Wait Until Midnight

TWENTY-ONE

Caroline did not speak during the entire trip back to Corley Lane. She could scarcely order her thoughts, let alone voice them aloud. Adam lounged beside her, one foot braced on the opposite cushion, his attention on the scene outside the window. He made no attempt to shatter the brittle silence inside the cab. She had no clue at all to what he was thinking.

When they arrived at Number 22, she was deeply relieved to discover that Emma and Milly had not yet re-turned from their morning exercise. She stormed into her study and flung herself down into the chair behind her desk.

"That," she announced, "was a very near thing. I am still shivering in my shoes."

Adam strolled into the room behind her and stopped in the center of the carpet. He put his hands in his pockets and contemplated her thoughtfully.

"It was somewhat dicey there for a moment or two," he agreed.

"This is no time for bad jests, sir." She frowned. "You do realize that your threats will very likely not keep Otford from writing a piece on the murder and our connection to it for the Flying Intelligencer?"

"I admit I am not hopeful on that point"

"I assure you, an item that involves another murdered medium, a powerful gentleman and a sensation novelist will prove utterly irresistible to Otford and Mr. Spraggett" She raised a finger in warning. "Mark my words, the story, in one version or another, will appear in print sooner or later."

"I suspect you are right." He looked around expectantly. "Have you got any brandy, by chance?"

She closed her eyes. "We seem to be dealing with an ever-widening scandal. How can you be so calm about this situation?"

"Do not mistake my mood. I'm not entirely unconcerned. I do recognize that we have a few problems on our hands."

She opened her eyes. "I'm pleased to hear that" "About the brandy? I know it is rather early in the day, but I could use a restorative. It has been a trying morning." "There is some sherry in that cupboard," she said grudgingly.

"Thank you." He opened the cabinet and removed the decanter of sherry. "Not quite the strong tonic I would have preferred but it will have to do" He selected a glass. "I am sorry if you are distressed at the notion of having your name linked with mine in the press, Caroline. But I would remind you that you were the one who insisted on informing Inspector Jackson that we spent a good portion of last night together in extremely intimate circumstances"

She spread her hands. "There was no help for it. I had to tell him that you were with me at the time of the murder."

"Actually," he said with grave precision, "you did not have to tell him any such thing. You must have realized that I had not given him your name or mentioned the nature of our association."

"Yes, I gathered that much. You were trying to protect me. I appreciate your intentions, Adam, but I simply could not remain silent under the circumstances."

"I see." He drank some sherry and lowered the glass. "A prudent woman who had a proper concern for her reputation would have had the sense to remain quiet and thereby avoid being dragged deeper into an unpleasant scandal"

"We have both agreed that my status as a widow gives me a great deal of freedom."

He raised his brows. "You know very well that if it gets out that you are not really a widow, your reputation will be ripped to shreds"

"You are worrying about an extremely unlikely possibility. I suggest that you save your energy for more pressing concerns"

He gave that a moment's consideration and then inclined his head. "Perhaps you are right. What's done is done. We must go forward from here."

"Quite right." Relieved that he was not going to lecture her further, she folded her arms on top of the desk. "Did you have an opportunity to examine the scene of Mrs. Toller's murder?"

"To some extent. Inspector Jackson did not object to my looking around the séance room."

"No sign of the diary, I take it?"

"None."

"Aside from the pocket watch, were there any other similarities to the scene of Mrs. Delmont's murder?"

"The scene in Mrs. Toller's séance room duplicated the scene at Mrs. Delmont's house in every particular that was reported in the press," he said softly. "And I find that fact quite interesting."

"Every particular reported in the press?" Understanding dawned. "You mean there was no wedding veil and no brooch?"

He shook his head. "Whoever killed Toller evidently used the newspaper reports of Delmont's death as a guide to setting the stage for the second murder."

"That implies that he or she is not the same person who murdered Mrs. Delmont."

"So it seems." Adam contemplated his sherry. "Which brings us back to the question of what happened to the veil and the brooch."

"Perhaps a neighbor or even one of the constables stole them»

"No." He turned the sherry glass in his hands. "Do you recall that the papers mentioned the jewelry that Delmont was wearing at the time of her death?"

"That's right. There was a necklace and a pair of ear-rings according to the piece in the Flying Intelligencer."

"I saw them," Adam said. "They looked far more valuable than the ruined veil and an inexpensive brooch. A common thief would have seized them."

She reflected on that briefly. "What about the pocket watches?"

"The watch I saw next to Delmont's body was inscribed with her initials, so I assume it belonged to her. It may have simply fallen out of her pocket when she was killed. As for the one that was found next to Toller's body, all I can say is that, although it was engraved with my name, it does not belong to me."

She stared at him in mounting horror. "The killer must have purchased it, had your name put on it and then deliberately left it at the scene of the crime to implicate you"

"That would seem to have been his intention, yes"

`Adam, this is dreadful."

He finished the sherry without comment.

She glowered. "May I ask why this development does not appear to concern you greatly?"

He gave her a slow cold smile. "Because it implies that I am making progress."

"I am not at all certain that I agree with your interpretation of progress" She paused. "I wonder who sent those messages summoning us to Mrs. Toller's address this morning"

"I don't know but it would appear that someone wanted us to be in the vicinity when the police began their investigation," he said.

"But why?"

"We will find out eventually." He paused. "Caroline?" "Yes?"

"It was very noble of you to provide me with an alibi for last night," he said quietly. "Thank you."

His gratitude made her blush. "It was nothing. I'm sure that eventually you would have convinced the inspector that you were telling the truth"

"One would hope so but the fact that you vouched for my whereabouts at midnight last night certainly makes things a great deal more simple and straightforward. I am in your debt, Caroline"

"Nonsense. The thing that worries me the most at the moment is that given the great sensation that will be made in the press, rumors will be flying all over town. Everyone will be talking about us, not about finding the real killer. By the time the scandal quiets down, the trail will have gone quite cold."

"Perhaps that was the villain's intent" Adam's mouth twisted in a feral way. "You have to hand it to him, it is a rather ingenious scheme, especially when you consider that it had to be concocted on such short notice."

She rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "What is our next step?"

"I find myself returning again and again to the fact that both Delmont and Toller summoned spirits who gave financial advice to some of the sitters but not to others. There is some link there. I can feel it»

"I agree there are several questions to be answered." "Yes, but before we pursue them, there is another little matter that must be dealt with."

She looked up uneasily. "What is that?"

"You must meet my family, at least those who are present here in town, and you must do so before they read about you in the newspapers."