The Broken Sun Read Online Free

‘But sometimes things can seem too ordinary. I once investigated a string of robberies committed by a man known as the Shadow. When I plotted the thefts on a
map, I discovered them to be exactly half a mile away from each other.’
    Jack couldn’t see anything wrong in this. ‘So why was that strange?’
    â€˜Serial criminals always begin by committing crimes in an area close to home. The
Shadow was desperate to hide his point of origin, so desperate in fact that it meant
he lived very close to the first robbery. I checked with the police as to known offenders
in the area and he was arrested the same day.’
    Scarlet beamed. ‘Brinkie works the same way,’ she said. ‘I will keep an eye out for
extraordinarily normal behaviour.’
    â€˜So will I,’ Jack said. ‘Let’s arrest anyone who looks too normal and sit on them
until the police arrive.’
    â€˜You’re being silly.’
    â€˜No, seriously,’ Jack said. ‘You see that old lady?’ A frail-looking woman had just
come out her front door. ‘She looks far too much like an innocent old lady. She might
be a werewolf. Or a leprechaun. Maybe even a sea monster. We are near the ocean,
after all.’
    Scarlet ignored him. ‘I believe I will develop a theory,’ she said. ‘I will call
it the Theory of Normal Strangeness .’
    â€˜That’s got quite a ring to it. Your friend, Mr Beethoven, might be able to turn
it into a song.’
    â€˜Sometimes I want to hit you.’
    Mr Doyle intervened before violence could ensue. ‘We should first find accommodation,’
he said, glancing at his watch. ‘It’s almost midday. We’ll eat and then unravel this
mystery one thread at a time. Werewolves or no werewolves.’
    Jack and Scarlet were pleased to see Mr Doyle had recovered some of his good humour.
They booked a room in a hotel called The Belvedere, eating a meal of steak-and-kidney
pies while Mr Doyle engaged the waitress in idle conversation. Around twenty, the
young woman was slim, reminding Jack of a greyhound, and she was more than happy
to respond to queries about the town.
    â€˜A few businesses have closed,’ she explained. ‘These seaside places have a boom
and bust economy. It’s spring now and we’re doing all right, but it’s quite slow
in winter.’
    â€˜I am in need of a watchmaker,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘Is there one nearby?’
    â€˜There was one, but he closed years ago.’
    â€˜There’s no-one who can do repair work?’
    She thought for a moment. ‘A group of people have moved into the old Westlake House
on the south road. I think they’re some kind of engineers.’
    â€˜Really?’
    She leaned close. ‘Lots of equipment gets delivered to the home. A box got broken
at the station and some gear spilled out. One of the men was furious.’
    Mr Doyle rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. He confirmed the address and thanked
the waitress. She left them to finish their meal.
    â€˜Did you see that?’ Jack asked Scarlet. ‘That girl was so much like a waitress that
she was too much like a waitress. What do you think, Mr Doyle?’
    The detective produced a lump of cheese from his pocket. He had the strangest eating
habits of anyone Jack knew.
    â€˜She is behaving very much like a waitress,’ he said, ‘because she is a waitress.
Her parents own the establishment and she is getting married next year. Which will
be nice because the cat she owned for seven years recently died.’
    Jack and Scarlet looked at each other and laughed.
    After leaving the pub, Mr Doyle hailed a steamcab, directing the driver to a large
property surrounded by a high stone wall and overhanging trees. Foliage hid the house
beyond. When Mr Doyle paid the driver they all climbed out of the cab.
    â€˜There has been some movement here, but not in the last week.’ Mr Doyle pointed at
the