Absentmindedly, Phryne turned another page. She was bored. Even the thrill of the investigation had a limit, it seemed.

By her side, Jack kept diligently going through the ledgers but was slowly growing disappointed as well.

The sound of Raylan's boots on the concrete floor shook them out of that numbness. He tapped on the open door with his knuckles.

«May I?»

«Please», said Phryne with a sigh, straightening herself in the chair.

«I think I found something important», said Raylan, «It has earth and dead leaves on it, but I guess it could be our murder weapon. »

«Has Collins returned already?», said Jack, Hugh coming through the garage door right away as if summoned by his boss' words.

«May I, sir?», he said, joining them in the office.

«Anything that may be relevant, Constable?»

«I'm afraid not, sir. No one saw anything but no one seemed very keen on talking to the police to begin with. They refused meeting me at once or if they didn't, they did so in corners and kept looking around and answered in monosyllables.»

Jack seemed about to say something else, but ordered Collins to stay there with Miss Jordan and George Berman in a way that made it seem like an afterthought instead.

«We're going to check something that Deputy Givens found that may be connected to the case», Jack announced, rising to his feet.

XXX

«This has something to do with Evans», Jack said when they were already in the woods.

«Or perhaps these folks are just very shy», said Raylan, their 'shyness' too familiar for him from Harlan as a consequence of very similar dealings.

Dried leaves crunched under their feet as they walked. Raylan was guiding them through the pathway but kept looking to his right, attempting to locate the branch to which he had tied his handkerchief as a marker.

«He's rather ghost-like, isn't he?», Phryne said, walking in an apparent effortless manner even if her heels sank in the dirt from now and then. «This Cal Evans person. I don't exactly believe in the occult, but it's difficult to not think about it at least when he's not seen that often and yet seems to be hovering about and scaring people out of their wits», she continued.

«I think that's why Ashton may like Evans so much. He can hardly go anywhere without making himself the centre of attention», said Jack. The police had been onto Ashton for years but they had failed to be able to connect him to any crimes strongly enough to warrant a conviction.

«But for the awful yellow accessories», Phryne said.

«But for the awful yellow accessories», repeated Jack.

«What's with outlaws and the spotlight anyway? Shiny guns and cars, nice suits and a penchant for rhetoric. It's the same in Melbourne as in Kentucky», Raylan paused. «It's here», he said when he saw the white piece of cloth fluttering in the breeze. «Mind the branches.»

«I thought it was best not to take it out before you saw this, but I picked a small stick and poked around a little», Raylan continued when they were by the shallow hole, untying the handkerchief from the tree and putting it back in his pocket. «It seems like the wrench that's missing.»

Some leaves had been pushed aside, revealing the top of a steel tool, edged in what seemed to be dried blood.

«Miss Jordan said she arrived ten minutes earlier than usual. Maybe the killer wasn't counting on that and had to run», Dorothy said.

«A very astute observation, Dot», said Phryne, facing her, with a smile.

«Thank you, Miss», she replied, arranging her hat.

Jack put on his leather gloves and took the implement in his hands.

«It's a Stillson spanner», he said.

«Well, I guess you call it that around here», said Raylan. «Would this Cal Evans guy hide it like this?»

«No, I don't think so. He would toss it in Yarra or down a mine shaft even if he were in a hurry», replied Jack, turning it in his hands.

«Abandoned shafts…Considering what people throw down them, they would give the lost and found at a train station a run for their money», said Raylan.

«A new associate, perhaps? Or not even Evans at all?», Phryne said.

Normally, Jack didn't focus on one theory alone until the investigation was nearly over and even then he always left some room not exactly for doubt, but for keeping his eyes and his ears open. He wanted to maintain a clear mind for the new angle that might be lurking underneath, brought forward by the discovery of an unknown lead or the observation of the facts they were already familiar with through a new lens. This time though he seemed strangely attached to the hypothesis that Wolfe's death might be connected with Ashton, his collector, and protection money. She didn't rule that out completely as well but, so far, they had very little to pin on any suspect, let alone one so specific and in a frame as intricate as gangsters.

«Maybe» Jack said, taking a paper bag from the inner pocket of his overcoat.

«Do you get many mob-related deaths?», Raylan asked.

«Some. Money and power are the chief reasons for murder after all», he said raising the spanner in the air so they could all see it better, guessing which indentations had ripped through Wolfe's flesh and bone.

«Not to mention love», Phryne said when Jack put the possible murder weapon in the bag, still looking at her.

«Yes. There's a fair share of it too», replied Jack.

«I'd say that whoever left this here», Raylan said, « may have walked alongside the path until something or someone lead him to hide the wrench in the dirt and run through the woods as if his life depended on it, which it probably did».

«Someone may have left a shred of clothing behind, for instance», said Phryne.

«Or maybe they'll have their face so scratched up it's bound to call attention», Raylan said, « I wonder if henchmen can take sick days.»


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that all this case talk hasn't dissolved your interest in this story.

May it be that having Phryne, Jack, and Raylan (as well as Hugh and Dot) working together has eased it a bit? *fingers crossed*

Thank your for reading, reviewing, and generally sticking by. You're the best.