Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave

Chapter 14

At first there was nothing, and I felt like she’d made a fool out of me, but after a moment I heard a distant bark. I blinked, and listened. There was more barking.

Then bounding through the piles of treasure came the big galoot. I knelt down and let him bowl me over and lick me on the face. He was just as wet as I remembered.

I hugged his neck. “Good boy!” I said. I could feel tears running down my face again, but of joy this time.

I didn’t know what to say.

“Your last comment on the paper,” Miesha said. “Wish—”

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“I remembered when I saw it,” she said. “Your mutt is a wishthound – a hound of the night,” she said. “He will always come when you call him.”

I still didn’t understand, and I wasn’t sure it mattered. Goliath was back!

“He’ll always be alive as long as you are,” she said.

Goliath trotted over and jumped on her. He gave her a slobbery, wet kiss.

“Gah!” she said. “Filthy mutt, I regret it already!”

We set out immediately, eager to get back. We’d had enough of the crypt. To top it all off, we were all holding our grumbling stomachs.

When we arrived at Barclay Mansion, we found Jeeves waiting, along with Constable Buttercup again. It looked as if she’d been tickling him again.

They both leapt up as we entered.

Jeeves straightened his jacket and adjusted the knife in his chest. “Gertrude is waiting for you, ma’am,” he said.

Liz nodded, and Jeeves lingered for a moment. There was a pout on his face.

Liz groaned. “Fine,” she said, handing him the key to the Arcane Room. “Go and tell Gertrude we’ll be there in a moment. And don’t touch anything!”

Jeeves took the key, while blubbering his repeated gratitude. “Thank you, ma’am, thank you!”

He then scurried off with the key.

Constable Buttercup sighed after he departed. “Well, you certainly keep interesting company,” she said with a smile.

“He came with the place,” Liz said. “We’re stuck with him.”

Constable Buttercup just nodded. “Well, I have good news and bad news,” she said. “Which do you want first?”

Goliath walked over to sniff her.

“The good,” I said. I wasn’t ready for bad news yet.

“We found the bodies,” she said, daintily patting Goliath on the head. “Both were hidden in a secret lair.”

“Where?” Liz asked.

“In an abandoned building near the market.” She stepped toward the door. “It was boarded up centuries ago.”

“All right, Constable,” Liz said, “thank you for letting us know. That’s one mystery solved. Glad to know our law enforcement officials are on the job.”

Constable Buttercup reached for the doorknob, but paused. “What about your missing Lexicons?” she asked. “Did you find Romulus?”

Liz shook her head and winked at us. “No, I think he’s left the city. I doubt he’ll be coming back.”

Goliath took one last sniff of Constable Buttercup’s muddied boots and walked over to sit beside me. Then he sniffed at my pocket.

The hand inside started to move. My eyes popped open, and I swiveled on my heel to deal with it as discretely as I could.