Detective Roy Jameson hated these cases....out here in the middle of nowhere.....he hated the country....he was a city man....these kind of cases usually just went by the wayside but somehow some damned MP's brother had gone missing and of course the brass at Scotland Yard promised to look into it for him!!!!
Usually these outdoor types got lost in the forests or fell off some damned cliff somewhere.....and now he'd have to go out looking for this missing idiot!!!
He pulled in at the local pub.....a drink was what he needed after hours of driving!!!! How could these people stand it? He's seen fields and trees and sheep and more trees and more fields and more goddamned sheep....
Luckily the pub was also where The Yard had made arrangements for him to take a room....he wouldn't have to go far for a meal or a drink....although he seriously doubted there was anyplace else to go for either out here in this godforsaken wilderness!!!!
The pub had several locals inside when he walked in and suddenly there was a silence so deep his footsteps sounded like thunder as he moved to the bar.....
The barman eyed him over before asking from a distance if there was something he'd like...
"Give me a whisky.....make it a double!!!"
The barman placed the glass of amber liquid in front of him and he swallowed it down in one gulp....
"Give me another...."
"Yes Sir...."
The barman served him another and he began to relax....some of the locals had started to speak again in soft whispers to each other.....
He pulled out his badge and spoke to all in the room....
"I'm Detective Roy Jameson from Scotland Yard.....I'm looking for information on the whereabouts of a Mr. Nigel Johnson, last seen in this area.....if any of you have any information on where he is or what happened to him I'd be appreciative of your cooperation...."
"What was the mans name again Detective?" asked the barman.
"One, Mr. Nigel Johnson of Earls Cross Road London, last known to be here in your lovely little town...." the sarcasm dripped from his voice, "Now hasn't been seen or heard from in over a fortnight and his brother is very anxious to get in touch with him....do you know the man I'm speaking of?"
"Yes sir....he was here alright and about a fortnight back as you say....isn't that right Reg?"
One of the locals looked up from his drink....
"Aye, I remember the Lad....just left without saying goodbye to anyone didn't he Tom?"
Another local spoke without looking up...
"That's right....he never said he was going but he just left...."
"You're telling me he just left? Didn't he say where he was going?"
"No sir.....he never said a word to anyone...."
He glanced around the room and so the men all nodding in agreement....
There was something wrong here....he could feel it in his bones....
"Alright then.....I'll be staying here for a few days and if anyone remembers anything more please let me know.....Barman I believe my office made arrangements for a room?"
"Yes sir....that they did....right up at the top of the stairs....first door....same room your Mr. Johnson was in as a matter of fact.....I'll show you...."
"That's all right I'll find it myself...."
He walked slowly up the stairs....he didn't have to turn to know that every eye was on him....god how he hated these small towns!!!!
When he closed the door he immediately heard them resume their conversations....pressing his ear to the door he tried but just couldn't make out what they were saying.....cracking the door open just a bit he could make out some of it.....
Something about a Fiddle or Fiddler seemed to be the main topic of their hushed conversation.....
If he went back down there would be that small town silence again and he really just wasn't in the mood......time for a wash-up and some bed to try to forget the miles of road and all the goddamned sheep!!!!
In the night he dreamt.....a wild violin sound, raucous and crazy.....it made you want to dance....it made you want to come to it....
In the morning he woke....but he didn't feel rested....in fact his body ached more than when he went to bed....
He had a good breakfast served in his room by an older woman named Annie....
He asked her about Nigel Johnson....but all he learned was that Annie had no answers for anything....her thoughts were so scattered that he couldn't make sense of them....
After breakfast he spent the day walking about the very small town....stopping people and showing them Nigel's picture...most of them said they hadn't ever seen him and of the very few that did all they knew was that he had gone!!!!
It really didn't take very much time to cover the town....he returned to the pub and when he entered he was once again met with the small town silence....
He ordered a whisky and turned to the several patrons....
"So none of you know what happened to this man," and he held op Nigel's photo, "You say he left....did any of you see him go....did he drive away....in which direction....anyone?"
He saw them all shaking their heads....
"Right then....I'll be leaving tomorrow morning....if any of your memories improve before then be sure to see me before then...."
He had two more whisky's before he returned to his room.....and after Annie brought him a lovely rabbit stew for dinner....he had the Barman bring him two more!!!
Finally he slept again and again he dreamt of the wild music in the woods....and he danced around the fire....and he danced through the green smoke.....and he danced and danced....and he felt himself changing.....and he dropped his clothes and he was a beautiful woman doing a mad dance in the forest....dancing until dawn....
The morning came and several of them gathered at the pub.....curiously they made their way up the stairs and opened the door and he was gone....
They looked at each other....they all felt a little relief.....The Fiddler had taken another one.....but thank god it hadn't been one of them.....
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