The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley

Author:Susanna Kearsley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2020-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 2

After a good night of sleep, Violet was back in the shop and preparing to leave to meet with a monument maker when the Times was delivered. Ordinarily she would simply take it home with her at the end of the day, but the very large headline caught her attention.

MURDER IN JERMYN STREET!

That was a few blocks from the Ashenhurst home. How unusual for a murder to be committed in such a genteel part of the city. Violet peeled off her gloves and picked up the paper to read the accompanying article.

At around ten o’clock last night, LORD MANSFIELD was brutally MURDERED in the street near his home by several blows to the head. He had been recognized by Her Majesty in 1859 for his architectural assistance to Messrs. Barry and Pugin in the neo-Gothic design of our new Houses of Parliament. Lord Mansfield was found, BLEEDING and barely conscious, by a passing night watchman and was taken across the river to St. Thomas’s Hospital. He died of his wounds later without having revealed the name of his attacker; if, in fact, he had even seen the miscreant. If the DERELICT and DERANGED have intruded upon the neighborhood of St. James’s, what hope is there for the rest of the city? Scotland Yard has taken up the investigation, with Detective Chief Inspector Magnus Pompey Hurst leading the inquiry.

Violet knew Inspector Hurst, having worked with him on multiple cases—much to the man’s great chagrin and discontent. Despite Hurst’s general competence, his blustering manner caused him to overlook simple details and dismiss the helpful suggestions of others. Violet was an especial target for dismissal and disregard, despite having led the detective to more than one criminal culprit.

She folded the newspaper, hiding the disturbing headline from her own view. This murder had likely shaken the Ashenhurst family to its core. The deceased might not be a body in Violet’s care, but the viscount and his household were until the last relative had been transferred to Abney Park.

Perhaps Violet had nothing to offer regarding the situation, but her instincts told her that a prompt visit to the Ashenhurst home might be in order.

* * *

Maisie opened the door to Violet, but the housekeeper was towering right behind the girl, almost as if she had sensed Violet’s presence by the way Violet had twisted the knob.

Mrs. Chase’s glance of reproof was emphasized with “A second day in a row, Mrs. Harper?” before she motioned for Maisie to permit the undertaker in through the front door. Violet heard a cross between a harrumph and a wheeze emitting from the aging housekeeper as she followed the woman back into the parlor. Maisie bobbed her head and scurried away.

The pocket watch had replaced a trinket on one of the wall shelves next to the fireplace. In a mere day’s time, it had been thoroughly cleaned, repaired, and polished. It was quite remarkable how quickly tasks could be performed when requested by an address in St. James’s rather than, say, Whitechapel.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.