Part 7 (2/2)

'No,' Sherlock replied, 'I haven't Those pinholes are new'

'Are you sure?'

'I'm very sure Look closely at the

'No, Sherlock said, 'nore the holes that I've marked'

Matty shook his head, but he complied His eyes suddenly widened in surprise 'It's an arrow!' he cried

'Precisely,' Sherlock said He followed Matty's gaze There,that had been pinned to the wall a new pinholes that had presu towards the

Both boys followed the direction of the arrow and stared through theat the green landscape outside 'Is that the way they went?' Matty asked dubiously 'If so, I'm not sure it's much help'

'Closer than that,' Sherlock said 'That's theleading out to the paddock where Virginia kept Sandia Mr Crowe is telling us to look out in the paddock He's left a ed 'Seeo to when he could have just left a note pinned the wall'

'Like you said, if he'd left a note, then anyone could have found it,' Sherlock pointed out 'He's left a clue pointing to a note' He held out Matty's knife 'Here, thanks'

Matty shrugged 'Keep it,' he said 'The way things go, you'll probably need it ether the two boys headed out of the cottage and into the open Sherlock led the way to the fenced-off area of ground that had been visible through theThey cliate

'Where do we start?' Matty asked, looking around the grassy area 'I don't see anything obvious'

'It won't be obvious,' Sherlock pointed out 'Mr Croould have hidden it so it wouldn't be found' He thought for a rid of squares and search each square individually, so we knee'd covered all the ground Without that, there's a risk that we'll ested, 'let's you and round, until we meet We take a step to the side, turn around and each walk towards the fence again Then we turn around, take a step to the side, and do it again That e'll work in strips across the field and on't '

'Sounds like a plan' Sherlock nodded 'Let's do it'

So for the next half hour they progressively ether and apart across the field, each oneeach clurass, each rabbit hole and each pile of inia's horse had left behind Sherlock's back began to ache after a few minutes, thanks to the uncomfortable position that he was forced to adopt: bent over and taking se point he and Matty looked like chickens checking the field for corn

'I've got so!' Matty exclai frorey metal

'It's a fork,' Sherlock pointed out

'I know it's a fork Could it be ied 'Leave it where you found it Weelse'

Five minutes later it was Sherlock's turn to make a discovery 'Matty a over here!'

Matty stuck the fork into the ground, and then ran over to where Sherlock was crouching 'What is it?'

Sherlock indicated a root-edged hole that led away at an angle into the earth 'I think it's a rabbit hole'

'Congratulations I've already found five of the in it' Sherlock reached into the hole, to the object he'd caught sight of in the shadows His fingers encountered sorip, he pulled it out

It was a rabbit's head, the severed neck covered in blood

'A rabbit's head in a rabbit hole,' Matty commented drily 'Ain't that an unexpected turn of events? Are you trying to tell inia away?'

'You see,' Sherlock replied, 'but you do not understand Look at the neck'

Matty considered it, then nodded in understanding 'It's been sliced off with a sharp blade, not bitten through or ripped off' He thought for a oes with the body we found back at the cottage Even so a it could have been taken off a kitchen table by a fox or a stoat and justleft here'

'I don't think so An ani, would have eaten some of it There would be teeth marks As it is, it looks like soht in this hole'

Matty turned his attention from Sherlock back to the rabbit's head 'Pretty fresh,' he ade,' Sherlock said thoughtfully, 'but the question is, what kind of e is it?' He paused for a moment 'No,' he went on, 'the real question is, are there any es apart frohed 'Youthe field?'

'We do Just because we find one thing, it doesn't s to find'

'I was afraid youthe bloodied head where it was, Sherlock and Matty continued their search, coht have been left or dropped It was another three-quarters of an hour before they found the?' Matty asked as they walked back to the cottage

'Nothing,' Sherlock agreed 'Either it's the rabbit head, or there's nothing here'

Matty looked over to where they'd left the head 'I can't see how there can be a e there, unless Mr Croritten it on a s's mouth That would just be sick'

'It's not the head itself,' Sherlock replied, 'or, at least, I don't think it is It'sto do with its placement, or just its existence I don't think Mr Crowe had ti complicated, like write a note He just had ti out here, and then throw the head into a hole'

'He had time to catch and kill a rabbit,' Matty pointed out

'I think it was already there I think he probably caught it earlier and was preparing it for ait I think that so out the cottage of everything he and Virginia owned he only had a few hed in frustration 'Yeah, but what is it? I think he had more faith in us than arranted'

'A rabbit's head in a hole,' Sherlockto provoke soht only occur if he kept on repeating the obvious

'Burrow,' Matty e

'Sorry?'

'It's a burrow, not a hole Rabbits have burrows, foxes have dens and badgers have setts You're norht a you need to learn these things'

'A rabbit's head in a burrow,' Sherlock corrected That elusive thought in his head finally started running 'A head in a burrow Matty, you're a genius!'

'I am?' the boy said, surprised