Jane Carter Investigates: Episode Sixty-Four
I looked across the water to the
opposite bank. I could see Shep perched on the drawbridge waiting for me, but I
was not yet ready to leave the estate.
Ignoring Shep’s shouted
instructions to return to the other side, I turned and walked back toward the
house. Deliberately, I chose the same path which Shep and I had followed
earlier in the afternoon.
A swift walk brought me to the
forbidden trail with the barrier sign. I glanced around to be certain that I
was not under observation, then I stepped over the wire.
I passed the place where Shep and
I had encountered the gardener. I noticed that his trowel was lying on the
ground, and there was no evidence that he had done any digging with it.
However, all along the path, the shrubbery was well-trimmed and tended.
The path led deeper into the
woods. There were rustic benches scattered at intervals along the pathway, but
I had no time to linger, and I walked quickly on. The woods opened up abruptly
into a little clearing. In the midst of the clearing was a large, circular
pool. Sunshine poured down on a bed of scarlet chrysanthemums which flanked the
cement sides, making a circle of brilliant color.
I was at a loss to understand why
this portion of the estate had been closed to visitors, for certainly, it was
the most beautiful part. Yet, there was a quality to the beauty which I did not
like.
As I stood staring at the pool, I
began to feel uneasy. The gentle rustling of the falling leaves and the cool
river air blowing against my cheek should have been peaceful sensations, but
they only served to heighten the feeling of lurking danger.
Overhead the sky darkened. I
wondered if it would rain.
I moved closer to the high
concrete rim of the pool and looked down into the water. The wall enclosing the
pool was waist high, but the water level was even with the ground. I could not
see the bottom plainly, nor judge the depth of the pool, for the water was
choked with a tangle of feathery plants. A few yellow lilies—not yet destroyed
by the frost—floated on the surface.
As I stood there, looking at the
lilies, I saw a large, shadowy form slither through the water.
Instinctively, I backed several
steps away from the pool. From among the lily pads, an ugly head emerged, and a
broad snout raised above the surface for an instant. Powerful jaws opened and
closed, revealing jagged teeth set in deep pits.
I watched as the alligator’s head
scooted smoothly over the water for a short distance. Then, with a swish of its
tail, the reptile went beneath the surface, and the pool was as placid as
before. The creature was eight feet long if it was an inch. Now I understood
why this section of the garden had been closed to visitors.
Now that my curiosity was
satisfied, I had not the slightest desire to linger near the lily pool. With
another glance down into the murky depths, I turned away, but I had taken less
than a dozen steps when I paused. A bright and shiny object lay in the gravel
at my feet. I reached down and picked up a plain band of white gold. It was
clearly a wedding ring.
As I turned the ring over and
over in the palm of my hand, I felt the first drops of a light rain begin to
fall.
I felt certain that Thomas Atwood
had taken this same path earlier in the afternoon. It was logical to believe
that the ring had been his, intended for Cybil Furstenberg. Had he lost the
band accidentally or deliberately thrown it away?
I looked over to the lily pond.
The wall surrounding the pool was too tall to allow for a person to fall into
it by accident, just as the water level in the pool was too low to allow for
the alligator to climb out on its own. However, that did not eliminate the
possibility that Thomas Atwood might have been lured to this isolated spot and
thrown into the pool. The mysterious message—
As I stood there, holding the
ring and horrified by the possibilities, someone grasped my arms. I whirled
about to face my assailant.
A wave of relief surged over me
as I saw that it was only the old gardener who held me in his grip.
“Oh, it’s only you,” I said,
trying to pull away. “For a second, I thought the Bogey Man had me for sure.”
The gardener did not smile.
“Didn’t I tell you to keep away
from here?” he demanded, giving me a hard shake.
“I’m not doing any harm,” I said.
I kept my hand closed over the white gold ring so that the old man would not
see it. “I just wanted to learn what was back in here.”
“And you found out?”
“Oh, the pool is rather pretty,”
I said. “But I’ve seen much nicer ones.”
The gardener loosened his grip on
me, and I pulled away and put several feet between us.
“How long have you been here?”
the gardener asked.
“Only a minute or two. I came to
search for Thomas Atwood.”
“Atwood? What would he be doing
here?”
“He disappeared an hour or so
ago,” I said. “The servants have been searching everywhere for him.”
“He disappeared?” the gardener
repeated.
“Yes, it’s very peculiar. Mr.
Atwood arrived at the estate in ample time for the wedding. But after he read a
note which was delivered to him, he walked off in this direction and was seen
no more.”
“Down this path, you mean?”
“I couldn’t say, but he started
this way. I know because I saw him myself.”
“Atwood didn’t come here,” the gardener said with finality. “I’ve been working around the lily pond all afternoon and would have seen him.”
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