Page 24 of Secrets in the Dark
Della hit a key on the computer again and the video continued to run. “There, heading toward the main street—and ducking behind a group of cars and then...”
They all watched.
It was as if the man had disappeared.
“He knows where the cameras are,” Mason said flatly. “He knows not to leave prints, to be careful not to get any cuts himself lest he leave his own blood at the scene. He has planned this all out—I imagine, from the time that Stephan Dante was picked up in New Orleans, he’s been laying out his plans.”
“Competition among killers,” François Bisset said with disgust. “If you are ready to head back to the streets, I’ll continue here with the video. Edmund and Sean have seen to it that every business owner in the area knows that if they want to keep their business brisk, they’ll add their own security and cameras.”
“Scotland Yard is truly on this all the way,” Sean assured them. “My partner was out on holiday, but he’s back working with the ground patrol in the area.”
“What is our plan?” Edmund asked, looking at Della and Mason. “Yours should be to get to your hotel room at last and get some rest, this side of the pond. We have you at a great place in Westminster not far—”
Della interrupted him, laughing. “First, you must be as tired as we are since you were on the plane with us. And, if possible, I’m thinking that we should find lodging in Whitechapel.”
“An excellent idea,” Sean Johnstone said. “There are several places that belong to those agencies that rent homes. Being right there...”
“On it,” François Bisset said. “Give me five minutes and I’ll get the right people to cancel what we have and change things over. Jeanne—”
“Find us a house or lodgings somewhere small but where we can also come and go at odd hours,” Jeanne said.
“Pardonnez moi!” François exclaimed, smiling. “I will be there, too, thus you can guarantee, I will seek what will work best.”
They all laughed together, and it was a good moment.
“But we’re going out tonight!” Della reminded them.
“Of course. And because it is a stop for Ripper tours, due to being a great pub that has been there since the 1700s, we will start at the Ten Bells. Historic, and still serving excellent fare and fine stouts and ales,” Edmund said.
“Onward to Commercial Street!” Edmund said.
They rose and gathered their things, but as they headed out, Sean’s phone began to ring. He paused, excusing himself as he listened while nodding to friends in the department as they left the building.
Outside, he paused on the sidewalk.
He listened and replied. “We’ll be there shortly.”
He ended the call and looked at the others. “One of our patrolmen was just stopped by a woman in the street. She claims she saw the murderer last night.”
“And we’re going to her?”
Sean shrugged and grimaced. “She stopped the officer right in front of Christ’s Church on Hanover Street—and across from Ten Bells.”
“Then we’re going to her. Now. So much for going anywhere in disguise tonight,” Mason said.
“If Jesse Miller is the killer, he knows you, me and Della,” Edmund said. “He doesn’t know Jeanne or Sean. We can keep our distance from them and...”
“My new best bloke!” Sean teased Jeanne, who groaned in protest.
“Fine. We can be a father and son out for a night!”
“But the witness is waiting—”
“The policeman she approached is a friend,” Sean told them. He has her waiting by the church—she didn’t want to come into the station. Listen, this may be nothing. This woman might be a total flake—she didn’t want to come into a police station anywhere to give her statement—she believes that it might have been a royal conspiracy back in the day, and, of course, politics can still be corrupt...better just to talk to us.”
“Did the patrolman suggest that she might be on something?” Della asked.
Sean shrugged. “No. But...”
