Kendra deliberately put the focus on Sam. “Mr. Kelly, any leads on Edwina’s whereabouts?”
“Not exactly. I’ve had me lads talking ter stagecoach whips and wherrymen. No one had a passenger meetin’ the girl’s description. However, one of the keel bullies said they might’ve seen a scarred-face chit in the area.”
“Keel bullies?”
“Dockworkers who unloads or loads coal vessels,” Alec explained, and looked at Sam. “Why couldn’t he be certain it was her?”
“He said it was dark and he’d been drinking. And the chit’s face was half covered with a scarf. He didn’t think she was a bunter, which is the usual strumpet plying their wares about the docks.”
“This is good news,” the Duke said, glancing around the table. “If the dockworker really did see Edwina, then she’s alive.”
“For now.” Kendra realized how pessimistic she sounded when everyone stared at her. “We’re not the only ones looking for her. She can identify the killer.”
Rebecca shivered. “The poor girl.”
“If she was seen at the docks, maybe she was trying to book passage out of England,” Kendra said.
“Aye, we looked into that,” Sam replied. “No one admitted ter taking in the chit. She couldn’t have enough blunt ter bribe them ter keep their mouths shut.”
“It’s possible she’s hiding near the docks,” Alec said. “If she had any money on her when she fled, it goes further in that part of town.”
“Unless someone lightens your pockets—which is known to happen in that part of town too,” Muldoon quipped.
“We’ll keep searching,” Sam said. “It’s a bit trickier with the cold weather, and everybody bundled up these days. By the by, I spoke with Lord Westford’s servants. They said their mistress left the house on Sunday by foot. I doubt she walked all the way ter Coventry Garden. She must’ve hired a hackney.”
He took a breath before continuing, “Lady Westford’s abigail admitted that her mistress was quieter, more tense than usual, in the last couple of weeks. But she didn’t know why.”
Kendra asked, “Did she know about Lady Westford’s involvement with Mr. Goldsten?”
“Aye, but not from her ladyship. Most of the staff learned of it one evening when they overheard Lord Westford railing at her about the affair. The abigail said his rage was fierce, but her mistress never once mentioned her husband’s wrath or her involvement with Mr. Goldsten.”
Kendra moved back to the table. “We have to add Isabella Russo to our inquiries—” she broke off when Wakely materialized at the door.
“Forgive the interruption, my lady, but a message has come from Dr. Munroe.” A strange expression crossed his face. “He requests that you come to the morgue. He said that the body that was taken has been . . . returned.”
Chapter 23
The morgue was crowded—with the dead and undead. All three slabs were now occupied with bodies covered with stained linen sheets. Dr. Munroe and his assistant, Mr. Barts, stood on either side of the middle slab. The form beneath the sheet was clearly female, at least five inches shorter than the two other shrouded cadavers.
“Good heavens,” Rebecca muttered, pulling out a perfumed handkerchief from her reticule and holding it against her nose. Kendra couldn’t blame her. The stench of decomposition was even more pungent than the last time she’d visited.
Munroe gave Rebecca a concerned look. “Are you certain that you wouldn’t prefer waiting in my office, my lady?”
Rebecca’s chin jerked up a notch. “No.” Smiling weakly, she murmured, “Forgive me, Dr. Munroe, I was simply taken aback by the smell. I’m fine. Please carry on.”
“This is quite extraordinary, doctor,” said the Duke, his gaze on the middle figure. “How did she end up here?Again?”
Munroe hesitated, his expression cautious as he surveyed them. “I feel obligated to remind you that anatomy schools like mine face a dearth of cadavers in this country. That shortage forces those in the medical field to form alliances with unsavory characters. Those individuals supply us with much needed . . . materials.”
Sam waved his hand, clearly impatient with the anatomist’s careful preface. “We’ve known each other for too long for you ter be in a pucker, doctor. Even the Crown looks the other way when it comes ter the practice. I don’t care how this woman got on yer autopsy table as much as I care about who put her there the first time around.”
“You make an excellent point, Mr. Kelly. I shall be frank. The resurrectionist men that I often deal with went to a graveyard last night to dig up the recently deceased Mr. Wells.” Munroe gestured to the concealed figure to the left. “When they opened his coffin, they discovered our body lying on top of Mr. Wells.”
Muldoon chuckled. “I’d wager their peepers popped out of their heads when they pried open the lid.”
“It certainly was a surprising development,” agreed the anatomist. “Naturally, they brought both bodies to sell to me. As much as I object to purchasing the same cadavertwice, I decided it was the most expedient way of dealing with the situation.”
He straightened, adjusting the spectacles on his nose before looking at Kendra. “I hope you don’t mind, my lady, but I took the liberty of conducting the autopsy before I sent my message. I’d hoped to have a few answers for you.”
