Page 25 of Murder in Blackfriars

Cooking usually soothed me, so by the time the meal went up and the staff had consumed their own supper, I had eased my mind enough to think over all that had happened that afternoon without too much distress.

Even so, when I was alone later, and a muffled knock on the back door sounded in the quietness of the dark kitchen, the relief that flooded me was profound.

I was across the room in a flash, opening the door and dragging the man on the step inside to wrap him tightly in my arms.

8

“I ought to be nicked more often,” Daniel said into my ear, his voice warm and welcome.

My head popped up, and I scowled at him. “No, you should not. What a thing to say. I feared I’d never see you again.”

“No reason for that.” Daniel led me to the kitchen table as though he escorted me across a fancy restaurant. “McGregor and Scott knew they couldn’t pin it on me, and neither truly believed I’d killed the man. They interrogated me for the better part of the afternoon and evening and then threw me out.”

“I was certain they’d be reasonable,” I said, trying to sound offhand, but in truth, I was trembling in relief.

I set two teacups on the table and refilled the pot from the kettle as Daniel seated himself in his usual place.

“But you feared you’d never see me again?” Daniel cocked a brow at me.

“Do not cast up to me things I say in agitation,” I said. “Iknew in my heart they’d release you, eventually, but my imagination can conjure many dire things.”

I set the teapot on the table, glancing at the clock to time the tea’s steeping, then retrieved the piece of apple tart I had resting on the dresser. Daniel rubbed his hands as I deposited it on a plate and slid it before him.

“Excellent,” he said. “I’ve been hungry all day. Talking to inspectors is not nourishing, plus McGregor had the audacity to consume most of a meat pie under my nose. He blamed me for making him miss his lunch.”

“If he bought it at a food stand, it likely wasn’t as good as it could be,” I pointed out.

“True, but at the time, my stomach was rumbling something fierce. Reminded me too much of my childhood before Carter found me.”

Daniel ended his unhappy reminiscing by shoveling in a large forkful of apple tart, its crust glistening with sugar.

“Do they have any other suspects but you?” I asked as I sat down next to him.

Daniel regarded me in silence as he swallowed his first bite and then again with his second. Not until half the tart was gone did he wipe his mouth on the napkin I provided and deign to speak.

“No other suspects so far, at least none they made known to me. Scott told me you’d come to see him voluntarily, and that one of the constables at the scene had recognized you as you fled. I’m sorry, Kat. I thought I sent you off quickly enough.”

“My own fault for lingering, and also for being polite to constables at the Yard. You did not mention Mr. Grimes, did you?”

Daniel shook his head. “I’d never land him in it. Grimes didsome things in his past that don’t bear coming to light now. I won’t say he’s reformed, but he is a better person now and should be able to continue to atone.”

I agreed. “I had a look at Mr. Banks’s lodgings,” I said as Daniel continued his apple tart. “I took Hannah with me for protection.”

Daniel froze in the act of raising another bite to his mouth. “Good Lord. What possessed you to do that?”

“I thought it should be done soon, before his landlady cleared it out,” I answered. “I was trying to find any hint of what he meant to tell you, and also who else might have killed him, in case Inspector McGregor decided to keep you until they could land the real culprit. I went in broad daylight—or at least foggy daylight—and Hannah is good in a scrap.”

“Good in a…” Daniel shook his head in despair. “If I’d known, I would have hurried McGregor and Scott along. As a matter of fact, once I was free, I went to Banks’s rooms myself, but it was late, and the landlady wouldn’t let me in.”

“Mrs. Duggan seems a conscientious woman, and I’m certain you looked seedier than usual, having spent all day with the police.”

Daniel lifted his brows. “Than usual? Meaning I am generally seedy, I suppose.” He grinned. “You are right, though. Mrs. Duggan did not like the look of me, and my charm did not work at all. I went home, had a wash, and put on clean clothes to come to see you.”

“As should a gentleman while courting,” I said.

“I’m a gentleman now, am I? No longer a disreputable vagabond?” His eyes took on their usual sparkle.

“We don’t know, do we?” I gentled my tone, leaving off my teasing. “I spoke to a man who was friends with Mr. Banks. He said it’s unlikely Mr. Banks had information on your mum,but he did tell me the name of the woman who possibly took you in when you were a wee chap.”