Humpty's Bones by Simon Clark

with the hound dog’s head.’ Curtis laughed louder.
    Heather smiled, ‘Really, Eden - ’
    ‘No, I’m serious. The Roman engineers understood. They diverted the path of one of their main highways. They knew better than to destroy the grave. What’s more, they placed money into that pit above the grave. Later generations did the same. They made offerings of cash to the boy down through the centuries. What’s more, they made sure that this grave, which was so special to them, wasn’t disturbed.’
    ‘Eden - ’
    ‘You showed me coins from Roman times, the medieval, Victorian, right through to the present day.’
    Curtis drained his coffee; the amused expression was clear enough though. ‘In effect, that old hole in our back garden was a slot for coins? So Humpty here could get rich in the afterlife?’
    ‘You inherited your mother’s imagination. I’ll give you that.’ Heather used her hand to carefully sweep the inhuman skull fragments to the side of the table. ‘But you’ll find there are no werewolves anywhere but in folklore and films.’
    Curtis chuckled. ‘I’d love to stay for the fun, but I’ve got some firing to do.’
    ‘Listen, I’m serious,’ Eden insisted. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? What you have out there in the garden is an ancient shrine to someone special. A wizard or a god. The locals sacrificed money to whatever is in the grave for a reason. Hear me out, Curtis, they weren’t frivolous or silly. They really believed that the person in the grave could give them something valuable in return for the money that they worked so hard for.’
    ‘Your mother is a dreamer, too.’ This time Heather’s voice turned cold. ‘It caused problems in the past. She could behave... stupidly. There’s no easier way to put it, unfortunately. Yes, stupidly.’
    ‘Boys don’t have dog’s heads.’ Curtis stopped smiling. ‘It just isn’t possible.’
    ‘I’ve been thinking about it,’ Eden continued, exasperated by the couple’s mocking responses. ‘It’s all makes sense. The whole area has dog-related names - this is Dog Star House in the village of Dog Lands. There’s a Dog Dyke, Hound Flats - ’
    ‘Eden. You’re getting carried away.’
    ‘No, listen. I’ve been working it out. As well as references to dogs, you have to explain why an ancient road kinks to avoid something you can’t even see on the surface. There are coins in the pit. These bones. Human, but instead of a human skull - ’
    Curtis grunted. ‘Amusing as this is, I must go to the studio.’

    ‘And then there was last night.’ Eden’s hair felt as if it stood on end as she said the words that had been lying heavy on her mind. ‘Heather, you disturbed the grave. You brought the boy’s remains into the house.’
    Heather snapped, ‘Eden, you’re still upset after last night.’
    ‘But what did happen last night?’ Eden asked as the pair glared at her across the table of burnt bones. ‘Last night an intruder tried to get into the house. There was something wrong with his head.’
    Curtis slammed his cup down. ‘No, don’t you dare. Don’t you bloody dare!’
    Eden protested, ‘It makes sense. Just look at how all the facts add up.’
    Curtis stormed from the room.
    Heather followed her husband, but not before snarling, ‘Thanks, Eden. Thanks a million. Now you’ve left me to pick up the pieces.’

8. Tuesday Morning: 10.00
     
     
    Dog Star stood on its plot, at the bend of the Via Britannicus , beneath lumbering cloud. Heather worked on her dig. The awning that sheltered the tomb shifted in the breeze as if uneasy about being so close to the spot that yielded up those burnt bones. Eden watched her progress from the kitchen.
    Eden hadn’t spoken to Heather since her aunt had uttered ‘Thanks, Eden. Thanks a million. Now you’ve left me to pick up the pieces’. She watched her aunt haul a bucket of dirt from the pit. ‘I should have listened to the man on the train,’ Eden murmured to herself.