The Spiritglass Charade by Colleen Gleason

Author:Colleen Gleason [Colleen Gleason]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2014-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

Miss Stoker

Wherein Our Heroines Crash a Party

“What a nonsensical thing for a spirit to say,” Mina remarked dryly as we drove away. “ ‘Help me?’ Truly? What precisely is an earthbound mortal supposed to do to assist a spirit? If one believes in Spiritualism, then the spirits are the ones with great capabilities. That’s only one of the numerous reasons I’m convinced someone is attempting to turn Willa Ashton lunatic, or worse. Leaving her a vague message such as that is only fodder for greater worry and more strain on her mental being—and a greater addiction to the séances.”

For once, I found myself in agreement—at least regarding Willa. “So you believe it was all fakery.”

“All of it. The pencil was magnetized, and that’s how it moved across the table to her. She likely wore a magnetic bracelet, slipping it off and on when we were distracted. The gust of cold air was emitted through a small hole in the wallpaper via some sort of bellows mechanism. The floating paper was obviously transported by thin wires or threads, and when we were distracted, the strings were cut. The table . . .” Here her words became less strident. “I haven’t figured that one out yet, for I’m certain it was bolted to the floor. We shall have to pay Miss Louisa another visit tomorrow. At that time, you can divert her attention while I investigate further. As well, I will be interrogating her to find out whether one of our suspects has been in contact with her.”

“Right. And what about Espasia’s performance?” I’d waited for the opportunity to bring up that portion of the séance. I didn’t think even Mina Holmes could come up with an explanation for it.

“Performance is the correct term. She’s a consummate actress—as most of these charlatans are.”

“Her arm turned ice-cold. And there is no way in which she—or anyone—could have known I killed a vampire last week. Let alone my nickname.”

“Pish.” Mina flapped her hand. “Willa Ashton could easily have told her about your nickname, and the previous séance. Gad, for all we know, Mrs. Yingling might have done so before she died. As for the vampire slaying . . . well, Miss Babbage knows you killed a vampire. As do Miss Adler, Dylan, and myself.”

“Yes, Dylan must’ve rushed off to tell Louisa Fenley I killed a vampire last week. No, wait, it was probably me, and I simply forgot. Providence knows it couldn’t have been that cloud-headed Babbage girl. I don’t think she can hold a single thought for more than thirty seconds.”

“I’m not suggesting any of those things actually happened. I’m merely pointing out that you and I aren’t the only people who knew a vampire was killed at the Oligary Building. Any one of the individuals I mentioned could have carried the story, by accident or design, and therefore the information could have been given to Miss Fenley. After all, she did meet with Willa Ashton. She knew we’d be invited—of course she did,” she said, drowning out my arguments.

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