The doctor began to blubber. “I won’t say a word. I promise.”
“See that you don’t.”
As the doctor shuddered in his pathetic tears, Gage departed. He walked the corridors with an entirely new and critical piece of knowledge.
When Gage exited the medical building, a fitting front of clouds had moved in, blocking the sun and bringing the mood of the day down precipitously. But Gage’s sour mood had little to do with the lack of sun—it had nearly everything to do with the fact that the killer had sliced off Karl Vogel’s penis.
And who would do such a thing?
Just as the doctor had said, it would have been someone Karl Vogel had sexually abused, that’s who.
Frau Claudia had known all along.
It was Katja or Ina.
Catatonic, Gage staggered back to the Audi.
* * *
Back at the estate, it took all of Gage’s self-control not to confront the sisters with this critical new information. In fact, he refused to overreact, spending the partly cloudy winter afternoon behind the manor house, clearing out Claudia’s dormant garden as Sheriff romped in the yard.
When Gage and Claudia had first arrived from the States, she’d presented her garden with pride, telling him that the groundskeepers never touched it. Everything in her garden had been planted and tended by her. It had obviously been neglected for months, but at that time was still producing radishes, peas, onions and kale. At her personal invitation, they’d worked on the garden and gotten a good two weeks of vegetables out of it before the first deep freeze killed everything. Since then, the garden had sat dormant. The work was good for Gage, allowing him to busy his mind with things other than potassium chloride murders and severed penises. He used a wheelbarrow to carry the dead plants to the compost pit behind the barn, finding Thomas the caretaker tinkering with an electrical box near the side door.
“What are you working on?” Gage asked.
“Just tracing the wiring. When it’s quiet in the barn, I keep hearing a buzzing sound like we might have a connection somewhere that’s loose. Hasn’t tripped the breaker, though. Might just be my ears going bad.” Thomas studied Gage. “How’re you?”
“I’m fine, Thomas. Just a little…I dunno…weary.”
“Days are short. Makes everyone tired. By the time you get used to it, spring’ll be here.”
“Living this far north does take some getting used to.”
“Four o’clock and the sun’s almost down.” Thomas turned to the setting sun and squinted. “Mind if I be honest about something?”
“I hope you will.”
The caretaker swiveled back to Gage. “It seems to me you’re spending a bit of time with Katja.”
“How do you know that?”
“Not hard to see.”
“What about it, Thomas?”
“Don’t forget what I warned you about—concerning both Vogel girls.”
Although Gage liked Thomas a great deal, he couldn’t help but feel the burn of frustration—especially after what he’d just learned from the pathologist. “They’re now your employers, Thomas.”
“Yes, I know. And I apologize for being disrespectful. I like you, Gage. I feel it’s my place to shoot you straight. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No need to apologize. But, about the estate, and the sisters being your employers, I can’t predict what’s going to happen over the next few months.”
“About that,” Thomas said, moving a few rocks around with his work boot. “I’ve been talking to my wife and I may just go ahead and retire. The estate isn’t required to pay me a pension, although there is a provision for one at their election. Either way, I have protected retirement through the government. We’re pretty sure we can make ends meet between that and our savings.”
This was certainly a turn in the conversation. In fact, Thomas seemed as if he might get emotional. His eyes sparkled as he made his proclamation.
“Well, congratulations,” Gage said, trying to inject some cheer into the moment. “You’ve had a long career here. I’m sure the ladies will be sad to see you go, despite what you might think.”
“Thanks, I guess. To be frank, I really don’t know what I’ll do with myself.”
“Then why don’t you make peace with the Vogel girls and stay on?”
“I could probably do more good at home. My wife isn’t in the best of health and I hate to put it all on my daughter. It’s not enough to fill my days, but my being there’ll make a big difference.”
“Your daughter helps out?”
“She lives with us. She’s a bit emotionally challenged. She does well in the right environment, but when there’s too much stress, it puts her over the edge.” Thomas grinned tightly. “But maybe if I retire, things’ll settle in, you know?”
“Good luck, Thomas.” Gage finished what he was doing and began to walk away. But his curiosity stopped him. He turned and walked back, just as Thomas was snapping the cover back in place over the junction box. “Thomas, what exactly have you witnessed Ina or Katja do that turned you so far against them?”
The caretaker straightened and massaged his lower back. “I can’t give you precise examples. But I was close with Claudia—very close. She confided in me a great deal. She was at loggerheads with those girls since they were teens.”
“That’s it?”
“Gage, when you hear the tales for years, and decades, from someone you trust, you begin to take heed.”
“How do the daughters treat you?”
He turned for a moment as he pondered this. “Frankly, not bad. We don’t really talk about anything other than work, and what not. If they need something, they call me and I take care of it.”
“Could it be that they sense you don’t like them?”
“I reckon so. But I trusted Frau Claudia’s words about them. And the
