Witch Cradle by Kathleen Hills

Author:Kathleen Hills [Hills, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2011-01-20T16:00:00+00:00

McIntire opened the door to the corridor that fronted the two jail cells. The hallway was more spacious than the cells and contained only a small oak table and a chair. The chair was tilted against the wall and held Cecil Newman, jaw slack, snoring lightly. A narrow trickle glistened at the corner of his open mouth.

McIntire let the door swing shut. The legs of the chair hit the floor.

“Have you got permission to be here?”

“Afternoon, Cecil. Nothing frostbitten, I trust. I’m here to see Mr. Falk.”

For someone facing possible life behind bars, Teddy Falk looked chipper. He lounged in the upper bunk with a book on his knees and reading glasses on his nose. The lower berth was occupied by a blanket-covered lump producing more robust snores than those of Deputy Newman.

Erik Pelto, being a dangerous subversive as opposed to a run-of-the-mill killer, had the adjoining cell to himself. He, too, had chosen the upper bunk and lay flat on his back with an open copy of Life magazine over his face.

Cecil Newman devoted some period of time to jangling his ring of keys, giving McIntire the opportunity to appropriate his vacated chair to carry it into the cell. Maybe if the deputy had to keep his vigil standing up he’d find something else that needed doing.

Newman paused with his key in the lock when McIntire returned Falk’s “Privet.”

After the hello, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot to say, and McIntire began to wonder why he’d come.

That didn’t seem to be the case with Teddy Falk. He dangled his legs over the side of the bunk. “Eban Vogel didn’t put the money I left with him in the bank.”

“No.”

“I wonder how come.”

“It was 1934. Eban didn’t trust banks in the best of times.”

“He said he’d deposit it in Rosie’s account.”

“You knew Eban as well as I did. Why do you think he didn’t do it?”

Newman returned with another chair and parked it near the bars. Falk slid off the bunk to the floor, quite a drop for someone of his stature, and settled down next to his cellmate’s feet. “Eban wouldn’t have bothered if he knew Rose was dead. Oh, I ain’t saying he killed her. He wouldn’t have done that. If he knew Rosie had been killed and didn’t say anything, it must have been because he thought I did it.”

“That’s what I figure,” McIntire said. He hitched his chair closer. “Do you think Rose knew Jack Stewart?”

“Koski asked that, too. Ya, we knew Jack. You think he could be the one?”

McIntire told him about the mine accident.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know who died, that is. Naturally, I heard about the flood. It happened right about the time I left.”

“Stewart’s body was never recovered. There were rumors that he wasn’t there.”

“So maybe it was him with Rosie.”

“What do you think?”

“Like I said, nothing surprises me anymore.”

The door to the hallway opened wide enough to let Marian Koski sidle through carrying her tray. She placed it on the table and called, “Come on through, Mr.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.