Page 86 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

They hurried back down the stairs and out the way they had come, not stopping until they’d crossed the planks over the ruins and climbed back up into the abandoned building.

“We should tell someone,” Nathan said.

“Who?” Verity asked, blowing out the lanterns and starting toward the outer door.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’ve never found a dead body before.”

“Well, I’m not in the habit of it either. The only bodies I’ve seen were during the war, and my main concern was always getting as far away as I could, as quickly as possible.”

They went outside, and Verity drew in a deep breath. “I’ve never thought of London air as fresh before.”

They stowed their gear in the carriage, but Verity’s nerves were jumping so that she couldn’t stand the thought of getting into the vehicle. “I have to walk.”

Gesturing toward the coachman to follow, she set off at a brisk pace, Nathan beside her.

“Why would someone kill Tolliver?” Nathan said. “I suppose there might be any number of other people he was trying to swindle. But his sort of criminal activity hardly seems something one would kill him for.”

“Maybe if one was desperate enough, unable to pay him say, one might. Or furious enough at what he’d done to—” Verity stopped and swung toward Nathan. “Like Malcolm Douglas, for instance. He’d been knocked over the head and imprisoned by Tolliver for weeks. That might be enough to make one want revenge.” She whipped around and began to stride briskly forward again.

“Malcolm?” Nathan hurried after her. “He wouldn’t kill someone.”

“How do you know? Just because he’s your half brother doesn’t mean he is like you. He could be a terrible person. Terrible people must get kidnapped, as well.”

“But he’s been locked up all this time,” Nathan pointed out. “He couldn’t have killed him.”

“We rescued him yesterday morning. He’s had a day—more than a day—to do him in.”

“But how did he track him down? We’ve been trying to find Will and weren’t able to until just now—and Malcolm didn’t have your little gang of urchins to run all over looking for him.”

“Maybe he knew Tolliver. If you’ll remember, I thought it was suspicious that he said Tolliver was just some fellow he ran into in a tavern.”

“You just don’t like Malcolm.”

“He was rude to you. And not terribly grateful, given that we’d rescued him.” She frowned. “Maybe Malcolm was part of the scheme, after all.”

“Verity,” Nathan said sternly.

“Oh, very well,” Verity said grudgingly. “That does seem unlikely.”

“Besides, the man has been dead longer than a day, hasn’t he?”

“I don’t know, Nathan. I’m not an expert in dead bodies.”

“And here I thought you would be,” he teased, and Verity had to smile.

“Well, I’m not, and apparently finding one puts me on edge.” She started walking again. “Still, I’m not entirely crossing Malcolm Douglas off the list.”

“My thought is that it was likely a falling out among thieves,” Nathan mused.

“You think it was Shoemaker and Hill?”

“We know that they are prone to violent methods. They could have argued over the money. Maybe Tolliver didn’t give them the payment he promised. After all, he never got any money out of his scheme with me.”

“He certainly wouldn’t pay them if he was dead.”

“Yes, that puts something of a hole in that argument,” Nathan admitted.

“Or maybe someone else paid them to do away with Tolliver.”