Death In Seventeen Syllables

by Sherryl Clark

About the Author: Sherryl Clark has been writing crime fiction for more than twenty years. Her first publications were short stories. Her first novel "Trust Me, I'm Dead" was shortlisted in the CWA Debut Dagger and published by Verve Books, and then went on to be longlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood. The sequel, "Dead and Gone", was published in 2020, and a third is forthcoming.

Excerpt

I stared down at the three short lines written on the piece of paper in Detective Constable Miller’s gloved hand. I’d hated poetry at high school. Well, not the poetry so much as the teacher. Mr Dangerfield. The instant image I had of his beaky face made me shudder.

‘It’s a what?’ I said.

‘A haiku, boss.’ Miller stood and held it out. The paper was damp from being in the murder victim’s mouth and the ink had run slightly, but I could still read the words.

Wisteria blossoms

Trickle from the lean fence

Purple waterfall

‘Yes, very nice,’ I said, ‘but why was it in her mouth?’

Miller shrugged. ‘Not enough paper to choke her. Anyway, the back of her head was bashed in.’

I looked around. We were in a large park, well-looked after by the council, with plenty of native shrubs and mowed grass. The victim, an elderly woman with blunt-cut white hair, lay between two large grevilleas that bloomed with red and pink flowers—her blue eyes seemed to be focused on the honeyeater bird that was perched in the top branches. Back of the head—someone had turned her over, probably to push the paper into her mouth.

‘Who found her?’

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