Madam Tulip and the Serpent's Tree by David Ahern

Author:David Ahern [Ahern, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery, thriller, Suspense, female protagonist, amateur sleuth, crime fiction, Humorous
ISBN: 9780993544873
Publisher: Malin Press
Published: 2020-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

22

Walking into Kira’s bedroom was like stepping from one planet onto another. While the living room was anonymous and conventional, the bedroom was like the tent of a nomad from the steppes. Hangings, vibrant with intertwined plants and animals, dressed the walls behind the bed. Branches sprouted from tall vases flanking a small square space marked out by a woven mat and surrounded by squat unlit candles. Derry caught the musky odour of evergreen, familiar from the yurt at Aileen’s party.

‘Look,’ said Aileen pointing to a battered teddy bear sitting on the dressing table, propped against the mirror. ‘Now I’m sure something’s happened to her.’

‘Just because someone forgot their teddy bear doesn’t mean something bad has happened, surely,’ said Derry.

‘You don’t understand! She even brought it on tour. Once, the airline mislaid our luggage for two days and she went crazy. After that, she always took the teddy in her hand baggage. She would never have gone anywhere overnight without it.’

‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand,’ said Derry.

‘It was her daughter’s,’ said Aileen, her eyes soft. She pointed to a framed photograph on the nightstand beside the bed, a print in black and white. A girl, young—perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old—posing with a violin. She was dark haired, pretty, dressed formally in a high-necked blouse as if for a concert.

‘She died,’ said Aileen. ‘She was all Kira had. Kira is a very brave person. I don’t know how I’d live, if that happened to me.’

As she was speaking, Aileen went to the closet and slid open the door. Inside was a full compliment of clothes. As Aileen rifled through the hanging garments and poked around in the bottom of the closet, Derry felt horribly embarrassed. What if Kira walked into the apartment at this moment? To distract herself, she inspected the contents of a small bookcase. A few titles were in English—a dozen or so books on shamanism, interpreting dreams, Gaia theory. But below those, were eight books in a row, all the same, none looking new. All were hardbacks with a plain light-brown cover. No dustjackets, but on the spines a title in a foreign language—Swedish? Danish? The author’s name was unfamiliar. Instinctively, Derry pulled out a copy. Some kind of treatise—not a novel anyway. No photos or diagrams to say what the book was about.

‘Her suitcase is here,’ announced Aileen, leaning into the closet while holding aside hanging dresses to let Derry see.

‘Maybe she has more than one?’

Aileen didn’t seem to like Derry’s answer, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she hesitated like she was wondering how to say something. ‘A reason I wanted you to come with me—I know you said you don’t do that kind of thing … clairvoyant … whatever.’ The rest came in a rush. ‘Do you sense anything? Can you feel she’s … okay? Or not okay?’ She was wringing her hands as though she were afraid whatever Derry answered would instantly seal Kira’s fate.

Derry looked around the room. The place was somehow powerful. Not oppressive—everything had a lightness about it, a sense of life and movement.

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