Chapter Twenty-Seven
The man’s heart continued to pound in his chest as he made certain to moderate his walking pace to blend in with the other people strolling along the street.
He had to remain calm and not draw any attention to himself.
But damn it, it was hard not to let the rage show on his face… His work interrupted and ruined!
Cordially, he nodded to a couple as they passed by him, all the while a soft smile plastered on his face, seemingly just another middle-class man heading home from a day of a work.
He saw his own reflection in a shop window as he strolled past, nothing about him attracting attention, except for perhaps the glimmer of rage in his eyes threatening to ignite into a volcano of fury.
Hastily, he blinked. Nothing, not even his eyes, must give away even a glimmer of suspicion.
He couldn’t allow that. He’d worked too hard to have all his plans threatened by letting his mask slip, even for a moment.
How had they found him, though? The thought started pounding inside his head, unrelenting in its intensity. He’d covered his tracks. He’d been so meticulous… They couldn’t have found him unless… It had to have been her.
Though the inspector was smart—there was no denying that—there was something about her that was different.
Special. There was a knowing in her eyes when he’d been in her presence, such that he could tell she could see the truth behind his illusions…
There was honestly, a magic inside her—he felt it.
A strange, intoxicating power she had that he needed to possess.
And if it was true that she was the spitting image of her mother, as Maguire had always said his Jack of Hearts was, then finally, he understood why the Bloody Baron had been so obsessed by Julia Maguire, to the point of madness.
He’d never understood the emotion before, having always been coldly logical in all his plans and preparations, caring for women very little, apart from how they could quench his insatiable bloodlust. But now, he understood the pull a woman could have on a man.
The obsession around possessing something so beautiful and fragile. An obsession he was starting to share.
It still didn’t excuse her from interrupting his work… Though he blamed the inspector for that. The man was like a dog with a bone, relentless in his pursuit of justice. It was a trait he intended to use to his advantage, but on his own schedule! He hated being rushed…
How dare they interrupt him! Especially when his Vanished Lady was waiting to be discovered for her grand performance later today.
He’d hoped to finalize the preparations for his final illusion, his Burning Lady that Jack Maguire was to star in, but now there wouldn’t be time to properly prepare the required human ash he needed.
Now it was ruined. How was he to get the authenticity of his act accurate if he didn’t have human ash to pile on the desk Jack was to be burned on?
He felt like kicking his boot through the window of the next store he passed, but he calmed himself, showing nothing of the inner turmoil he was struggling with.
He ducked down an alley and stood in the doorway of an entrance for a minute.
Satisfied the inspector wasn’t following him, he casually continued down the street heading for his private sanctuary.
The location where his ladies were waiting for him.
He had an act to perform, and despite the setback, he was determined everything would go ahead as planned, with some slight deviations.
He’d be busy once they discovered his third act, and then he had his fourth act to finalize before moving to his finale, which would be a double show.
Though the very idea of having to use dirt in place of ashes for it was deplorable, given he was a perfectionist, not a charlatan.
Adapting was not what he liked to do. But he was a professional, so if he had to, he would.
In any event, he had his fourth performance to arrange and given that one was going to be done in front of a live audience, there were a lot of details that had to be just right.
The very notion of it being live, and to actually see the audience’s reactions to the performance, was beyond thrilling and did a great deal to calm his rage from having nearly being caught earlier.
Yes, he must focus on his fourth performance, and then he could worry about his fifth and sixth illusions. After all, the show must go on.
*
It had taken Tobias and Jack several minutes to douse the fire in the kiln, using buckets of water filled from the well at the back of the factory, with some other constables joining in after they’d arrived at the scene.
But it was too late; there was nothing they could do. Whoever the poor soul was in the kiln hadn’t even had a chance against the flames, which would have been close to nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit or more. Tobias couldn’t have thought of a worse way to perish than being burned alive.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I hope he killed her before he put her inside there,” Jack said, her eyes staring into the kiln at the body.
Gently, Tobias placed his hands on her shoulder and turned her away from the sight. Death was a cruel thing to see, and if he could save her from any further nightmares she’d probably already have from seeing such a thing, he would. “I hope so too.”
Slowly, Jack nodded, taking in a deep breath and straightening up her spine. “I’ll pray she was. Do you think it’s Mary Brunham?”
“I don’t know,” Tobias replied. The flames had rendered the body mostly unidentifiable, though it certainly looked like a woman’s shape and size.
“When the doctor arrives, he’ll have to examine the body and see what he can find.
” He paused and looked at her, her bright-blue eyes looking very subdued.
“You don’t have to stay here. I can get a constable to escort you home. ”
She glanced up at him and suddenly, there was the familiar spark of fire in her gaze to which he’d started becoming accustomed. “I have no intention of going anywhere. There are still multiple avenues we have to investigate.”
“Excuse me, sir?” Detective Rollings said from behind them, and Tobias and Jack turned around to face him.
“Was he there?” Tobias had sent the constables off with instructions to raise the alarm at the Yard and get his detectives to detain Caleb Dodd for questioning.
Andrew shook his head. “No, sir. Apparently, Mr. Dodd has left the theater to attend a residence for a private performance he’s engaged to give there on Saturday evening, so I’m told he’s at that location to set up and practice his routine today.”
“And did you send a team to wherever he’s gone to apprehend him?” It wasn’t like Andrew not to take the initiative.
“Um, no, sir,” Andrew said, cringing slightly. “I thought it best to check with you first.”
“I’m listening,” Tobias said.
“His private performance is at the Earl and Countess of Arlington’s residence, sir,” Andrew said, sheepishly. “I didn’t think it appropriate to send men there without your authority, given the, um, countess who hired him is your, um—”
“My mother? Yes, I’m aware of that fact.” He couldn’t blame Andrew for that, especially as his father would have had a fit if some of Tobias’s detectives had shown up unannounced. “You made the right call, and I’ll deal with it. Where’s Sergeant Kellerman?”
“He was out making some inquiries when we got word to come here,” Andrew replied. “But I left instructions with the clerk to inform him of the situation.”
“All right, then. Until he arrives, you’re in charge. I assume you’ve informed Dr. Morton and Phillip to attend?”
“Yes, sir. Phillip’s already arrived, and the doctor has been sent for. Oh, and the doc left this note on your desk earlier today.” Andrew pulled out some paper from his pocket.
Tobias took the paper and read it before turning to Jack.
“Dr. Morton has spoken to Dr. Patterson, who has arranged with the superintendent at Broadmoor for us to visit and speak with the baron whenever is convenient. If there’s time, we might go later today.
” He glanced back over to Andrew. “Until Sergeant Kellerman arrives, be sure to follow protocols, make certain Phillip takes photos of everything, and get the constables to start canvassing the neighborhood for any witnesses. I want to know anything and everything anyone saw. Understood?”
“Will do, Inspector.” Andrew nodded earnestly before turning on his heel to follow Tobias’s instructions.
Tobias turned to Jack, who was staring at him with a question in her eyes.
“It seems like we need to pay my mother a visit to speak with Caleb Dodd, and I’m guessing from the determined tilt of your chin, you intend to come with me.”
She arched an auburn brow. “Of course I do. I think you’re finally starting to understand me better.”
“I’m starting to understand you’re far more stubborn than I originally gave you credit for.
” Then he sighed. “Though in terms of actually understanding you… I don’t think I’ll ever understand you fully.
But I know by now that you have no intention of being left behind anywhere.
So come on, then. You’ll get to hear my parents’ displeasure in me having the audacity to bring my work to their residence, and my mother’s chagrin when I have to arrest her entertainer for her ball. ”
“You’re going to arrest Caleb?”
“Yes,” Tobias confirmed as they headed out of the building and he hailed a hackney. “He’s involved in all of this somehow, and I have a feeling a jail cell might be just the motivation he needs to tell us everything he knows.”