Kronberg Crimes 01 - The Devils Grin

in the forest, I felt at ease here. It was common knowledge that the moor meant a slow and silent death, just another of the foolish sentiments of our race. To me, the moor meant beauty and peace. Few would dare to come here and Holmes would certainly avoid it.
    The moss swung around me with every step I took, the oscillations reaching as far as ten feet in each direction. I walked slowly, placing my bare feet mostly on the thick grass clumps. At the very edge I sat down and immersed my legs in the water. The turf was sinking down, softly releasing me into the lake. My outstretched toes did not reach the mud; the lake was deep enough for me to dive. And I did.
    Blackness embraced me and I let the cold water wash off the stench and the images of corpses in bags, thrown with carelessness into the roaring fire of Broadmoor’s enormous oven.
    My lungs started to protest, my ribcage contracted, eager to suck in fresh air and expel what I had used up. I kept diving and, just before the darkness was about to enclose my mind, I pushed my head through the lake’s surface. With a long sigh, I greeted the crisp night air of the Berkshire forest.
    A movement at the lake’s edge caught my eye. Someone was undressing hastily, then stopped as I peered in his direction. I made a mental note as not to underestimate his abilities again. The moment he had put his trousers back on, I started swimming back to my pile of clothes with Holmes standing next to them. He hadn’t dared to walk onto the swinging plant cover and I wondered how he had planned to rescue me.
    ‘I would appreciate some privacy,’ I said quietly. He did not move and I saw determination in his face. Outrageous! ‘Mr Holmes, do I have to remind you that any other gentleman would leave discreetly now?’
    ‘No need to remind me of good manners. I have one condition though: you listen to what I have to say.’
    I snorted at so much insolence. ‘You have nothing to bargain with.’
    He considered that for a short moment and then replied, slightly amused, ‘You wouldn’t!’
    Little did he know. I had already placed my hands on two clumps of grass and pulled myself out of the water. Holmes stumbled two steps backwards. The sight of a naked woman seemed to have made an impression.
    I stood up slowly and looked him straight in the face.
    He turned around and left, his hands balled to fists.
    I shook the water and the anger off me and walked across the lake’s swinging fringe to find my clothes and get dressed.
    Walking back into the forest, I found Holmes leaning on a tree, arms folded over his chest. Silently we walked together until we found a dry place to sit. I extracted the little food and drink from the depths of my backpack and placed it between us.
    ‘I would like to say something first, Mr Holmes, if I may.’
    He nodded.
    ‘I am tired of your games. Whatever you have to say, please make it short. Should I get the impression you are not truthful, or are purposefully omitting details, I’ll leave.’
    He neither nodded nor made any other move. Staring into the forest, he spoke quietly, ‘Last winter I investigated a burglary and paid a group of street urchins to tail the suspect. The man was killed and one of the boys saw the murderer. Two days later the boy was found clubbed to death, his intestines spread all over his body. He was eleven years old.’
    Holmes still did not move and I waited, gradually understanding his reluctance to involve me in this investigation. I had believed he thought himself superior, not needing the help of someone else, let alone a woman. How silly of me, to maintain this preconception that all men expected women to be the lesser man. I wiped prejudice away for a moment and gazed at Holmes.
    ‘I swore I would never again put anyone in danger for the sake of a case,’ he said finally.
    ‘Thank you,’ I whispered, then opened the brandy I had brought and offered him my one cup. He took it without a word.
    ‘I am sorry,’ I said softly, ‘for you and the boy.’
    Slowly the crickets’ music faded. It was obviously time for them to go to bed. I, however, was wide awake.
    ‘You think you should have known better,’ I added with a thin voice. ‘You do think that rather often.’ It wasn’t meant to be a question. I turned towards him and touched his hand with mine. ‘Absolutely nothing can be learned from cruelty.’
    He looked at me then, quizzical at first, then, after a moment, his eyes had got cold and