Floating Souls: The Canal Murders by Mary H. Manhein

Author:Mary H. Manhein [Manhein, Mary H.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Margaret Media, Inc.
Published: 2012-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

It was raining lightly the next morning when Maggie woke. She raised her window and looked out onto the Grand Canal. Much larger than the other canals in Venice, it stretched across the city and out toward the Adriatic Sea. War ships must have come that way at one time, returning home. Some young woman may have stood right there where Maggie stood, looking from the same window, waiting for her soldier to appear.

Maggie thought about the women in the chamber. Though forensic speculation had always been a strength of hers, she could not come up with a reasonable explanation for the women's presence in the tower's basement chamber. Could they have been hiding from someone? Were they imprisoned there for some ghastly deed? The possibilities that came to mind were the same ones she had thought of yesterday, nothing new. She remembered the fetus, and her eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. She wiped them away roughly with her shirttail. She had chosen this life she led. She had dead women on two continents, and she was getting weepy over a death that had occurred hundreds of years ago. Now she was thinking about babies instead of just dreaming about them. “Straighten up, Maggie,” she said to herself. “Get on with the show.” She closed the window harder than she meant to, took a deep breath, and walked out the door, shutting it gently behind her.

Maggie slipped quietly down the hallway and the stairs. The small dining room adjacent to the hotel's entryway was open. She poured a cup of weak coffee. No one was around to suggest breakfast but the rolls on the nearby table more than likely were free for the taking. She took one. Today was the day they were going to start boxing the bones, and no one was going to pick up any bone without her approval. She opened the hotel door and stepped out into the day.

Only a few people were walking along the narrow streets. In the piazza, the Doge's Palace was deserted. The oars on the gondolas at the dock rested unattended, the waters in the canals quiet. As she approached the Bridge of Sighs, Maggie saw Maura standing quietly, looking into the dark waters of the canal. She walked up to Maura and spoke. “Good morning, Maura.” Maura slowly turned and gazed at Maggie. She had a strange, far-away look on her face. Maggie spoke again. “Do you like the canals?”

“Of course,” Maura replied softly. “I find the waters soothing, cleansing.”

“Interesting adjectives for such a dirty, dark abyss,” Maggie thought. “Where is Lucas?” she asked.

“Still in bed, I guess.” Maura replied.

“Well, it's time to start on the skeletons.”

“Do you want me to go get him?” Maura asked.

“No. He had a rough day yesterday. Let him sleep. Come on. I'll show you what to do.” The two women headed toward the tower, not speaking, their body language signaling a temporary truce.

Maggie and Maura approached the campanile. The tower guard was already in place, probably having slept there all night.

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