Chapter 7
Van Tassel Manor glares down at me once again, its shadow stretching long and ominous across the gravel driveway as I push open the heavy front door.
The hinges creak, making me flinch, and the noise echoes through the dimly lit foyer.
I pause for a moment, letting the chill of the house settle over me.
Inside, it feels colder than the outside air, as though I’ve disturbed something ancient.
“Kat!” The sound of Toby’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. I look up to see him perched on the bottom step of the sweeping staircase, his mop of light brown curls in disarray and his face flushed. “You’re back!”
“Hey, kid,” I say, managing a smile as I drop my bag by the door. “Yeah, just popped out for coffee with a friend. What’s up?”
He hops up from the step and crosses the tiled floor quickly. “Did you hear? About the lawyer?” His eyes are wide.
“The lawyer?” I frown, shaking my head. “Uh, no, sorry. Which lawyer?”
“Mr Prior. He’s the lawyer dad uses. He owns the law firm in town.” Toby hesitates, glancing over his shoulder. He steps closer, lowering his voice. “He’s dead. And… it’s just like the doctor.”
“Just like the doctor?” I repeat, my stomach tightening. “You mean…”
He nods quickly, his brown eyes growing even wider. “Beheaded. They found him this morning, down by the old mill.”
A chill runs down my spine, and I instinctively wrap my arms around myself. “What the hell is going on in this town?”
Toby shrugs, but it’s clear he’s unnerved. “It’s weird, right? Two people, killed in the same way? It… it has to be connected.”
“Of course it’s connected,” I say, pacing across the foyer towards the staircase to sit on the bottom step myself.
“Two people in the same town, killed in exactly the same way? Within what, a day or two of each other? Someone’s doing this on purpose.
It almost seems like…” I falter, hugging my knees up to my chest.
The unsaid words hang in the air between us, and the blood drains from Toby’s face. “They’re saying it was an accident… again,” he finishes in a hushed tone.
I look up at him. “An accident? Do you really believe that?”
“But who would kill Dr Larpin? And then Mr Prior? Why would they want to?” he asks.
I shake my head, my mind racing. I’ve only been back in Sleepy Hollow a day and half. This is all too much to take in. “I don’t know,” I say, chewing my bottom lip. “I didn’t know either of them. Were they friends? Enemies? Did they have anything in common?”
Toby leans against the banister beside me, chewing a fingernail, deep in thought. “Mr Prior was the lawyer for a lot of people in town,” he says. “And I’m sure everyone must have been to see Dr Larpin at some point.”
I put my head in my hands and sigh. “There has to be a connection. It’s just too much to be a coincidence.”
Toby nods slowly, but his gaze drifts past me, towards the darkened hallway that leads to the music room. His expression grows troubled.
“What is it?” I ask. “What are you thinking?”
“Just… the way they were both killed…” he trails off.
“What about it?” I press.
“No, nothing,” he says quickly, shaking his head.
“Toby,” I say gently, standing up to face him. We’re about the same height, even though he’s so much younger than me. “If you know something, you can tell me. You know that, right?”
His expression clears. “I don’t know anything, Kat. I promise. It’s just… weird, that’s all.”
I study him. “If you think of anything, you’ll tell me, yeah?”
“Of course,” he says, giving me a small, reassuring smile. “Anyway, I’ve got to go. I’ve got another lesson with Professor Crane tonight, and I need to practice.”
“He mentioned he was stopping by.” I feel myself flush slightly, and I’m grateful for the low light.
“You should come listen,” Toby says, heading for the hallway. “Maybe it’ll cheer you up. This place is better with music.”
“I’ll think about it. Just be careful,” I call after him, but he’s already disappeared into the shadows.
I stand there for a moment, the silence of the manor pressing in around me. My thoughts whirl. Two people, both beheaded, both seemingly respectable members of the community. Toby was about to say something, I’m sure of it.
I think back to Brom earlier today and his story about the Headless Horseman. And now a second beheading. So close to Halloween as well. It’s like a killer has been inspired by the story. A copycat maybe.
Is that what Toby was going to say?
There’s no other explanation. The idea makes my skin crawl, but what else could it be? Sleepy Hollow might be an odd place, but how could an accident like that happen — especially twice?
My eyes well unexpectedly with tears. I wish I could talk to Mum. She’d know what to do. Christ, I left London because of her death, but death seems to have followed me here. Just my luck.
I walk over to one of the tall, latticed windows that overlooks the front drive, and peer out into the afternoon light. The trees sway gently in the breeze, their orange leaves threatening to fall, their branches scratching at the greying sky.
Something strange is happening here in Sleepy Hollow.
And I intend to find out what.