Chapter Twenty-One
For the first time in days, Tobias felt the stirrings of anticipation with the thought that they might have a chance of catching this so-called Conjurer sooner rather than later, and it was all because of the lady standing before him. “How many suppliers stock this particular deck of cards?”
“There’re only three in all of London who would still have them, and all in the northeast area of the city,” Jack replied. “Though the killer probably wore a disguise when he purchased the cards. However, it might at least give us a lead.”
Tobias glanced down at his watch, noting it was nearly five. “I’ll have to visit them tomorrow morning first thing.”
“We can visit them tomorrow,” Jack said. “Remember, we are unofficial partners in this investigation.”
“Hard to forget,” Tobias murmured, pocketing his watch before striding over to the entrance door of the mortuary and opening it.
Immediately, the thick, cloying scent of death filled his nostrils.
An odor that clung to garments much like tar clung to a sailor’s hand, and a particular scent that once smelled could never be forgotten.
He held open the door for Jack, wondering if she would gag as most did upon smelling death, but she simply walked past him into the entrance and paused.
“They should open some windows in here,” she said matter-of-factly as he followed her in.
“I suppose they should.” He couldn’t help but laugh at her very pragmatic comment. He walked up to the two attendants manning the front desk and flashed his warrant badge at them, as per protocol, before he signed into the attendance register.
They both nodded at him before catching sight of Jack and staring at her almost like they’d never seen a woman before.
Though they probably hadn’t seen a woman in the mortuary before, at least not one with a pulse.
Both attendants, however, didn’t question Tobias’s authority in her accompanying him, as one of them swung open the side door to let them into the main area of the mortuary, beyond the visitor-only area.
“Come on, then. Dr. Morton’s office is through here and to the right at the end of this hall.
” Jack followed in behind him as he led the way down the dimly lit hallway towards the man’s office.
The door to the office’s outer room was open, and the doctor’s assistant, Bernard Brinkley, was sitting at his own desk while sifting through some papers and guarding the doctor’s closed door much like a wolfhound would.
He glanced up as they approached, his brown eyes peeking out above the rims of his glasses, his brown beard an exact copy of the doctor’s own darker one.
“Hello, Inspector,” Bernard greeted them before his eyes swiveled over to Jack as she walked in behind Tobias.
“Oh, my, a lady, um… Hello.” Bernard seemed equally dumbfounded and entranced as he jumped to his feet and stared at Jack, obviously as unused to seeing a woman in the building as the attendants had been.
Tobias shook his head at the keen look of interest now flashing in the man’s eyes. “Is the doctor in, Bernard?”
“Oh, yes,” Bernard said, dragging his eyes away from Jack and back to Tobias. “Though he’s not in his office. He’s down in the basement finishing the autopsy of the bod—um, the victim, from this, uh, morning’s case. He’ll be about an hour or so.”
“Has he written up a copy of his autopsy report for me?”
“Yes, of course. It’s on his desk,” Bernard confirmed.
“He’s very efficient, you see.” He turned and spoke to Jack.
“I’m the doctor’s assistant, and I’m training to be a doctor too.
Only one year left to go now, and I’m very lucky to be learning from the best. Dr. Morton is one of England’s most exceptional surgeons.
Why, he’s the youngest doctor to have been made a fellow at the Royal College of Physicians.
” Pride radiated from the young man’s face as he puffed his chest out, much like a rooster showing off in front of a hen.
“I intend to be just like him, and I do my very best to model myself upon him.”
Tobias could certainly see it. Not only did Bernard try to emulate the same mannerisms of the doctor, but he also styled his hair in the same fashion, had grown a similar beard, and even wore the same sort of suits, right down to the same footwear as the doctor.
Tobias didn’t know how Charles could stand it.
Though when he’d asked that question in the past, the doctor had smiled kindly and said Bernard had had a difficult childhood with his father absent, so he didn’t mind if Bernard likened him to a father of sorts.
After all, most boys liked to mimic their fathers’ behavior.
“I’ll get the report,” Tobias said, dragging Bernard’s attention back to him. “You can tell Dr. Morton I’ll return in the morning and speak to him about the cases.”
“You can’t get the report, sir. His office door is locked.” Bernard jumped up from his chair as Tobias went to go past him to the doctor’s office.
“Do you have the key, then?” Tobias paused and raised a brow.
“Of course I do,” Bernard confirmed, patting his breast pocket with pride. “But I can’t allow you to take the report, Inspector. Not without Dr. Morton’s say-so.”
“The report is written for the lead investigator, Bernard, which I am.” Tobias tried to stay calm, but Bernard had always been a stickler for the rules, making sure they were carried out to the letter.
For a man in his early thirties, he carried on like someone in their sixties.
“We’re trying to catch a killer, need I remind you? Time is of the essence.”
“I know that, Inspector, but there are protocols for a reason.” Bernard crossed his hands over his chest. “Dr. Morton is the only one who can release the report to you.”
“Bernard—” Tobias began.
“Oh, dear!” Jack’s exclaimed, interrupting him. “I feel rather dizzy all of a sudden.” She sounded so much like a helpless damsel that for a moment, Tobias wondered what on earth had happened. “I fear I might faint…”
Bernard rushed over to her, his hands reaching out to help steady her as she stumbled against him lightly before straightening up and smiling radiantly up at him.
“Why, thank you for saving me,” she all but cooed, fluttering her eyelashes in a manner that clearly had Bernard captivated but had Tobias rolling his eyes. “How gallant you are. Such a fine doctor you will make.”
Bernard blinked, looking both entranced and at a loss of words for a few seconds, before his chest puffed out again like a blowfish as he helped Jack over to a seat.
“Oh, it’s… It’s no problem at all, miss.
Is there anything else I can do for you?
Do you need some water, perhaps? I can fetch you some. ”
“You’re too gracious.” She smiled again at him. “Would it be too much trouble to get you to fetch me a cup of tea instead? I think a nice, hot drink will be just the thing to steady my delicate nerves.”
“Oh, of course, miss!” Bernard declared in earnest. “I shall get you a pot of tea immediately. I just have to boil the kettle, but I won’t be more than a few minutes, I promise.”
And with that, Bernard hurried from the room.
All Tobias could do was stare at Jack and shake his head. “I thought you agreed not to break the law when you were with me?”
“I haven’t broken the law; I’ve simply bent it a little.
” She jumped up from the chair, any sign of frailty completely vanishing.
“Which I told you I’d do if the situation warranted it.
” She grinned and then opened her hand to reveal a brass key she’d hidden in her palm. “You did say time was of the essence.”
“I did,” he reluctantly replied with a shake of his head, impressed despite himself. Her sleight of hand skills were remarkable.
“How did you know I’d lifted the key? You didn’t see me do so, did you?” she asked, marching past him to the locked interior door.
“No,” he admitted with a sigh, following her into the doctor’s now-open office. The woman’s skills were certainly proving useful, he’d give her that. “But when you stumbled into him, I knew what you were about, having experienced it myself the other day.”
“Playing the hopeless damsel is a very effective strategy, and one I make great use of at times.” She winked at him before her eyes fell to the piles of papers and folders on the doctor’s desk. “How does he keep track of anything in this mess?”
It was a good question. The desk looked as if it had been buried by an avalanche of papers.
“It should be somewhere on top.” Walking around behind the desk, Tobias quickly rifled through some of the papers.
Sure enough, the report was on top of the middle pile.
He picked it up and quickly flicked it open.
“Inspector! I didn’t know you were here.” Dr. Morton’s voice rang out from the doorway as he strode into the room and stopped short upon seeing Jack. “Hello… I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are?”
“This is Miss Hart, Doctor,” Tobias said, by way of introduction.
The doctor’s attention stayed steady on Jack as he bowed to her.
“Miss Hart, this is Dr. Morton,” Tobias continued. “He’s one of London’s foremost medical authorities and a consultant to the Yard. He’s also often an expert witness for us in court.”
“You flatter me too much, Tobias,” the doctor replied. “And it’s nice to meet you, Miss Hart.”
Jack nodded. “Likewise, Doctor.”
“I see you’re making yourself at home.” The doctor glanced over at the file in Tobias’s hand.
“My apologies, Charles,” he said, “but as you were occupied, I took it upon myself to take the report.”
“No need to apologize,” came Charles’s earnest reply as he waved his hand in the air. “We have to catch this ‘Coffin Conjurer,’ as they’re calling him, as soon as possible. But how did you get into my office since it was locked, and Bernard isn’t at his desk?”
“We had the key, Doctor,” Jack said, revealing the brass key still in her hand.
The doctor raised a brow. “How odd. Did Bernard leave it on his desk?”
Jack took a step towards the doctor and seemed to lose her footing on the rug and stumbled. Dr. Morton rushed to her aid and helped right her until she was standing.
“Oh, thank you. I’m so clumsy sometimes,” she murmured, grabbing on to his arms and batting her ridiculously long lashes up at the man.
The doctor seemed entranced by her, just as Bernard had been. “Oh… It’s, uh… uh—uh, fine, my dear Miss Hart. M-My pleasure,” Dr. Morton stammered.
Tobias had never seen the normally articulate doctor at a loss for words.
But here the man was staring at Jack in a sort of mesmerized wonder, such that Tobias felt like yanking him away from the woman and snapping him back to his senses.
For a fanciful minute, he wondered whether she were using some trick on the men to capture their interest. Yes, Tobias, the trick of being beautiful in front of red-blooded men in their twenties and thirties, his inner voice chastised himself for his fanciful thoughts.
“And that is how I got the key, Doctor,” Jack said, stepping back and curtsying. She then turned to Tobias and winked. “Bet you didn’t see me plant the key in his jacket then, either, did you?”
“No, I bloody well didn’t.” Tobias couldn’t help it—he laughed. “Though I knew you had to be up to something.”
The doctor blinked and swung his gaze between them both. “I don’t understand. What just happened?”
“Check your breast pocket, Charles,” Tobias said, watching as the doctor patted at his jacket pocket before he gasped.
“Well, I say!” Charles reached inside his jacket and pulled out the brass key. “You did that?” He turned to Jack. “I didn’t even feel the key drop in… It was almost like magic…”
“Meet my new magic consultant for the case, Charles, Miss Jack Hart, of the Hart Agency.”