The Sister(31)

Clearing his throat, the expert continued. ‘There’s evidence the site was used earlier for mining operations. We picked up the highest readings I have ever encountered.’

When he’d finished, the coroner remarked, ‘It seems to me that this place known as 'Devil’s pond' should be made inaccessible, or better still, filled in entirely.’

The coroner read the post-mortem results, concluding that whilst high levels of hydrogen sulphide gas undoubtedly rendered all three boys unconscious, the actual cause of death was drowning.

In describing the case as a tragedy, the coroner also said it highlighted the dangers of swimming in unknown waters during hot weather.





Back from his thoughts, Kirk continuing reading and found that, with no fresh information to report, the rest of the article concentrated on the number of bodies recovered from the water, regurgitating earlier reports, re-quoting what various sources at the scene had said at the time. He scanned for anything he hadn’t read before.

The first boy’s body took two hours to recover. He knew that, he’d been there. He jumped two-thirds of the article and continued further down the page. The operation recovered thirty skeletons in all. Twenty-three were thought to be much older than the rest, possibly dating from the mine disaster one hundred and fifty years ago.

Murder squad detectives are concentrating their efforts on the bodies found wrapped identically in boiler suits and weighted with stones.

Forensic pathology identified five sets of female remains, and those of two men, one of whom was middle aged with a malformation of the upper jaw. Identified as in their late teens or early twenties, apart from the skeleton with the deformity, all had died up to thirty years earlier, assumed to have fallen prey to the same killer.

At the time of the report, the identities of six murder victims remain unknown. The seventh’s name is being withheld until relatives are notified and is thought to be a young Chinese woman who has not been seen since 1967.

The investigation continues.

Kirk knew all of that from other articles he’d read, but the footnote at the end of this particular article contained something new.

Last week, local farmer, Robert Scraggs, announced his intention to fill the pond saying, ‘I was fed up with the rumours of evil spirits and the Devil, and that. The pond’s on my land. It’s down to me. I’ll fence it off and leave it to grow wild. It’ll cost me a lot of money, but it’s worth it for the peace of mind.’

When asked about the many rags tied up in the trees, Scraggs replied, ‘Those clooties? They’ve been there as long as anyone can remember. A new one appeared last week, never seen any like it before; bright yellow silk, no one knows who puts them up. It’s another of the many mysteries that surround these parts. They say the Devils Crake...’

Already aware of the local superstitions, he skipped the rest, but wondered who had written the article. The reporter’s name was Henry Black.





Chapter 24



Amateur boxing coach, Mickey Taylor, first met Thomas Carney when his mother found a cleaning job at the gym and took him there one night after school.

When the boy was twelve, his father was shot by a hit man in a case of mistaken identity and had died three months later. Although devastated by the tragic turn of events, Thomas reacted by lashing out at the world and getting into trouble at school. By the time he was fifteen years old, his mother had sold up and moved south to get away. Already getting himself into fights all the time, the last thing she needed was to have him running with the gangs as he grew older.

Mrs Carney had asked Taylor if he could teach him to box, she knew his dad would have wanted that and she hoped it might keep him out of trouble.

‘How old is he?’ Taylor said.

‘Sixteen.’

‘Get him some kit; bring him back when you have and we’ll see what we can do.’





Taylor admired her courage. It took balls, not only for an attractive woman to walk into a place like that, but to keep coming back. It was only natural to expect the men and boys to eye her lustily and speak in undertones about what they'd like to do to her, given the chance, but one of the men, speaking louder than usual, made a comment within earshot.

‘I heard that! her high Manchurian accent cut through the gym and, marching straight up to him, face blazing with anger, she said, ‘I’m not having that, you keep your filthy thoughts to yourself. You apologise and right now!’

The offender’s name was Gerard, and he made the mistake of trying to laugh it off. A group of his cronies joined in. Thomas stepped in quietly, saying, ‘She said apologise.’ There was a firmness and quiet certainty in his voice. Terry, the club’s assistant coach, intervened. Taylor stopped him. He wanted to see what panned out. Gerard looked at Thomas and laughed. ‘And if I don’t?’

The whole gym had ceased activity; all eyes were on the growing confrontation. The boy was outwardly calm, but insistent. When he spoke, his voice seemed loud against the silence. ‘Apologise,’ he demanded. The word hung in the air. Gerard moved within striking distance; Thomas balled his fists. Taylor planted himself between them. ‘Sort it in the ring, guys.’

Terry prepared the gloves and, once they were ready, they entered the ring, where Taylor waited to referee. Nobody expected it to last more than a few seconds; after all, it was a contest between a fully-grown man, and a sixteen-year-old boy.