Cosmo retreated to a pouffe as a small tray came out of the recliner’s left arm, and Viv put tea and a cookie on a saucer there for her husband.
I settled on the pouffe with my cup and with Cosmo.
We drank in silence. I came to a decision. “Would you be okay with keeping the rest of Candice’s items here until I’ve taken care of them, if I take the chest away today? I might have to borrow a few tools from you.”
“Whatever you need,” Viv said, before Bert had the chance to do so much as open his mouth.
He nodded. “I’d really appreciate that.”
“That’s settled then.” I wasn’t overly keen either on having the blasted thing in my home (or in this case garage), but Bert and Viv didn’t deserve any of this. It was bad enough for their business to be connected to a body drop, unless they used it as a marketing ploy for thrill seekers.
“I’ll help you,” Viv said. “It’s too big for your car, so I’ll take our van.” She pecked Bert’s cheek. “You sit here and look after the cat.”
Cosmo wiggled off my lap and shot through the door.
“Too late,” I said. “I think he needs to let off a bit of energy, after napping most of the day.”
Viv frowned. “He won’t scratch anything, will he?”
“He wouldn’t dream of it.”
Viv relaxed. I put a second cookie on Bert’s saucer. He looked like he could do with it.
Cosmo waited in front of the locked door to the back room with the chest.
Viv wiped her hands on her jeans. “I don’t mind telling you that Bert won’t be the only one glad to see the last of that thing.”
Her face flushed a little. Had the tea been too weak? No, I decided, when I noticed how steady her hands were as she turned the key. After all, my magical treats were only supposed to help Bert and Viv steady their nerves, not to treat a full-blown shock. That, I’d leave to the professionals like Nick.
Cosmo barreled ahead, remembering to go in a zig zag route, although I had no doubt he knew exactly where to go.
We followed at a more sedate pace. The air smelled differently, less of old furniture, beeswax polish, and musty fabric, and more of chemical agents. I assumed the crime scene investigators had used all sorts of sprays to examine the chest and the surroundings, to establish once and for all that the barn wasn’t the scene of the crime.
I chuckled, in a nervous reaction. I’d bled more than enough in this place, in my youth, and I was certain Bert and before him his dad had shed their share of blood too. It came with the territory. Splinters, nails, and unwieldy tools took their toll.
Hopefully, modern testing could tell the crime scene technicians how old blood stains were, or they’d be in for a long slog.
Viv stared at me.
“Sorry.” I explained my train of thought.
She chuckled too. “I never thought of that.”
The chest appeared innocent enough. It had been moved a few feet, but otherwise it appeared unchanged to me.
Cosmo circled it. He sniffed the ground. His tail swished to catch my attention.
I squatted next to him and stroked him. There was something, next to his paw. A few crumbs of dry soil, I deduced. I had no idea what made Cosmo so excited about them, but he obviously wanted me to do something.
I turned to Viv. “I forgot to bring gloves. Could you fetch me a pair?”
She bustled off.
I tore off a piece of paper from a shopping list I’d kept among other forgotten items in my pocket, scooped up the crumbs with it and let them trickle onto the rest of the paper which I then carefully folded and secured.
Viv returned with two pairs of thick leather work gloves.
She grimaced as she surveyed the chest. “Solid wood. It probably weighs more than the two of us together. Maybe I should get Bert to give us a hand after all.”
