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“No, she was careful not to do that. If we can get her fingerprints, we could compare them to any found on the box. I’m sure we can get an exemplar from the scene, particularly that trunk she was in.”
“I will have the trunk transported to the police office to make that easier. It can be examined in the morning. Does that help?”
“It does…” I say. “However, since she was careful not to touch it, that suggests she knows we might be able to link her to the box that way. And if she knew that…? Well, one thing about my world is that it’s difficult to wander around wearing gloves unless it’s winter. Victorians do it all the time.”
“Meaning she could have only handled it wearing gloves,” McCreadie says. “That complicates matters.”
It does.
FORTY
I’ve retired to my room to do what everyone has been encouraging me to do for the past twelve hours—get some rest. When we returned from the pub, I declared I’d had enough to eat and would retire as soon as I’d served the late meal. Isla shooed me off directly to bed, which I would have appreciated if I thought I could actually sleep.
I’m not tired enough to take off my dress and lie down. I’m not revving to go, either, as I had been when Gray and I slipped out to find Jack. I’m conflicted, and our chat at the pub was supposed to help that, but it didn’t. Worse, when something brings my mood down—like this—I start to mentally poke all the tender spots that I try so hard to avoid, chief among them being my situation.
Isla keeps saying we’ll find a way for me to go home, and I know she means well, but how exactly does she expect to do that? Oh, she’s had a few ideas, but they’re like the ones I had when I first arrived. Return to the spot where I crossed. Return at the same time of day. Mentally will myself to cross over. It’s magical thinking, and that’s all I have because this is as incurable as thallium poisoning. We can try this and that to ease my discomfort, but ultimately, whether I return or not seems out of our control.
No, that’s not true. From what I saw last month, I can cross back if I die. I’ll have a moment or two, as I pass from this life, to catch a glimpse of my old world before I’m dead. How do I get back therewithoutdyingtwo seconds later? I have no idea, and I’m sure as hell not going to die to find out.
These are the thoughts that intrude as I try to relax, and I struggle to banish them and focus on the case, but that is another sore spot, and I can’t bring myself to poke this one even when I know I should.
I’m propped up in my bed, weighing the likelihood that I am in for the night and can undress, because it’s not like in the modern world, where I can just yank my clothing back on. Nor can I comfortably lie flat in a corset. So I’m propped there, watching the night creep from the window, when a tap comes at the door. I consider ignoring it. I’m supposed to be asleep, after all. But that’s not Mrs. Wallace’s brisk knock or even Gray’s polite but confident rap.
“Come in,” I say.
While I expect Alice, I’m not surprised when Isla steps in. She shuts the door behind her.
“You are not sleeping,” she says.
“Hmm.”
“Duncan’s worried.”
“Did he send you up to check on me?”
Her brows shoot up. “Send me up? That would require admitting he is concerned. It might even require admitting tohimselfthat he is concerned. That would not do at all. Surely the world would end if anyone realized he is actually…”
“A really sweet guy?”
She shudders. “The horror. No one must know. It is a secret. A very poorly kept secret, to be sure, but a secret nonetheless, and we must allow him to maintain the illusion.”
I manage a smile and shake my head. “I’m fine.”
She motions to the bed, and I wave for her to take a seat as I pull myself upright.
“You are not fine,” she says. “You are upset about the case, particularly the potential connection to Annis and Jack, which is making you uncomfortable to the point of melancholia.”
“Were you able to examine the residue?”
“You do not wish to speak of Annis and Jack. All right then. Yes, I have examined the metal in the one vial and the powder residue in the other.Based on the physical properties and microscopic examination, I would say it is indeed thallium.”
I nod. Then I say, “Can we set Annis and Jack aside and talk through the case?”
“I am not certain wecantalk through it properly without mentioning them, but I understand what you mean. Focus on this Fischer person.”
I fuss and tug at my dress until Isla says, “Make yourself comfortable, Mallory, as you would at home. You hardly need be concerned about propriety with me here.”
I tug at the skirts and get my legs crossed under them.
