The Deadly Curse by Tony Evans

of blood; I wondered what dreadful wound he must have received in order to have suffered such a dramatic exsanguination.
    At the opposite side of the room I noticed that a small object, about the size of a cushion, rested on the floor, and was entirely covered with another cloth of some kind –perhaps a bed-sheet. This covering, too, was soaked with blood, as if from another corpse, yet the bulge below it was far too small for a body – even that of a child. A vague premonition of the horrible truth hovered at the edge of my consciousness, and I glanced at Mina who stood next to me, her face pale and anxious.
    ‘Sergeant Drew, I won’t need you while I’m here,’ Delland said to his colleague. ‘I’d get some fresh air, if I were you. If the doctor arrives, show him up.’
    The sergeant left with some alacrity, and Delland stepped towards the corpse.
    ‘This gentleman is – or rather was – Signor Fosco Peretti,’ he said. ‘I’ve spoken to his butler who tells me that Peretti moved to London from Naples four years ago, and was a bachelor of independent means who patronised the arts. That’s all I know of him as yet. At six o’clock this morning the parlourmaid came into this study to lay the fire – and found Peretti as you see him. The body – and that other thing over there – were covered up by the sergeant on my orders. Peretti has suffered a violent assault – to be blunt, he’s been disembowelled. Opened up from his breastbone to his groin, as if he’d been sent to a slaughterhouse. And no sign of a weapon to be found.’
    As Delland spoke, Van Helsing advanced gingerly towards the half-shrouded corpse and took hold of one corner of the tablecloth.
    ‘May I?’ he asked. ‘I’m a doctor of medicine, and would be interested to see exactly what has been done to this poor fellow.’
    The inspector nodded and Van Helsing peeled away the cloth, which had started to adhere to the body below as the blood continued to dry. As the full ghastliness of the sight was revealed, Mina gave a short involuntary cry. Even to the layman it was all too clear that the thorax had been wholly eviscerated, leaving only a ghastly cavity in place of the stomach, heart and other organs. The same thought must have occurred to the three of us, as Van Helsing, Mina and I turned our eyes to the small bloodstained mound at the side of the room.
    ‘I see you’ve guessed what’s under there,’ Delland said. ‘I’m afraid you’re right. It’s Peretti’s innards, as far as I can tell. I ordered them covered up. Scooped out like the filling from a pie, and dumped on the floor. Doctor Crawford should be here any minute – he’ll be able to tell for sure. Of course if you’d like a peep, Professor, feel free.’
    Van Helsing lifted the sheet from the little mound in such a way that the horror beneath was mercifully shielded from the rest of us.
    He nodded. ‘Yes, these are certainly internal organs of a human adult, inspector. It should be possible for the police doctor to confirm that they are from this corpse’ – he pointed at Peretti’s remains – ‘by ascertaining if the cut or torn ends of the larger blood vessels match those in the chest cavity.’
    At that moment there was a knock on the study door. Sergeant Drew entered, followed by an elderly man with old-fashioned, ginger side-whiskers and the professional air of a physician.
    ‘Ah, Doctor Crawford,’ Delland said. ‘Has the sergeant explained the situation? Good. In that case I’ll leave you to your business and talk to these gentlemen and the lady outside.’
    I have to confess that it was with some relief that I found myself outside Peretti’s study.
    ‘Tell me, Inspector,’ I said. ‘A short while ago, you said that you suspected a connection between this ghastly business and the Flinzer affair. Are you able to enlighten us?’
    ‘That’s my intention,’ Delland said. ‘If you’ll follow me, I’d like to take you to Signor Peretti’s