The hand-wringing should have prepared me.
“Dr Cassidy is attending the Auckland Cup, sir,” Hardwick said, her eyes shifting to the side to better avoid me. “She is in Ellerslie.”
Ellerslie? This made little sense.
A niggling thought worried at me.
“Is she accompanied by her cousin?” If so, why hadn’t Hardwick turned us away?
“No, sir. Miss Cassidy is home. In fact,” the housekeeper quickly added, “I should see to my charge. Do please excuse me.” She rushed out of the room as if the hounds of Baskerville were upon her.
I stared at the spot she had just vacated and let out a disgruntled sound.
“Sir?” Mackey enquired carefully. “Were we announced?”
Embarrassment had me answering gruffly.
“We are police officers; we do not require announcement.”
“I don’t know about you, Inspector,” Miss Mackey said, taking a sip of tea from a cup I had not seen her pour. “But I do not make a habit of arriving on a doorstep without invitation.”
“I invited you,” I snapped.
“And you are in a position within this household to do as such?”
The chit had courage; I’d give her that.
“This household,” I said carefully, “is under my protection.”
Miss Mackey nodded her head as if that poor excuse made complete sense.
What was Anna doing at the races?
And was she with who I suspected she was with?
I shifted uneasily on my legs, moving the bulk of my weight onto my good side.
Wilhelmina Cassidy swept into the room saving me from carrying a conversation I did not wish to continue. She looked pale and far too thin. Her hands shook, fine tremors wracking her small frame. Her lips were tinged with blue and shadows haunted her too-wide eyes.
It never failed to shock me, how much the young gal had lost. Life. Vitality. Her inner spark. Stolen by the protégé of my wife.
I took a step toward her and bowed.
“Miss Cassidy,” I said in greeting, unable to offer a further compliment; guilt had me tongue-tied.
“Inspector Kelly,” she said, her voice wavering. “What a pleasant surprise. However, you have missed Anna, I am afraid. She and the inspector left just this half hour past.”
I would have cursed aloud had I not women in my company.
Damn the man. Damn him to hell.
I said nothing, for nothing good could fall from my lips when so riled. Elliott was holding up his side of the bargain. But what a bargain! I had not realised the blow would cut like a knife.
“Miss Cassidy,” Constable Mackey said, stepping forward when I was unable to step back. “It is a pleasure to see you again, miss.”
Wilhelmina curtsied. “Constable Mackey isn’t it?” she enquired.
“Yes, miss. And may I introduce my sister, Miss Arabella Mackey.”
“Miss Cassidy,” Arabella said, curtsying.
“Miss Mackey,” Wilhelmina replied, a confused look entering her eyes. She recovered faster than I gave her credit. Faster than me in any case. “Hardwick has provided tea. Good. Shall I pour?”
Miss Mackey had already partaken, but Wilhelmina poured tea into three further cups, the shaking of her hands making the liquid spill alarmingly. No one offered comment, in fact, both Mackeys found something to occupy their attention.
I did not turn away, for I was partially responsible for this woman’s state of health and I would not be a coward and ignore it. I stepped forward once she had completed her task and murmured, “Allow me,” taking the first cup and handing it to the constable. I helped myself to one, adding sugar, and then stepped back as Wilhelmina took a seat finally.
The relief at sitting was obvious on her fine features. I waited for her to take a scone, but she only sipped delicately at her tea.
She needed to eat. I would instruct Miss Mackey of this with all due haste. Had Blackie been attempting to entice the gal with sweetmeats? Had he been as worried as I now felt?
Or more so because he loved her?
I cleared my throat and moved to a seat at her side. Wilhelmina Cassidy was not my Anna, but she was Anna’s family. I picked up a scone and placed it on a plate, then sat back and devoured it. Arabella Mackey watched me with amused eyes.
“I do so love scones,” she said. “Do you, Miss Cassidy?”
“Hardwick’s are the best I have ever tasted.”
“Won’t you join me in partaking of one? I could not possibly manage a whole scone alone.”
“I...”
Arabella, bless her extremely observant mind, proceeded to break a scone apart, placing both pieces on separate plates. She handed one to Wilhelmina, who had no choice but to accept.
“Oh, Mrs Hardwick must give me the recipe,” Miss Mackey exclaimed, after a purposeful mouthful. “George,” she added, looking to her brother, “do try one.”
“Very well, Ari, but you know how hard it is for me to stop at just one.”
Wilhelmina offered up a giggle, and suddenly it felt like the sun was finally shining and we could breathe a little easier.
I sipped my tea and said, “Miss Cassidy, Miss Mackey is looking for a companion to occupy her mornings. I suggested yourself as a suitable contender for the title.”
“You did?” Wilhelmina said between tiny bites.
“Of course. I could think of none other who fit the bill better.”
“Oh, how lovely.” Wilhelmina bit her lip. “However, I am afraid, Miss Mackey, I do not travel nowadays. I prefer to remain in the safety of my home.”
“Splendid,” Miss Mackey declared. “Then I shall attend you here with Hardwick’s cakes.”
“I...”
Hardwick appeared as if called forth by the mere mention of her name. I knew otherwise. The old woman had been listening at the partially closed door.
“I would be honoured to provide refreshments, miss,” she said. “I have been feeling rather at a loose end since Dr Cassidy’s workload pulled her away.”
“Pulled her away?” I found myself saying.
“She does so run herself ragged, sir,” Hardwick announced. “I fear she did not sleep well at all last night.”
If the Mackeys thought it inappropriate for the housekeeper to comment so of her employer, they did not comment.
“Was it necessary for her to attend the races this morning?” I enquired.
“You know Anna, Inspector,” Wilhelmina said. “When she is on the hunt, nothing sways her.”
“She hunts,” I said, trying frantically to work Anna’s thought processes out. Had the outing with Elliott not been for Chalmers’ sake alone? Had Anna other reasons for attending the Ellerslie Racecourse?
I was not sure if I was ecstatic at that thought or troubled by it.
“She returned home last evening all aflutter,” Wilhelmina added. “She’d had a successful meeting with the mayor of Onehunga.”
“Mrs Elizabeth Yates,” I offered.
“Indeed. I do not know of what had come to pass to make her so excitable, but her eyes did gain that sparkle of hers; the one that says she is onto something of great import.”
“I know of that sparkle,” I declared, standing from my seat. Mackey stepped forward and placed his teacup down on the tray, anticipating our departure.
“Miss Cassidy,” I offered with a nod of my head. “Miss Mackey.”
“Inspector,” both women said.
“Come, Constable,” I called. “I believe there is something at the Ellerslie Racecourse which deserves our attention.”
“Or someone,” Wilhelmina murmured, making Arabella laugh out loud.
The latter covered her lips with her fingers, trying to hide the grin, while something akin to the sparkle Anna gains in her eyes stared back at me too innocently from Wilhelmina Cassidy.
I made a gruff sound and then exited the room. Hardwick followed us to the front door.
“Inspector,” she said, standi
ng aside for us to pass.
“Meet me in the curricle, Constable,” I said to Mackey.
“Aye, sir,” he offered, tipping his hat to Hardwick and moving away.
The housekeeper stared up at me expectantly.
“I do hope I have not overstepped, Mrs Hardwick,” I told the housekeeper. “Sergeant Blackmore has been reassigned,” I explained.
“Oh,” she said, understanding glinting in her aged eyes. “Miss Cassidy will so miss him.”
“I am aware. Hence my introducing Miss Mackey.”
Hardwick looked at me with wide blinking eyes. Was that a tear I saw?
“You are a good man, Inspector Kelly,” she whispered.
“I am nothing of the sort, madam.”
“I beg to differ. I know a good man when I see him. You are most welcome in this house.”
“Would that I could accept the invitation more freely.”
“One day, sir.”
“You have faith I do not possess.”
“You do yourself an injustice not believing this will all resolve itself eventually.”
I shook my head, slightly alarmed at the direction of the conversation.
“Eventually can be an indeterminable amount of time, Mrs Hardwick.” I nodded my head to her again before she could argue further. “Good day, madam.”
“Inspector,” she offered again, with a curtsy.
I strode down the front path of Anna’s house, barely registering the ache in my leg. I felt better than I had done for days. I still held evidence of the collision with my wife’s horse, but for a brief moment, my ailments alluded me.
Until I thought of that blasted Percheron.
It was not a racehorse by any stretch of the imagination, but where else would one go to find breeders of fine horses such as that?
The Ellerslie Racecourse on Auckland Cup Day.
Damn Anna Cassidy. She had beaten me to a line of enquiry I should have thought to pursue myself.
I climbed aboard the waiting curricle, Constable Mackey at my side. Lifting the reins, I clucked to the horse and set out to track not only my wayward wife’s horse down, but my wayward heart’s desire.
Anna was putting on a show for Chalmers; my presence would only intrude on that. Yet I found myself taking a direct path to Newmarket Station, and nothing I told myself could stop me from the course my heart dictated.
I had not realised the extent of my jealousy. I had not realised I was capable of such. Eliza May had damaged my perception of romance and love alarmingly. I had long ago forsworn any such entanglement.
And then I met Anna.
I was not a man accustomed to such longing. Nor was I a man accustomed to such depth of possession. Anna was not a possession to covet, but covet her I did anyway.
Perhaps unattainable things did that to a man. Perhaps I was not entirely alone in the mistakes I made.
But despite this introspection, I made haste to the railway station; relieved beyond measure to find a train waiting.
Constable Mackey and I boarded the second class carriage and took our seats. Mackey doing his best not to watch me obviously. But I knew he saw through my façade. He was proving a far more adept policeman than I had thought possible.
I considered the man sitting opposite me. Could he make a decent replacement for Blackie as a detective?
I turned away, unable to countenance replacing Sergeant Blackmore so swiftly.
I had to have faith. Isn’t that what Mrs Hardwick insisted? Faith. As if it were so easy to acquire it.
The scenery changed as the train made its way toward Ellerslie. A sense of urgency invaded my bones. I sat rigid in my seat, staring out the window, willing the locomotive to go faster, the fireman to shovel harder, the engine driver to urge him on.
It was not only the thought of Eliza May confronting Anna at the races. It was the thought of how long Elliott was in her company without my being there to chaperone.
I huffed out an amused breath of air. As if chaperoning were all that I wished to do to the man.
Time seemed to move slowly as if we moved through treacle or a thick fog. But in due course, Ellerslie Racecourse Platform appeared out of the gloom, and the train came to a steaming stop.
I was up, out of my seat, in the next heartbeat. Stepping off the car before any other passenger did. Mackey followed behind silently, allowing me to lead this rush through the station without offering a word. He was rising in my estimation of him by the minute.
No doubt, I was falling in his of me in return.
The station itself appeared deserted. Barely a conductor or station master to be seen. And then I stepped out of the station proper and found where all the missing people were hiding.
A crowd had formed down the far end of the station building, farthest away from the direction of the racecourse itself. I stood stock still and assessed the scene. A chill washing down my spine at their disturbed faces.
Bobbies moved about, corralling the public, rushing to follow someone’s orders. Grim looks told a story I already knew the ending to, even if I wasn’t cognizant of the plot line.
I looked at Mackey. His face had turned whiter than usual.
I looked back at the corner of the station and felt my chest contract, and then break apart at the sight that greeted me.
Anna in Inspector William Elliott’s arms. Her face pale, her eyes full of tears, her hands clinging to his larger form.
For a second, I just stood there.
And then Anna lifted her head and spotted me. The world stopped. She broke away from Elliott in a heartbeat as if he no longer existed in her mind’s eye, and then ran toward me in the next achingly poignant thud in my chest that followed.
I opened my arms and welcomed her, as I had long ago welcomed her into my heart.
Elliott watched on with a scowl upon his face.
If my wife watched this scene also, I ruefully acknowledged, then we’d ruined the ruse well and good.
And just placed a bullseye on my love.
How Disappointed I Was In Myself
Anna
Andrew’s arms wrapped around me and I felt as if I had come home. Inspector Elliott’s care and attention had been invited, but Andrew’s was much welcomed.
“Anna,” he murmured, running a hand over the back of my head, cupping my neck. I pressed my cheek to his broad chest and inhaled his masculine scent; my heartbeat settled; my body began to respond to my requests.
“There has been another,” I said quietly.
“I gathered.”
“It’s…” I licked my lips, swallowed, but I did not have a chance to finish my sentence.
“What are you doing here, Kelly?” Inspector Elliott said from behind my back.
I felt Andrew stiffen; his whole demeanour changing in the instant Elliott had spoken. He thrummed with some barely controlled emotion. His hand at my neck pressed in tighter as if he feared I’d be torn from his hold.
“I am following a lead,” Andrew replied steadily, belying any upset he may have felt.
“A lead,” Elliott said, his tone of voice indicating he doubted Andrew’s words. “You should release her if you wish Chalmers to believe she and I are courting.”
“‘She,’” I said, stepping away from Andrew’s warmth, “is right here, Inspector Elliott.”
Elliott bowed his head in acknowledgement of my anger. “Of course. Forgive me,” he murmured.
Then he stepped forward and reached for my hand. For a moment, I was unsure of what he was doing. And then he placed my hand on his arm and tucked me against his side as if I were a ball being tossed between the two of them and it was his turn to hold the prize.
I jerked away and placed myself some distance between the two. If I could not have the support of Andrew, then I would have the support of no one. I acknowledged that I should not have required support at all. But the heartless body of the Chief Constable had affected me more than I could have guessed.
“It is Chief Dav
ies,” I told Andrew.
“The Chief?” he said, his body jerked forward as if he intended to see for himself the unwanted news.
“The same manner of death as the first three victims.”
“The murderer has struck again.”
“And this time one of our own,” Elliott offered.
I nodded, relieved Elliott was once again acting the policeman and not the suitor.
“Time of death is estimated at no more than three hours past,” I told both men. “There are defensive wounds to his knuckles, but no evidence of contact beneath the nail beds. His face is unmarred, but his billy club lies discarded nearby. I did not note any foreign matter on the object, but Drummond can ascertain more on that.”
Andrew met my eyes with a look of admiration that warmed me almost as much as his arms had.
“The puncture marks match?” he asked.
“They seem to,” I offered. “Again, your police surgeon can determine exact measurements, but for all intents and purposes, this victim matches the rest.”
“Victim,” Elliott said, looking at me strangely.
“Chief Davies,” I corrected, unsure why I felt compelled to do so when normally I wouldn’t.
My father had taught me well, and his lessons were what made it possible to do what I had to when faced with death. Many of my patients were well known to me. Many of their deceased kin requiring a post-mortem were once patients I had tended. But this was different.
This was an intentional butchery conveying a personal message.
“The murderer could be anywhere,” Andrew said, surveying the crowd that had gathered to watch.
“With that device under their arm?” Elliott asked. “I think not.”
“Perhaps they have discarded it. Placed it somewhere to retrieve later.”
“We can search, but I doubt we’d find it.”
“I know who did this,” I announced, making both men halt in their movements. Andrew looked like he’d been about to issue orders to nearby bobbies; half turned away as he was. Elliott arched a brow and rocked back on his booted feet.
“Do tell, Doctor,” the man instructed.
I was not in the habit of making accusations without adequate proof. But I felt my conclusions needed to be voiced.
Heartless (Scarlet Suffragette, Book 3): A Victorian Historical Romantic Suspense Series Page 16