you, Miss Holliday. You and Mr. Whitefeather are most
considerate.”
We escorted the hotel manager outside into the damp morning and I realized there was
a fair amount of fog settling in. Although I hadn’t looked at a clock since being
awakened by the inspector, I still estimated that it was somewhere around four thirty
or five o’clock in the morning.
We moved through the mist, making our way nearly soundlessly across the cobblestones.
Crunn led us across the inner courtyard to a small wood door set to the left side
of the main keep that was cleverly obscured by the surrounding ivy and architecture.
If Crunn hadn’t stopped in front of it, I’d never have known it was there. “We can
take this across to the north side of the moat,” he said, fishing around in his robe
for a set of keys, which he used to unlock the door.
Once he had the creaky door open and reached for a light switch on the inside wall,
Heath and I moved through to enter a low-hanging tunnel. I felt goose bumps immediately
line my arms as the cold dampness of the stone walls seeped through my clothing. The
tunnel was very poorly lit by only three dim bulbs and I could see that both Heath
and Crunn had to bend at the waist so as not to bump their heads on the ceiling.
After moving a few feet forward, I could see that the floor was actually a bridge
with a very low stone wall only about two feet high, and below the bridge the slight
gurgling of the moat echoed against the walls. It wasn’t far across, but I was anxious
to get over the bridge and back out into the open. The tunnel seriously gave me the
creeps and I didn’t like it. By the looks of Heath’s face when I turned back to catch
his eye, he didn’t like it one bit either.
Finally we came to another door; this Crunn unlocked from the inside, and we stepped
through it to head up a series of stairs. At the top of the stairs was yet one more
door, which Crunn also unlocked, and we were at last back out into the open. The early-morning
mist obscured most of the surrounding area, but I guessed that we were at the far
end of the castle, very near Lake Byrn y Bach.
From here Crunn led us over a larger bridge that extended over the rest of the moat,
then down a narrow path, which curled to the left to follow the round exterior wall
of the castle and the curve of the moat. At last we spotted an array of lights, which
led us to a small cluster of people at the edge of the moat.
As we approached, I could see several cars parked nearby. One looked to be an ambulance,
and another was a marked police car. Two more were small compact vehicles that I assumed
belonged to the inspector and perhaps to the coroner.
When we were within about ten yards of the lights, the mist swirled and I was able
to pick out the inspector from the other people gathered there. He saw us and waved
impatiently to Arthur, who quickened his step, and we did too.
As we came abreast of the inspector, I kept my focus on Crunn. He was trembling outright
now and he’d gone so pale that I was starting to really worry about the possibility
of him collapsing. I reached out and took his hand to help steady him, and he cast
me a grateful glance before focusing on Lumley. “Jasper,” he said, “is it really true?
Has someone fallen into our moat?”
The inspector waved a hand to an area just behind him, and reflexively I leaned out
around Crunn to take a look.
There on a black tarp looking bloated and blue was the figure of a young man with
bright red hair, pouty lips, and eyes wide open. I put a hand to my mouth and had
to steel myself. The sight was horrible.
There was a gasp to my left and I realized that Mr. Crunn was vigorously shaking his
head back and forth, as if he was willing the sight away. “It can’t be!” he said in
a voice barely audible.
I felt a nudge on my elbow and looked away from Arthur to see Heath tugging at me.
considerate.”
We escorted the hotel manager outside into the damp morning and I realized there was
a fair amount of fog settling in. Although I hadn’t looked at a clock since being
awakened by the inspector, I still estimated that it was somewhere around four thirty
or five o’clock in the morning.
We moved through the mist, making our way nearly soundlessly across the cobblestones.
Crunn led us across the inner courtyard to a small wood door set to the left side
of the main keep that was cleverly obscured by the surrounding ivy and architecture.
If Crunn hadn’t stopped in front of it, I’d never have known it was there. “We can
take this across to the north side of the moat,” he said, fishing around in his robe
for a set of keys, which he used to unlock the door.
Once he had the creaky door open and reached for a light switch on the inside wall,
Heath and I moved through to enter a low-hanging tunnel. I felt goose bumps immediately
line my arms as the cold dampness of the stone walls seeped through my clothing. The
tunnel was very poorly lit by only three dim bulbs and I could see that both Heath
and Crunn had to bend at the waist so as not to bump their heads on the ceiling.
After moving a few feet forward, I could see that the floor was actually a bridge
with a very low stone wall only about two feet high, and below the bridge the slight
gurgling of the moat echoed against the walls. It wasn’t far across, but I was anxious
to get over the bridge and back out into the open. The tunnel seriously gave me the
creeps and I didn’t like it. By the looks of Heath’s face when I turned back to catch
his eye, he didn’t like it one bit either.
Finally we came to another door; this Crunn unlocked from the inside, and we stepped
through it to head up a series of stairs. At the top of the stairs was yet one more
door, which Crunn also unlocked, and we were at last back out into the open. The early-morning
mist obscured most of the surrounding area, but I guessed that we were at the far
end of the castle, very near Lake Byrn y Bach.
From here Crunn led us over a larger bridge that extended over the rest of the moat,
then down a narrow path, which curled to the left to follow the round exterior wall
of the castle and the curve of the moat. At last we spotted an array of lights, which
led us to a small cluster of people at the edge of the moat.
As we approached, I could see several cars parked nearby. One looked to be an ambulance,
and another was a marked police car. Two more were small compact vehicles that I assumed
belonged to the inspector and perhaps to the coroner.
When we were within about ten yards of the lights, the mist swirled and I was able
to pick out the inspector from the other people gathered there. He saw us and waved
impatiently to Arthur, who quickened his step, and we did too.
As we came abreast of the inspector, I kept my focus on Crunn. He was trembling outright
now and he’d gone so pale that I was starting to really worry about the possibility
of him collapsing. I reached out and took his hand to help steady him, and he cast
me a grateful glance before focusing on Lumley. “Jasper,” he said, “is it really true?
Has someone fallen into our moat?”
The inspector waved a hand to an area just behind him, and reflexively I leaned out
around Crunn to take a look.
There on a black tarp looking bloated and blue was the figure of a young man with
bright red hair, pouty lips, and eyes wide open. I put a hand to my mouth and had
to steel myself. The sight was horrible.
There was a gasp to my left and I realized that Mr. Crunn was vigorously shaking his
head back and forth, as if he was willing the sight away. “It can’t be!” he said in
a voice barely audible.
I felt a nudge on my elbow and looked away from Arthur to see Heath tugging at me.
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