When Diana had finally secured her horse and made her way back into her
home she was pleased to see that Ichabod was talking with Jonathan. The
constable stood at the base of the stairs, which he had obviously been
coming down, and the boy was standing near the dining table. As she reached
the door to the kitchen herself both of the men stopped talking and turned
to her.
"Well I'm glad to see you two, at least, have settled your differences." She smirked at the boy.
"Perhaps you should run upstairs Jonathan; I have something I need to speak with Miss. Aphrodine about." Ichabod said, looking at Diana seriously. Without a word the boy complied, running upstairs to the library.
"Can I help you Mr. Crane?" Diana muttered, not moving from where she stood in the doorway as she kept her eyes trained on Ichabod at the bottom of the stairs.
"I owe you an apology Miss. Aphrodine; my behavior earlier was out of line. I hope you can forgive me." Ichabod nodded at her in apology.
"I can... and so long as you quit this nonsense and stop calling my Miss. Aphrodine then I WILL forgive you wholeheartedly sir." She replied.
"What should I call you then?" Ichabod looked confused.
"I think Diana would be alright."
"Then you will of course call me Ichabod?" The constable smiled despite himself.
"Of course." Diana returned the smile. "I'm sincerely pleased to see you in such an improved mood constable."
"Not nearly as pleased as I am to be in an improved mood." Ichabod chuckled, making his was over to Diana. Jonathan was right, it had been kind for her to take them into her house; the least he could do was pretend to be alright.
"Well, Ichabod, as much as I hate to end the only real conversation I've had with you so suddenly, I believe that it should be business before pleasure. Would you mind terribly if we were to take care of business first?"
"Not at all, what business do you mean?" Ichabod wondered as Diana led him to sit by the fire. She sat on the couch elegantly and he stood nearby.
"Well, you are here for a reason. I realize I may not be the first person you would choose to speak with about what's occurred here but I'd like you to understand that Sleepy Hollow has changed a bit since you were here last. I regret to inform you that attempting to talk to the new hierarchy in town would be useless."
"I see... so young Masbeth has told you of last year. Well in that case I suppose you should explain to me what you know." Ichabod agreed, careful to push away his thoughts of Katrina and hide his frown.
"How much do you know already constable?"
"That there have been five victims, three are dead and two are alive. The ones found dead were found in various locations with their throats torn open and the live ones were found near the church. When the living ones awoke two days later they were very weak and very thirsty. I'm afraid that was all the information my superior's had to give me about the incidents."
"Hmm... well I suppose I should start with the deaths. They were not simply found with throats torn open constable... the bodies were mutilated... as for the most recent body found the head was torn completely from the body and was missing for two days before someone located it in the undergrowth of a tree near the church."
"Torn... from the... body?" If possibly Ichabod seemed to grow even paler then before at the mention of beheading.
"Yes. Now the two that are living... they have no recollection of what happened to them at all. Nobody understands quite what has happened to them so I'm afraid that's all the information on those cases I have for you."
"Hmm... I see... is there anyone suspected in either of the cases? Perhaps an animal or some sort..."
"Nothing." Diana looked towards the constable apologetically. "I'm sorry I can't provide you with any useful leads to get you started... if you'll allow me to I'd like to help you with this case though."
"Help me?" Ichabod's mind flashed back to Katrina again and he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. This was not Katrina, this was Diana. "If you wish then I certainly would appreciate your assistance. There's only so much young Masbeth and I can do on our own."
"Thank you."
"I'm afraid it's getting to be a little too late to begin any sort of work on this investigation right now." Ichabod mused, looking out the window at the nearly full moon.
"Yes... I'll go make dinner." Diana offered and stood, quickly making her way into the kitchen to start preparing their meal.
"I believe I'll join you in the kitchen if that is alright; I must start recording the information that you have given in my log." Ichabod mentioned as he followed her into the kitchen. His black leather journal as well as a quill and ink well sat there, the journal opened to a fresh page. He was going to begin writing in it before Masbeth had returned from the stable.
"It is quite alright by me if you join me, I don't get company often." Diana admitted as she set about slicing up some vegetables. There was already a cauldron of water set beside the roaring fire where she would be making their dinner. "If you think of anything you need answered I'd be more then happy to tell you what I can."
"Thank you." Ichabod said as he sat before the journal, readying the quill and beginning to write Diana's information. For a long time the scratching of Ichabod's quill and the chopping of Diana's knife were the only sounds in the kitchen. The continuous scratch of the ink tipped feather paused for a moment as Ichabod thought about something the girl had said. "Miss- I mean Diana?"
"Yes Ichabod?" Diana hid a grin as he stumbled over her name by turning to set the water over the fire. Once she was satisfied that she could leave the water to come to a boil she dusted off her hands and came to stand across the table from the constable.
"You mentioned that speaking with the town's hierarchy would be useless... why is that?" Ichabod questioned, looking up at her.
"Oh yes, that..." Diana sighed and sat down in the chair across from Ichabod. She read his writing upside-down for a moment before looking back up at him. "Well first of all, when the hierarchy discovers that you've returned to Sleepy Hollow... let's just say you shouldn't expect them to be particularly pleased with the fact."
"What do you mean?" Ichabod's brow furrowed. Hadn't he saved this town a year ago? Why wouldn't they be welcoming?
"Well the new town elders do not believe in the supernatural... They refuse to acknowledge the existence of ghosts and reanimated corpses or witchcraft."
"Well then what do they believe happened last year?" Ichabod stared at her in amazement, he thought everyone in Sleepy Hollow believed in the supernatural.
"I can't say I know all the details Ichabod; there is a reason why I spend almost all my time out here; away from the town and its inhabitants."
"I'm afraid I don't understand Diana..."
"I'll do my best to explain this to you Ichabod, however you must understand that I only arrived here two months ago so I do not know everything that has happened since you last set foot on this cursed ground."
"Alright."
"Apparently, from what I can gather, the general belief in town now seems to be that you are to blame for most of the deaths." Ichabod began to interrupt but Diana held up a hand to stop him. "It's whispered that when you arrived Lady Van Tassel saw you as the perfect way to insure her plans complete success. She came to your bedroom the very night of your arrival and the two of you coupled. After this the two of you conspired to follow through with her plan so that once it was through you would split the inheritance, your job, along with beheading the very victims you would later analyze, was to conceal the guilt the two of you shared. To do this you would play off of the towns superstition about the dead Hessian and say he rode forth at night to claim heads.
Somewhere along the way it is said that you took interest in Lady Van Tassels step-daughter-"Diana saw Ichabod's eyes fall at the mention of Katrina so she hurried on with the story. "Along with the step-daughter you come up with a new scheme that would be played out later. You kept up pretense before the entire town, claiming things about the horseman and his victims and convincing Lady Van Tassel that you would blame is on the witch of the woods.
When the time came you assured the plan was entirely set up so that the town would believe you. The step-daughter was now set to inherit all the money and you took Jonathan, the girl and Lady Van Tassel out to the windmill. There you planned to burn Lady Van Tassel in the windmill to make it look like an accident but she escaped and ran into the woods. You all ran after her and finally managed to kill her, burying her where nobody would ever find her.
With all this finished you returned to the town claiming that Lady Van Tassel was a witch who raised the horseman from the grave to do her bidding. Then, taking your conspirators and the Van Tassel fortune you all left for New York where you would never again be bothered by your deeds here." Diana explained, hurrying to end the story. At every mention of Katrina she had seen a sadness in Ichabod that she wished she could end for the young man. She felt he should not have to know such pain in his life; his heart was far too pure.
"That is quite an elaborate lie for the head of the town elders to be telling..." Ichabod mumbled, his mind still on Katrina as this all processed. Finally he looked up at Diana, a ghost of pain still in his eyes but the bulk of it hidden. "And the people of Sleepy Hollow believe this lie?" He wondered.
"Yes." Diana nodded solemnly and stood up to finish making the meal. She began adding things to the boiling soup as she continued to converse.
"But the they were all there in the Church when Baltus Van Tassel was murdered. They saw that Katrina, Masbeth and myself were all present. They saw the argument the elders had."
"The argument they contribute to their conspiring as well with Lady Van Tassel and yourself. As for Baltus Van Tassel... yes you all were there but where was the Lady Van Tassel? The headless horseman Baltus saw approaching Lady Van Tassel they say was you. Then you passed the disguise to the Lady before hurrying off to the church yourself to insure your own innocence."
"But they saw that none of the bullets that hit him did any good."
"It was night was it not? Whose to say that the bullets his him? I think you underestimate the power of reassurance Ichabod. When there is a town like Sleepy Hollow, where all the residents live in constant fear of superstition and ghosts, they'll believe any sort of sensible answer that comes their way. They looked upon this new town elder as their savior; shedding light on the situation." She told him again, sitting once more in the chair as she waited for the stew to cook.
"So I suppose that means they'll suspect I'm guilty crimes as well?" Ichabod muttered, writing this all down.
"Probably. Unless you can bring the culprit out and show them. Don't worry about the townsfolk though; so long as you're staying with me you're safe."
"How's that?" Ichabod looked up from his writing.
"They think I have something to do with the recent murders. I actually moved into the town officially one week prior to the murders."
"Well that's doesn't look good for either of us."
"No. But by helping you we can clear both our names. They won't bother us here; they'll of course let me into town to purchase supplies and what not but so long as I don't bother them they don't bother me. With the exception of a few townsfolk; coincidently the only ones who still believe the truth about you, the population fears me, my horse and my home."
"There are still people who believe the truth?" Ichabod looked amazed.
"Most definitely. Of course, to speak out and say so would also condemn them so they say nothing. The only one here who chose to be condemned rather then believe in the elder's lies is the blacksmith. He condemned himself the moment he befriended me and told me the story about you and the horseman."
"If you don't mind me asking, what do you believe happened between me and the Hessian Diana?" Ichabod wondered, stopping his quill for a moment.
"What do I believe? I believe you're very brave to face off against an immortal enemy no matter what the cause. I believe there really is a tree of the dead out in the forest and that beneath it there lies the body of the Hessian mercenary. I also believe that he rode forth at the bidding of a witch one year ago only to be returned to his rest by a pure hearted constable who fought to the end to right all wrongs." Diana smiled at him sweetly; she knew better then to doubt supernatural forces. She had seen more than her fair share of supernatural forces in her day.
"Um...Thank you." Ichabod managed awkwardly as he blushed. He had to admit it was good to know that this woman believed his innocence.
"Well I'm glad to see you two, at least, have settled your differences." She smirked at the boy.
"Perhaps you should run upstairs Jonathan; I have something I need to speak with Miss. Aphrodine about." Ichabod said, looking at Diana seriously. Without a word the boy complied, running upstairs to the library.
"Can I help you Mr. Crane?" Diana muttered, not moving from where she stood in the doorway as she kept her eyes trained on Ichabod at the bottom of the stairs.
"I owe you an apology Miss. Aphrodine; my behavior earlier was out of line. I hope you can forgive me." Ichabod nodded at her in apology.
"I can... and so long as you quit this nonsense and stop calling my Miss. Aphrodine then I WILL forgive you wholeheartedly sir." She replied.
"What should I call you then?" Ichabod looked confused.
"I think Diana would be alright."
"Then you will of course call me Ichabod?" The constable smiled despite himself.
"Of course." Diana returned the smile. "I'm sincerely pleased to see you in such an improved mood constable."
"Not nearly as pleased as I am to be in an improved mood." Ichabod chuckled, making his was over to Diana. Jonathan was right, it had been kind for her to take them into her house; the least he could do was pretend to be alright.
"Well, Ichabod, as much as I hate to end the only real conversation I've had with you so suddenly, I believe that it should be business before pleasure. Would you mind terribly if we were to take care of business first?"
"Not at all, what business do you mean?" Ichabod wondered as Diana led him to sit by the fire. She sat on the couch elegantly and he stood nearby.
"Well, you are here for a reason. I realize I may not be the first person you would choose to speak with about what's occurred here but I'd like you to understand that Sleepy Hollow has changed a bit since you were here last. I regret to inform you that attempting to talk to the new hierarchy in town would be useless."
"I see... so young Masbeth has told you of last year. Well in that case I suppose you should explain to me what you know." Ichabod agreed, careful to push away his thoughts of Katrina and hide his frown.
"How much do you know already constable?"
"That there have been five victims, three are dead and two are alive. The ones found dead were found in various locations with their throats torn open and the live ones were found near the church. When the living ones awoke two days later they were very weak and very thirsty. I'm afraid that was all the information my superior's had to give me about the incidents."
"Hmm... well I suppose I should start with the deaths. They were not simply found with throats torn open constable... the bodies were mutilated... as for the most recent body found the head was torn completely from the body and was missing for two days before someone located it in the undergrowth of a tree near the church."
"Torn... from the... body?" If possibly Ichabod seemed to grow even paler then before at the mention of beheading.
"Yes. Now the two that are living... they have no recollection of what happened to them at all. Nobody understands quite what has happened to them so I'm afraid that's all the information on those cases I have for you."
"Hmm... I see... is there anyone suspected in either of the cases? Perhaps an animal or some sort..."
"Nothing." Diana looked towards the constable apologetically. "I'm sorry I can't provide you with any useful leads to get you started... if you'll allow me to I'd like to help you with this case though."
"Help me?" Ichabod's mind flashed back to Katrina again and he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. This was not Katrina, this was Diana. "If you wish then I certainly would appreciate your assistance. There's only so much young Masbeth and I can do on our own."
"Thank you."
"I'm afraid it's getting to be a little too late to begin any sort of work on this investigation right now." Ichabod mused, looking out the window at the nearly full moon.
"Yes... I'll go make dinner." Diana offered and stood, quickly making her way into the kitchen to start preparing their meal.
"I believe I'll join you in the kitchen if that is alright; I must start recording the information that you have given in my log." Ichabod mentioned as he followed her into the kitchen. His black leather journal as well as a quill and ink well sat there, the journal opened to a fresh page. He was going to begin writing in it before Masbeth had returned from the stable.
"It is quite alright by me if you join me, I don't get company often." Diana admitted as she set about slicing up some vegetables. There was already a cauldron of water set beside the roaring fire where she would be making their dinner. "If you think of anything you need answered I'd be more then happy to tell you what I can."
"Thank you." Ichabod said as he sat before the journal, readying the quill and beginning to write Diana's information. For a long time the scratching of Ichabod's quill and the chopping of Diana's knife were the only sounds in the kitchen. The continuous scratch of the ink tipped feather paused for a moment as Ichabod thought about something the girl had said. "Miss- I mean Diana?"
"Yes Ichabod?" Diana hid a grin as he stumbled over her name by turning to set the water over the fire. Once she was satisfied that she could leave the water to come to a boil she dusted off her hands and came to stand across the table from the constable.
"You mentioned that speaking with the town's hierarchy would be useless... why is that?" Ichabod questioned, looking up at her.
"Oh yes, that..." Diana sighed and sat down in the chair across from Ichabod. She read his writing upside-down for a moment before looking back up at him. "Well first of all, when the hierarchy discovers that you've returned to Sleepy Hollow... let's just say you shouldn't expect them to be particularly pleased with the fact."
"What do you mean?" Ichabod's brow furrowed. Hadn't he saved this town a year ago? Why wouldn't they be welcoming?
"Well the new town elders do not believe in the supernatural... They refuse to acknowledge the existence of ghosts and reanimated corpses or witchcraft."
"Well then what do they believe happened last year?" Ichabod stared at her in amazement, he thought everyone in Sleepy Hollow believed in the supernatural.
"I can't say I know all the details Ichabod; there is a reason why I spend almost all my time out here; away from the town and its inhabitants."
"I'm afraid I don't understand Diana..."
"I'll do my best to explain this to you Ichabod, however you must understand that I only arrived here two months ago so I do not know everything that has happened since you last set foot on this cursed ground."
"Alright."
"Apparently, from what I can gather, the general belief in town now seems to be that you are to blame for most of the deaths." Ichabod began to interrupt but Diana held up a hand to stop him. "It's whispered that when you arrived Lady Van Tassel saw you as the perfect way to insure her plans complete success. She came to your bedroom the very night of your arrival and the two of you coupled. After this the two of you conspired to follow through with her plan so that once it was through you would split the inheritance, your job, along with beheading the very victims you would later analyze, was to conceal the guilt the two of you shared. To do this you would play off of the towns superstition about the dead Hessian and say he rode forth at night to claim heads.
Somewhere along the way it is said that you took interest in Lady Van Tassels step-daughter-"Diana saw Ichabod's eyes fall at the mention of Katrina so she hurried on with the story. "Along with the step-daughter you come up with a new scheme that would be played out later. You kept up pretense before the entire town, claiming things about the horseman and his victims and convincing Lady Van Tassel that you would blame is on the witch of the woods.
When the time came you assured the plan was entirely set up so that the town would believe you. The step-daughter was now set to inherit all the money and you took Jonathan, the girl and Lady Van Tassel out to the windmill. There you planned to burn Lady Van Tassel in the windmill to make it look like an accident but she escaped and ran into the woods. You all ran after her and finally managed to kill her, burying her where nobody would ever find her.
With all this finished you returned to the town claiming that Lady Van Tassel was a witch who raised the horseman from the grave to do her bidding. Then, taking your conspirators and the Van Tassel fortune you all left for New York where you would never again be bothered by your deeds here." Diana explained, hurrying to end the story. At every mention of Katrina she had seen a sadness in Ichabod that she wished she could end for the young man. She felt he should not have to know such pain in his life; his heart was far too pure.
"That is quite an elaborate lie for the head of the town elders to be telling..." Ichabod mumbled, his mind still on Katrina as this all processed. Finally he looked up at Diana, a ghost of pain still in his eyes but the bulk of it hidden. "And the people of Sleepy Hollow believe this lie?" He wondered.
"Yes." Diana nodded solemnly and stood up to finish making the meal. She began adding things to the boiling soup as she continued to converse.
"But the they were all there in the Church when Baltus Van Tassel was murdered. They saw that Katrina, Masbeth and myself were all present. They saw the argument the elders had."
"The argument they contribute to their conspiring as well with Lady Van Tassel and yourself. As for Baltus Van Tassel... yes you all were there but where was the Lady Van Tassel? The headless horseman Baltus saw approaching Lady Van Tassel they say was you. Then you passed the disguise to the Lady before hurrying off to the church yourself to insure your own innocence."
"But they saw that none of the bullets that hit him did any good."
"It was night was it not? Whose to say that the bullets his him? I think you underestimate the power of reassurance Ichabod. When there is a town like Sleepy Hollow, where all the residents live in constant fear of superstition and ghosts, they'll believe any sort of sensible answer that comes their way. They looked upon this new town elder as their savior; shedding light on the situation." She told him again, sitting once more in the chair as she waited for the stew to cook.
"So I suppose that means they'll suspect I'm guilty crimes as well?" Ichabod muttered, writing this all down.
"Probably. Unless you can bring the culprit out and show them. Don't worry about the townsfolk though; so long as you're staying with me you're safe."
"How's that?" Ichabod looked up from his writing.
"They think I have something to do with the recent murders. I actually moved into the town officially one week prior to the murders."
"Well that's doesn't look good for either of us."
"No. But by helping you we can clear both our names. They won't bother us here; they'll of course let me into town to purchase supplies and what not but so long as I don't bother them they don't bother me. With the exception of a few townsfolk; coincidently the only ones who still believe the truth about you, the population fears me, my horse and my home."
"There are still people who believe the truth?" Ichabod looked amazed.
"Most definitely. Of course, to speak out and say so would also condemn them so they say nothing. The only one here who chose to be condemned rather then believe in the elder's lies is the blacksmith. He condemned himself the moment he befriended me and told me the story about you and the horseman."
"If you don't mind me asking, what do you believe happened between me and the Hessian Diana?" Ichabod wondered, stopping his quill for a moment.
"What do I believe? I believe you're very brave to face off against an immortal enemy no matter what the cause. I believe there really is a tree of the dead out in the forest and that beneath it there lies the body of the Hessian mercenary. I also believe that he rode forth at the bidding of a witch one year ago only to be returned to his rest by a pure hearted constable who fought to the end to right all wrongs." Diana smiled at him sweetly; she knew better then to doubt supernatural forces. She had seen more than her fair share of supernatural forces in her day.
"Um...Thank you." Ichabod managed awkwardly as he blushed. He had to admit it was good to know that this woman believed his innocence.
