Death at the Crystal Palace by Jennifer Ashley

Author:Jennifer Ashley [Ashley, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-07-06T00:00:00+00:00

14

I’d already had a very long day, but I assured James I would meet Daniel in the designated place. James said he’d wait for me, and not long later, he and I walked arm in arm along Mount Street to South Audley Street, then south to the tasteful building that was Grosvenor Chapel.

The chapel’s columned front and octagonal steeple were faint in the darkness, the brick facade fading into the night. James and I turned left into the lane that ran alongside the chapel, our walk ending at a large iron gate between two white pillars.

The gate was unlocked. Beyond was the churchyard, a very pleasant place to stroll on a sunny summer morning but a bit unnerving at eleven o’clock on a dark night.

Daniel solidified from the shadows of a tall tree. He wore his deliveryman’s clothes—wool coat patched at the elbows, breeches and thick socks, heavy boots, a cloth tied around his neck in lieu of a cravat.

Daniel seized my hands and, in the cover of darkness, dared kiss my lips. The houses of Mount Street rose behind us, and I hoped that Mrs. Bywater—or more likely, our busybody neighbor—did not peer from an upper window.

Daniel’s breath fogged, the air chilly. “The chapel is open for us. Shall we adjourn somewhere more comfortable?”

“Your vicar friend is quite accommodating,” I said as the three of us moved to the side door of the chapel. We’d met in the sacristy before, on another dark night, when I’d first met Mr. Fielding.

I half expected to find Mr. Fielding waiting for us, but the sacristy was empty except for a candle flickering in a holder on a shelf. Robes peeked from a closet with a half-open door, and stacks of prayer books reposed on a table.

“I did the man a favor once,” Daniel said. “We became friends.”

Great friends, I reflected, for him to give Daniel the run of the chapel in the middle of the night. The favor must have been a large one.

James showed no sign of leaving. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms, his frown not reassuring.

“What has happened?” I asked Daniel. I was not one who liked others to dance gently around a subject. I preferred to get it over with in one blow.

“Nothing.” Daniel took my hands again as we stood in the center of the underlit room. “Nothing disastrous anyway. I have come from Inspector McGregor.”

“Excellent. Is he investigating? Does he believe Erica was murdered? What killed her?”

Daniel stifled a laugh. “Bombard me with one question at a time, please. McGregor was not investigating, because it is not his case. The Sydenham police did the postmortem, and they have not called for any assistance from Scotland Yard. I gave McGregor all the details so he can insist on looking into it if he sees fit after he reads the reports.”

“I see.” I stemmed my impatience with effort. “What did the postmortem find?”

“The conclusions have not yet been written up.” Daniel released me. “On the

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