Saffron’s question drew the attention of Mary and Sutcliffe. Mary’s face pinched with what might have been sadness or concern. “It was so tragic, to lose two members of our lab so close together. I worry—”
“Petrov was an old man,” Sutcliffe said flatly, cutting her off. “Looked like a stiff wind could blow him over most days. It was nature at work, nothing tragic about it.”
Mary gave him an admonishing look. “But Mr. Wells wasn’t so old.”
“What happened to him?” Saffron asked.
Next to her, Quinn went still. Saffron glanced at her, then followed her attention to the hall, where Joseph’s back disappeared into the kitchen.
“Excuse me,” Quinn murmured. She slipped from the library as Mary answered Saffron’s question.
“We were told he died of a sudden illness,” Mary said, her frown tightening further.
The horrible sights and smells of Wells’s house crashed into Saffron, almost as if she’d stepped inside the house once again. She swallowed convulsively.
“Are you all right?” Mary asked, looking concerned.
“I’m fine,” Saffron said quickly. “Just got a bit dizzy, is all.”
“You’ve been wearing your protective equipment, haven’t you?” Mary asked anxiously. “Without it, you can breathe in all sorts of nasty things.”
After assuring Mary she had been taking precautions, she excused herself to the ladies’.
The lavatory was at the back of the house, once elegant with marble and wallpaper that now showed decades of wear. Saffron pressed her back against the door. She wished she hadn’t closeted herself in so close and stuffy a space, but there was a tiny window over the toilet, so she climbed atop it and pushed the window open.
A blast of cool air hit her face, and she sighed in relief. She needed fresh air to forget the awful things she’d seen—and smelled—in Wells’s home.
Saffron inhaled the scent of winter air, touched with the smell of manure and fresh earth that emanated from the nearby greenhouse. She supposed dead bodies were a reality that she should inure herself to, considering this was the third time she’d assisted in some sort of criminal investigation. It was perhaps the worst part—or the second to worst, considering the danger she’d found—but she rather thought she ought not to get used to dead bodies. She wanted to help those who’d lost their lives, not necessarily look at them.
Those squeamish thoughts were interrupted by a low voice coming in the window on the wind.
“I haven’t seen them, I told you,” a sullen male voice said. She was sure it was Joseph.
“You’re in and out of the lab all day,” Quinn’s clipped voice replied. “You could have taken them by accident—”
Joseph grew louder. “I haven’t seen your papers.”
“A mere mistake can be forgiven, my boy,” she said patronizingly.
“Then admit you lost the papers. Don’t go blaming me.”
Quinn’s tone turned sharp. “What about the vivarium? You expect me to believe that one of our costly vivariums just happened to fall off the counter and shatter? We didn’t even get to collect the specimens inside before it was swept away. It was almost as if someone was trying to cover up they’d broken it.”
“I’ve already told you, and Dr. Narramore,andDr. Calderbrook that I had nothing to do with that.” He spoke over Quinn as he added, “I’m going back to work.”
The sound of a door slamming came a moment later. Quinn grumbled something under her breath, then the door sounded again, more quietly.
Saffron latched the window and stepped to the floor, mind racing. Missing papers and a vivarium, in addition to two dead scientists? Perhaps there really was something going on at the Path Lab.
CHAPTER26
Saffron dedicated the next few days to unraveling the mystery of the missing papers. Nick had shown great interest when she’d telephoned him about it and had encouraged her to quietly look into discovering what papers were missing.
She had no idea if anyone else was missing documents, apart from Quinn. Saffron wandered to the entomology section of the lab to chat with her and attempt to speak with Dr. Narramore, though that was only moderately successful. She did discover something interesting, however.
Edna Quinn was in love with Dr. Neville Narramore. And he had no idea.
Quinn moved around him like a planet around the sun. Narramore would wander from microscope to specimen container, and Quinn would nudge vials and beakers out of his way just before he would have knocked them over. Saffron had believed herself a very good assistant to Dr. Maxwell, but she’d never been able to predict his movements so well. A china cabinet’s worth of broken teacups could attest to that. Saffron imagined it was because Quinn and Narramore had worked together for a long time, but she heard from Mary that they had been paired when the lab moved to Harpenden just three years ago.
