For Better Or Worse

City life
with in my company only sat well with Katrina for a short while…city life with
the son of a very wealthy, well-known aristocrat, however…well, that’s another
story.

Yes, my
heart was broken. Katrina’s only true
interest in me seemed to be passage out of Sleepy Hollow – can one truly blame
her? As much as my heart ached, I
understood that I was not able to keep something that desired to be free.

Where did
this leave me? Immersed in my
work. As long as I was no longer
required to chase after a supernatural being, I could tolerate my newly
loveless day-to-day life. My thoughts,
however, never strayed far from Katrina.
I thought that she was destined to be my love. Bewitchment – that is all any of it was.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Yes, Katrina, I do think you wicked.

Young
Masbath, who shall herein be referred to by his first name, Jonathan, remained
with me, assisting me in my work however he could. This was fine with those that ranked higher than I, as they did
not wish to accompany me to a murder site if it could be helped.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I appreciated his company greatly.

It was
midmorning when he knocked on the door to my office. It was the day that affected my life more than any headless
horseman ever could. bettbetter…or
worse.

“Come in,”
I called out through the closed door.
When the door opened, Jonathan was on the other side.

“A woman to
see you,” he said.

“A woman?”

“Yes,
sir. She says she’s in need of your
help.”

“Show her
in.” He did as I asked, escorting a
woman, whose beauty could have possessed any man, into my office.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Katrina was a mere child in comparison.

“Good
morning, Constable Crane,” she said, her voice soft and somewhat pained.

1'> “Good
morning,” I replied, my eyes refusing to tear themselves from her.

“My name is
Victoria Wintergrace. I do hope I’m not
disrupting you.”

“Not at
all.” Hair darker than mine fell down
her back in soft tendrils and she possessed green eyes more brilliant than any
jewel. My heart began to beat at a pace
that it hadn’t since Katrina had first kissed me – yet I was several feet away
from this woman with no hope of physical contact. “How may I assyou?you?”

“My
father,” she began, her hands entangling in the top layer of her skirts, “I
believe he has been murdered.”

I swallowed
harder than I intended. “What leads you
to believe this, Miss Wintergrace?”

“Mrs.
Wintergrace,” she said reluctantly.

“Apologies.”style="mso-spacerun: yes">

She nodded in acceptance before
saying, “My father, Phi Dea Dearborne, is missing and has been for several
days. People believe that he has taken
a mistress and…” He voice trailed off.

“You believe otherwise?”

Her voice was now almost
frantic. “Yes.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> My father has not courted a woman since my
mother’s passing. He would not run off
with anyone, Constable Crane, he is not that sort of man.”

Trying to think as logically as I
could, I asked, “Do you believe that anyone would wish hapon pon your father?”

“May I sit, Constable Crane?”

“Oh, of course.”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> My manners had abandoned me and I felt my
face redden at that realization. I
pulled a chair closer to my desk and motioned for her to sit.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Forgive me, my mind does not seem to wish
to cooperate with me today.”

“I’ve had those days myself,
Constable.” She sat down and, while
doing so, the sleeve of her dress lifted slightly. Just above her wrist, four bruises marred her porcelain
skin. I did not need to ask what they
were, as I knew from my work that they hand come from someone’s hand.

“Perhaps there is someone that you
specifically suspect of your father’s disappearance?”

She realized that I had seen her
bruises and tugged at her sleeve. “No,
there is no one. My father is a wealthy
man, Constable, the only person who stood to gain anything from his death would
be my brother…he passed away last fall.”

“Do you not stand to inherit then?”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I asked, wondering if this dark beauty could
possibly have ill motives.

“I do not, sir.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> My father arranged for me to marry a man
who…has his own wealth. Should my
father pass on without an heir, which he no longer possesses, his estate was to
be divided among several charities. My
father is a good man.”

I watched as a tear ran down her
cheek and wanted nothing more than to wipe it away. I had to settle for asking yet another question.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “When was the last time you saw your father?”

“Three days ago.”

“Was he in good health?”

“Perfect.”

“And no female companionship
whatsoever?”

“He made a vow to my mother,” she
said solemnly. “Even after her death,
he refused to break it. Constable, can
you help me?”

I had nothing to go on, aside from
this woman’s fears, yet I could not turn her away. “I shall do all I can for you Mrs. Wintergrace.style="mso-spacerun: yes"/spa/span>Please leave your address with Jonathan and
should I find anything, you will be contacted immediately.”

An exhausted smile crossed her full
lips. “Thank you, Constable Crane.”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She rose from the chair, her bruises
flashing into view for another brief moment, thent myt my office.style="mso-spacerun: yes">

Thinking of my experience in Sleepy
Hollow, I knew immediately that I would need a copy of the will…greed, it
seemed, always caused unfortunate circumstances.