The Iron Heart

by Leslie Dicken

  A blush snuck up Ellie’s cheeks at the memory of her interaction with Bennett in his workshop. She had never reached such a pinnacle as those moments she was under his control.

  Until the utterance of a single word transformed steam to ice.

  “After the dirigible ride, you took Uncle Joseph back to Hilltop and I stayed at Barrington House with Bennett.” Ellie cleared her throat. “His butler informed us and then her body was brought in.”

  “Oh dear.” The old woman shook her head. “We must put a stop to this.”

  “Lord knows I’m trying. I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Yes, my dear, you certainly have.”

  The rain grew harder and they pressed closer to the shop door, under the small awning.

  Lady Westerling squeezed Ellie’s hand. “The next Syndicate of Provinces is at my home. You bring your newspaper with all of the latest facts. I will make sure the nobles are completely aware of this situation.”

  Hope bloomed. Yes, she would try again. This time, with Lady Westerling behind her, they would listen. They would help in the hunt. Ellie gave the old woman a kiss on the cheek.

  She remained outside alone, staring through the gray slanting drops to the buildings in the distance. A killer was out there somewhere. He huddled in doorways or lounged in a parlor. He stole food from trash heaps or dined at the finest homes. It could be that he had no family expecting his return or that he bounced children on his lap.

  She knew nothing about this man other than the few clues she’d seen: partial handprint, shoeprint, bent spring. And, worse, the signs he left behind on his victims. Bruises, slashes, tears.

  A murderer stalked this city. It seemed that only a small handful of people knew or cared enough to do something about it. Maybe after the Syndicate all that would change. Maybe other nobles would take a stand like Lady Westerling had.

  Or maybe they would deem the Lundun girls not worthy like the constable or that rotten leader from District Six.

  Worse, they might want it all kept secret for some hidden agenda. Like Bennett.

  Ellie spent the next two days preparing articles and reports for The District Guardian. She begrudgingly removed most of the pieces regarding the clockwork automatons. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her opinion being read. No, she had to pick her battles. And she didn’t want to dissuade potential nobles from helping her find the alleyway killer.

  Her front page listed the attacks by date. She left off names to protect the victims but gave brief descriptions of their body types. Included in the table was the approximate time of the assault and the outcome.

  And for the first time since she began mentioning the murders in the paper, Ellie added Jenny to the list. There was no doubt now that her cousin was the first victim. The first of three deaths, with two other survivors.

  Ellie described the attacker too. To the best of her ability. Young rather than old, tall rather than short, sturdy rather than slender. Other than these traits, she had very little to tell.

  Once the paper was ready and printed, Ellie turned her attention to the protection devices. She waited until her uncle was resting after dinner to go into the shop.

  After only a dozen, she had no more of the spring mechanism needed for the small blade. More would not arrive for a fortnight. She’d already distributed as many as she had with Miles’s help.

  Ellie stared at the array of gears and casings until her eyes watered.

  The sun had begun to set, leaving flickers of twilight streaming through the glass shop windows. The oil lamp in the corner illuminated her section of the bench, but not much more.

  “Ellie?”

  She glanced up to see her uncle standing next to her. Quickly, she swallowed and arranged a smile on her face.

  He nodded at the work bench. “What are these?”

  “They…they are little devices I’m working on to…” She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to lie, but how could she explain what they were for?

  Uncle Joseph lifted one and turned it. He flipped the small switch and the blade popped out.

  Ellie held her breath. She didn’t want him to find out. He didn’t know about the other girls. He couldn’t bear to hear of more deaths. It took him weeks to leave his bed when Jenny was killed.

  “Well done.” He set it down.

  She waited. But instead of asking their purpose, he went to a few bins and pegs. He gathered some materials, including a glass bottle filled with fluid.

  Satisfied with the content of his hands, he set the supplies down before her.

  She looked up at him. “What are these for?”

  He brought over another lamp, pulled up a stool and sat down next her. “Something more powerful.”

  “But you don’t even know what this is. What they are for.”

  “Oh, but I do. These are to protect other girls from being hurt like Jenny was.”

  Her heart nearly stopped. “How…how did you know?”

  “I’m not quite as absent-minded as you think I am, Ellie.”

  She merely blinked at him, still not believing what he was saying.

  “I’m stronger than you assume. If just one of these saves a girl’s life than my Jenny didn’t die for nothing.”

  Ellie wrapped her arms around him. He surprised her more than he would ever know. She should have never doubted him.

  “Thank you so much for your help. I want to stop this man however I can.”

  “That’s why I think we can make something more deadly than the blade.” He lifted the glass bottle. “He’ll not get far after a splash of this. Oh, and I have something for you too.”

  “For me?”

  Uncle Joseph went to a cabinet he kept locked. Once in there, he reached in a tin box and pulled out something covered in a black velvet sack.

  “What is it?”

  He slid a gun out. “Keep this with you to protect yourself.”

  Ellie took it from him. It was heavy in her hand. She removed it from the leather holster and turned the clockwork weapon over in her hand. “I-I didn’t know you had this.”

  “Made several for the police a few years back, then kept one for myself. Didn’t think I’d ever need to use it.” He sighed. “But you need it now. You need protection. Keep this with you at all times.”

  Ellie nodded, swallowed the tears in her throat. Pray, there never be a need for her to use it.

  Ellie took a seat near the head of the table where Lady Westerling would sit. A stack of papers was before her, but they were little buffer from the hard gaze of Bennett.

  Bennett sat directly across the table from her, dressed as usual in a dark jacket and white shirt. Her heart soared at the sight of him. So easy to remember the feel of his skin under her fingertips, how the soft hairs tickled her palm.

  For the briefest moment, her eyes drifted closed. Her thoughts glided to the memory of his hands on her breasts, his lips on her neck, his fingers between her thighs.

  A sweet shiver swept through her.

  Ellie swallowed and shifted in her seat. The gun she now wore strapped to her outer thigh brushed against her skirts.

  She had to focus. Despite her deep attraction to Bennett, she must focus on this moment.

  And soon he would not be happy.

  Bennett knew she had started putting alerts and warnings in The District Guardian. The murders were no longer the big secret he wanted at their meeting from a month ago.

  Yet, it was clear he still believed that the less people who knew, the better. It made no sense to her. The more people who knew, the more people who could be on the look-out for the killer. The more who could protect their loved ones.

  Facts matter the most. What people don’t know can kill them. Not knowing the facts is a vast mistake; he must understand that.

  Ellie glanced back at Bennett. His stare now caressed her skin, from her neckline to the tips of her ears. He licked his lips and then met her gaze.

  Hunger lurked there. Hunger
and desperation and fear.

  Lady Westerling entered the room and Bennett and the other men rose from their seat out of respect. Once the women reached her spot, they lowered to their chairs again. The entire time Bennett’s gaze did not leave hers.

  “All of you here know I am Lady Westerling, leader of District Five.” The participants around the table nodded. “Well, I must report that I do have news from my district.”

  Across from Ellie, Bennett tensed.

  The old woman continued, “And I have news from your districts, as well.”

  Around the table, the district leaders perked up. They sat straighter in their chairs, leaned forward. Questioning glances exchanged between them.

  “No.” The murmur was from Bennett. He glared at Ellie, as if the words coming from Lady Westerling’s mouth were her fault. Perhaps in a way, they were. But no regret tightened her throat, no shame lowered her eyes. His mysterious need for secrecy could not possibly outweigh the overarching need for information.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, as was mentioned in the meeting last month, there is a killer on the streets of Lundun.”

  Gasps went up about the room.

  “He is in my district and he is in yours. Something must be done about him.”

  “How many has he killed?” came a shout from the end of the table.

  “Are children dying?”

  Lady Westerling rose her hands to silence the room. “Miss Ella Wilder has all of the facts in her newspaper, The District Guardian. We will pass these out to you now to help answer your questions.”

  Ellie stood as the servant came over to her. She handed him half the stack and took the remainder herself.

  She’d passed out most of the papers in her hand, when she realized she had come to Bennett’s seat. She hesitated, then shored up her nerve and straightened her spine. His snarling glare could not frighten her.

  Since he did not reach for it, Ellie leaned forward to place it on the table in front of him.

  He leaned forward and pressed his face close to hers. His intoxicating scent washed over her. Heat sparked along her skin and ignited awareness over every nerve.

  His breath was warm in her ear. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

  Despite the severity of his tone, his voice sent a shiver down her spine. It was if he deliberately meant to confuse her with a combination of admonishment and seduction.

  “I promised you I would take care of him,” he said near her cheek. His finger brushed discreetly on her arm.

  “Yes, if I promised to stay out of Lundun,” she whispered. “And I can’t do that.”

  “I will stop him, Ella. You must believe me.”

  She swung her face to look at him. Their lips nearly touched. Her breath caught. But she didn’t move away. “Is that what you do every night? Is that where you go? To find him?”

  “Miss Wilder?” Lady Westerling called her name above the chatter of the crowd. “Would you mind returning to your seat so you can explain what you’ve written here?”

  Ellie stood, heart hammering. Her questions were unanswered by Bennett, but her mind swirled with possibilities. She’d never before considered he was actually looking for the killer himself. All this time he’d kept her at arm’s length so that she knew little about him and knew virtually nothing about what he did in his private time.

  He pushed her away whenever she brought up the attacks, acted as if he almost couldn’t be bothered. Could it be that he actually spent each night of his life hunting the killer?

  She went back to her seat as instructed. To focus, she had to keep her attention away from Bennett. Just a mere look or curl of his lip could have her thoughts down a different path. A path that did not lead to catching Jenny’s killer.

  The leader of District One stood at the far end of the table. She pointed to the front cover of The District Guardian. “It says here that three women have been killed. When did this start?”

  Ellie closed her eyes for a brief moment. She had to be strong. Jenny was the first, but she wasn’t the last.

  “Nearly six months ago.”

  Eyes widened about the table and a soft murmur swept around the room.

  “Why did it take so long for us to find out?” asked the District One leader.

  Ellie took a deep breath. “At the time of the first murder we did not know there would be more. That first death was someone very close to me.” She swallowed. “And we didn’t expect it would happen again.”

  The man next to her, leader of District Six, narrowed his eyes. “So how do you know it was the same killer then? These others could be different from that first one six months ago.”

  “The markings…” Lord, she didn’t want to explain it to them. She couldn’t bring up the horrible memories of Jenny’s body. Or think of the terrible things that were done to her.

  Lady Westerling took over. “The evidence on the bodies of the women show the same method of attack. The two girls that have survived explain a similar start.”

  Around the room, the leaders read the paper again, looking more closely at the facts Ellie had included.

  She didn’t need to read it. She’d seen it. Again and again. She was the only one in this room who had contact with every victim of this killer in some form or another. Either she viewed their body in death, met them after they’d been attacked, or loved them dearly.

  Suddenly her eyes filled, throat tightened.

  “So,” the leader of District Six said, “he has not moved into the Greenlands.”

  Ellie shook her head. “No…”

  He leaned back in his chair. “None of these happened in my district and none of my family is in danger. Yet you clearly want my help for something. Money, I presume?”

  Anger seethed a white blaze. She sprang from her chair. “I don’t want your money. I want your help. You can protect the girls in your district by warning them, by providing them a protection device.

  “You can help by going to Lundun yourself to look for this killer, to ask others you know to help. The constable doesn’t want to spend his precious time on—”

  “On what?” The arrogant ass lifted an eyebrow. “On poor streetwalkers who are alone when they shouldn’t be?”

  “My cousin was not a streetwalker!”

  Lady Westerling rapped her knuckles on the table. “Settle down now. We need to work together, not against each other.”

  “I agree,” said the lady from the far end of the table. “I say we not only protect the Lundun girls but we search every nook and cranny until we find this bastard.”

  Others nodded in agreement.

  The District Six leader crossed his arms. “Then what? Are you going to go after him with pitchforks? Or drag the constable from his chair to shoot him?”

  “If it were up to me—” Ellie controlled her words with a forced calm, “—he would face the same punishment he gave those women, including a slice at his throat.”

  “No!”

  They all looked up to see Bennett on his feet. His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes shining. He yanked down his vest then drew in a deep gulp of air.

  They waited for him to speak. Ellie had been holding her breath and slowly released it.

  Finally, Bennett leaned forward, placing his palms on the table. “For weeks…no, longer…I have searched for this man. He is elusive and skilled at evading capture.”

  Oh blazes, that was where Bennett went every night. He wasn’t playing the night away in the arms of another woman. He was on the Lundun streets, searching for the killer.

  The District One leader at the end of the table lifted her nose. “Don’t you want us to help you catch him?”

  Bennett closed his eyes. For a moment, he actually looked defeated. No, it couldn’t be possible that he would be such an arrogant cad as to want to capture this murderer alone.

  “No,” he said finally. “I want him seized. I just don’t want him shot or stabbed or—” he looked at her, “—sliced open.”

  �
��What should we do with him if he is caught?” Lady Westerling asked.

  “Bring him to me.”

  District Six leader next to Ellie snorted. “And what is it that you will do with him?”

  Bennett folded The District Guardian and put it under his arm. “I will make certain he can never kill again.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Bennett climbed into his S2 flyer on the roof of Lady Westerling’s manor. He sat in the cockpit and stared out into the night. Clouds shifted, temporarily blocking the stars and moon and then gifting them again only a few moments later.

  Insects and frogs chirped in the distance.

  Ella’s paper sat on his lap. He hadn’t read it. He didn’t need to. Except for the most recent murder and Ella’s cousin, he knew about each attack.

  He’d witnessed it. In so many ways, he felt as if he’d done the crime himself.

  But he hadn’t. Hugh had. His brother, the one he swore to his father to take care of, to heal. Lord, how he’d failed.

  “Bennett?”

  He closed his eyes as if that alone would transport him somewhere else. But he’d hesitated and now had to face her.

  “Go away,” he said softly.

  Instead, as expected, she moved closer. He could smell the intoxicating aroma of lavender. Soon, he would be under her spell. Again.

  “Why did you not tell me before that that’s where you went each night?”

  He said nothing.

  “Instead of upsetting me, I would have been grateful. Why would you keep that a secret?”

  Bennett didn’t look at her, he stared upward, watching the clouds slip away from the full moon. “I have my reasons, Ella.”

  She leaned into the cockpit, close enough so he could kiss her with a turn of his head. “Share them with me. We are working toward the same goal. Why must we be on separate paths?”

  Because the goal wasn’t the same. Not exactly. Although they both wished to stop the killings, Ella wanted the murderer imprisoned or executed. He wanted to find his brother and bring him back to Barrington House.

  He couldn’t tell her this, of course. He could not say that his brother had murdered her beloved cousin. She’d never understand that he couldn’t accept having this “monster” killed.