The Devil's Water: Scenic City Murder Series #1 by Amanda Swafford Page B

the finger and those screws are literally screwed into the finger.” Clutch looked around the shelves in the foyer. “I see he has an executioner’s sword,” he said, picking up a metal mask which looked like a gargoyle. “What the hell is that for?” Wilder asked.
    “It’s a mask of shame. Notice the big ears and long tongue. It was used to shame the person who had to wear it. In this case, the offense was that the person was nosy and a gossip.”
    Tasha took the mask from Clutch and examined it before handing it off to Wilder. “I don’t know where he got all this stuff. Got any ideas?” Jeff asked.
    “You could probably find it all on Ebay or maybe some collectors might have it.” Tasha mused.
    “Or you could’ve brought this shit over from Europe.” Clutch added. “Jeff, you said he was from Bavaria. Correct?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I wonder how close he lived to the village of Rothenberg ob der Tauber. I bet he spent some time there as a child growing up. He probably became fascinated with it at a young age.”
    “What does that village have to do with it?” Tasha asked.
    “It’s an old medieval village. It’s surrounded by huge stone walls. If you enter, you go back in time. Like, way back centuries ago. Inside, there is a criminal museum or a museum of criminology as they call it. Basically, it’s a chamber of horrors. It was a torture chamber with all these various devices and instruments that were used for torture. Some were used not even that long ago.”
    “And you think that Gary spent time there?”
    “It’s very likely since he is from that region and since he has all this stuff here. I mean, aside from a dunking machine, he seems to have a very fine collection of torture devices.”
    “You think he used them on the vics?” Tasha asked.
    “Possibly but not to any great extent. Dr. Limmel would’ve picked up on that from autopsy, I think.”
    “Well, one thing’s for sure. He was in a huge hurry to get out of here since he left all this.” Tasha said.
    “Oh, you haven’t seen the half of it.” Jeff said. “Let me show you around.”
    Wilder led them out of the foyer and down a narrow hall to a bedroom. “Look in here.” He said as he opened the door. Inside, Tasha noticed that the room was pristinely kept. The carpet had vacuum marks on it and there were only a couple of shoe prints, probably from the cops who’d been in there. “He kept this room as an homage to his grandmother.” Tasha said as she noted the pink drapes hanging in the windows and pink bed spread. She walked over to the dresser and examined a brush laying beside a comb and an old bottle of lotion. “The hair brush still has gray hair in it.” she said. Clutch walked over to where Tasha was and picked up the bottle of lotion. He unscrewed the top and brought it to his nose. “The lotion doesn’t even have a scent anymore because it’s so old.” Wilder opened the closet door and gave Clutch and Tasha a look inside. “See…all her clothes are still hanging in the closet just like she left them.”
    “OK. So the creep had some sort of affection for his grandmother. Maybe he felt like she saved him from an unhappy life with his folks. What’s his room look like?” Clutch asked.
    “Follow me.” Jeff said as he led them out of the room and back down the hall. He came to a door on the left side of the hallway and opened it. Inside, Tasha and Clutch noticed that this room was also immaculate. Everything was in its’ place. There were no dirty clothes on the floor. The bed had been made and, like the other room, there were fresh vacuum marks on the carpet. While they were looking about, something caught Tasha’s eye. She walked across the room and looked at the shelves of a large book case sitting beside the bed. “Come here, Clutch.”
     Daniel Mclutcheon moved over beside her and examined the books on the bookcase. “Oh, Jesus.” He said.
    “What is it?” Wilder asked.
    “He’s got books on just