AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He appeared on the brink of a fainting spell. His nerves might have been from guilt or fear. He stopped shifting around long enough to meet my gaze, his water-filled eyes boring into mine. There was something haunted about him that set my pulse racing again. Perhaps he was acquainted with the victim at my feet.
My heart slammed into my sternum at the same time the conductor whistled a shrill warning to return to our compartments. In the seconds it’d taken to close my eyes and regain my composure, the nervous boy had gone. I stared at the spot where he’d been standing before turning away. Thomas shifted, his arm subtly brushing against my own.
We stood over the body, both silent in our own tumultuous thoughts while taking in the scene. I glanced down at the victim, stomach twisting.
“He’d already perished by the time we got our door open,” Thomas said. “There’s no amount of stitching that could make his heart whole again.”
I knew what Thomas said was accurate, yet I could have sworn the victim’s eyes fluttered. I took a deep breath to clear my mind. I thought of the newspaper article again. “The murder in Brasov was also an impalement,” I said. “I doubt very highly they’re two separate crimes. Perhaps the Brasov murderer was traveling to another city but found this opportunity too tantalizing to ignore.”
Though why choose this person to slay? Had he been a target before boarding?
Thomas watched everyone, his gaze calculating and determined.
Now that the corridor was clearing out, I could inspect the deceased for clues. I begged myself to see the truth before us and not get swept up in another fantasy of a corpse springing back to life. Judging from his appearance, the victim couldn’t have been more than twenty. Such a senseless loss. He was well dressed with polished shoes and an immaculate suit. His light brown hair had been carefully combed to one side and styled to perfection with pomade.
Nearby, a walking cane with a jeweled serpent head stared unseeingly at the lingering passengers ogling its former owner. That cane was striking. And familiar. My heart thudded as my focus trailed up to his face. I staggered against the wall, breathing deeply. I hadn’t paid attention during the initial chaos, but this was the man I’d been mistaken about earlier. It couldn’t have been more than ten or twenty minutes ago.
How he’d gone from alive and heading to the cigar car to dead outside my compartment was incomprehensible. Especially when he appeared so much like…
I closed my eyes, but the images stuck there were worse, so I stared at the entry wound and concentrated on the blood that was congealing and cooling.
“Wadsworth? What is it?”
I held a hand to my stomach, stalling. “Death is never easy, but there’s something… infinitely worse when someone young is taken.”
“Death’s not the only thing to fear. Murder is worse.” Thomas searched my face, then glanced at the body, his features softening. “Audrey Rose—”
I quickly turned away before he could put words to my affliction.
“See what you’re able to deduce, Cresswell. I need a moment.”
I felt him hovering behind me, lingering long enough that I knew he was picking his next words with extreme care, and tried not to tense. “Are you all right?”
We both knew he was asking about more than the deceased lying at my feet. It seemed as if I could be flung into the depthless dark of my emotions at any second. I needed to control the images haunting me both day and night. I faced him, careful to keep both my voice and expression steady. “Of course. Just getting my bearings.”
“Audrey Rose,” Thomas said quietly, “you don’t have to—”
“I am fine, Thomas,” I said. “I simply need some quiet.”
He pursed his lips but honored my wishes to not press the issue. I bent down once more, studying the wound and ignoring his uncanny resemblance to my brother. I needed to find my balance again. Locate that door to my emotions and seal it shut until my inspection was over. Then I could lock myself in my chambers and cry.
Someone gasped as I unbuttoned part of the victim’s shirt to better inspect the stake. Civilities were clearly more important than discovering any clues, but I didn’t rightly care. This young man deserved better. I ignored the people lingering in the corridor and pretended I was alone in Uncle’s laboratory, surrounded by formaldehyde-scented jars filled with tissue samples. Even in my imagination, the animal specimens blinked at me with their milky dead eyes, judging each move I made.
I flexed my hands. Focus.
The victim?
?s chest wound was even more gruesome up close. Bits of wood had splintered off, giving the appearance of brambles and their thorny stems. Blood dried nearly black around the stake. I also noticed two lines of dark crimson that had escaped from his mouth. Not surprising. Such an injury clearly caused massive internal bleeding.
If his heart hadn’t been pierced, he’d likely have drowned in his own life force. It was an exceptionally horrid way to die.
A pungent scent that had nothing to do with the metallic tang of blood wafted around the victim. I leaned over the body, trying to locate the offending odor, while Thomas eyed the remaining passengers surrounding us. Knowing he could glean clues from the living the way I could divine information from the dead soothed me.
Something poked from the corners of the deceased’s lips, catching my attention. For the love of England, I hoped this wasn’t something my mind had conjured up. I nearly tumbled onto the victim as I drew even closer. There was most certainly something bulky and whitish shoved into his mouth. It appeared to be organic in nature, perhaps rootlike. If I could only get within…
“Ladies and gentlemen!” The conductor had cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting from the end of the hall. His accent hinted that he was from France. Unsurprising, as we’d departed from Paris. “Please return to your cabins. Members of the royal guard need the area free from… contamination.”
He nervously glanced at the man in uniform beside him, who glared at the crowd until they crept back into their private quarters, shadows sinking into darkness.
