Miss Fortune 23 - Swamp Spirits by Jana Deleon

Author:Jana Deleon [Deleon, Jana]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: J&R Publishing
Published: 2022-08-07T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THIS MUST HAVE BEEN where I picked up the stain on my shoe and since it was up against the wall, explained why Ida Belle didn’t have it on her shoes. She had probably stepped off the ladder right in the middle of the small space. But what I couldn’t figure out was why the blood was right there. It was an odd place, unless…

I felt the bottom of the stone wall and realized that what I’d thought was missing mortar was actually an empty space at the very bottom. I ran my fingers across the empty space until I hit the wall, then took a close look at the wall. In a couple of places, I found gaps in the mortar that looked like indentations. I gave the wall a decent shove and felt it move just enough to let me know that I was right. I leaned into it and gave it a harder shove and a large chunk of wall—maybe three feet square—slid open. I shone my light inside and immediately spotted the source of the stain and the smell.

“Carter, you need to get down here,” I called out. “And bring Cassidy with you. We’ve got a body.”

“What?!” Cassidy yelled.

Carter came down the ladder first and Cassidy was right behind, her expression one of complete disbelief. I pointed to the opening and they both crouched and looked inside. The heap in white was slumped against the rear wall of the nook, which was roughly five feet by five feet and six feet high.

“I thought you said Gertie didn’t hit anyone,” Cassidy said.

“She didn’t,” I said. “Whoever this is hasn’t run for a day at least.”

Cassidy blew out a breath. “I knew that. The smell…I just…I can’t seem to think straight.”

“If you weren’t overwhelmed, I’d be more concerned,” Carter said. “This was a lot to absorb before a body got thrown into the mix.”

“Why would there even be a secret room down here?” Cassidy asked.

I shrugged. “In case you had to hide out here for days or to store supplies for if you had to make a quick exit. Maybe store ammunition or gold coins. Or there’s always the popular choice—maybe store a body?”

Carter frowned and started to move into the room, but Cassidy put a hand on his arm. “Let me.”

The body was slumped onto its side, as if she had crawled to the wall and died there, her body slowly crumpling forward and to the side. Cassidy reached to brush back the long red hair that covered the intruder’s face and jerked back in surprise when the entire mass of hair slid off the corpse, revealing a bald head.

“That’s a guy,” I said. “Look at the neck and the hands.”

We all took a step closer and peered down at the man, wearing a white dressing gown, as Cassidy touched the body.

“He’s cold,” she said.

“Any idea on time of death?” Carter asked.

“I’m not an expert on that end of things, but if you take into account

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