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“And this time?” Gideon asked slowly. “It was different somehow?”
Electra pressed two fingers to her lips, forcing down the revulsion that welled up.
“There was such hungry ugliness to it. Grasping and hateful. Like looking through the eyes of a hidden predator as it observes its prey.”
Gideon drew closer, and Electra reached for him, resting her hand on his lapel. “He watched the two of them as if he wanted to possess them, yet destroy them at the same time.” Her gaze found his and she soaked in the affection she saw there, but she couldn’t let herself get lost in it. “We must find this person. He must be stopped. The tea shop. We should go back there.”
Gideon nodded, but he looked hesitant. “We could do that, but I imagine there will be lots of patrons who visit a tea shop near the British Museum.”
“Maybe he’s a regular,” she said, her breath still ragged.
“Possibly. But so many employees of the museum will be too.”
“Could it have been Samuel Potter?” she wondered aloud.
“I don’t know if that young man contains that much darkness, but his seeming transparency might have been a diversion.”
“I should have touched him.”
“You didn’t have an opportunity.”
“I did. We were sitting in front of him for half an hour.”
Gideon gave her a dubious look. “And I suspect reaching for him suddenly would have caused Potter to be much less talkative.”
“Shall I accompany you back to Russell Square?”
Electra lowered her hand and took a step away from him. “No. Of course not, Gideon. The worst thing you can do is to begin treating me like a child.”
He dipped his head as if duly chastened. “I am attempting to consider what is best for you.”
“Will you please allow me to do that?”
The door behind them swung open and they both turned to see Sergeant Hardy watching them questioningly. “Forgive me for interrupting, but I’ve sent a constable with a message to Coldbath Fields, alerting them that we wish to speak with Nicholas Frye within the hour.”
“Then let us go,” Electra said.
Hardy nodded and withdrew back inside the station.
Gideon tensed beside her, and she felt him watching, could also feel his worry wrapping around her protectively.
“I want to go,” she insisted. “And I promise I will take the opportunity to touch him if there’s a possibility of doing so.”
“Electra…”
“I won’t hesitate anymore. This is too important.”
He nodded, then accompanied her back inside the station.
Less than a quarter hour later, they were all gathered in a carriage to travel the short distance to Coldbath Fields Prison.
They’d remained quiet since they’d taken a seat in the carriage, but Hardy suddenly turned to Gideon. “I spoke briefly to my superintendent about Miss Poole’s findings.”
Surprise caused Electra’s eyes to widen. Her input being so readily taken up by a police officer other than Gideon felt odd. Gratifying and yet strange.
“He asked me to speak to both of you about not revealing any of those details to others until we have time to investigate a connection between the Collier, Fretwell, and Braxton cases.”
Gideon’s body tensed next to her. “Do you expect that we will run to the newspapers?”
