At that moment the door to the Witch House opened. Greeting them was a young woman in period costume. It was then that Kim and Edward learned that the visit to the house was a guided tour. Everyone trooped into the parlor and waited for the talk to begin.
“I thought we would be allowed to wander around by ourselves,” Edward whispered.
“I did too,” Kim replied.
They listened while the young woman described the many furnishings in the room, including a Bible box which was said to be an invariable part of a Puritan household.
“I’m losing interest,” Edward whispered. “Maybe we should go.”
“Fine with me,” Kim said agreeably.
They exited the building. When they reached the street, Edward turned around and faced the house.
“The reason I wanted to go in was to see how much the interior resembled the cottage,” Edward said. “It’s amazing. It is as if they were built from the same plans.”
“Well, as you said, individuality wasn’t encouraged back then,” Kim remarked.
They climbed back into the car and drove the rest of the way to the compound. The first thing Edward saw was the utility trench. He was amazed at its length. It now stretched from near the castle all the way to the cottage. When they stood at the edge, they could see that it had already been tunneled under the cottage’s foundation.
“There’s the coffin,” Kim said as she pointed to the place where it protruded. At that point the trench had been significantly widened.
“What a stroke of luck,” Edward said. “It looks to me like the head of the coffin. And you were right about the depth. It’s at least eight feet down, maybe more.”
“The trench is only deep here by the cottage,” Kim pointed out. “Where it crosses the field it’s much shallower.”
“You’re right,” Edward said. He started walking away from the house.
“Where are you going?” Kim asked. “Don’t you want to take a look at the headstone?”
“I’m going to take a closer look at the coffin,” Edward said. As soon as he could manage it, Edward jumped into the trench, then came walking back, descending deeper with each step.
Kim watched him with growing concern. She was beginning to worry about what he had in mind.
“Are you sure this thing won’t cave in?” Kim asked nervously. She could hear bits of dirt and stones fall into the crevice when she got too close to the edge.
Edward didn’t answer. He was already bending down and examining the damaged end of the coffin. Scraping some of the immediately adjacent dirt into his hand, he felt it.
“This is encouraging,” he said. “It’s bone-dry down here and amazingly cool.” He then insinuated his fingers into the partially opened joint between the head of the coffin and its side. With a sharp yank the headpiece bent to the side.
“Good God!” Kim murmured to herself.
“Would you get the flashlight from the car?” Edward said. He was looking into the open end of the coffin.
Kim did as she was told, but she wasn’t happy about what was happening. She didn’t like the idea of disturbing Elizabeth’s grave any more than it already had been. After venturing as close to the edge of the trench as she dared, she tossed the flashlight down to Edward.
Edward shined the light into the open end of the coffin. “We’re in luck,” he said. “The corpse has been mummified by the cold and the dryness. Even the winding sheet is intact.”
“I think we’ve done enough,” Kim said. But she might as well have been talking to the trees. Edward wasn’t listening. To her horror she watched while he put the light down and reached into the coffin. “Edward! What are you doing?”
“I’m just going to slide the body out a little way,” he explained. He got hold of the head and began to pull. Nothing happened, so he put one foot against the wall of the trench and pulled harder. To his surprise the head detached suddenly, causing Edward to fall against the opposite wall of the trench. He ended up in a sitting position with Elizabeth’s mummified head in his lap. A small shower of dirt dusted down onto his own head.
Kim felt weak. She had to look away.
“My gosh,” Edward said as he got to his feet. He glanced at the base of Elizabeth’s head. “I guess her neck must have been broken when she was hanged. That’s kinda surprising since the method of death in those days was not to cause the neck to break but rather let the person dangle and die of strangulation.”
Edward put the head down and bent the end of the coffin back to its original position. Using a rock, he hammered it into place. When he was convinced he’d returned it to its original appearance, he carried the head back down the trench to where he could climb out.
“I hope you don’t think this is funny,” Kim said when he’d joined her. She refused to look at the object. “I want that put back!”
“I will,” Edward promised. “I just want to take a little sample. Let’s go inside and see if we can find a box.”
Exasperated, Kim led the way. She marveled how she allowed herself to get involved in such situations. Edward sensed her attitude and quickly found an appropriately sized plumbing supply box. He put the head into it and put it in the car. Coming back into the house, he said eagerly, “Okay, let’s have a tour.”
“I want that head put back as soon as possible,” Kim said.
“I will,” Edward said again. To change the subject he walked into the lean-to portion of the house and pretended to admire the studding. Kim followed him. Soon her attention was diverted. There had been significant progress in the renovation. They even discovered the cellar floor had already been poured.
“I’m glad I got my dirt samples when I did,” Edward said.
When they were on the second floor inspecting the work being done to install the half-bath, Kim heard a car pull up. Looking out one of the casement windows, her heart skipped a beat. It was her father.
“Oh, no!” Kim said. An uncomfortable anxiety spread through her that brought instant moisture to her palms.
Edward sensed her discomfiture immediately. “Are you embarrassed because I’m here?” he asked.
“Heavens, no!” Kim said. “It’s because of Elizabeth’s grave. Please don’t let on about the head. The last thing I want is to give him an excuse to interfere with this renovation project.”
They descended the stairs and stepped outside. John was standing at the edge of the trench, looking down at Elizabeth’s coffin. Kim made the introductions. John was polite but curt. He took Kim aside.
“It’s a bloody unfortunate coincidence for George Harris to blunder onto this grave,” he said. “I told him to keep it quiet, and I trust you will do the same. I don’t want your mother to find out about this. It’ll put her in a tailspin. She’ll be sick for a month.”
“There’s no reason for me to tell anyone,” Kim said.
“Frankly I’m surprised that it is here,” John said. “I’d been told that Elizabeth had been buried in a common grave someplace west of Salem center. What about this stranger you have here? Does he know about the grave?”
“Edward is not a stranger,” Kim said. “And yes, he knows about the grave. He even knows about Elizabeth.”
“I thought we had an understanding that you wouldn’t be telling people about Elizabeth,” John said.
“I didn’t tell him,” Kim said. “Stanton Lewis did.”
“God damn your mother’s side of the family,” John mumbled as he turned around and walked back to where Edward was patiently waiting.
“The story of Elizabeth Stewart is privileged information,” John said to Edward. “I hope you will respect that.”
“I understand,” Edward said evasively. He wondered what John would say if he knew about the head in the car.
Seemingly satisfied, John diverted his attention to the cottage. At Kim’s suggestion he deigned to look briefly at the construction. It was a quick tour. Back outside he hesitated as he was about to leave. Looking at Edward he said, “Kim’s a fine, sensible girl. She’s very warm and loving.”