r. However, the question remains whether this gentle man actually possesses great enough evil and hate to actually kill? Soft-spoken, he presents himself. Never have I seen him angry,” pointed Sapsea, while he paced around the room in a calculated motion, his arms moving in-sync with his spoken words to help amplify their effect.Pushing through the crowd appeared the small boy. Stepping into the center of the group, he gathered their attention by raising his small hand. Jasper looked up from his bowing position, to discover the boy was Deputy, the one who lurked the Cloisterham streets at night shadowing Durdles, but being privy too much more. Curious at what the boy might present, Jasper suddenly remembered as the boy began, “One night before the killin’ I sees him steal crypts key from me pal Dur’les. He sneaks into them crypts and is gone a long while, huntin’ for a spot I bet. I says nothin’, just watch ‘im. After he comes back, ‘n me pal wakes, I go a chasin’ Dur’les back home, likes I s’pose to do. Jarsper gets all red with evil, then I get lifted off my legs and choked and all busted up. He’s a yellin’ ‘bout som’fen’, all woopin’ mad at me. If Dur’les not been there, I would a been killed by ‘im, jest’ like Drood.”Hearing the boy’s tale, Jasper immediately recalls the entire event. Just as the boy throws an icy stare in Jaspers direction, the memory of the fateful night pierces Jasper’s heart like a dark scepter.The room fell into another murmur, as Sapsea questioned above the loud murmur, “Could this be valid, Mr. Durdles?”Stepping out of the shadows along the wall, Durdles looked at no one, except for the questioner, Sapsea. Closing his eyes for a moment, as if trying to remember exactly what all he wanted to say, he replied in his low voice, “Yes, it is, Sapsea. That night...
