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Leo nodded. “Her hands should be soft for a lady of her status, and the tops of them are. But I noted that her palms are rough, the skin hard. And there are white lines on her nails. Those and digestive issues are signs of long-term exposure.”

Leo had seen it often in bodies that came into the morgue. Most of the time, the poisonous exposure was accidental and tragic, especially when the victims were children who were simply drinking out of a contaminated public well, or young women who worked in factories that used arsenic to dye their products. Last winter, Leo and Jasper had investigated an arsenic poisoning that had been tied to a wallpaper factory that used the chemical in their green dye. Even just papering a home’s walls could prove deadly.

“And her illness just happened to start on their honeymoon,” Jasper said with marked doubt.

“So, you agree that he was poisoning her?”

“It does look that way, though I would like the chance to find him and ask.”

The likelihood of that happening seemed small, however, especially since Leo had started to question if Sebastian Lawlor was even the man’s real name. When she suggested that he may have been using a pseudonym, Jasper’s grimace deepened.

“I will see what I can find on him, but I fear you’re right. That is likely why he took the few photographs there were of him. Someone might have recognized him and shared his real name with the police, should they be circulated to the public.”

Leo looked out the window, in thought. “Say he was slowly poisoning her with arsenic. Today, she seems to have been given a much higher dose than usual of her prescribed laudanum with the intent to kill her. Why change his method now and not allow the arsenic to take its course?”

“It might have been taking too long,” Jasper mused with a shrug. “He wanted to be rid of her faster.”

“Just so that he might take the contents of the safe?” Leo shook her head. It seemed too paltry a payout for such an extensive and complex plan. “He would not have even needed to become a widower to access Augusta’s wealth. It was already his. He could have taken everything and disappeared. He didn’t need to kill her when he could simply spurn her.”

Jasper arched a dark blond brow. “Yes, but then she might have contacted the police or a private detective to find him. Filed for divorce, even. Killing her would mean no loose ends.”

Especially if the death of his wife was made to look like a long-term illness that had finally taken its toll.

“But then, why did he run?” Leo asked. “He had no reason to. He didn’t yet know Augusta was still alive.”

Jasper sat back against the cushion, looking worn. “I don’t know. Hopefully, Coughlan will agree to opening an official case, and I’ll be able to investigate further.”

At the mention of Detective Chief Inspector Dermot Coughlan, a prickle of tension threaded back into Leo’s shoulders and back. Though she and Jasper had been courting for over a month, she wasn’t certain who at the CID knew, other than Roy Lewis. She and Jasper had hardly had much time together to discuss it, or how his fellow officers had reacted to the news. She did not think Chief Inspector Coughlan would be very pleased to receive the news.

Although, the thought of the chief inspector gave her an idea.

“What if I were to lend my help? Officially, I mean. Chief Inspector Coughlan did say that he’d permit me to help in a limited capacity from time to time.”

That had been last summer, after Leo and Jasper had solved a few murders and the mysterious disappearance of a child, linked to the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage.

“And Inspector Lewis did credit me with the arrests made at Gleason’s Department Store in October,” she added when Jasper narrowed his eyes.

The opium ring she’d uncovered, along with the murder of a female investigative reporter, had been pinned on a Spitalfields Angel.

“Coughlan wasn’t pleased with Roy for that,” Jasper reminded her.

“And yet, Roy is now Detective Inspector,” she pointed out. “You could hire me as a consultant of sorts.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “What is your fee?”

Leo bit her lip against a victorious grin. “I’m very affordable. Practically free.”

“I suppose I could use your assistance,” he said, attempting to smother a grin as well. “I’ll see what Coughlan has to say about it.”

Though the chief inspector was not Leo’s strongest supporter, there were others, like Constable Horace Wiley and Detective Inspector Tomlin of the Special Irish Branch, who flat out disliked her.

Jasper had insisted that he did not care what they or anyone else at the CID thought about his affection for her, and Leo could only hope that he was not faced with hostility over the matter. Or that she would be rejected as a consultant because of it.

“I wonder if Mrs. Lawlor will even want us to investigate,” Leo said. “She will be mortified, I’m sure, and she might not wish to invite a public scandal.”

There would be whispers, however, and gossip would spread like wildfire no matter what.

“If he tried to murder her,” Jasper said, anger lowering his tone to a near grumble, “he deserves to be arrested.”