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As I backed out of the space, I caught a whiff of foul air, musty and sweet, like a faint wisp of s at attention along the back of my neck I could feel my lips purse with distaste This was the odor of dead squirrel trapped in a chiopher parts left on the porch by your cat, sohts until nature had completed the process of deco from?

I raised myself up on my knees and fumbled across the workbench until I found the trowel I ducked under the bench again, runningThe e, the texturewith the trowel, gouging out a pocket I turned the penlight off and worked by feel, using both hands Under the hardened outer shell, the stuff felt gritty and wet, as if the groundwater had so the concrete The s dead down here

I tried the light again, working ht where I could see two horizontal cracks I began to chop away at the concrete, doingI pulledthe workbench for a board, I spotted a short-handled hoe with a pick on the backside of the blade I crawled back to an to hack in earnest I was hbors didn’t complain A hunk of cement fell away Tentatively, I scooped so the pick to excavate I felt resistance, soth of rebar I turned on the penlight again and peered into the space

"Oh shit," I whispered I was looking at the dorsal surface of a little finger bone I scooted backward across the floor, bued elbow sang The pain was a welcoht off and scra of bark

I wassounds as I whipped out of the door again I placed the padlock where it had been and danced away from the shed with a spasm of revulsion For aatto think what to do I breathed deeply God, that was vile Frolimpse I’d had, the bone had been there for years Whatever the odor, it wasn’t e fro afternoon light, the zigzagging foundation sees from tiarage, then the potting shed had been attached to that Extending fro shed, there was a pad where fireas stacked If Anne Bronfen (in the guise of Agnes Grey) was accounted for, then the body had to be Sheila’s Bronfen claimed his wife had run aith Irene, but I didn’t believe a word of it I did one of those all-over body shudders, thinking about the finger All of the flesh was gone I gavemy sensibilities There had to be other answers somewhere on the premises

I went back to the front door and knocked I waited, hoping fervently that Bronfen wasn’t back Eventually, the old fellow shuffled his way to the door and opened it a crack I had to clearwhat I hoped was a norain," I chirped "Could I conarly finger to his lips, giving ht Finally, he nodded and backed away from the door aardly as if controlled by wires I followed hi my watch I’d been in the shed twenty ure out what I was looking for

The oldroom "You can have a seat in here I’o? Did he say anything to you?"

"No I don’t believe so He’ll be ho"

"Nice house," I said, peering into the living rooain The house was shabby and se and peed-in pants The furniture looked like it had been there since the turn of the century The once-upon-a-ti in limp wisps The wallpaper in the hallith itsinfestation Lucky for Klotilde she hadn’t qualified for occupancy

To the left, uncarpeted stairs led up to a second floor I could see a dining room with a series of decorative plates on the wall Ia se area under the stairs Across froh here? I need to washtome entirely