Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley Read Online Free Page A

eyes gleamed. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘yes. Sophus’s disappearance and the rhyme must be connected. What do you think it means?’
    â€˜I’m not sure,’ Danyl admitted.
    â€˜But you can find out. You can look for Sophus where I can’t. I’ve contacted some of the local sects. None of their cult leaders will talk to me because of my position at the community council. I represent authority. Bureaucracy. But you were arrested in a bizarre scandal, taken into custody by the police and diagnosed with an acute mental illness. That makes you a hero to these people. They’ll talk to you. And while you’re searching for Sophus, you can stay in the Scholar’s Cottage. Sleep in a warm dry bed instead of a damp concrete stairway. And I’ll feed you.’ She opened her satchel, took out a muffin and handed it to Danyl while fixing him with her gaze. ‘Say yes.’
    Danyl took the muffin. He sat back in his chair and considered Ann’s offer. It sounded appealing. A roof. A bed. More muffins. He drummed his fingers on the table, thinking.
    His doctors had stressed the importance of stability and relaxation in managing his illness. A regular routine. Regular meals. Regular sleep, ideally indoors on a bed and not in a concrete entranceway. If they were here they’d advise him to take the deal.
    But his doctors were not infallible. After all, they had warned Danyl that if he stopped taking his antidepressants the consequences could be dire. Yet a week after discontinuing his medication there had been no consequences; on the contrary, he felt fantastic. Alive! So his doctors didn’t know everything.
    Danyl took a bite of muffin and smiled, and Ann smiled back. But there was something hidden behind her eyes. Something calculating. Remember where you are, a voice in Danyl’s head cautioned him. Te Aro, where nothing was as it seemed. Beneath the valley’s superficial quirky charm lurked depths of madness. Danyl had forgotten this in his time away, but he remembered it now. His goal was to find Verity. Help her. Maybe she would take him back, and if so he would stay. Otherwise he should leave the valley again.
    And what about the treasurer and her missing student? Should he get involved? Maybe Verity’s disappearance was related to this mathematician’s and in seeking one he would find both? But probably not. People vanished mysteriously all the time around here. And he didn’t trust this attractive and generous treasurer. She was trying to draw him into something sinister.
    Danyl swallowed the last of the muffin and decided he would not be drawn. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said to Ann. ‘I can’t accept. I don’t need a place to stay. I’m going to find my girlfriend today. I hope you find your …’ He gestured at the horrible teenager in the photograph. ‘Thing. And thanks for breakfast.’ He brushed the muffin crumbs from his beard and stood and walked to the door. He was almost there when the treasurer spoke.
    â€˜Danyl?’ Her voice was low. Ominous. He turned. Ann steepled her fingers. ‘You’ll never find Verity by yourself. But I know where you can start looking.’ She nodded at the photo. ‘Find Sophus. Then I’ll tell you. Otherwise you could look forever and ever and find … nothing.’

4
The Free Market
    Danyl had thought about Verity a lot in the days since he had released himself from the hospital. What happened? Where did it all go wrong?
    One afternoon stood out in his memory. About a month after Danyl moved into her house, Verity came home early from work and suggested they go to the market together. ‘It’s in Aro Park,’ she explained, pulling open the curtains while Danyl sat up in bed blinking in the flood of late-afternoon sunlight. ‘It’s called the Free Market. It’s subsidised by the council. They wanted to give the residents of the valley