2 A Reason for Murder Read Online Free PDF

withdrew a sheet of paper from his folder then handed the folder to me to hold.
    "'In 1811 when Sergeant Meulen was wounded I went to take the color. When I arrived at the center a shell fell. We lay down till it burst. My head was between the legs of a soldier, and a soldier was on my right and left side, close against me. The shell burst, the man whose legs my head was protected by had half his head carried off; the other two were dreadfully mangled; the body of one was laid bare from his loins to his breast and both the legs of the other was carried off near the knee.'"
    Well that was certainly more gruesome detail than I wanted to hear. Melissa nudged me and pulled a face. At that moment a cry pierced the air, and at first I thought it was a tour member also objecting to the imagery of the poor fallen soldiers.
    "Over there! Over there!"
    I recognized the speaker as a pleasant New Zealand tourist who had introduced herself to us before Gavin's arrival. All flashlights turned to her. She looked uncomfortable as she said, "I just saw a ghost running between those buildings."
    I looked around, and sure enough, the thin man was nowhere in sight.
    Gavin's voice rose. "Yes, I saw him too just then! There've been many sightings of that very apparition. Scarcely a tour goes by without him appearing."
    The group was excited. I tugged on Melissa's arm. "Melissa, I think this is staged. Keep an eye on that thin man; he was right behind those people when they said a ghost touched them, and now he's missing, right when that figure ran across from the church."
    "Do you really think it's staged?"
    "Definitely." I couldn't add that I was sure it was staged as I had felt no spiritual presence on the tour. I looked up from whispering and saw Gavin was close by and staring straight at me. Had he heard what I said?
    Gavin directed the group to walk down the Avenue of Trees. His voice, as usual, was a monotone. "This is perhaps the most interesting house on the tour, but as it's now an Aged Care home, we can't get too close to it as we'll frighten the residents. Closebourne House was built by Lieutenant Close; it was his third house in fact. It was made by convicts from stone they quarried down by the river. In 1848 Lieutenant Close sold his house to the first Bishop of Newcastle. An interesting fact about the times is that there was a toll imposed on people who traveled in and out of Morpeth. The charge was one penny per person plus one half-penny per wheel. Oh wait, did anyone see that figure over there?"
    I looked down the end of the street and saw a figure dressed in black dash between trees and then run out of sight.
    The New Zealand tourist spoke up. "Yes, I saw that figure, very dimly. It looked like a man in a cloak."
    Five of the other tour members had also seen the figure. I glanced at Gavin. Even by moonlight he was looking pretty smug. There was still no sign of my suspect.
    Gavin's voice was quite self-satisfied. "Now we'll head back to town to experience the haunted room at the pub, but first, we'll go back to Swan Street to the Morpeth Courthouse which is haunted by the ghost of a doctor."
    The mist was settling in and psychic impressions radiating from the direction of the Courthouse were now hitting me. They were fleeting and I couldn't get a handle on them.
    Gavin droned on. "This street is now called Swan Street but used to be called Front Street. The Courthouse is just up there. One of the ghosts who haunts here is a Maitland doctor. His empty boat came ashore one night and a search was conducted for sixteen days until his body was found under a jetty. His body was taken to the courthouse for autopsy. His ghost has been sighted in the Courthouse on several occasions."
    On the walk back I questioned Gavin. I did my utmost to keep every trace of sarcasm out of my voice. "Do you usually get this much spirit activity on the one tour?"
    Gavin loomed over me. "Yes, frequently, sometimes even more. Are you still a skeptic?"
    I