Page 87 of Secrets in the Dark
“Why would you put paneling into a storage room? The rest of the place is just...ground, I guess. The flooring looks as if it’s been there since the pub was built!”
“Still, there was no sign of a blanket, a bucket for a bathroom or personal objects of any kind,” Mason said. He paused. “I think we might want to talk to our archeologists again. Seriously, think of all the digs that have gone on when something is discovered when a new tube station or the like is being built. Maybe there’s something here that we don’t know about. And something that isn’t going to be on the maps or plans for the city.”
“We didn’t try the candy store or the clothing shop,” she reminded him.
“I know. But we might want to go in having some idea of what we’re looking for.”
Della nodded. “Good point. Okay, so one of us can have a chat with Professor Goodridge and Dr. Mayberry. They may know something about this area that wouldn’t have come up in our conversations before,” Della suggested.
“Mayberry or Goodridge?” he asked her.
She shrugged. “They both seemed like nice and decent people. Okay, coin toss.”
He nodded. “We won’t bother with the coin. You can have Lucretia. Let’s do this. Despite his missives to the public, I think we infuriated the killer by getting in the way of his murder last night. He’ll be speeding up his agenda because he has to prove to us that we can’t stop him. I’ll call Bisset and he’ll set it up.”
She nodded and listened as he made the call.
They headed out from Harley’s cellar, thanking the man again for all his help.
Mason noted that Della looked back at the man curiously as they were leaving.
“What? You have a feeling there’s something wrong with him?” Mason asked.
She smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m hoping that everything is right with him. He seems like a decent guy—keeping a family business going through generations. I like him. And I hope I’m not wrong.”
He smiled. “Your people radar tends to be good. I just—”
He broke off and she prodded him quietly, “You just...?”
“We had him. We had him before we knew we were looking for him, and he got away.”
“Mason!” Della chided. “You must stop haunting yourself with that thought! Even if we had stopped him, he would have disappeared again. We had absolutely nothing to hold him on. It’s not illegal to flirt with a young woman at a pub. Seriously, he would have walked away no matter what, and we’d still be trying to find him.”
“Right. I know.”
“Then let it go,” she said firmly. “Onward!”
“Lucretia is at her rental flat. Bisset says it’s right across the river. Edmund is sending a patrol car—the officer will drop you and then take me on to speak with the good professor.”
“Meet back at the house after?” she asked him.
“Yeah. Edmund said you can call for a car—”
“I’m not wasting police on a ride across the river,” Della said. “This is their city, Mason. They’re on it, too.”
“True, but—”
“Special dispensation, Mason. I’m armed. Armed and capable.”
“I know.”
“I worry about you, too!”
“I know. But I’m not the Ripper’s type.”
“I’ll be careful!” she promised.
The car came for them, a good-natured officer driving, assuring them that he didn’t know a man or woman in law enforcement who resented anyone’s help in catching a killer, and his current assignment was just to move people around to where there might be something they could discover. He gave them his number to ring straight through if they needed him.
