November Lake: Teenage Detective (The November Lake Mysteries) Book 1 (12 page)

Just as
planned, as we reached the outskirts of Little Choke, Kale slowed
and Wendy overtook us in her car. We followed her as she made her
way along the narrow and winding roads that led to the cemetery.
Wind gusted against the side of Kale’s car and I was glad that I
hadn’t made the journey on my motorbike. In the distance, at the
top of a small hill, I could just make out a set of black iron
gates that towered up into the night. Wendy headed toward them,
eventually slowing to a stop. I climbed from Kale’s car and he went
to the boot where he grabbed a torch.

“
Handcuffs?” I asked him.

He
opened the front of his coat and I could see them attached to his
belt. They gleamed in the moonlight. He closed his coat again as it
flapped about his legs in the wind. Wendy pulled the hood of her
coat up over her head and bent forward as we approached the
cemetery gates. They screeched as we opened them and stepped
inside. Fallen leaves blew amongst the tiny headstones. Kale cast
his torch over the ground and amongst the trees. Just ahead, I
could see what I had come to find. Three of us, bent against the
wind, cut across the cemetery. We stopped before the large grave
that had been freshly dug.

“
The grave has already been dug,” Wendy said, looking at me.
“Is it for the dog that I found in my garden?”

“
Yes,” Kale said, over the cry of the wind.

“
Who dug it?” she asked.

“
The council did,” I told her.

“
But…” she started, looking confused.

“
I telephoned the council offices this afternoon and they
confirmed that a request had been made yesterday for a grave big
enough for a large dog to be dug,” I explained.

“
But that man never really telephoned the council offices,”
Wendy reminded me.

“
That’s because the request had already been made by another,”
I said.

“
Who?”

“
A Mr. Baxter,” Kale said. “Ever heard of him?”

“
No,” Wendy said with a shake of her head.

“
It doesn’t matter,” I said. “What does matter is that the
grave has been dug for the dog. Now I think we should make our way
through the village to your house.”

“
On foot?” Wendy asked me.

“
We don’t want to spook the man when he comes for his dog
tonight,” Kale said.

“
Do you have the keys to your shed on you?” I asked
her.

She
fished them from her coat pocket and held them up.

“
Perfect,” I said. “Your shed will be our hiding
place.”

With
Wendy at our heels, we made our way back across the cemetery. Back
at the cars, Kale and Wendy reversed them into the shadows beneath
some large trees, where they were hidden from view. Together, the
three of us set off in silence as we followed Wendy through the
village of Little Choke toward her house. Just as she had described
it, Wendy’s house was set back from the road. There was a small
front garden with a path. We made our way along it and past the
front of her house, which sat in darkness. Wendy led us into the
garden. Moonlight streamed down from above, illuminating the lawn.
It couldn’t have been better. Kale switched off his torch and we
made our way in silence to the shed. Wendy unlocked the door. Kale
reached inside and pulled out the wheelbarrow. The front wheel made
a shrill squeaking noise as it turned. There was a spade just
inside the door, so I took hold of it and placed it in the
wheelbarrow.

“
You’re not meant to be helping this guy,” Wendy
said.

“
Shhh!” I warned, placing one finger against my lips. “We don’t
want him breaking into the shed, as we will be hiding in there. He
will think you left them out for him to use.”

Without
saying another word, the three of us crept into the
shed.

“
Lock the door, and leave the keys in the lock so no one can
get in but we can get out quickly should we need to,” I whispered
into the darkness.

Wendy
did as I asked without question.

There
was a small window built into the side of the shed. Crouched side
by side, Kale and I peered out into the garden. We had a perfect
view of the side of the house and the lawn.

“
Now all we have to do is wait,” Kale whispered.

“
What for?” Wendy asked.

“
For the man to come and fetch his dead dog,” I whispered
back.

“
What about Ethan?” she said. “Will he be safe?”

“
That is why we are here,” I told her.

We
waited in the cold and dark without making a sound. The wind
whispered around the eaves of the shed, and the branches of nearby
trees creaked in the wind. Kale was so quiet I thought he had
fallen asleep. I nudged him in the ribs.

“
What?” he whispered.

“
So you are awake then? You were so still and quiet I thought
you’d nodded off,” I teased him.

“
What do you expect me to do, cartwheels? There’s not enough
room in here to swing a dead dog,” he said.

“
That’s not funny,” Wendy whispered.

“
Sorry,” Kale said, and even though it was dark, I knew he was
smiling. “I was just trying to lighten the…”

“
Shhh!” I said, placing my hand over Kale’s mouth. “I can hear
someone coming.”

Keeping
low, Kale and I peered out of the window. My eyes narrowed at the
sight of the man with the lump on his back as he shuffled from
around the side of Wendy’s house and into the garden. Just as Wendy
described him, the man was huge. He wore a large brimmed hat, dark
glasses, had a flowing beard, and a long dark coat. We spied on him
from the shed as he made his way onto the lawn. He looked back at
the house, as if making sure he wasn’t being watched. Content that
he was alone, the strange man hobbled about the lawn, stopping
every few feet to stomp on the grass with his muddy boots. Then,
looking back at the house just once more, he crouched down and
brushed his hands over the grass like he was searching for
something that was hidden there. He stood and looked over at the
shed. With my heart racing, I dropped down out of view, fearing
that perhaps he might have seen me. Kale bent low, pressing close
against me. Wendy cowered in the opposite corner, crouched between
a lawnmower and a bike.

With the
side of my head pressed flat against the shed wall, I heard the
stomp of the man’s boots as he shuffled forward. The door suddenly
rattled in the frame and my heartbeat quickened. Had he seen us?
Then, drawing a deep breath, I heard the sound of the wheelbarrow
being pushed away. The squeak of the front wheel was unmistakable.
Biting my lower lip, I peered out of the window again, Kale beside
me, cheek to cheek so we could both watch the man.

He
stopped the wheelbarrow by the patch of grass that he had
inspected. Then, taking the spade, he started to dig away at the
ground. I glanced at Kale, both of us thinking the same thing. We
looked back at the man as he continued to dig what looked like a
grave in the middle of Wendy’s garden.

“
What’s happening?” Wendy whispered behind me.

“
Shhh,” I hushed gently. “Kale, get ready to open the shed
door.”

“
You’re not really going out there, are you?” Wendy
murmured.

“
What was the point in coming if we don’t?” Kale whispered,
crouching by the door.

“
Ready, Kale?” I whispered, watching the man drop the spade and
peer down into the hole he had dug.

“
Ready,” he whispered back.

With my
heart pumping so much adrenaline around my body that my hands began
to shake, I watched the man reach down into the hole. “Go!” I
roared.

On my
say so, Kale threw open the shed door and burst out into the
garden. I raced after him. Startled, the man looked back, then
jumped up. Before the stranger had had a chance to fight back or
escape, Kale had lunged at him. I threw myself at the man, as both
Kale and I wrestled him to the ground. The man was strong and he
fought back.

“
Cuffs!” I roared.

“
I’m trying!” Kale bellowed back as he struggled to free them
from his belt. The man rolled onto his front beneath us, and I
drove my fist hard down between his shoulder blades. The lump that
protruded from his back felt soft. The man made a growling noise as
I struck him. I heard a ratcheted type sound, and glanced sideways
to see Kale had his handcuffs free and had snapped one end in place
around the wrist of the man.

“
Stop struggling,” I breathed into his ear, twisting his free
arm up his back.

Leaning
over the man, Kale snapped the last cuff in place. Once we had him
restrained, together we pulled him up into a standing position.
Wendy stepped out of the shed and came toward us across the garden.
Even though her tormenter was in handcuffs, she still looked
haunted by him.

Kale
gripped the man by his arm. I glanced down into the hole the
stranger had dug and at the human skeleton that lay hidden in it. I
looked back at the bearded man and he looked at me. Stepping
forward, I pulled off his hat and dark glasses then ripped away his
beard. Staring into his unmasked face, I said, “Ethan Cole, I’m
arresting you for the murder of Veronica Straw. You do not have to
anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when
questioned something you may later rely on in court. Anything you
do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?”

Ethan
Cole said nothing, but Wendy screamed behind us, then dropped to
the ground in a dead faint.

While
Kale escorted Ethan Cole into the house, I roused Wendy. With my
arm about her shoulder, I led her into the kitchen where Kale had
seated Cole at the table. Trembling with shock, Wendy sat opposite
him.

“
It was you Ethan…” she mumbled. “It was you the whole time?
You killed the dog? You tried to scare me?”

Cole
said nothing. He simply sat and stared back across the table at
her.

Sensing
she was going to get no answer from the man she loved, she looked
at me. “How did you know?”

I looked
at Kale, then back at Wendy. “Sometimes it is hard to see what is
staring you right in the face when you are up close to it, but if
you step back, you can see things more easily. You were too close
to really see what was so obvious, but I could see it more
clearly,” I said, taking a seat at the table next to
her.

“
See what?” Wendy said looking mystified.

“
The stranger you described was so obviously wearing a
disguise,” I started to explain. “Someone would have only bothered
with such an elaborate disguise if they were known to you very
well. You described the stranger as wearing a wide brimmed hat that
covered most of his head, the thick beard, and the dark glasses. I
asked you what the weather had been like the day the stranger had
first come to your door. You said it had been overcast and dreary.
Why then would anyone wear such dark glasses unless they had
problems with their sight? I too love wearing sunglasses, but only
in the sunshine. When you said he had come in search of his dog, I
considered the possibility of a blind dog, but you described the
animal as being an Alsatian. Not the type of dog trained to help
the blind. Then you told us how the man had thumbed through the
Yellow Pages in search of a telephone number. He appeared to be
able to read the small print unaided. Then there was the deep voice
and speaking in a whisper. Again, all common tricks to try and mask
one’s identity.”

“
But the hump on his back, the fact that the man appeared so
much taller than Ethan. The rotten teeth?” Wendy said, looking
baffled.

“
You told us that Ethan was a member of the local amateur
dramatics society,” I reminded her. “Simple stage
props.”

Taking
hold of Cole’s face in his hands, Kale forced his mouth open. He
hooked one finger inside and pulled out a set of false teeth. He
threw them onto the table. They had been fashioned to look old and
rotten, something that an actor might wear if he were playing the
part of an old tramp. Kale released his hold of Cole’s face, then
bending down he yanked off one of the muddy boots. He held it
upside down and shook it. A thick piece of foam fell out of the
boot and onto the floor. I snatched it up and showed it to
Wendy.

“
Your boyfriend wore platforms in his shoes to give him extra
height,” I said. “And I bet the one in the other boot is larger, to
set him off balance when he walked, to help with the stoop and the
hobble.”

Wendy
looked at me as if she was beginning to understand Ethan’s true
deceit. “And the hump is just padding?”

“
Yes,” I said. “My suspicions were confirmed when you clarified
that it was only ever you who saw this man. Why hadn’t he ever
visited when Ethan was at your home? He couldn’t because he was
Ethan.”

“
What about the dog?” Wendy asked. “Why kill the dog?” she
glanced across the table at Ethan. Again, he said nothing. He just
stared defiantly back at her.

“
I asked if you had mentioned to anyone other than Ethan about
your plans to build an extension at the back of your house, and you
said not,” I said. “The fact that you want to build an extension is
very important to Ethan.”