Page 51 of A Fearless Heart
“Why don’t you just leave Calderwood?” she suggested. “I won’t say anything to the law. Whatever you’re up to, you can do it somewhere else. Go spy on another botanist.”
“That’s not possible.” He looked a little more in command of himself now.
“Oh, I assure you it is. If you don’t quit as my gardener, I’ll have you sacked.”
“That would be inconvenient. Look, I’m sorry I had to hide some things about myself, but I didn’t know what I’d find when I got here. The subterfuge was necessary for my investigation.”
“Investigation? Youarespying on me?”
That word caused something to flit across his face. “Well…yes.”
“Why? Are you from the magistrate or something?” A familiar wash of worry flooded through her again. “Mrs Bowcott told me that it was just gossip, and that it was fading as people got bored with the same old stories.”
“It’s not that, Cady!” he burst out. “It’s something else entirely. Look, there’s this substance called clephobine.”
She frowned, surprised he even knew of it. “That’s a very dangerous drug.”
“It’s made from a plant.”
“I know. The plant is called Actaea Claviscortuum or commonly, scarlet baneberry. It’s from North America. I’ve got some specimens here. Wait… What business do you have with a poison like that?”
He took a breath, and closed his eyes, obviously arranging what he was about to say. “It’s been used to kill someone very close to me.”
Cady recoiled, the thought of violent death instantly causing her to tense up. “Oh, my God.”
“I think the killer got it from here.”
“What!” The familiar urge to hide from a threat suddenly got supplanted by pure shock. “Here? Who thinks that?”
His expression twisted. “I can’t tell you.”
“I think you had better,” she said coldly. “Or shall I scream for help after all?”
Chapter 19
No matter what chemical Cadyhad dropped into his tea, Gabe was too well conditioned to tell her anything about the Zodiac. The rule was too ingrained in him. Don’t ever mention his code name, don’t mention the name of the group, don’t even acknowledge that such a group exists. Gabe had worked as Capricorn for several years and had yet to break that rule. He wasn’t starting now.
“Tell me why you’re doing this,” she insisted. “You were sent here particularly, to follow me particularly.”
“Ichoseto come here after I heard about my friend’s murder,” he explained, picking his way carefully so his words were all technically true. “His name was Lewelleyn Parrish.”
“He must have been averygood friend,” she said, giving him an odd, speculative look.
“It’s hard to explain,” he said after a second. “We were both in the same…circle. I can tell you that he was the sort of person you’d want on your side.”Just like any agent of the Zodiac, he thought.
Cady was watching him, trying to make sense of his explanation. “I think I see,” she said at last. “And I’m very sorry to hear that he died. Are yousurehe was murdered?”
“There’s no question.”
“And you’re sure he was given clephobine? It’s extremely rare.”
“You’re the only person in England who’s successfully synthesized it,” he said.
“That’s true…as far as I know anyway. I don’t know whether to be flattered that you went through the trouble to find that out, or horrified because you thought I left poison lying around.”
“That’s why I’m here. Parrish left a note before he died. It was only one word:Calderwood.”
Cady’s eyes widened. She looked as if she’d just been struck. “How…” was all she got out.
