The Connicle Curse Read Online Free

caught my eye when they removed the body. I’m sure you would have noticed had you been looking.”
    The sergeant seemed to approve of Colin’s answer as he nodded his head. “Likely so . . . likely so . . .”
    Colin plucked the little thatch doll from me and slowly inspected it inches from his eyes. “The question is, where might Edmond Connicle have come into contact with a practitioner of voodoo?”
    Sergeant Evans pursed his face a moment and then lit up. “I know! He’s got a couple of Africans working for him. Live-ins. I saw them lurking about when we got here this morning. Gave me a bad feeling right off.”
    Colin flicked a displeased gaze my direction. “Yes . . .” he said flatly as he passed the tiny doll back to me. “Make a note of those things, Ethan,” he said as he began to pace around the area, inspecting the ground every few steps.
    I did as he asked, jotting down the items on my pad and making a crude drawing of the doll. It was impossible to tell what, if anything, would have value later, and I couldn’t be sure we would get access to these things again.
    â€œWhat do you think, Mr. Pendragon?” Sergeant Evans asked when I finally handed the fetishes to him. “Have we solved the case already? Do you think it’s those blasted Africans from the house?” He shook his head. “Inspector Varcoe will be enraged if you found the solution that quickly.”
    â€œHe should be used to it,” Colin answered with a tight grin. “But tell me something, Sergeant, if you were a practitioner of voodoo and in a murderous state of mind, would you leave such evidence behind?”
    â€œWhat? Well . . .” He shrugged vaguely. “Maybe it’s part of their custom. They did have it buried. Perhaps they thought that was clever enough.”
    â€œLeaving behind a freshly dug bulge in the earth is hardly clever.”
    Evans waved Colin off. “That lot isn’t known for being clever.”
    â€œThat lot . . . ?”
    â€œThe Africans. They’re not exactly Oxford trained.”
    Colin sucked in a breath. “Given the lack of cleverness your Yard was able to summon on that Ripper case, you might want to be more considerate before you disparage an entire continent of people.” He nodded at me and started back toward the Connicle home.
    â€œYou are quite the conundrum, Mr. Pendragon,” Sergeant Evans chortled.
    I smiled as though we had shared a good joke, though I knew Colin had not meant it to be. Nevertheless, if Colin was right about the fetishes being nothing more than a deception, I knew we would need Sergeant Evans to be an ally, magisterial order or not. And I had long ago learned that in matters such as these Colin was nearly always right.

CHAPTER 3
    T he night sky was speckled with an ocean of stars by the time we pounded our way back through the woods to the Connicle house. Police lanterns continued to bob about the area and I noticed three bloodhounds being loaded into a wagon parked next to the gardener’s shed as three more were brought out from another wagon nearby. “Now why would they be bringing more dogs in?” I asked.
    Colin shook his head with a shrug. “I would hope to start searching for somebody else’s tracks.”
    â€œYou don’t think they’ve been doing that all afternoon?”
    Colin’s nearer eyebrow arched as he looked at me. “You do give the Yard such credit.” He chuckled as we watched the dogs blunder about in haphazard directions, their noses held firmly to the ground. “Now let’s have another look at that shed.” And with that he was off, cutting away from my side and charging back to the shed, nearly bowling over the young bobby currently stationed there.
    â€œIt’s all right,” I notified the young constable as I caught up. “We’ve a magisterial order.”
    â€œI heard,” he replied