The Dog Who Knew: A Mystery in Valea Veche
On a gray, misty autumn morning in the quiet village of Valea Veche, something unusual stirred in the old cemetery. A lone dog had taken up vigil at a grave, refusing to leave. It was Ursu—the faithful companion of Moș Gheorghe, a man affectionately called “Santa” by locals for his long white beard, who had recently passed away.
At first, villagers were moved by Ursu’s loyalty, believing the dog was mourning his master. But soon, Ursu’s behavior grew alarming. He began digging at the grave with desperate intensity, his paws bloodied from the effort.
Maria, the village schoolteacher, noticed the dog’s distress and contacted her cousin, Deputy Tudor Lupu. When Lupu arrived, the scent of decay and a crooked, unstable cross over the grave sparked suspicion. With the mayor’s reluctant approval, they opened the grave.
What they found stunned everyone: the body buried there was not Moș Gheorghe’s. Instead, it was a stranger—a man who had been strangled.
A search of Gheorghe’s house revealed disturbing signs of foul play…
Inside Moș Gheorghe’s small cottage at the edge of the forest, Deputy Lupu and a few officers found signs of a struggle. Furniture had been knocked over, a teacup lay shattered on the floor, and a faint trail of dried blood led from the front door to the back. But of Gheorghe himself, there was no trace.
A drawer in the old man’s nightstand had been forced open. Inside were documents, now disturbed—among them, a deed to a parcel of land deep in the hills and several letters signed with the initials “V.C.” These details puzzled Lupu, especially since Gheorghe was believed to live a quiet, solitary life. Who was writing to him, and why?
Meanwhile, the identity of the strangled man remained a mystery. He carried no identification—just a worn silver ring and a small, folded photograph of Gheorghe in his younger years, standing beside a man with the same ring.
Word spread quickly through Valea Veche. Villagers whispered of secrets long buried, feuds reignited, and a past Gheorghe had never spoken of. But Ursu, ever faithful, remained near the disturbed grave, now silent and watchful—as if guarding more than just a mystery.
And so the question loomed larger than ever: Where was Moș Gheorghe?
