The Pumpkin Lady

IV: Putrefaction

The road was rocky on the way to the Royal Aspen Inn, the rickety carriage and the squeaking of the wheels making it hard for Dahlia to think straight. The investigation ate up most of their daylight, interviewing witnesses, asking people if they've seen the runaway Margaret and Tom. Some people said they saw them rushing down the streets, hand in hand. Others claimed that they saw them arguing next to a produce shop. A minority of people said they saw this forbidden lover forcing the victim into a carriage while she begged him to let her go. Dahlia was unsure which of these claims were true. Nonetheless, the seemingly endless questions ended up with them travelling all the way to the outskirts of London, just far enough to where the towering buildings were mere blips in the distance, where the cozy Royal Aspen Inn resided. Felix sat across from her, leash in hand, and the borrowed bloodhound panting happily next to him.

"Something wrong?" Felix asked.

"Oh- nothing... they let you borrow the dog then?"

"You just noticed?" Felix chuckled, scratching behind the hound's floppy ears. "This is Chauncey! A gentlemanly name for a gentlemanly dog." he said with a smile, cupping his face and squishing it around like clay.

Dahlia couldn't help but giggle at this display. "And here I thought you didn't like dogs!"

"Ah, I said I wasn't a dog person! It's not the same thing." He said, mumbling a few more words of affection Chauncey. The dog seemed very pleased with all the attention he was getting. "I find cats to be much better company. Very clean animals, wouldn't you say?"

"You say that now, but just wait until one of them drops a dead bird on your doorstep!" Dahlia replied, shaking her head dismissively. Her gaze shifted to the window, drawing the little curtains aside. Not too far from where they were, the silhouette of a quaint inn could be seen, the windows amber with the glow of oil lamps, and a couple other carriages sat dormant alongside the road. It was small, but it was cozy, and that was enough. "Are you sure we'll find something here?"

Felix shrugged. "Do we have much of a choice?"

"I suppose not." Dahlia replied, leaning back in her seat. "What do you think so far, sir?"

"About the case?" Felix asked, prompting a nod from Dahlia. "Frankly, I'm not sure. It would be so easy to say that it's just a man luring a girl away from home just to kill her, but it just seems too simple." He scratched his chin, leaning over in his seat. "But why the Jack-o-lantern? Furthermore, if he did take her all the way out here, why bring her body all the way back to London with no one noticing?"

"Do you suppose, perhaps, there was another accomplice...?" Dahlia proposed.

"We'll just have to wait and see, Miss Berrycloth. Speaking of which," he interrupted himself, the carriage coming to a halt and the two detectives proceeding to exit with the hound.

After a few words with the coachman, and an exchange of money, Felix led Chauncey along the little path to the front doors, Dahlia following close behind. However, Felix faltered, his attention seeming to have been diverted someplace else.
"Hm, just a moment." He excused himself, handing the leash to Dahlia before proceeding towards the side of the building. Dahlia had absolutely no clue what he was doing, his arms behind his back as he scanned the wall. This keen observation lasted a little longer than she expected it to before he moved towards the back. She could only assume he was doing the same thing as he did before. The crunching of autumn leaves told her that he was moving once again, and after some time, he speed walked right back to her and took the leash in his hand. "Interesting."

"What is?" Dahlia asked.

"I'll explain when I get more evidence confirming my suspicions." He replied.