28 Lady in the Lake

Coniston Waters.

A dead body has been found, police are confused, a murderer is on the loose, and Moriarty and his boys are on the case.

Standing on a boat in the middle of the lake, Moriarty was taking in the scenery.

" So, what do you think? " asked Nathan, the owner of the boat.

" I think that the weather is doing me wonders, " said Moriarty, as he let out a sigh of relief.

" But sir, what of the poor woman? "

Moriarty paused for a moment.

" A life has ended, and a soul has returned to heaven "

" Ai, but I must say, that the poor French woman did not deserve such a fate "

Moriarty paused yet again.

" I would like to return to shore "

Moriarty was now walking to Coniston Village, where he met up with Dr Barton.

" So, what did you learn? " asked Barton.

" Everything, and not much, " said Moriarty with a smile.

The two men now walked into the police station, where they were now looking at the victim's dead body.

" Natasha Carol, age; 32, no kids, husband unknown, and both parents are gone, but she does have a brother " said the policeman.

Moriarty took a good look at the corpse, and noticed the strange marks on the body.

" My cherished Barton, what do you make of those? "

" They are probably marks left by a rope "

Moriarty looked at the officer.

The policeman now brought forth some ropes.

" We found these on the victim's body "

Moriarty examined the well-made ropes, which clearly looked like they were made for hiking.

" So we have a mountain climber " said Moriarty, as he gave the rope back.

" You mentioned; that you were able to produce a little information on the unknown husband " said Moriarty, turning to the policeman.

" Right " said the officer, as he looked at his notes; " The little we could find out about him, was that he was a fisherman, and that he most likely owned a boat "

Moriarty smiled at those words.

" Well, officer, we will not be taking anymore of your time, good-day "

" Oh " said Moriarty, as he turned back to the officer; " I think that it is high time that the public knew of the murder "

Sitting in a café, Moriarty and Barton, were waiting for their two boys, as Vincent and John entered.

" Sir! " exclaimed John, proudly; " We know who the murderer is! "

" Pray, do tell " said Moriarty, as he lowered his tea cup.

" It is Natasha's brother; Nicholas " said Vincent.

" Go on " said Moriarty, intrigued.

" Nicholas is a gambler and a drunk. He has spent the better part of his life asking his parents for money, while owing other people money " said John.

" Understandably, Nicholas' parents had had enough, and filled with shame over the state of their beloved son, the mother and father died, " said Vincent.

" Which made Nicholas turn to his sister- Natasha- but she instead tells her brother to fuck off, and make something of his life. Thus, wanting revenge; he killed her! " exclaimed John in such a way, which made the people at the café just look at him, with horror in their eyes.

John just lowered his arms, and hid under the table, while Moriarty just smiled.

" Tell me " said Moriarty; " Where is Nicholas, now? "

" He is about to take a plane to Paris, but don't worry Sir, we have a plan to catch him. If we leave now- "

But Moriarty caught Vincent off.

" What does Nicholas' banking look like? "

" Well, pretty good actually. He is no longer in debt, thanks to the job he got " said John.

" Then why murder his own sister? "

" For she refused to help him, when he needed it the most, " said Vincent.

" Sure, but, would you two not agree, that Natasha refusing to aid her brother, forced Nicholas to get his life in order "

John and Vincent just looked at one another.

" He did go out looking for a job, when Natasha turned him away… " uttered Vincent.

" And it is most likely that Nicholas paid back what he owed, with the money from his job… " uttered John.

The two boys had now realized their mistake.

Moriarty smiled, as he could see that his two boys still had much to learn.

" My cherished Barton "

" Yes? "

" What hobby did Natasha have; according to the police report "

" She enjoyed taking walks at Coniston Lake "

The eyes of John and Vincent lit up, as they had pieced it together.

" You boys get the force, while we get the culprit, " said Moriarty.

We are once again at the Coniston Lake, where Nathan was reading his boat.

" Do you fancy another ride? " said Nathan with a smile.

" How did you do it? " asked Moriarty.

" Do what? " said Nathan, confused.

" How did you and Natasha get married, without there being any mention of your name? "

Nathan's face turned pale.

" I don't understand, sir, are you suggesting that I had something to do with that poor woman's death? "

" You killed her, " said Moriarty with a smile.

" I don't even know her! " exclaimed Nathan.

" Then how did you know that she was French? "

Nathan's jaw dropped.

" I heard it from the news! "

" It has yet to be made public "

The fisherman now realized that he was now caught in a net, which was rather ironic.

" I loved her… " uttered Nathan.

" I am sure of that, considering the fact that she is dead "

" Exactly! I loved her, and that is why I murdered her "

Moriarty and Barton were waiting for an explanation.

" I am a man who catches fish for a living, it is not much, but it is honest work. One day, as if coming from paradise itself, I saw her walking around the lake, an Angel in human appearance. I am always surrounded by death and smell, but seeing Natasha for the first time… it brought a new meaning to life. So I quickly swam to shore, leaving my boat in the middle of the lake, and I was not surprised to see her surprised by my wet clothes and unshaven face. I extended my hand, and to my surprise and delight, she shook it, I think that she was fascinated "

Nathan now paused for a moment.

" From that day onward, whenever she took her walk around the lake, we would always sit down and find something to talk about. One thing lead to another, and we were finally married "

Nathan paused yet again, as if he was remembering some fond and happy memories, while Dr Barton said;

" That escalated quickly "

" I knew from that moment onward, that I had to work twice; no, thrice! As hard, to be worthy of the love which Natasha had granted me, and the reason why my name is not on the papirs, is for the simple fact; that I did not want the public to know; that a beautiful woman like her, was married to a loser like myself… but, that all changed; on the day I found out about the affair "

Nathan paused, as anger could now be seen on his face.

" Nearby. There lived a rich and famous lord, whose eye had caught the beauty of my wife. I thought nothing of it at first, for I myself knew that my wife's beauty was second to none, but, that was when Natasha stopped taking her walks around the lake, she instead started to take walks near the castle of that lord. It all seemed innocent to me, for I was sure that she was tired of the smell of the dead fish- God knows that I was - but, that was when the rumors began; that my wife was not walking around the castle, she was instead walking inside the castle, to the lord of the castle. I refused to believe it, so I asked my wife about it, but she just refused to give me a straight answer. Confidence turned to worry. So, one day, I decided to follow her, and to my horror, she walked into the castle. At that moment, if someone had shot me in the chest with a gun, I could not have told you the difference between the two pains… "

Nathan paused for one last time.

" From time to time. My wife would join me on my boat, and on that fateful day, filled with sorrow and hate, I killed her… "

After a moment of silence, Moriarty said;

" I take it that you enjoy hiking? "

" It is one of my hobbies. I work at the waters, but I enjoy the company of the sky "

Vincent and John had now arrived with some policemen.

The officers take away Nathan, who looked out the lake, for one last time, and when he did, Nathan could swear that he saw the stretched arm of his wife out from the waters.