Tarleton’s Coffer (The Northminster Mysteries Book 10) by Harriet Smart

Author:Harriet Smart [Smart, Harriet]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Anthemion
Published: 2021-09-23T00:00:00+00:00

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Two o’clock came, faster than Felix would have liked, and found him hurrying back from the Northern Office where he had pored over every relevant text and made what notes and observations he could. He was arranging his kit on a side table when Mr Harper came in and handed him a black linen smock, the customary garb of the anatomy demonstrator, but one that Felix had never cared for, preferring rolled-up shirtsleeves and a green kitchen apron. The smock was as stiff as pasteboard with starch, and putting it over his head made it crack. Wearing it, Felix felt like a farmhand out to sell his labour at the hireling fair. It had occurred to him that this was perhaps Reed’s intention. He was being tested.

“How many are coming?” he said to Mr Harper as the room began to fill. “That is more than we discussed this morning.”

“It’s a matter of some interest,” said Mr Harper, and went to speak to a colleague, leaving Felix to wipe his now clammy hands on the stiff linen of the smock. The room soon became unbearably warm from the press of bodies in their winter coats, the huge coal fire in the grate and the large Argand lamps throwing out a brilliant light.

The clock struck two and Mr Harper made a brief introduction before yielding the floor to Felix.

The subject had been placed on a large table in the centre of the room and a circle of chairs placed in a circle about it, with all the others standing behind. It was a regular inquisition, Felix thought, adjusting his cuffs as best he could.

“Good afternoon,” he said. He did not feel inclined to thank them for coming, so he plunged in. “The subject before us this afternoon is a male human, found in unusual circumstances in an oak chest in a Northminster property. The body was discovered in an attic last Saturday evening by Major Vernon, Chief Superintendent of the Northern Office for Criminal Investigation. The body remained in its surroundings until this morning when it was brought here for further examination.”

“Could you please speak up a little, sir?” someone said.

“Yes, of course,” said Felix, attempting to do so. He felt curiously chilly, despite the warmth in the room, as if a fever were taking hold of him. He went on, rattling out the words he had prepared.

“The subject had been wrapped loosely in a coarse linen sheet, with a layer of canvas over. The chest itself was, as I have said, oak and of ancient appearance, with gaps and holes in the planks. As for the attic itself, it is a large, south-west-facing airy room, with two large glazed dormers that have no shutters to mitigate the effects of the sun.” He paused to gulp for breath, and as he did, glanced over the faces in the crowd, looking for an ally. He wished heartily that Major Vernon were there. He did however alight on Sam Tolley, who gave him an encouraging grin, and he decided that he would do just as well.

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