Page 55 of Grave Expectations
Seth folded his arms. "You told us you didn't learn anything from the police."
"That's not precisely what I said. Anyway, I think Lincoln may have widened his investigation, having hit a dead end when it came to finding Mrs. Drinkwater."
"P'haps." Gus shoveled the rest of his eggs into his mouth then proceeded to speak before swallowing. "He might not need to be found. He might be well into the hunt and not able to come home yet."
"I am aware of that. I'm also aware that he won't want us to go looking for him—if nothing is wrong."
Seth held up a finger. "Wewill go looking for him at the Brumley cousin's house.Youwill stay here."
I suspected they'd say that. I had no intention of forcing the issue or sneaking out. They could do as I asked perfectly adequately without my presence. "I have some specific questions I'd like you to ask Miss Brumley's cousin. I'll write them down after breakfast."
Gus wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She don't trust us to think for ourselves, Seth."
Seth merely scowled.
After they left, I spent the morning with Doyle in the formal drawing room. It hadn't been used since Lincoln moved into Lichfield Towers, and dust covers blanketed what little furniture had been left behind by the last owner. After the previous day's delivery, Doyle had set about removing the old and arranging the new. He'd done a marvelous job. Together, we made plans and moved the new furniture again to see how it looked in other positions, only to put most of it back again.
I was sweating by the time Gus and Seth returned from visiting Joan Brumley's cousin, Edith. "Well?" I asked before they'd had a chance to remove their hats and gloves.
"Fitzroy went there late yesterday," Gus said.
I blew out a breath. So he was alive and well then, thank God. "And?"
"And he asked the same questions you wanted us to ask her. Mostly. The Drinkwater name wasn't familiar to her and she'd had no visits from anyone asking about her cousin except for the police and Fitzroy."
"So there's most likely no other link between them except they were both supernaturals. Go on. What else?"
"As far as Edith Brumley knew, her cousin didn't know she was a necromancer, as such. She knew she could speak with ghosts, of course, but she didn't have a name for her magic. She didn't consider it magical at all, or supernatural, it justwas. Aside from Fitzroy and us, no one has mentioned the word necromancy to her, and the police didn't discuss Joan's magic at all."
"What about Frankenstein and Jasper? Had Joan ever mentioned them to Edith?"
"The names weren't familiar to her."
Damn. This wasn't going as I thought it would. "What about my final question? Had Joan associated with anyone new lately?"
They gave me matching looks of triumph. "This is the interestin' part," Gus said.
"It was an inspired question," Seth added. "It turns out that Joan had a paramour. Edith thought this highly unlikely, considering Joan had been a spinster for years and no one had shown interest in her before."
Gus circled his finger at his temple. "No surprise there."
"According to Edith, the fellow avoided meeting her although she was Joan's only family. He kept putting it off, which made Edith suspicious that he was merely a figment of her cousin's imagination. She changed her opinion when Joan became very upset after the gentleman broke off contact. One day he'd been talking to her about building a life together, and the next…nothing. He simply never showed at their prearranged meeting place, and since she had no way of contacting him, the relationship ended."
"Did Joan give Edith a description of him?"
Both men shook their heads. "You won't believe it, Charlie," Gus said. He couldn't stand still, he was so eager to tell me. "Edith Brumley keeps a diary. She looked through it for the date when Joan came to her all upset. Guess when it was."
"Just tell me!"
"The day after Frankenstein died."
I pressed a hand to my chest. "My God," I whispered. "You thinkhewas her paramour?"
They both nodded. "He wanted a necromancer and she was one."
"Yes, but…he thought I was the last one. That's why he was so desperate to get me."
"What if he didn'tknowJoan was a necromancer?" Seth said. "He might have seen her articles in the history periodicals and thought she might be of interest. Remember, her articles only mentioned she spoke with spirits. There was no indication that she could place the spirits inside bodies to reanimate them. Perhaps he wasn't yet sure if she could do it."
