before her death."

  "Thank you." Elizabeth put it in her pack. She wasn’t sure if she would need it but it wouldn't hurt to have it.

  Bonnie pulled her box of Angel cards from her pack. "I don’t know if Sally told you about these," she said, as she began to shuffle.

  "Yes, she mentioned them," Elizabeth said. She looked at Sally who shrugged.

  "So, she told you about Bridgette?" Bonnie turned over the card. "She’s warning me about something and I’m sure it has to do with our class because there are thirteen students in it."

  Bonnie selected the next card. "I never showed anyone else, but this card always follows." She laid down Adriana. "She tells me that she is leading me towards the answer to my prayers."

  "So you feel because of these two cards that you will find an answer to what happened to Sylvia?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Yes. And I think that it’s too much of a coincidence that you just happen to be here. It’s as if Adriana was pointing me in your direction."

  Elizabeth didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t know enough about the cards to believe in them or to ask any questions about their meanings.

  "Are you really interested in taking the course or did you come specifically to find out what happened to Sylvia?" Sally asked.

  "It was all because of Sylvia," Bonnie admitted. "I haven’t done any assignments nor taken any notes. I’ve just been watching Kat Mac and wandering around listening to conversations."

  "Have you learned anything?"

  Bonnie shook her head. She looked at Elizabeth. "So, like I told Sally today, I’m going to mention Sylvia’s death tomorrow."

  "It’s doubtful that any of the same students were here two years ago."

  "Yes, but word will get around and maybe someone who is taking a different class now was here at the same time as Sylvia."

  "Michael was," Sally said suddenly.

  "Who?" Bonnie asked.

  "A man named Michael Wolf was here two years ago taking Kat Mac’s course. His novel is getting published and he’s back now learning how to make it into a screen play."

  "Where did you meet him?" Bonnie leaned forward excitedly. "When did you meet him?"

  "I met him the first day," Sally said. "And now that I think of it, he does look like he could be the man Sylvia described."

  "Can we talk with him tomorrow?" Bonnie asked. "Will you introduce me?"

  "Sure, if I see him."

  "Great." Bonnie rubbed her hands together. "At last I’m getting somewhere."

  "Be careful," Elizabeth cautioned. "If a person has killed once, he or she will do it again."

  * * *

  I need to sleep. I was so embarrassed today. I fell asleep again in class. I don’t know how long I was out but my classmate nudged me and woke me up. I hope Kat Mac didn’t notice. But I can’t sleep yet. Mikk is ready to tell his side of the visit to the planet. I have been waiting impatiently to hear it.

  Mikk tells me how he couldn't get the idea of Gwin being dead out of his mind. It didn't seem right. If she hadn't been charged with murder and sent to a prisoner's colony possibly perishing there, they would be married by now. They would have gone to another planet for their honeymoon, then returned and settled down into married life. Possibly Gwin would be expecting their child. It just wasn't fair.

  * * *

  Since he had been on the team that designed the tools taken to the colony Mikk had put his name in to go on a rescue/info gathering flight to the colony. One day when he arrived at his office he found an envelope from the Space Organization. Inside was a note that a space ship would be leaving for the colony planet in a month and there was a place for him on it if he still wished to go. He immediately accepted.

  He couldn’t believe his luck at finding Gwin alive and at seeing a birth of one the inhabitants. When he’d learned that it took about a year for the baby to learn to speak or to walk he’d immediately recognized the child as the unformed mind that they needed for their experiment.

  "Are there going to be any more births?" he asked Gwin on their way back to the village.

  "Yes. Another one soon."

  "Good." Mikk rubbed his hands together. "Are there any other people on the planet?"

  "I haven't met any," Gwin replied. "But my friends leave in the spring for a large gathering of others.
"

  He hesitated, then asked. "Will you come to the ship with me?" He could see her tense up and waited for her answer.

  "I don't want to meet the people on the ship. I don't want the noise and the questions and the fact that they will still consider me a prisoner. They might even lock me up so that I can’t go back to my friends."

  Mikk didn’t want to argue with her because he knew that what she said was probably true. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

  "I'll meet you at the fields when the sun is high in the sky but only if you go there alone."

  Mikk nodded. He put his arms around her. "I’ve missed you so very much. I can't wait until we have our life back." Gwin sunk her head into his shoulder. It felt so good to feel her again.

  The next morning Mikk waited for her to appear. He knew that she would make sure he was alone first. When she was satisfied she stepped out into the open. Mikk smiled when he saw her. She ran to his waiting arms.

  "Come for a walk with me," Gwin said, pulling on his arm. "I want you to see how beautiful it is here.

  Mikk went willingly.

  "How did your experiment work?" Gwin asked, as they walked.

  Mikk explained how it had been a partial success with the body thawing perfectly but the mind being lost. "Now I’ve combined forces with a group who were trying to separate the mind from the body. They managed to do that and sent the mind to another planet to occupy a mind there. Each time, though, the original mind proved too strong and fought the takeover."

  "So both experiments failed."

  "Not really. In fact…" Mikk paused.

  "What?" Gwin asked.

  "We’re trying it again."

  "You are?"

  "I sent a message to Bob about the inhabitants here."

  "You promised." Gwin turned to him angrily.

  He stopped, too. "I promised not to tell anyone on the space ship."

  "So what are you going to do?"

  Mikk put his hands on her shoulders. He hoped she would understand. "You know we need a place for our prisoners," he explained. "If we remove their minds and send the minds here to be placed in a baby's body then we can freeze the prisoner's body and keep it in storage until his or her prison sentence is up."