I couldn’t immediately figure out why that was an important thing to know.
“I wasn’t trying to lie,” I said. “I was treading lightly. I shouldn’t have bothered you at all that day, but my boss really was curious about the books. I apologize if I offended or bothered you in any way.”
She scowled so fiercely at me that I thought Elias might become protective and defensive. She moved along, though, before he could say something volatile, or make fists and show her his muscles.
“She’s a peach,” he said after she was out of the building.
“I did have bad timing that day,” I said.
Elias grumbled.
I’d just witnessed the “fierce” I’d heard about, and I was again convinced she’d changed over the years. In the pictures I’d seen of her from ten or fifteen years earlier, she looked jovial and happy. What had happened? Dr. Glenn’s murders? Dr. Eban’s wandering eye? I felt sorry for her.
When the dispersing crowd started to dwindle, I thought I might have missed Sophie and Rena’s exit, but I saw them when I looked back toward the pulpit again.
They were there, with Dr. Eban. From a distance I got the impression that there was no contention amid the group. They seemed to be speaking in hushed tones, and from the way they all stood they appeared to be strained with grief.
“Do ye want tae walk up there?” Elias said when he noticed where I was looking.
“Maybe just walk that direction. I don’t want to be too intrusive.”
“Aye,” he said, doubtfully.
I ignored his tone. Slowly, we moved toward them, but didn’t go far before Sophie eyed us. She said something to Dr. Eban and Rena, who both turned and looked at us with furrowed eyebrows.
“Hi,” Sophie said as she approached. “I’m sorry we didn’t look for you. I forgot you were coming.”
“No problem. It was a lovely service. This is my friend Elias.”
After the introductions, she said, “Thank you for being here.”
Her eyes were heavy with dark circles underneath. I put my hand on her arm.
“You doing okay?” I asked.
“Sure. I mean, as well as can be expected.” She stole a glance back toward Dr. Eban and Rena, who were glancing curiously at us.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
Sophie looked at me a long moment. She wasn’t the same slightly anxious but happy person she’d been before Friday night. I guessed that she was evaluating whether she could trust me. Elias sensed it too, and seemed to pull backward a tiny bit, just enough to give Sophie the impression that he wasn’t listening. I saw a wavering begin in her eyes, and I sensed I was losing her.
Mostly just to keep her there, I said, “I think I upset Rena the last time I talked to her.”
She nodded. “Aye. She’s been upset.”
“I mean when she came to Grassmarket. The article … She was upset, maybe rightfully so. But I didn’t know Mallory before Friday night, Sophie.”
She brought her eyebrows together. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Article? Rena came to see you?”
“Oh. I’m sorry. A reporter from the Renegade Scot approached me as I was looking in a window at the bookshop. I wouldn’t talk to her, but she wrote an article that had a suspicious slant in my direction. The police don’t suspect me,” again, I hoped, “but Rena was bothered, rightfully so. You two and Mallory were pretty good friends, and she wondered if I somehow knew Mallory before. I didn’t.” Hadn’t Rena said they were all upset by the article? Who had she meant by “all” if Sophie wasn’t part of that group?
“I guess I don’t understand, but I never did think you killed Mallory.” She sent another curious glance back to Rena and Dr. Eban. Their three-way silent communication was growing awkward, but Rena and Dr. Eban didn’t approach us. Sophie turned her attention back to Elias and me.
I nodded. “Dr. Eban said lovely words about Mallory too.”
“Aye,” she said as more tears welled.
I looked around, and saw that there weren’t many people left in the church. “Did Mallory’s family attend the service?”
“I don’t think so. Dr. Eban just added that part about Mallory. This wasn’t a scheduled service for her. Why?” Sophie asked.
“I was hoping to give them my condolences,” I said, thinking that all of us on The Cracked Spine staff should have done so already.
Sophie nodded. “Well…”
“Hey, Sophie,” I reached for her arm as she turned, but I stopped myself from grabbing it, “do you know when Rena made it home Friday night?”
“Shortly after I did.” She must have seen the look on my face. “Didn’t we talk about this?”
“Lola saw her come in later.”
“Lola? The young woman who opens the door for everyone?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t know how you know her, but she’s a strange one. I’m not sure you can trust much of what she says. She twists things sometimes.”
“Strange how?”
“Aye. There are … This is unkind, but there are some people who would like tae go tae medical school but just don’t have what it takes. They sometimes hang around us students or just the school. We call them groupies. Lola finds … found Mallory, Rena, and me even more interesting, because we’re a wee bit older than the norm. She sees us as motivation. We see her as a wee bit delusional.”
“Really? She was at the pub Friday night,” I said.
“I didn’t notice her, but I’m not surprised she was there. Did you tell the police?”
“I didn’t see any reason why I should.”
“You should.”
“That she was at the pub?”
“Maybe.” Sophie shrugged.
“Okay. Sure, that might be important.” I looked at Elias and then back at Sophie. Elias got my cue and excused himself, stepping back and feigning interest in some organ pipes on the wall.
“You’re okay? Rena’s okay?”
“No, we’re distraught over Mallory, but I don’t think that’s why you’re curious.”
I didn’t have time to tread lightly. “Is Dr. Eban holding something over you two? I don’t know, do you have some deal with him?” I used the word “deal” on purpose, because I’d seen it in the email from Rena to him.
“What?” Sophie said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. ‘Deal’?”
I would bet she was lying, but I wouldn’t bet a lot. I couldn’t be certain; we just weren’t that good of friends.
“Dr. Eban really thought there were scalpels in some warehouse that my boss is supposed to have.”
“He probably still does. He’s obsessive sometimes.”
“Do you know who Dr. Glenn is?” I asked.
Her eyes widened briefly. I’d surprised her, and she tried to hide it quickly.
“Who?” she asked.
“Dr. Glenn. He worked at the medical school and the hospital. He wasn’t a real doctor, alleged to have killed some patients, killed his wife. He and Dr. Eban knew each other.”
“I’ve never heard of him.”
Now I knew she was lying. Mostly because everyone in Scotland would probably find his name and his deeds familiar, but, also, she wasn’t working hard to hide the lie.
Dr. Eban and Rena finally approached. I wondered if they’d seen Sophie become uncomfortable and had decided it was time to save her from whatever questions I might be asking her.
“Hello, Delaney,” Rena said.
“Lass,” Dr. Eban said.
I suspected they all knew about the books; the fact that Rena had brought them into the shop as well as the fact that I’d taken one to show Dr. Eban. I didn’t know what I would say if they brought them up, but I told myself to somehow be prepared.
“That was lovely. Thank you for inviting me,” I said.
Elias rejoined us.
“Dr. Eban,” he extended his hand, “Elias McKenna. I’m a friend of Delaney’s. Yer service gave me a cu
riosity. Do ye have a moment that I could ask ye a question in private?”
“Of course. Let’s step this way.”
“Did Delaney tell you I accosted her?” Rena asked Sophie.
“She mentioned that you went tae talk tae her.”
“I’m sorry, Delaney. I was just so upset. But I’ve got my wits about me again,” Rena said. “Forgive me?”
“Of course,” I said as I looked closely at Rena. Was she being sincere? “How are you doing?”
“I’m not exactly sure how I’m supposed tae be doing, but it’s all a wee bit difficult right now.” She looked at Sophie. “We’ve considered withdrawing from school for the rest of the semester, but I just don’t know.”
“You’re pretty far into it for withdrawal, aren’t you?” I asked.
Rena shrugged as she and Sophie shared a frown.
“Well, I didn’t know Mallory all that well, and you have to do what you have to do, but I do think she would like to see the two of you become doctors as soon as is feasibly possible.” If they didn’t have anything to do with her murder, I had no doubt that was true. I had been around the three of them together for only a short time, but I could see their friendly support of each other, void of envy but perhaps fueled by a little professional competition; the good kind that made them each strive to be better, not behave spitefully.
Sophie and Rena looked at each other, and I was pretty sure they both had to work hard to hold it together.
“Aye,” Rena said.
“Aye,” Sophie said.
Elias and Dr. Eban finished their brief conversation and approached us. The two men shook hands, and then Dr. Eban turned and left without telling any of the rest of us goodbye.
Sophie and Rena shared another look and then abruptly told us goodbye before they left too.
A few seconds later, other than a few people still sitting in the purple chairs, Elias and I were the only ones remaining in the church.
“What did you talk about?” I asked him.
“I wondered how one went aboot donating their body tae medicine.”
“Really?”
“Aye. I’ll talk tae Aggie tonight, but it makes sense tae me.”
“Okay.” I blinked. I had questions, but figured Aggie should ask them first.
“Where tae now, lass?”
“Any chance you’d like to try to see a roomful of skulls?”
“I havenae ever had such an offer, but I suppose it could be interesting.”
“I don’t know if we can get in, but let’s try. I just need to make a phone call.”
“I’ll drive.”
TWENTY
“Delaney, always good tae see ye,” Artair said as he greeted us outside the university’s skull room. “Ye too, Elias.”
Though Joshua had offered to set up an appointment to show me the skull room, he hadn’t been available today. I’d called Tom to let him know my plans had been thwarted, and he said he would call his father, Artair. I protested because I knew Artair had been busy with his sister, but Tom thought it would be good to give his father something else to focus on.
Artair shook both of our hands and hugged me. A librarian at the University of Edinburgh library, to me he was more than Tom’s dad. He was a friend, someone I’d come to admire and care for. He was also someone who had helped me when I’d needed information I thought might lead to the discovery of a killer.
“How’s your sister?” I asked.
“Same,” Artair said with a sad smile. “I’m glad Tom called tae see if I was available tae show you the room. Good tae get my mind on something else.”
“Aye,” Elias said.
“I’m sorry she’s not well,” I said.
“She’s auld,” he said, as if trying to convince himself as well as tell us.
The skull room was off-limits to the public; however, as Joshua had said, visits could be arranged if research was involved. I didn’t think I could qualify on my own, and I was in a hurry. If anyone could get us in, Artair had the connections. He hadn’t even needed connections; he was able to go into the skull room anytime he wanted. Dr. Eban was the keeper of the keys, and had given one to Artair a long time ago.
“Thanks for doing this,” I said.
“Och, my pleasure. I haven’t been inside in some tiem, but last year when I was helping put together some book lists for the medical school, one of them was about genetic deformations. A horrifying subject, but one that I found utterly fascinating. I ended up in here. There are more than skulls inside. Ye’ll see.”
I’d heard as much, but Elias raised his eyebrows at me.
Artair pushed open the door and signaled us to go in ahead of him.
“Wow! It’s exactly as advertised. A roomful of skulls.”
“Aye,” Elias said.
“Aye,” Artair said. “It was built specifically for the wee things.”
The space we stepped into wasn’t vast, but it felt stately and not gruesome, despite the rows of skulls surrounding us. The skulls were in glass-front display cases against the walls on the main floor as well as on the upper level, which also had a walkway balcony around it. We were greeted by three skulls in their perpetual death smiles perched on a small table in the middle of the room. Beyond the greeters, rows of vacant eyes appraised us, toothy smiles sending their forever approval.
“The wood-paneled ceiling and the tile floor are original, built back in the 1880s. The only additions since then are the smoke detector and the fluorescent lights,” Artair said.
A large window curved around a wall that didn’t have display cases. The light from the windowpanes was shaded with fabric blinds, but I was sure that at one time the natural light must have been more than enough to study the items in the room, during the daytime at least.
“There are so many,” I said.
“Aye,” Artair said. “Sixteen hundred and eighty-eight complete skulls tae be exact, but only a small portion from Edinburgh. Most of them were sent tae the school from former students as they began practicing medicine all throughout the world.”
“The skulls were all used in the medical school?” Elias said.
“Aye,” Artair responded. “It’s a nasty history sometimes, figuring oot how the body works, trying tae understand how tae fix things. We have our share of horror stories, but it cannae be denied that we’ve a wonderful medical school that probably only benefited from the terrible things that happened in the past,” Artair said. “Not that I condone those terrible things.”
“Burke and Hare?” I said.
Artair cringed. “Aye, a bad lot, the two of them. It would be difficult tae give them any credit, but dead bodies were needed. Supply and demand. Och, a bad history, no matter.”
“I’ve gotten to know Dr. Eban a little bit.” I knew Artair wasn’t all the way up to speed on what had been happening regarding Mallory’s murder, but Tom said his father did know about it.
“Aye?”
“Don’t like him?” I asked, based on his tone.
“It’s not that. I do like him. He’s a brilliant teacher, but he’s … obsessive might be the word for it.”
“What about his wife, Dr. Carson?” I asked. “Do you get along with her?”
“She’s even more brilliant,” Artair said.
When he didn’t say anything else, Elias and I looked at him expectantly, but he just rubbed his finger under his nose.
“Do you like her?” I asked.
“I don’t know her personally at all. She’s not an easy one tae get tae know, but she is brilliant.”
“Artair, is it okay to ask you if you knew them back during the Dr. Glenn days?”
“It’s fine. I didn’t know any of them any better personally, but they were an admired group of people. They were considered kind, even … even Dr. Glenn. They helped the community; they helped the world with their studies.”
“Was Dr. Carson different back then? Nicer, maybe?” I asked.
Artair thought a long moment. “No,
not nicer. She’s always been aloof. But she was happier, with less of an edge. Lass, Dr. Glenn’s activities changed all of us at the university, but perhaps what he did changed her most of all. I hadn’t ever thought about that before, but that’s a possibility. She might have changed the most. Why did you bring up Dr. Glenn?”
I looked at Elias before looking back at Artair. “I don’t know for sure, but I think the police are considering—considering only—that Dr. Glenn might in some way have been a part of Mallory Clacher’s murder.”
I thought he’d be surprised, maybe even gasp, but Artair only fell into thought for another moment, and then said, “Well, that would be terrible, lass, but considering everything, it would not be a surprise.”
“Really?” I said.
“You would have had tae live it tae understand it maybe, but the four doctors were together all the time, did everything as a group, and as far as I know none of them suspected Dr. Glenn was a fake. He’s been in hiding, or so that was assumed. Perhaps he thought it was time tae show himself, in the way he knows how. It’s just not a surprise. It’s devastating, aye, but not a surprise.”
“I bet that’s how the police are looking at it,” I said.
Elias nodded.
We walked to another display case, one without skulls.
“Oh. I heard about these,” I said.
“Aye. The other items,” Artair said. “Abnormal embryonic development.”
“Oh. I see,” I said as I looked closer. “Fascinating.”
“We have ultrasounds now,” Artair said.
“Goodness,” Elias said as he bent over and looked more closely too.
“If we’d been able to see inside us like we can now, we might have been able tae save them, and in some cases the mothers lost their lives too. Birthing babies might be something that’s been done since the beginning of tiem, but it’s a dangerous and risky business, and was particularly so before so many medical advancements.”
It sounded like Artair was quoting from a script.
“You give many tours?” I asked.
“I used tae. Not so much lately. There hasn’t been as much interest over the last few years. I blame the Internet. Many of these skulls are from the collection of Sir William Turner. He was an anatomist here in the early 1900s, and very well respected. I read a book aboot him not long ago that told me something I hadn’t learned yet. He knew Charles Darwin. Can ye even imagine the discussions the two of them must have had?”
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