Page 93 of An Unwilling Earl
“The heads,” Jacob said. “You said the heads were missing from all of the bodies. Did you ever recover them?”
“No. We assumed they were thrown in the river with the bodies and were unrecoverable.”
“What if they weren’t thrown in the river?” Jacob asked.
“What would he have done with them?” Charlotte said.
Jacob looked at her with a crease between his brows. “The cats.”
She drew in a horrified breath. “No. You don’t think…”
“Cats?” O’Leary asked.
Charlotte looked at O’Leary but wasn’t seeing him.
“Maybe he would want a memento, something to remind him of his deeds. Something he could keep,” Jacob said.
“But why?” Charlotte whispered. “Why keep the heads? That’s horrific.”
“Will someone please tell me what you are talking about?” Clearly O’Leary was becoming exasperated, but Charlotte and Jacob were still turning thoughts over in their minds.
“He kills the women because his mother instilled in him a fear and hatred for all women,” Jacob said. “Maybe he’s killing the servants because he can’t kill his mother. It’s a release of sorts. And taking the heads is a reminder that for once he is in charge.”
“You can’t keep severed heads on a bookshelf,” O’Leary said. “They would rot.”
“But you can bury them,” Charlotte said.
“In the garden,” Jacob added.
“So you think that Lord Morris kept the heads and buried them in the garden like he did the cats?” O’Leary asked.
“I think it’s a possibility,” Charlotte said.
O’Leary looked at Jacob. “I believe Lady Ashford would challenge you and Armbruster in your sleuthing. She’s remarkable.”
Charlotte’s face heated in a blush. She still wasn’t sure about the sleuthing business, but it seemed high praise coming from O’Leary.
“Can you dig up the Morrises’ garden?” Jacob asked.
“I can see what I can do,” O’Leary said.
“Tell me, Detective. Do you know the names of the women pulled from the river?” Charlotte asked.
“Unfortunately, no. Without the…heads…it’s proving difficult.”
“Surely there are family who have reported women missing? Houses who have a servant who suddenly disappeared?”
“Of course there are many reports, but we’ve had a difficult job following up as there are so many and not enough of us.”
“There was a young woman named Penny. She worked in my aunt’s house as a servant. She had become a friend of mine. And then she disappeared. My aunt said that Penny was not worthy to work for us—too sinful. Everyone was too sinful for my aunt. Perhaps Penny was his first human killing.”
The thought made her sick, but she wanted to know what happened to Penny. She’d been so kind to Charlotte, helping her keep in contact with Sarah.
“What is our next move?” Jacob asked O’Leary.
“Ournext move?” O’Leary appeared amused. “You go about your business, and I will try to convince the people above me to investigate this.”
“And in the meantime, girls all over London are in danger,” Charlotte murmured.
