“You didn’t see anything?”
“Unfortunately, no. But I was wondering about something.”
“What was that?”
“How many people had access to the key that unlocked the back door?”
“Hmm...” The old woman folded her arms and tilted her head slightly as she stared at something on the wall. Her foot tapped quickly.
Madison remained quiet as she waited, but when several seconds passed and the woman hadn’t said anything, she wondered if Gretchen was lost in her thoughts...or maybe the woman had forgotten what she was thinking about in the first place.
“Actually,” Gretchen said in an unhurried tone, “I had been married and my husband’s child from his first marriage was living with us. Spencer would have been about sixteen, if I recall. My husband, Bart, and Spencer were the only ones who knew where I kept the key to the shop, which of course, opened the front and back doors.”
“Would they have told anyone?”
Gretchen shrugged. “That, I could not tell you.”
“Does Spencer still live around Illford?”
“No. He died not even a year later. My husband became ill two years after that, and he passed away, as well.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Madison frowned.
“Forgive me for not being much help.”
Madison patted the woman’s arm. “That’s all right. I needed to start somewhere, and this was the best place to begin my search.”
“I wish you luck, but that was a long time ago. I hope you don’t get discouraged if you don’t find anything.”
Madison nodded as she turned and left the building. The truth was, she would get very discouraged. She was so hopeful that cracking this case would be the very thing that would get her noticed—in a good way. She was tired of people looking down on her or thinking she was crazy. Especially most of the men who worked for the Metropolitan Police. She wanted people to look upon her, or talk about her, as though she was intelligent and that she had a gift that could actually help people.
She moved around the building, heading toward the back. She wanted to get a good look at it from a different angle before giving up searching in this location. What she really needed was the police notes from Cameron’s father, but she didn’t dare bother Cameron right now. He would come to her when he was ready. At least she hoped...
It didn’t take her long before she stood in front of the window that looked inside the back room. She studied the structure, but more importantly, the paint. Unfortunately, it looked freshly coated. Gretchen would have wanted her shop to stand out and draw attention, which is why she kept it painted and looking well kept.
Her gaze dropped to the patch of dirt underneath the window. Had there been flowers here at one time? But with it being in back of the store, Madison doubted the old woman would have thought about making this side of the building look presentable.
With the toe of her boot, she stirred a section of the dirt. Where would the kidnapper have taken the little girl from this point? How many buildings were nearby back then? Was she foolish for wanting to find something after all these years?
Growling under her breath she kicked her foot harder into the dirt, which threw up a clot of dirt. A pinging sound rang through the air as if something metal had hit against the brick wall. The object was covered in the clayish dark soil, so she crouched to get a better look. She picked it up and brushed off the dirt, until her fingers touched...the steel key!
Her heart flipped with renewed life as she lifted it to the keyhole, slipped it in, and turned it. Click. She gasped. This key had actually opened the door! By its appearance, it had been in the ground for a very, very long time.
TWENTY
Excitement pushed Madison to brush the dirt off the key as fast as she could. She didn’t care if her hands were dirty, or even if her dress became soiled. This key had actually opened the door. Did Gretchen know about this key at all? The woman hadn’t mentioned losing a key.
Madison blew against the key and the loosened dirt fell off the top. She brushed her thumb across it...and froze.
Everything around her vanished, and no longer was she kneeling in the dirt. Instead, her vision swept her away to the past. The little girl sat on the cot in the small room, staring at a boy, perhaps in his sixteenth year or thereabouts. He wore a top hat and the overcoat of a gentleman, and yet the garments hung on his thin frame and the hat tilted low on his forehead, shadowing his eyes. He stood at the opened door, reaching out his hand to the girl.
“Come with me,” he said quietly. “Something has happened to your mother and I need to take you to her.”
“M-m-ma?” The girl’s voice squeaked.
“Yes. Come quickly.”
The girl hesitated but then slipped her hand into the boy’s hand. He pulled her out of the back room before closing the door and locking it. He dropped the key into the bed of dirt and kicked the soil over the top.
The boy glanced all around him before darting away from the building. The girl stumbled, but then righted herself and kept her small legs moving to keep up with the boy. He ran in back of the buildings, up toward the north end of town. So far, they hadn’t come across any people.
Out of breath, the girl tripped and fell to the ground. She sobbed and shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” the boy encouraged. “We must hurry so I can take you to your mother.”
“She’s buying a bonnet.” The girl glanced in back of her, pointing to the shop, much smaller than it had been when she’d left.
“No, she’s gone. Now I need to take you to her.”
The boy seemed genuinely nice and caring, so the girl felt as though she could trust him. She slipped her hand into his out-stretched hand again as he helped her to her feet. Together, they took off running again, until the end of the town was in view.
Panic surged through the girl. Ma? She stopped and jerked her hand away. “No. I don’t see my ma.”
“I know, but she’s not here. That’s why I’m taking you to her.”
The frightened girl nodded and slipped her hand back into his. As they passed the next building, another boy jumped from out of the shadows and landed in front of them. This boy was slightly taller, and had wider shoulders. His hair was strawberry-blond.
He held a knife and swiped it across the smaller boy’s hand. Yelping, he released the girl and covered the cut as he pierced the bigger boy with a fierce gaze.
“Where’s my money?” the strawberry-blond boy asked.
The slender lad’s hat fell off his head. Long, dark brown hair brushed into his face, making it hard to see his identity. “I don’t have it yet,” he glanced at the little girl, “but I will. That’s why I’ve taken her.”
The larger boy threw the girl a scowl. “What does she have to do with it?”
“I’m going to get the money from her parents.”
Tears filled the girl’s eyes and she shook her head. She didn’t know what was going on, but she felt as though this boy was not being honest with her. Something in the back of her mind yelled at her to run...to run back into town where other people could see her.
She darted around the boys and scurried down the alley in between two buildings. Up ahead there were men riding on horses and couples sitting in buggies. The footsteps behind her pounded the ground quickly, getting louder by the second. They’d catch her, she just knew it.
Fright of the worst kind finally gripped her. She screamed as loud as she could. For some reason, this made her run faster. Either that or the boys in back of her decided to slow down.
Finally, she reached the street, and she turned right. Not more than five steps in front of her was a woman wearing a drab, gray dress with a tattered shawl around her shoulders. The girl screamed again and lunged, reaching out her hands to take hold of the woman’s dress...
“Madison!”
Slowly, she came out of her vision. Dizziness filled her head as she glanced around her to ga
in her bearings. She was in a man’s strong hold as he pulled her away from an oncoming carriage rushing through the street.
Groaning, she rubbed her head. What was I doing in the street when I had just been kneeling in the dirt?
“I honestly don’t know what to do about you when you’re like this,” the man grumbled.
Madison inhaled deeply. The scent of spice mixed with leather surrounded her. Cameron, she sighed. Although her body was weak, she managed to turn her head and look at the robust man holding her. She smiled. “What are you doing here?”
He arched one of his eyebrows. “I should ask you the same.” He motioned his head toward the road. “You were wandering around as if in a daze, and you nearly became part of the road a second ago.”
“Thank you for saving me.” She tried to regulate her breathing again. Of course, being in his arms, smelling his manly scent and gazing into his remarkable eyes didn’t help, either. “I wish I could tell you why I did that. But I was having a vision.”
Madison looked around them, noticing the buildings and the section of town. What was she doing here? “Cameron? Where is Gretchen’s Millinery?”
“Way down the road. Why?”
“Because that was where I had my vision.” She pulled away from him, testing the strength in her legs. She was still frail, but thankfully, she could at least stand by herself. “Cameron, I usually don’t walk around when I have a vision.”
Worry escalated inside of her. Had her visions taken her to a new level? This couldn’t be good.
“You were at the millinery, you say?” he asked.
She looked into his handsome face again. “Yes. In the back of the building.”
Suddenly, she recalled every second of her vision, and especially, what had caused her to see what she had. “Oh, Cameron.” She clutched his arm. “I found a key buried in the patch of dirt right outside the backdoor. The key was rusted, and it unlocked the door. That is why I had a vision.”
His frown deepened. “What did you see?”
“I saw the boy who took the little girl.”
His forehead creased and he slowly shook his head. “A boy took Hanover’s daughter?”
“Yes. He was thin and probably in his sixteenth year. He had the key that opened the door.”
“And he grabbed her and pulled her out of the room?”
“No. He was nice and gentle.” She stared at the road. “He told her that he was going to take her to her mother.” A pain throbbed in her head and she rubbed her temples. “She believed him, so she went with him. But then another boy stopped them and yelled at the other, accusing him of not having his money.” She lifted her gaze to Cameron’s. “From what I gathered, the boy was desperate for money so he was going to kidnap her and seek a ransom from her father.”
Cameron’s eyes widened and he stared blankly at her. She didn’t know what had caused this reaction, but she worried she might have said something that he didn’t like. Again. Yet, she hadn’t said anything about Rosie. “Cameron? What are you thinking?”
He sighed heavily, making his wide shoulders relax. “Madison, we need to talk. I need to tell you what I found out when I read my father’s notes on this case.” He glanced up the street before meeting her stare again. “But we can’t talk here.”
“Where, then?”
“I will take you back to my house, if that is permissible.”
Eh? What was he talking about permissible? He’d taken her back to his house a few times already. Why was he suddenly thinking about propriety? “Of course it is.”
“Can you go now?”
“Yes.” Her chest tightened. He was being too withdrawn.
He turned toward the street until he hailed down a hackney. Cameron said nothing to her as he assisted her up into the vehicle and climbed in beside her. He gave the driver the address before sitting back in the seat.
Madison hated the awkwardness between them. One could not kiss with so much passion, and say the heart-felt things he’d said, only to turn a cold shoulder. But she was afraid to say anything, which was not like her. If anything, she should apologize for the way her mouth ran off last night when she suspected Rosie was the Hanover’s missing daughter.
After a couple of minutes passed, she could stand no more, and so gathered the courage to say something. Just as she opened her mouth, Cameron turned toward her.
“Madison, I want to apologize for storming out of the house last night.”
Her breath caught in her throat and the shock immobilized her tongue for a few seconds. Why was he apologizing? “Actually, Cameron, you have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who was at fault.” She sighed. “I have a habit of saying what’s on my mind. I don’t think things through first, and when I received the vision last night, I just couldn’t keep my thoughts from running out of my mouth.”
One side of his mouth lifted higher than the other. “I’ll admit, what you told me was quite a shock.”
“I realize that now, and I’m so sorry.”
“Are you saying that you don’t think the missing girl is Rosie?”
She shrugged. “Well...I suppose what I’m saying is that I could be wrong about my assumption. In fact, if I could read your father’s notes, I’m certain it would help me out considerably.”
The half-smile left his face. “I’m sure they will.” He expelled a breath slowly. “I’m sure you can imagine how I’m feeling right now. I don’t know how I would handle it if I found out my father kidnapped the girl.” He arched an eyebrow. “But from your vision, it was a boy who kidnapped her, correct?”
She folded her hands on her lap. “Yes, but then after the second boy stopped them, the girl started running toward the crowded street. She saw a woman and reached out to get her attention, but that’s when you brought me from out of my vision.”
“That’s very interesting.” He crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his muscular arm.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because in my father’s report, he mentioned that there were several people who had sent Lord Hanover ransom notes for the girl’s return. All of them turned out false, of course.”
“Did Lord Hanover pay any of them?”
“Only the first one. After that, the police instructed him not to pay anymore until they investigated it further.”
“I would love to find out who that boy was...the first one, anyway. I couldn’t see his face well. He wore a large hat which shadowed his eyes, and then when his hat came off, his long hair hung in his eyes.” Madison thought back over her vision, trying to go through every detail. She sucked in a quick breath. “However, that particular boy had a cut across his left hand, and I’m sure there’s still a scar today. And he had brown hair.”
“I suppose that will narrow the suspects list down a bit.”
“True, but not much.”
Silence built between them again, and this time Madison didn’t know what to say. Did she think the elder Mr. Westland could have kidnapped the girl and brought her into his own house to raise her as a daughter? No. But then, she didn’t know the man at all. Besides, who would kidnap a child and raise her in the same town where the crime took place without anyone noticing? It certainly didn’t seem logical.
It didn’t take long before they reached the Westland estate. After Cameron helped her down from the hackney, he stared into her eyes with a solemn expression.
“Madison, there’s something I have to tell you.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “The girl’s name was Madeline Roseland.” He paused. “And, she was taken in 1806...which was the very year Rosie was born.”
Confusion filled Madison’s head. The relief was written across his face, and she was happy to think his sister—and father—were not part of this kidnapping. “But Cameron, I don’t understand. If your family had nothing to do with this, then why am I seeing visions at your house?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and then held out his arm. “But let’s go inside so
you can read my father’s notes. Maybe you’ll see something I didn’t.”
She nodded and placed her hand on his elbow. “Yes. I pray I can.”
As they reached the door, she quickly asked, “Has Rosie said anything to you since your talk yesterday?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes, well...hopefully, she’ll get over it.”
“Within time, she will, I’m sure.”
Cameron led her into his study and closed the door. Madison sat on one of the black leather chairs as he moved to his desk. Papers littered across the top, and he gathered them in a pile before turning to hand them to her.
“I was up all night long reading these, and I fear my headache won’t allow me to read another word. I can’t make sense of the case, either.”
She nodded and took the papers from him. “I wish I could take away your headache.”
He chuckled and sat on the edge of his desk. “Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
She sat back in the chair and began to read. As Mr. Westland described the crime scene, she could picture the room she’d been in this morning. Apparently, not a lot had changed in all of these years, perhaps only a bed instead of a cot. Just as Gretchen had explained, the door and the window had been shut and locked. The police inspectors couldn’t find any trace of evidence in the room or outside the perimeter.
Madison nodded. Of course they wouldn’t. The boy hid the key in the dirt and the little girl followed. There was no struggling at all.
The police inspectors involved questioned Gretchen Watkins, her husband, Bart, and his son, Spencer. None of them knew anything, and they had an alibi. Cameron’s father commented how the teenage boy seemed suspicious. Spencer never could look directly into Mr. Westland’s eyes when he answered questions. The boy was nervous and perspiring all the time. Unfortunately, they could never find proof the boy had anything to do with the girl’s disappearance.
The inspectors questioned the businesses nearby and people on the street. Still nobody had any answers. Family and friends of the Hanover’s were questioned, and nobody had a motive.
Madison's Gift Page 23