Chapter 683
Just a moment ago Hector had been grumbling about Uzma shirking her duties. Now, hearing she was dead, he was utterly stunned.
“Master, Uzma is gone. The servants found her body in the pond. It was so bloated,” Devin said, his expression tinged with sorrow.
Hector collapsed into his seat, his face stricken with shock and confusion. “How could this be? What was that girl doing in the pond?”
Nicoletta feigned surprise. “How could she have fallen in?” She darted a quick glance at Fletcher, but he showed no guilt, only a stern frown. “We assumed she had asked for leave.”
“Exactly.”
“We believe she drowned by accident. I’ve already had her body pulled from the water. It will be brought here shortly,” Devin explained before hurrying out again.
The family began murmuring among themselves.
“How could Uzma have fallen into the pond?”
“The water there is deep. If you fall in, it’s hard to get out.”
“But why would Uzma go to the back garden pond in the first place?”
Nicoletta noticed Caitlin staying quiet. She seized the chance to redirect attention. “Why so silent, Caitlin? Since you came to the Jonathan estate, strange things have been happening one after another.”
Her words were aimed like barbs, linking Caitlin to Hector’s unexplained affliction, Ivo’s capture that morning, and now Uzma’s mysterious death.
“Nicoletta, are you suggesting Uzma’s death has something to do with me?”
Caitlin exposed her intentions directly. Nicoletta gave only a cold laugh. “I never said that. I only meant that so many odd things have happened recently. They feel unnatural, like someone’s cast a spell. Have you heard of black magic that can control a person’s mind and actions?“.
At that, several members of the Jonathan family nodded. They had indeed heard of such witchcraft.
“So I think we should bring in a shaman to cleanse the house of evil,” Nicoletta said pointedly, her tone branding Caitlin as the very evil in question..
Caitlin nodded smoothly. “Yes. Evil should certainly be cleansed, or it brings great harm.”
Not long after, Uzma’s body was carried into the front courtyard. Everyone gathered to see.
Her corpse lay under a white sheet. No one dared lift it, the women especially shying away in fear.
20:55 Mon, Oct 6
How could Uzma, lively just days ago, be dead now?
:
Nicoletta supported Hector to the front. The old man ordered, “Uncover her. I want to see.”
Devin obeyed, pulling back the sheet. The swollen, pale corpse of Uzma was revealed.
“Oh, how ghastly,” Nicoletta muttered, turning her head, too “frightened” to look.
Fletcher studied her face. His own expression was rigid, betraying nothing, though inside he was taut as a drawn wire.
The men of the family stared grimly. The women shrank back, unable to look long.
Caitlin stood off to the side, watching coldly. Hector, after a long sigh, nodded. “Enough. Cover her again. Contact her family, give her a proper burial, and provide them due compensation.”
Devin replaced the sheet and signaled for servants to carry the body away.
Seeing her about to be taken, Fletcher exhaled, relief flooding him. Once the body was cremated, no one would ever know the cause of death.
But just then Caitlin’s voice rang out. “Wait. Stop right there.”
Everyone turned to her in confusion. Fallon asked, “What is it, Caitlin?”
Caitlin stepped forward. “I don’t believe Uzma drowned accidentally.”
“What do you mean? She was found in the pond, bloated beyond recognition,” Nicoletta said, pressing a handkerchief to her face as though to block the stench, though it looked more like a mask for her unease.
“Yes, she must have drowned.”
“What do you mean not a normal drowning? Is there such a thing as special drowning?”
Skepticism rose quickly. Fletcher hurried to cut it short. “She drowned. That’s obvious. Enough of this. Deal with the body at once.”
Devin nodded, but Caitlin held up a hand to stop them. “I haven’t finished. Uzma didn’t die from drowning. She may have been murdered.”
At that word, a hush fell, then erupted again.
“Murdered? How could that be?”
“Who would kill Uzma? She was well liked in the family.”
“Exactly, who would want her dead?“.
Questions swirled. Fletcher’s taut nerves snapped tighter still. His breath quickened, the pounding in his chest loud in his ears.
20:55 Mon, Oct 6
“Caitlin, you’re no coroner. Saying murder out of thin air is absurd,” Nicoletta sneered.
“Yes, Caitlin, don’t stir up trouble,” others echoed.
But Hector’s face was troubled. Uzma had served him for two years. He had grown reliant on her. He wanted to know the truth.
“Caitlin, what evidence do you have?” he asked.
“Put the body down again. Check her neck, and you’ll see,” Caitlin said firmly.
At his order, the servants lowered the corpse and Devin drew back the sheet. They leaned in, but Uzma’s swollen body and her position made her throat impossible to view.
“What are we supposed to be seeing? There’s nothing.” Nicoletta snapped impatiently.
“She’s so bloated. You can’t see a thing.”
“Caitlin, what exactly are you asking us to look for?”
Caitlin reached for Hector’s cane. “Let me borrow this.”
She used it to tilt Uzma’s chin upward. With her jaw lifted, the neck came into view.
“See for yourselves.”
She stepped back, and the family crowded forward to look.