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She laughs. “And that does not look comfortable at all. To each their own, I suppose.”
“Yep, it’s better in sweatpants, but this will have to do.”
“Sweaty pants? Yes, we have very different ideas of comfort.”
I stop myself from explaining and grab my paper and pen.
“You are writing while in bed?” Isla says. “Please do not let Mrs. Wallace see that, or I fear I will be unable to stop her from tossing you out the door.”
“Nah, if I get ink on the bedding, she’ll toss me out the window.”
“You do know we have pencils, yes? Remind me to bring you a few tomorrow.”
I dip the pen into the well and make sure it’s drip-free before bringing it to the book. “Start with the cemetery scheme. From what we understand, Burns and Fischer came up with it. They brought Young in because they’d worked with him before and he would have a line on less affluent investors.”
Isla nods. “They need an affluent investor, though, to initially buy the property, and that would have been Lord Primrose. I confirmed as much while you were out with Duncan, which is why I did not join you at the public house. I discussed the issue with someone knowledgeable in matters of fraud, and they suggested I discover who owned the property. It is Lord Primrose. Whether he knew it was truly a scheme or not is uncertain. My contact said either is possible. Lord Primrose’s only true concern would be obtaining a decent return on his investment.”
“Which he would get. No need to con him, but no need to tell him the whole scheme anyway. He buys the cemetery land, and Burns and Fischerbring investors to buy plots. At some point, Lord Leslie gets wind of it, and he wants in.”
“He sees the fraud for what it is and bullies his way to the forefront. That was Gordon through and through.”
“Cunning enough to see the con job. Unethical enough to want in. Belligerent enough to get what he wants… at the expense of Fischer, whom he—correctly—viewed as the weak link. From the letters, it seems Leslie was concerned that Ware was onto the plot. Either Ware really was or that was an excuse Leslie used for jettisoning Fischer.”
“Then Fischer takes his revenge by killing the three who cut him from what he saw ashisscheme. He also poisons his employer, fearing the mandidsuspect something. Is that the motive then? Enraged vengeance against those who wronged him?”
“Seems a bit harsh. I’d say the motive is money. Fischer was cut out, and so he killed the other three, and either continues the scheme alone or—more likely—empties the coffers and runs. Killing Ware was about covering his tracks.”
“Did he plan to have the wives take the blame? It would seem so, given his rantings about Annis. It did not work for the bachelor Mr. Ware, but by that point, Mr. Fischer would no longer care about shifting blame. The city is in a panic, four people poisoned, and he has time to collect his money and flee before anyone connects him to Mr. Ware.”
“If they even would connect him. He’s a recent employee and there was no trace of him in the office. The housekeeper didn’t even know where he lived.”
Isla leans over to read my notes. “Is that it then? The murders are all solved if Mr. Fischer is indeed the killer?”
“I think so.”
“And if it is Jack?”
“If it’s Jack, we’d be back at square one. We know next to nothing about her, which means I couldn’t even guess at a motive. We’d need to start digging into her as a suspect.”
“Which does not make sense yet, when you have two better ones. Mr. Fischer and my sister.”
I say nothing.
“And if the killer is Annis?” Isla presses. “How does that work?”
I set my pen back in the holder with a decisive click. “If it is Annis, then I don’t see any motive for her to kill her husband.”
That isn’t true. There’s her relationship with Sarah, but that isn’t my secret to share. I can’t, however, pretend Annis is motive-free.
“Strike that,” I say. “She likely has motives for killing her husband that aren’t readily apparent. But the other men? I don’t see any motive for her killing them. Which means we stick with the simple solution. The one that fits.”
“Mr. Fischer. Unless he is correct, and it was Annis pulling Gordon’s strings. What if Annis is behind Gordon bullying his way into the scheme? That would make sense. Gordon brings her the investment opportunity. She sees through it. She uses Gordon to infiltrate—and eventually take over—the scheme. Then she sees a bigger opportunity. Kill Mr. Young and Mr. Burns, blaming their wives and using the fiction of a poisoning ring to her advantage.”
“Then kill her husband, knowing she’ll be the prime suspect?”
“It is perverse and unexpected, which is precisely my sister’s style.”
I say nothing. She has a point, one I have already made to myself. Annis was conveniently out of town. Yes, she’ll be blamed, but if she did this, she’ll have made sure she can’t be connected to it.
