“Darling!” Louise exclaimed.
“Trying to ruin your door,” muttered Gilda as she set aside her crocheting.
She opened the front door and in bounded a dusty Darling. He raced to where Louise was struggling to get off the couch, tail wagging, and dropped a bone on the hardwood floor right at her feet. A bone, long and slender like a femur. Crusted with dirt, and something rusty that looked like—eeew—blood.
“What on earth?” began Louise as Darling put his front paws on her, ready to show her some love.
“Oh, dear God,” gasped Gilda. “I think that’s...”
“A human bone,” Louise finished with her and they stared at each other in horror.
Chapter18
“WE HAVE TO BE WRONG,” SAIDLOUISE.“Where would Darling find a human bone?” Darling lay down and began to gnaw on the bone and Louise let out a shriek. “No, Darling!”
“Evidence,” said Gilda, and snatched it up, using her handkerchief. “We need to preserve it.” She marched off toward the kitchen.
“Don’t put that on the counter,” Louise called after her. If she did, Louise would never use her kitchen counter again.
A few moments later Gilda was back.
“Where is it?” Louise asked.
“In the fridge.”
“Oooh.” Louise felt suddenly faint.
“Don’t worry. I wrapped it in plastic wrap.”
Now Louise was sure she’d never use her refrigerator again.
“Didn’t you say the woman next door has gone missing?” Gilda asked.
All those mystery and thriller writers were right. A chill really could run down your spine.
“Oh, no,” Louise weakly protested. Of course, she’d entertained the grisly idea that Alec James had bumped off his girlfriend, but being presented with possible evidence was, well, it was so very real. “I did suspect, but seeing possible proof right here before our eyes, it’s... horrifying.”
“Happens every day somewhere,” said Gilda.
“I knew he was getting rid of more than just her things,”Louise said. Her voice was trembling, right along with her hands.
“You have to do something.”
“What?”
“Call the police, of course. You can’t find a human bone and not report it.”
“But I don’t know where Darling found it. If he was off in the woods somewhere...”
“Who knows where all he’s been. But he’s a digger, right? If he found it next door, there’ll be a hole on your neighbor’s property.”
“We need to check it out,” Louise said with a decisive nod.
“I’ll go look,” Gilda said.
“I’m coming with you,” Louise declared.
Five minutes later she and Gilda were inspecting a hole in a corner of their neighbor’s front yard. Darling the digger, who was shut in the house, had struck again, uprooting a strawberry tree in the process.
