The Peaceful Night Poisonings by Marcia Wilson

Author:Marcia Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sherlock holmes, mystery, crime, british crime, sherlock holmes fiction, sherlock holmes novel
ISBN: 9781787051843
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2017
Published: 2017-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The night air had warmed; a sure sign of heavy winter against the Thames. Lestrade shivered and committed the gaffe of tucking his hands under his arms to keep warm. The women were so wrapped in layers he doubted they felt cold - and Hazel had never felt a chill in her life.

Mrs. Bradstreet strolled to the fountain where candles floated in shallow wooden bowls carved and painted to look like water lilies. Slow lacework snowflakes were just beginning to spiral down; the start of a filigree night. At the lip of the terrace a loose knot of couples chatted merrily away, cooling their hot faces before another jaunt across the marble floor. A young swain with too much pent-up euphoria had scraped up a handful of snow and was trying to impress his dance partner by aiming at the top of a hissing lamp-post. Lestrade only just barely stopped himself from snapping at the young fool for defacing private property. With his luck it was a relative or personal guest of the Schuylers. On the other hand, if something was damaged from the tomfoolery, the Schuylers could file a complaint against the Chief for dereliction. Such was the life of a policeman, never paid around the clock, but always expected to perform as such.

He wondered what these loitering folk were talking about...what did these people talk about? He felt out of his depth here, with people who may not have much money to burn, but they owned property for the lean times. These folk saved and lived frugally, but they inherited actual wealth worth more than a year’s income in jewellery and shares and gold.

His family had been in this world once, but they’d fallen off that chart into the seas of ruin.

“Do you favour any of the charities?” Lestrade decided to take the reins.

“The Night-Home. I may not be Catholic, but the Reverend Mother gave a good impression and I have promised to ask her for proper students when I need more girls. Yourself?”

“Police, Metro & City Orphanage.” Lestrade answered as if he had never had been asked that sixteen times a year.

Clea nodded, pretending she wouldn’t have thought of the obvious.

“Your father is concerned about your safety,” Lestrade began.

“I am heartily sick of this!” Clea’s composure cracked open. That was worrisome. She inevitably lost her temper after her calm. “This would have never happened if they had been more careful with their business! Their foolishness brought on the attention of Jethro Quimper - and everyone else like him!”

“I agree, but it is done and they seem to have learned.” Her eyes flashed; that satisfied him that she was still willing to fight other causes, not just him. “Have you considered leaving London for a time?”

“Dust think it would be harder for him to find me?” She asked scathingly.

“Actually, yes. Especially north or the Isle of Mann. He has his spheres of influence, and he does not move out of them.

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