regal and imposing. “That’s what I came in here to talk to you about. There’s a snowstorm headed our way and there’s no way for the police to get here.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“We’ve got no choice but to sit tight,” he told her.
Otto Kramer, the husky solicitor she recognized from photos, held up his hands. “Friends, we have a long night ahead of us. A storm is coming, and the police will not be able to reach us for some time.”
“How long will we have to wait?” an older mustached man Jane hadn’t seen before asked. Unlike most of the others, he didn’t speak with a German accent. Instead he sounded like an upper class Brit, with his clipped tones and plummy accent.
“Typically after large storms such as this, authorities clear through the snow between three and seven days,” the solicitor responded.
“Seven days? You mean we might be holed up in here for up to a week?” the mustached man demanded. “That’s bloody medieval, man. Bloody medieval.”
“To be fair, we are in a medieval castle,” Jane couldn’t help but point out.
The mustached man looked at her, squinted for a moment, and then laughed loudly. The screeching sound in the hall would have been unnerving in the best of times. But with a body in the next room, the laughter was downright maniacal. Still grinning, the mustached man walked up to her with an outstretched hand. “Timothy O’Brien at your service. You must be the famous Jane Westen. Very droll little joke there. Wonderful to meet you, cousin.”
Jane blinked in surprise. “What? Cousin? Are you Gabriel’s client?”
Timothy laughed and took her hand to shake it vigorously. “Certainly not. We’re only cousins by marriage. I was married to Friedrich von Westen’s sister when she was alive, may she rest in peace.”
“Oh. Uh…it’s great to meet you,” Jane said.
“We’re still cousins if you think about it. Not to mention if you or Gabriel’s client met with a sticky end, I’d legally have a chance at the castle,” Timothy said, releasing her hand with a laugh and a wink. “Anyway Otto, old chap, if we’re going to be here, what the devil are we to do with the girl’s body? We can’t just leave her lying about,” he said, and made a sign of the cross. “Rest her soul.”
The solicitor frowned. “I’m not quite sure what we’re supposed to do if emergency services are delayed.”
“We will have to put her out, Herr Kramer,” the manservant piped up from his place in the shadows.
“Put her out, old man?” Timothy asked. “What on earth does that mean?”
“Well we cannot leave her about, as you say,” the manservant said. “Our only alternative then is to place her somewhere. We have no refrigerated storage for a…person. However, the snow seems cold enough to store her.”
“Are you suggesting we dump Heidi outside in the snow?” Otto demanded gruffly. “That is unthinkable. We cannot shut her out there in the cold all alone.”
The manservant steepled his bony hands beneath his chin. “Herr Kramer, she is dead. She will feel nothing. No ill effects. Better to preserve the body in the cold snow than to let it…fester inside for a week.”
“He has a point,” Timothy said. “It would be the right way to handle the body.”
Otto sighed. “Very well. We shall do that. But we will be respectful, please. Someone must collect blankets to wrap Heidi, and we shall place her out in the snow until the police arrive.”
Jane suddenly felt sick and she clutched her stomach. There was a roaring in her ears and the voices around her grew distant. Desperate to get away from the morbid conversation, she edged away from the group.
“You okay?” Gabriel asked, walking up to her.
“Fine. I just need a second,” she murmured.
“You should lie down,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to sleep after all this.” She was bone-weary to the point of sheer exhaustion, but she was certain that nightmares would keep her up all night.
“You’re going to have to try, Jane,” he said in a firm tone. “We all do.”
“Maybe. Except… I’ve just thought of something else.”
“What?”
Her eyes stung suddenly. “Someone is going to have to notify that poor girl’s family.”
4
“Next of kin. Next of kin.” Gabriel shook his head as he shut the desk drawer. “Sorry, Jane, I still can’t find anything with Heidi’s name on it.”
“Neither can I,” Otto said as he leafed through the banged-up old notebook in his hand.