by Ksenia Anske
Bär snarled. Gustav grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Ed and Lilith nervously awaited their trial.
“What shall I do with you?” said Alfred. “I think I’ll have to separate you two. You see, my...gardening business is a rather important affair. It can’t be meddled with by two naughty children. I tried talking to you, didn’t I? But you don’t listen. Well, you’re forcing me to resort to drastic measures.” He motioned Gustav and the mastiff away.
Only now Lilith noticed rips in his suit and scratches on his face. Did the bush woman do this?
“Ed, I’ll talk to Rosalinde tomorrow. Long overdue. I believe I need to hire a new gardener. She’s not being much help lately.”
Ed swallowed.
“It’s time for you to move on. Get out of this place, change schools, find new friends. No use sulking. You have to keep on living, my dear boy. Put those silly ideas of becoming an artist out of your head. Learn how to make money.”
He tapped Ed’s forehead.
Ed balled his hands into fists.
“Lilith, I’d prefer it if you stayed in your room from now on, unless I tell you otherwise. I will take your...creature away for the duration of your visit if you don’t humor me with excellent behavior. What do you say? Sound fair?”
Lilith’s heart froze at the idea of parting with Panther. She nodded miserably.
“I need an actual answer. Yes or no?”
“Yes, Grandfather,” she mumbled.
“Good.” Alfred let out a sigh, and for a moment, Lilith thought she saw her true grandfather flash underneath the mask of the eccentric, the wealthy owner of a successful business, and the Bloom family patron. He was simply a tired old man. A pang of pity stung her. Whatever gruesome things he did took a toll on him.
“Shall we?” Alfred seized the children’s arms and led them along the hedge until they reached a tunnel and exited through the arbor. Ed and Lilith quietly trotted behind their guide who changed direction so often that Lilith left all hope at remembering the way. The garden kept going on and on, gradually changing from wild and foreboding to groomed and transparent.
Lilith regretted not asking Ed more questions about her grandfather and the rose garden. She fixed her beret now and then, trying to get Ed’s attention, but he appeared deep in thought.
At last they arrived by the mansion, at a side door Lilith hadn’t seen before. The housekeeper pushed it open. A couple delivery people filed out with a stack of empty crates, said their hellos, and sauntered off.
“Herr Bloom.” Agatha nodded and let them in, not a muscle twitching in her face at the sight of her master’s ragged appearance.
Unbearable noise crashed over Lilith. Pots were slapped on the stove, dishes stacked, silvery thrown into drawers by a portly woman who generated as much noise as ten people. Lilith recognized her as the cook. Delicious smells compensated for her racket, and Lilith inhaled a lungful of them: a whiff of roasting bratwurst, fried potatoes, and freshly baked bread.
“Herr Bloom!” exclaimed Monika, wiping her hands on an apron.
Alfred waved her off, turning to Lilith. “I believe you skipped lunch. You must be hungry. My presentation got rather long, didn’t it?”
“Long and fascinating, Grandfather. I’ll certainly remember it for life.” Lilith smiled.
“Why, thank you. You may have lunch now. Monika will serve you. After you eat you’re to go to your room. Remember our agreement.” His tone didn’t invite arguments. “Your friend has an unfortunate knack of disappearing, I might add.”
“What?” Lilith glanced around. In the hassle of their arrival, Ed slipped away. Lilith wanted to cry from disappointment. “Oh.”
“You’re rather fond of him, aren’t you?”
Lilith blushed and hated herself for it. “We’re friends.”
“Not to worry, my dear girl. I shall go find your friend for you. Will see you soon.” Alfred strolled out of the kitchen.
Monika let out a breath and picked up something wiggly from behind a stack of crates.
“Pan—” Lilith began, her heart beating wildly.
“Shhhh!” Monika shushed her.
Panther peeked from between two fleshy arms, a piece of steak clutched in his jaws. Lilith felt a twinge of jealousy, watching him swallow the meat and lick Monika’s face, who giggled like a schoolgirl, eyes wet with adoration.
Lilith darted forward.
Panther leapt to her.
“She iz zo sweet. She iz meine kleine Prinzessin,” the cook said with a loud smooch. “If zey take her away, come see me.” She winked conspiratorially and began slapping food on a plate.
Ravenous a minute ago, Lilith lost her appetite.
“Excuse me. It’s very sweet of you to feed me outside of normal lunch hours. However, I’m not hungry at the moment. Thank you very much.”
Pressing Panther to her chest, Lilith ran out of the kitchen and sped up the marble staircase, grateful for the absence of guests. Her back crawled, sensing a penetrating stare. She skidded to a halt. Gustav stood at the end of the corridor, no doubt making sure she got into her room. Lilith entered, shut the door, and sunk to the floor.
“I can’t believe she called you a princess.”
“I can’t believe you called Bär exquisite.”
“Excuse me, dear Watson, but that was for the purpose of sweetening up my grandfather. You know that.”
“Well, dear Holmes, this was for the purpose of sweetening up Monika,” Panther growled. “She can call me anything she wants. Unlike some people, she went through the trouble of sneaking me out of the cage. And she fed me steak. If I may be so bold and remind you that you promised me steak as payment for—”
Lilith didn’t bite. “Didn’t she see that you’re male?”
“She didn’t take a particular interest in that part of my unique personality, if that’s what you mean.” He wiggled out.
“Look,” Lilith said as she held Panther’s head, “I’m sorry for not coming to your rescue sooner, okay? An enormous multitude of miraculous and dreadful things have happened. In fact, so many things have happened that I don’t know where to begin telling you.”
“It depends on where you ended,” said Panther, and burped. Full of exceptional steak, he slid out of Lilith’s embrace and rolled onto his back, inviting her to scratch his belly.
Lilith made to stand and slipped. She sat on a piece of paper. “Look! He left me a note!”
Panther looked at her quizzically. “He?”
“My friend Ed. Remember? The one with the flashlight? Smells like cookies?”
“Your friend?”
“Yes.” Lilith migrated to the bed.
“You’re friends with him already? That was fast. I was only gone for a couple hours.”
Lilith ignored him, deep in the thrill of discovery.
Ed must have taken precautions, in case someone else came across the sketch. To an unsuspecting eye, it would’ve looked like childish squiggles. Not to Lilith.
“It’s a map of the garden.” She traced it with her finger. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Panther leaped onto the bed. They bent their heads.
An intricate ornament of dots and lines covered the page. Along the edge ran the line of the fence between the rose garden and the Grunewald forest. Tiny rectangles indicated arbors. One of them connected with a large circle that held a fat dot in the middle. An arrow pointed to it.
“That’s her. The rosebush woman. And that’s her clearing, see? We got there by accident, remember?”
“Not at all. The only thing I recall is sucking a mutant squirrel dry.”
“Panther.”
“Do I get to hear the story of the tour that creep gave you or what? I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but I’m dying here.”
“I’m sorry. Please pardon my forgetfulness, dear Watson. How dare I deprive you of such important information while you spend your time gorging on steak, leaving me to face the monstrous beast alone.” Lilith
fumed.
“I duly apologize for lacking the ability to pick locks with my claws, dear Holmes. Rest assured, I’m working on this important skill day and night.” Panther bit her.
“All right, fine. I was just getting to it, okay? Grandfather named me heir to the Bloom property.”
“Heir?”
“And then he cut her out.”
Panther looked puzzled. “Cut who?”
“Listen. When grandfather dies, I will inherit the entire property, the mansion and the rose garden. It’s in his will. He announced it at that dinner we missed. Anyway, he pruned a giant rosebush to a woman’s shape. The sighing woman-thing. I think it’s why she was in pain; she demanded to be cut into shape. She’s alive, Panther, I saw her move.”
“Charming. So you will become her boss. Got it. May I ask what she eats?”
“I told you before. I think grandfather kills people and feeds their bodies to the garden. He must be feeding the same thing to her, since she’s part of it. Organic matter. That’s what it is, dead bodies. Why else do you think she stinks so badly?”
“Captivating information. Let’s assume you’re correct. In view of this, may I ask, what, dear Holmes, do you propose we do?”
“I have a plan.” Lilith’s eyes flashed.
Panther raised an ear, as if astounded. “Do you?”
For the next hour Lilith relayed everything that happened: the bush pruning, her grandfather’s threat, the meeting with Ed, his dad’s untimely death, Ed’s awareness of the heads and the mansion and the carnivorous garden. She told him about the Schlitzberger twins interrupting them and guests swarming them, about their escape through an arbor, about the rosebush woman shrieking, and Lilith’s punishment if she left the room without Alfred’s permission.
Lilith paused to catch her breath.
“Let me make sure I understand correctly,” growled Panther. “You’re speaking with such conviction, like your assumptions are true. I have yet to hear a single fact pointing to this possible existence of dead bodies, or organic matter, as you claim your grandfather calls it. On top of that, you’re proposing we blatantly break his rules, which will gift me with spending every night in the gloriously flatulent company of Bär the mastiff?”
“Look. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Whatever is happening here, we have to stop it. We only need to find out a few more details, that’s all.”
“A few more details.”
“Yes, details. I wish you’d been there. I wish you could’ve seen her and heard her. It was horrible. I thought I would die.”
“That is a rather dramatic statement. I wish I was having another slice of steak at the moment.” Panther licked his coat.
“Really. Is steak the only thing you care about? How can you be so desultory?” Lilith said with feeling.
“It’s not that—whatever desultory means—it’s just that I knew it already.” He grinned.
“Excuse me? First you don’t believe me, now you’re telling me that you knew it already? Please, explain yourself.” Lilith crossed her arms.
“Gladly. Servants talk, in case you haven’t noticed, and bad news spreads fast, faster than a squirrel running from wildfire. Gustav told Agatha, Agatha told Monika, Monika told me. I know something else too, something you don’t know.” Panther scratched his ear, determined to drip out information only in exchange for appropriate affection.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“I’m only doing my part of the job for which you promised you’ll pay me. In the absence of steak, I ask you to scratch my back please.”
Lilith narrowed her eyes.
“I never break my promises, just haven’t had the time yet—”
“Right there. Yes. A little to the left. Yes, yes, now to the right, ohh...” Panther made a noise more appropriate for a cat.
“Well?” Lilith demanded.
“Well. Monika didn’t mention anything about organic matter or dead bodies or anything of the sort, but she did mention something big is going to happen. As big as an invasion of mad squirrels.” Humor vanished from his growl. “She doesn’t know when it will happen. She was talking about it being due—like there is a deadline, or someone is in debt to someone else.”
“You know, a curious thought crossed my mind. Since when do you know German? Her English struck me as fairly shallow.”
“Your father talks to us in German. It’s his trick to keep secrets from other breeders. Silly if you ask me.” Panther stood, his ears erect. “We’re about to have company. Your parents are back.”
“No,” exhaled Lilith.
A car’s rumble floated through the window. A couple doors opened and slammed. Feet ran up the stairs.
“Quick! Let’s hide in the bathroom!” Lilith rushed from the bed, but her foot got caught in the blanket and she fell. By the time she righted herself, the door slammed open, and there stood her mother, eyes furious, hair askew.
Chapter 10
Gabby’s Wrath
Lilith gulped. Her mother offered a frightening sight. Knitting needles stuck behind her ears, two bags bulging with what could only be new yarn, Gabby marched in and slammed the door so hard it made Daniel jump. She pushed up her glasses and leered at her daughter. Lilith cringed, expecting the tirade of the month to be forever etched in her memory. She slid the garden map under her thigh, Panther barked, and all hell broke loose.
“Don’t you bark at me!” Gabby snapped. “And you, missy, what did you do this time? I want to hear all about it. Your grandfather says you’ve caused trouble and are not allowed in the garden until he changes his mind. What could you possibly do to upset him so much? I have a very sneaky suspicion where this is coming from.” She snatched the orange vial from the bedside table and examined it, counting the pills.
“Gabby, now, don’t be so hard-knuckled,” Daniel put in hesitantly. “She’s just jetlagged.”
“Jetlagged?” Gabby spun around. “You call this jetlagged?”
Lilith used the moment to stuff the map into her jeans pocket.
“We’ve talked about this a million times.”
“I’m aware of that. It’s not—”
“Then you weren’t listening to me. What if she’s going into relapse? Here, away from Dr. Crawford? Jetlag? I don’t think it’s simple jetlag.” She turned back.
“But, Gabby, love—”
“Dad, it’s okay. I’ve got it from here.” Lilith composed her face, ready for battle.
“You’ve got what from here?”
“Jetlag, Mother, is typically classified by medical professionals as a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. I’m perfectly fine with another disorder to be added to my collection. I’m rather fond of them. Do you think they have pills for that?” Lilith forced a smile.
“Don’t start your nonsense with me, missy.”
“But it’s not nonsense, Mother,” said Lilith. “How can a girl like myself produce nonsense if she has no sense whatsoever to begin with? I must have some to counterbalance it with its opposite, don’t you think?”
Her mother glared. “Here we go. She’s doing her thing again.”
“Love, I don’t think we should—”
“There is no should. We must, before it escalates into something else—something we can’t handle. Listen to her. Do you hear how she talks? There is absolutely no emotion in it. None. It’s scaring me, Daniel. It’s getting worse.” She propped up her glasses. “She’s your daughter, too. Don’t you care about her wellbeing? Don’t you ever think what would happen if she simply wandered off into the street? Here? She doesn’t know any German!”
Daniel opened and closed his mouth.
“Didn’t think about that, did you?” Gabby continued throwing terrible scenarios at her husband, while Lilith increasingly felt like a third wheel. Her parents often discussed her in the way people would discuss an object—a disabled adolescent to be fed, medicated, educated, and properly housed. Well, rather her mother issued long monologues, and her father pretended
to listen. Nobody asked Lilith how she felt, not even Dr. Corby Crawford, an overpowering, inquisitive matron buttoned in knit jackets made by Gabby Bloom. Her soft talk seeped under Lilith’s skin and made her feel stupid.
“...said she ruined his most precious rosebush, tore off every single bud and had Panther pee on it!”
Panther produced a few coughs that sounded suspiciously like That’s a load of cow poop. Lilith gave him the stare. She listened with avid interest, adding a third reason to her mental list of why she had every right to hate her grandfather, a brute, a book-hater, and a liar.
“I didn’t hear him saying—”
“He said it on the phone, so of course you didn’t.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to listen!”
“I am listening.”
Lilith coughed.
Frowning, both parents looked at their daughter as if aware of her presence for the first time.
“If you’d like an explanation for that, I can give it to you,” she said calmly. “Number one, Panther is a dog and doesn’t know any better.” Panther bit her, she pinched him. “Number two, I thought I could excavate something, you know, to decorate my room.”
“You’re not going back to collecting bones,” said Gabby.
“Of course I am. This rose garden inspired me, actually.” Lilith clamped Panther’s muzzle to stifle his bark. “Found a few skulls in the back, over there...” She waved at the window, where evening gathered with cunning speed. “They were, er, diaphanous. Children’s skulls? I wonder. Anyway. I already asked grandfather for permission to—”
“STOP IT!” her mother shrieked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mother.” Lilith took time to pronounce each word. “Did my story upset you? I’ll tell you a different one.”
“No more stories! That’s enough for today. Your grandfather is an old man and you made him chase you across the garden. He’s paying for you to be here. It’s an honor. He named you heir to the entire Bloom property!”
“Love—”
“Don’t touch me! And what do you do in return? You refuse to take your pills,” she said, rattling the vial. “You wake your neighbor in the middle of the night, and you shun your cousin who wanted to talk to you about butterflies. You promised to socialize. His mother told me he was very upset. You hang out with that mute boy, making your poor grandfather—”