The October afternoon was bright and warm. Sunlight illumined the water beneath the small dam near the southern end of town. The road nearby was for the moment free of passing vehicles, and not a pedestrian was in sight. Across the street at the park, people sported with their pets and each other. The small pool seemed totally unobserved. One splash and then another broke the relative quiet of the water.
From behind a nearby bush, a head popped up. “What was that?” Ferdie stood up and looked down at the water. “A row boat? That wasn’t there before. Hello, anybody down there?” Hearing no reply he started down the bank and was soon standing beside the rowboat. “Hello? Anybody in the water?” The boat was moored by a small rope to the shore. Ferdie stepped into the craft and sat down. He peered into the water. “Ahh!” He recoiled back with a scream. As if hearing the sound, a voice called to him from street level.
“There you are Ferdie. I’ve been looking all over for you. What are you doing in that boat.”
“Zack, get down here quick. I think somebody’s in the water.”
“In the water?” Zack started down the bank, ” What makes you think that?”
“I was up there, and first I heard a splash and then I heard another splash, and when I looked down here, all I saw was this empty rowboat.”
“I was up there, and I heard a splash and then I heard another splash, and when I looked down here, all I saw was this empty rowboat.”
“Sure, so you think you heard a couple of splashes, but if someone fell in, they wouldn’t just sink to the bottom. Even if they couldn’t swim, if you were that close when they fell in, you would have seen and heard them splashing and calling for help. There’s nobody here. You must have imagined it.”
“No, I didn’t imagine it Zack. I heard two splashes, plain as day; big ones too, like a couple of bodies would make going over the side of this boat. “
“Bodies? What are you talking about? You make it sound like there’s a couple of dead bodies floating around there.”
“Not floating, Zack.”
“What do you mean, not floating?”
“Come here, take a look at this.” Ferdie waited while Zack climbed into the rowboat. ” When I looked over into the water just before you got here, I saw it.”
“Saw it? Saw what?’
“In the water, a face. A hideous face. “
“A face? “
“That’s right, a face. I leaned over like this, and looked down like this, and there it was, a hideous, twisted face, staring up at me.”
Zack looked down into the water. “You idiot, that’s your own reflection.”
“But what about that other face, even worse than the first one?”
“That’s my reflection. Now cut this out. Come one, let’s get going.”
“But what about that third face?”
“Third face?” Zack looked down, and sure enough, the reflection of a third face appeared over their shoulders. He turned to see a man standing behind them, looking down into the water.
“Good afternoon gentlemen,” said this stranger in a deep, velvety- smooth voice, “Did you loose something?”
“Just a couple of bodies.” Ferdie answered.
“Bodies!”
“My friend here means he thinks he heard a couple of splashes that sounded like bodies hitting the water. Of course that’s ridiculous. I was just trying to explain to him that we should be going when you came along.”
“Yes. I am inclined to agree with you.” The stranger addressed this to Zack, then directed his next statement to Ferdie, ” I see no bodies in the water.”
“Do bodies sink or float when they hit the water?” Ferdie asked.
“Well, I’m no expert, but I’m fairly certain the natural tendency is to float. I believe that is why the murderers invariably weigh their victims with a heavy stone or some such object before dumping them in the water. Otherwise, sooner or later, they would rise to the surface.”
“You hear that Zack? Sooner or later they would rise to the surface, so somebody tied them with heavy stones, and they’re down there now.”
“Who?” Asked the stranger.
“How should I know who? We have to get the victims out of the water before we can find out who they are.”
“You misunderstood me. What I meant was, who tied the bodies, and who threw them into the water, as you seem to think. There is nobody here but we three.”
“There, you see Ferdie? There’s nobody here but us. Will you stop imagining things? ” Zack took Ferdie by the arm and started to motion him out of the boat.
“You really think I imagined it?” Ferdie asked.
“Of course you did Ferdie. Isn’t that right sir?”
“A quite plausible explanation, given the absence of any other evidence. An active imagination, such as your friend seems to possess, may often lead to inaccurate conclusions, sometimes with unfortunate results.”
“You hear that Ferdie? Now let’s get going before you get us mixed up in some unfortunate results.” Zack pulled Ferdie’s arm, trying to get him off the boat. ” You should be ashamed, making people think there’s been a body dumped in the river, right here in the middle of town.”
“Two bodies.” Ferdie held up two fingers.
“Well, one body or, two, it makes no difference.”
“I bet it makes a difference to the person that belongs to the second body.”
“It makes no difference because there is no second body. There are not two bodies in that water.”
“You think there are more? Remember, I only heard two splashes.”
“I do not think there are more. There is no body in that water. Zero bodies. Do you understand? I think you’re letting your imagination run away with you again.”
“I get it. You think I heard something that sounded like splashes, and now I’m just imagining the rest.”
“At last you’re talking sense. Look.” Zack pointed down at the water. “See that? No bodies. And the only faces are our three reflections. You got that? No bodies, no sign of any bodies.”
Ferdie sighed. “I suppose you’re right. I always see more things than there are to be seen. Like those bubbles for instance.”
“Bubbles?” Zack looked at the water, “Well those are probably just, -er, “
“I know,” Ferdie interrupted, “A gill-man.”
“A what?” The stranger asked.
“A gill-man.” Ferdie repeated. ” You know.” He held his arms up, with outstretched fingers mimicking the webbed digits of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, opened and closed his mouth in a fish-like manner and let out a growl.
“There you go again.” Zack shook his head.
“I was about to suggest Snapping turtles.” said the stranger.
“Gassy turtles?”
“Snapping turtles.”
“Oh, Snapping Turtles. ”
“Yes, they -er, they cause bubbles like that when they dig around in the mud along the bottom, it causes trapped air pockets to escape, and the air rises to the surface, creating, as you see, bubbles.”
“I like a gill-man better.”
“Really young man, does that seem possible?”
“Sure it does. Anything is possible in a mystery.”
Get the whole story today at: http://amazon.com/author/morrisrk
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For more spooky Halloween themed fun in Milford and Highland click here: https://www.listenviewreview.com/mystery-at-the-milford-wax-museum-act-one/
