“I’m certain of it,” Kendrick muttered, his sharp gaze holding Adrian’s.“Not only because of the method applied, but because of the note that was pinned to Miss Croft’s bodice.”
Fresh anger spread through Adrian’s body.He glanced at the piece of paper Doctor Fellowes produced, doing his best not to snatch it from him and tear it to pieces.
“The bastard murdered her by mistake.”Because of a lie some foolish columnist had printed in the paper.
“The wound appears to have been inflicted by a short blade, sharp at the tip and blunter along the edges,” Doctor Fellowes reported.“The victim shows no sign of struggle – no damage to her nails, no fibers, hair, or dirt underneath them.It was as though she were caught unawares and didn’t see the blade coming.”
“You’ve suggested the previous victims were killed from behind,” Kendrick said.“Are you saying that’s not the case here?”
“Exactly.”Doctor Fellowes used a scalpel to indicate the direction in which Evie’s throat had been stabbed.“The angle of this wound shows that this particular murder was carried out while she faced her attacker.”
And yet, she hadn’t struggled, which could only mean that she had been killed by someone she trusted.Someone who’d taken advantage of that and used it against her.
Adrian stared at the harshness with which the flesh had been torn.“Were the other wounds similar in nature?”
“If you’re asking if they looked just as brutal,” Kendrick said, “then the answer is yes.”
In other words, they were looking for someone who’d hated these women, or at the very least what they each represented to his sick mind.Adrian wasn’t yet sure how he’d find him.All he knew was that he would commit himself to doing so from this moment forward.
This awareness brought an odd sense of calm to his otherwise crippled existence.He thanked Kendrick and Doctor Fellowes, then placed a final kiss to Evie’s brow before walking away, his stride clipped and precise as he returned to the carriage.
He gave instructions to the driver before climbing in and resuming his seat on the bench opposite Murry.The carriage lurched into motion, setting a homeward course for Number 5 Portman Square.
Speaking with steely resolve, he said, “I’m calling a meeting as soon as we reach the house.”
“You’re assuming the role your father intended for you after all?”
“The resources offered to me if I head down that path will be beneficial.”Adrian met Murry’s gaze without blinking.“May God have mercy on whoever did this, for I can assure you, I shall not.”
12
The hackney Samantha had hired blended easily with the other carriages parked on Portman Square.Eager for the extra coin she’d promised, the driver had maneuvered the vehicle into a spot with an excellent view of Mr.Croft’s home.
Despite suggesting to Kendrick that she delay all attempts at infiltrating his life out of respect for his most recent loss, the chief constable had denied her request.She re-read the note she’d received from him, delivered by Isak just moments before.
“Is it bad news then?”Isak asked, most likely noting her frown.
After meeting with him that morning as planned, she’d given him his first task.He’d completed it with success, though she didn’t agree with the answer he’d brought her.
“A difference of opinion,” she answered.
According to Kendrick, Mr.Croft was racked by grief and anger, both of which would surely cloud his judgement.He’d be more vulnerable now, Kendrick reasoned, and perhaps more willing to place his trust in a woman who offered him sympathy.
A movement beyond the window drew her attention.It seemed the Croft carriage had just been brought round.The front door opened in the next instant and Mr.Croft appeared, as tall, handsome, and foreboding as when she’d last seen him.
“Stay here,” Samantha told Isak, handing him a warm mutton pie to reward him for a job well done.She watched as he sank his teeth into the flaky crust.“Keep an eye on that building and inform me of any additional activity.”
“Aye miss.”He departed and Samantha returned her attention to Mr.Croft’s carriage, which was presently rolling into motion.She leaned her head out the window and spoke to her driver, “Please follow that vehicle with discretion.”
They pulled into traffic and made their way along South Audley Street, turning left and continuing for a good distance before turning right and slowing to a gradual halt.It seemed they’d reached a church, though not one Samantha was familiar with.
Through the window, Samantha watched Mr.Croft alight, her view of him slightly obscured by a steady stream of pedestrians.It only got worse when he entered the churchyard’s front entrance and vanished behind a wall.
Frustrated, she climbed from the hackney and went to address the driver.“Circle the church and pick me up from the street behind it.”
Grateful for the fashionable wide-brimmed bonnet she wore, she kept her chin down as she walked to the churchyard’s entrance.
Mr.Croft wasn’t far, his attention it seemed, fixed on a spot immediately to the left of the church’s door.Remaining slightly behind him and to one side, Samantha sank to her knees in front of a gravestone and watched him through her peripheral vision.
