A Sacrificial Matter

by Ilona Fridl

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Praise for Ilona Fridl’s Dangerous Times Series

  A Sacrificial Matter

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Other Books by Ilona Fridl

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Amos pored over the book on pagan rites and rituals until he started nodding off. Nat was happily drooling over a hard biscuit in his playpen. Suddenly, something he was reading caught Amos’ eye. It was about the rite of midsummer on the solstice. He checked the calendar on the wall. That was the night of the murder. He had just started reading more of that information when Sarah came back.

  “I found something.” He rose and gave her a kiss. “How did you do?”

  Sarah picked up Nat, then seated herself in an office chair and started feeding him. She told Amos about Hiram Bates and his invitation to the Institute. “What did you find?”

  “This is about the pagan rite of midsummer that takes place on the solstice. There is a ritual that sacrifices the oak god to make way for the holly god that will rule until the winter solstice. It says here that in ancient times, a member was chosen for the actual sacrifice which now has become symbolic.” He snorted. “Symbolic, in a pig’s eye.”

  Sarah thought for a moment. “There was an oak wreath near the body.” She paused. “Would that make the whole group guilty of murder, or just the one who struck him down?”

  Praise for Ilona Fridl’s Dangerous Times Series

  SILVER SCREEN HEROES:

  “Silver Screen Heroes has it all. Suspense, romance, mystery, history.…I found myself drawn into the story on several levels.”

  ~Night Owl Romance Reviews Top Pick (4.75 Stars)

  “Wow! What a story. It starts off with a bang, or should I say fire, that kept my attention and made me want to read more.…Read Silver Screen Heroes and join the magic of an era long past and feel the miracle of true love. Excellent read!”

  ~Marianne Gibson, Between the Lines (4 Stars)

  GOLDEN NORTH:

  “Ilona Fridl’s Golden North is truly an adventure worth joining. Take an armchair travel opportunity to go to Alaska. This wild state is a wonderful backdrop for such a great novel.”

  ~Night Owl Reviews Top Pick (4.75 Stars)

  BRONZE SKIES:

  “A quick and enjoyable read that drew me in from the first page to the last even without reading the first two books….There was romance, some laughter, lots of angst, and a few tears. There was family, friends, history, battles, casualties, injuries, a stalker, mystery, and suspense. I look forward to reading more books by Fridl in the future.”

  ~Romancing the Book (4 Roses)

  A

  Sacrificial Matter

  by

  Ilona Fridl

  Dangerous Times

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  A Sacrificial Matter

  COPYRIGHT © 2016 by Ilona Fridl

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

  Cover Art by Rae Monet, Inc. Design

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Mainstream Historical Rose Edition, 2016

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-0691-9

  Dangerous Times

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To my family, who believe in me.

  Other Books by Ilona Fridl

  Silver Screen Heroes

  Golden North

  Bronze Skies

  Prime Catch

  Iris Rainbow

  That Monroe Girl

  The first three books are also available as a boxed set titled Dangerous Times.

  Prime Catch and A Sacrificial Matter are spinoffs

  from that series.

  Chapter 1

  Juneau, Alaskan Territory

  1925

  As Amos and Sarah Darcy followed Sheriff Sam Lindsey up the path to the graveyard, Sam apologized the whole time. “I’m sorry to pull you away from your detective cases, but I’ve never seen anything like this.” He glanced at Sarah. “Maybe you should stay back here.”

  Sarah quirked an eyebrow. “Why? I’ve seen dead bodies before.”

  “Not like this.” Sam paused. “He’s naked.”

  She pursed her lips. “And I’ve certainly seen naked males before. If you remember, I’m raising one.”

  Amos gave her an amused snort, then said to Sam, “Lead on. Sarah isn’t shocked by anything anymore, believe me.”

  Sam shrugged as they went through the spiked iron gate. “Suit yourself.”

  Two deputies and Coroner Elmer Stanton stood a few feet away, looking at the ground as if mesmerized. They glanced up as Sam, Amos, and Sarah joined them. The seventh member of this tableau lay crumpled on the ground in a pool of blood that covered two headstones. The body lay on its side with its arms extended and the knees bent. An oak wreath lay a few feet away.

  Elmer carefully turned the body over, and Sarah sucked in a breath. There were different colors of paint spots on various parts of it and a large bloody gash over the heart.

  Amos knelt for a closer look and pointed to the wound. “It seems like he was stabbed with a knife.”

  Sam shook his head. “Not a knife. Look.”

  They turned the body over, and there was a puckered outward wound that was a mate to the one on the front. Amos sat back on his heels. “It looks like he was killed with a broadsword. Why in all hell would someone be fighting with swords, naked, in a graveyard?”

  Sarah searched around the site. “There doesn’t seem to be a sword around here. He may not have had one.”

  “Or,” Sam put in, “the other person might have taken it with him.”

  “Assuming it was a man. A woman could have dispatched him just as well.”

  Amos rose and brushed off his clothes. “I don’t think so, Sarah. It takes quite a bit of force to run a body completely through.”

  Sarah studied the body again. “From the way his knees are bent, it looks like he might have been kneeling.”

  Sam pointed. “What about those spots of color? Do any of the natives around here paint themselves that way?”

  Sarah had her notebook out and was copying the pattern of the color spots in relation to the body. “There are ten spots altogether. It doesn’t seem familiar to me. Anyway, he doesn’t look like a native.”

  Amos turned to Elmer. “What’s your estimate on when he died?”

  Elmer had been checking the body over. “It looks like he’s been dead about eight hours.”

  Sam stroked his chin. “That would put the murder around midnight.”

  One of the deputies with a brownie camera was clicking away at the crime scene. Scanning the ground, trying to find anything that would be of help, Sarah found a footprint just inside the gate, to one side. “Take some measurements and a picture of this.”

/>   Sam turned. “What is it?”

  “A footprint.”

  He shook his head. “We’ve been walking in that area. It could have been one of ours.”

  “Yes, but none of us are barefoot.”

  Amos pulled out his tape rule. “Let me take the measurements and see if it’s the victim’s.” He gave the dimensions to Sarah to write down, then measured the victim’s feet. “The print is larger.”

  Sam turned to Elmer. “Test the body and see what you can find.”

  Sarah spotted a large burn mark in the grass away from the trees. “Someone had a large campfire going over here. And there are more footprints of various sizes.”

  Amos put his hand on the ashes. “This is not a day old.” He brushed the ashes off. “What the hell was going on here? How many people were involved?”

  One of the deputies helped Elmer put the body into a shroud and load it on the coroner’s truck. The deputy waved at Sam. “I’ll go with him to the morgue to help unload.”

  Sam nodded. “Good idea, Lou. You can start the report at the office.”

  “Yes, sir,” he said as he climbed into the truck.

  Sam glanced at Amos. “Do you think his foot might have slipped to make the print bigger?”

  Amos shook his head. “It’s a clear print. It wasn’t corrupted.”

  Sam sighed. “Well, at least we have something to go on. I’ll visit you at your office after I get the report from Elmer.”

  Sarah checked over her notes again. “That’s strange. Very strange.”

  Amos put his arm around her. “Why don’t I wait at the office, and you can pick up Nathan from your mother. While you’re there, ask her if she has ever seen painted spots like that.”

  Sarah climbed into the driver’s seat of their brand new Oldsmobile. Amos was very protective of the vehicle, but at least she was allowed to drive it now. She still ground the clutch on occasion but was getting better. Amos even trusted her to drive it by herself. The car roared to life when she turned the key, and she eased out of the cemetery and turned the auto toward town. Amos paled a bit in the seat beside her, but at least he wasn’t desperately clutching the door handles.

  The warm June breeze ruffled her bobbed hair. It was summer at last. Everything was green and beautiful against the deep blue sky and the massive stones of the mountains. An eagle shrieked and soared toward the creek. Juneau came into view, and the car rumbled onto the paved road of the city.

  She stopped the auto in front of a small office near the courthouse. The shingle in front read: Darcy Detective Agency. For two years now, that had been their bread and butter. Amos leaned in for a kiss before hopping out the door. “Drive safely, woman.”

  Sarah smirked. “Don’t worry, love, I won’t hurt it.” She waved as she set the car in gear and stepped on the gas.

  In a few minutes, the white clapboard two-story house with its blue shutters came into view. Her Aunt Jane, who lived with her mother on the family land, was outside tending her garden. She shaded her eyes as Sarah stopped the auto in the drive. “Here to pick up Nat?”

  “Yes. Are they inside?” Sarah closed the auto door.

  “Nat is amusing himself with the pots and pans while your mother is baking bread. That’s why I’m out here.” Jane laughed.

  Sarah climbed the back porch steps and heard the clatters and bangs coming from the kitchen as she opened the screen door and went inside. Nat’s playpen was nestled in the corner by the sink, and he was hitting two pans with a wooden spoon. Her mother was putting three loaf pans into the woodburning stove and straightened up when she saw Sarah. “You’re back already?”

  “It’s been two hours. I took care of all the business we had for today. You are going to spoil our boy rotten.”

  “Of course. He’s the only grandchild I’ve got.”

  “No, Mother, don’t start with the when-is-the-next-one-due.” Sarah went to the playpen, and Nat clapped his chubby hands, reaching for her.

  “Mama!”

  Sarah picked him up as he said one of his few words.

  Her mother gathered together the items for his travel bag. “Why don’t I wash his laundry here, and you won’t have to bring so much when I watch him.”

  “I don’t want to burden you.”

  Her mother answered, with a perturbed glance, “You’re not.”

  Sarah remembered her notes. “Mother, sit for a moment. I want to show you something.” She put Nat back in the playpen, sat at the kitchen table with her mother, and flipped her notebook open. “Have you seen a painted pattern like this on any of the natives for ceremonial rites?”

  Her mother studied the spots and shook her head. “That doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen. This was found on a body?”

  Sarah nodded. “In very strange circumstances. Guess I’ll have to search elsewhere.” She closed the notebook and put it in her pocket.

  “Can you stay for some tea?”

  Sarah rose. “Sorry, no. I have to get back to the office. We’re waiting for a report to come in.”

  Her mother retrieved Nat from the playpen, and Sarah carried the bag and stored it in the back seat. She put the toddler harness on Nat and secured him to the front seat, despite his protests. Her mother grinned. “He’s very like Amos, isn’t he?”

  Sarah laughed. “Yes, he is. Thank you for tending him.” Sarah hugged her and slid in at the driver’s side.

  Her mother waved as Sarah started the engine. “Give my love to Amos.”

  Sarah turned the auto toward town, wondering if Amos had found out anything.

  ****

  After anxiously watching Sarah drive down the street, Amos strode into the office to find their secretary and receptionist, Mary Flanagan, clucking over the ledger. Amos hung his fedora on the hat tree next to the door and went to her desk. “Something wrong?”

  “Mr. Taylor has again not paid a penny for your watchin’ his wife. It’s been a month since we heard from him.” Her green eyes flashed in Celtic umbrage.

  Amos stroked his mustache. “Hmm. It must be since I told him his wife hasn’t been sneaking out when he wasn’t home. You can’t even please some people with good news.” He thought a minute. “You can send him a letter expressing our outrage. What do you think?”

  She took out a letterhead and snapped it into the typewriter. “I’ll give him a date when we’ll be expectin’ it. If it isn’t in, I’ll confront the man m’self!”

  Amos chuckled. “That should move him.” Amos went into his office and went through neglected paperwork while he waited to hear from Sam. Mary appeared at the door some time later.

  She handed him several envelopes for stamps. “Here’s the statements for the outstandin’ invoices. I can post them on m’ way home. Sir, may I be leavin’ early this afternoon?”

  “Something wrong?”

  “No, sir. I’m goin’ to a lecture this evenin’ with my friend Annie. It’s at the town hall.”

  Amos handed her the mail. “I’ve seen posters around town. It’s that spiritualist nonsense, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, there’s a lot in this world that is not known.”

  Amos snorted. “I’m sure, but most of the knowledge they have comes off the side of the road with the rest of the―manure.”

  “Do ya not believe in spirits?”

  “Never met one.”

  They heard a door open, and Sarah joined the group holding Nat. “Has Sam come by yet?”

  Amos shook his head. “No. Just telling Mary what I think of spiritualists.” Sarah frowned. “She’s going to the lecture tonight at the town hall.”

  Sarah turned to Mary. “Bring a pamphlet back, would you?” At Amos’ sputter, she said, “I’m interested.”

  Mary glanced sidelong at Amos. “I surely will.” She patted Nat’s cheek. “Such a fine little lad. I must be goin’ now. Good day to ya both.”

  Nat started to whimper, and Sarah stepped out. “I’m going into my office to feed Nat. Keep an eye out for Sam.�
��

  Amos let his mind drift to the crime scene. Was this some kind of ritual? Human sacrifice? What the hell? His musing was broken by Sam knocking on the frame of his office door.

  “Amos? Mary wasn’t in, so I came looking for you.”

  Amos glanced up. “Sorry, I was just thinking about the murder. What have you found out?”

  “Elmer stopped by a few minutes ago. Death was caused by his heart and lung being run through by something. He also found traces of opium in the body.”

  “Do we know who it was?”

  Sam shook his head. “I’m having photos of his face sent to the newspapers in the town. Maybe someone will come forward who recognizes him.”

  “Maybe you could pin some on the town square and post office boards, as well.”

  “Good idea.”

  Sarah came in. “Hello, Sam. I just put Nat down in his playpen for a nap. What’s the news?”

  Sam and Amos filled her in. Amos glanced at her. “Did you ask your mother about those painted spots?”

  “She never saw a pattern like that on any of the natives around here.”

  Amos rapped his fingers on the desk. “It looks like there was some sort of ceremony or ritual going on there.”

  Sam frowned. “Beats me. Maybe I’ll ask around and see if anyone noticed anything. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  When he left, Amos stood. “Why don’t I go to the restaurant and bring back some sandwiches? I’m famished.”

  Sarah smiled. “Sounds good. I’ll go to the library afterwards, if you’re up to watching Nat.”

  “Nothing else going on this afternoon. I guess I can play nursemaid for a while.” Sarah gave him a playful shove and he snagged her arm, bringing her over for a kiss. He grabbed his hat and went out the door into the June sunshine.

  ****

  After they had their feast of sandwiches, Sarah donned her wide-brimmed hat and prepared to walk the three blocks to the public library. She got Amos set up with Nat and checked to see that she had her library card in her pocketbook. After a cheery, “See you later,” she was off to the big stone building near the green. She noticed the gray mist gathering in the harbor and wished she had brought her sweater with her, but her suit jacket would suffice.