The Angel and the Jabberwocky Murders by Mignon F. Ballard Read Free Book Online Page B

flag.”
    â€œYou mean a sickle? The girl had been cut with a sickle?”
    Miriam tucked sock-clad feet beneath her and nodded. Her shiver shook the cushion where she sat. “I’m not sure, but it looked like it, and it was lying right there beside her on the floor. It looked rusty.” She swallowed. “Or maybe it wasn’t rust.”
    Eventually Miriam remembered that D.C. had worn a jogging suit—blue, she thought—and that there had been a large metal drum and an assortment of old tools against the wall near the door.
    It was more than I remembered, but I did see what appeared to be a small plastic container of breath mints by the steps when I ran back to close the door. I guess the only reason I remembered it was because it seemed so out of place: breath mints in that dark, putrid shed.
    â€œDo you recall seeing anything else out of the ordinary?” Captain Hardy asked when I told him what I’d seen, and I admitted I hadn’t spent much time looking around. Blythe’s gray-striped cat that had been hiding under the sofa finally came out and jumped up into my lap. She looked as if she meant to stay and I was glad of the company and the warmth.
    The detective held a brief conference with the policemen in the hallway, then spoke with Blythe, who had returned from the kitchen where she had gone to make coffee. “I understand the Hunter girl has a roommate, but she’s not in her room right now. Does anyone know where we might find her?”
    â€œSally? I think she has a lab this afternoon,” Paula said, “or she could be at the library.”
    â€œWould either of you know if D. C. Hunter received any unusual communication in the last week or so?” he asked the two girls.
    â€œYou mean like a letter?” Paula glanced at Miriam, who shook her head.
    Miriam shrugged. “D.C. doesn’t—didn’t have a lot to do with most of us, but I guess she e-mailed like everybody else. I don’t know anybody who uses snail mail much anymore, but if she did get any letters, Sally would probably know about it. She usually collects their mail if there is any.”
    â€œWhat about boyfriends?” he asked. “Do you know if she’s been seeing anyone—anyone in particular?”
    The room grew so quiet I could hear the coffee percolating. “It’s just rumor,” Miriam said finally. “You know how people talk. I wouldn’t want to hurt an innocent person.”
    â€œIf he’s innocent, he has nothing to worry about,” the captain reminded her.
    Paula flushed, and I was glad to see color come into her face for whatever reason. “Well…some people have been saying she was seeing Dr. Hornsby.”
    Captain Hardy looked at Blythe. “Dr. Hornsby?”
    â€œEnglish Department,” she explained. “D.C. had him for English Literature this quarter…but I really don’t think he could possibly have had anything to do—”
    â€œI’d like to talk with him just the same. Would he be in class now?” Frowning, he started for the door, where he almost collided with Sally Wooten and an armload of books.
    â€œIs it true?” she asked. “Have they really found D.C.?” With her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looked about twelve years old. “They said she’s been out in some old storage building all this time.” Her lip trembled as she looked at Blythe Cornelius. “Aunt Shug, what was she doing out there? Who would do this to her?”
    Blythe put her arms around Sally and gave the policemen a warning look. “That’s what we want to find out, sugar. Now, you sit down here and get your thoughts together so we can help these people find some answers.”
    D.C. had received a few pieces of mail during the past week, Sally told them, but she didn’t know what they were. “I think there’s a letter from her grandmother. She writes