The Strings of Murder (18 page)

‘I see … thin, long shadows on a filthy floor … It’s a cage, the bars of a cage! And there’s something there; something nasty, crouching, lurking – Oh, it’s a strong presence; turbulent … tormented. An encaged, deranged …
genius
!’ Her entire body shuddered then. ‘Bloodthirsty! Bloodthirsty and desperate to prove its value to the world!’

And then she threw the glass onto the table. I could see the outline of the shard printed on her skin, yet no wounds. She lounged back, panting as if she’d run a mile, her face distorted.

‘Are ye all right?’ McGray asked.

‘I thought you would be used to her theatricals,’ I said, but McGray seemed genuinely concerned. He moved closer to the woman and talked softly.

‘I’ve never seen ye quite like this, hen. Can we bring ye some water or something?’

I shook my head, still not believing her act. Katerina was taking deep, troubled breaths.

‘I think I’ve seen the Devil,’ she muttered at last. All fierceness had abandoned her eyes. She was totally frightened, and there also was a great confusion in her face. Then she grasped McGray’s hand. ‘Oh, Adolphus, you must catch this one! This is a monster, a monster I tell ye!’

McGray assented. ‘Now that ye’ve seen that, I can tell ye that we found those wee things in a crime scene. Mr Fon-teen –’

‘Fontaine.’

‘Shut up! A musician, he was, Cut throat and all butchered.’ I was going to protest, for McGray was giving away confidential information, but he extended his four-fingered hand, asking me to hold back. ‘Katerina, there was a mark painted with his blood … the five eyes.’

Katerina gasped. ‘Doesn’t surprise me, not now that I’ve looked into this wretch’s heart …’

‘Can ye see anything else?’

Katerina shook her head, visibly annoyed. ‘Nae, nae, Adolphus. Let me try again.’

She lifted the shard, held it for a while, mumbled and grunted, but that first, explosive reaction would not happen again.

‘I’m sorry,’ she moaned, her face all dejection. ‘It’s spent all its energy … But I did feel a weaker presence. I can’t quite describe it; it’s a gentle one – old. Doesn’t make sense to me.’

McGray assented, as I began to wonder whether she referred to Fontaine. I cast those silly thoughts out of my head.

She gave me back the shard and then took the piece of score one more time. ‘What a shame I can’t see more from
this. It feels like there is more to this wee paper.’ She was looking at it with piercing eyes. ‘Oh yes. There is more to it, Adolphus,
believe me
. Find more about it, as much as you can. I’m sure this paper will lead your way.’

14

McGray left Madame Katerina’s brewery in an exhilarated state. ‘Told ye, dandy! She’s one in a million – and I almost met a million seers before findin’ her.’

‘I still do not believe what she said.’

‘Oh! Then how can ye explain what she said about ye?’

‘A lucky coincidence for her,’ I retorted, munching my bad temper.

‘Aye, yer
always
right! Also, she missed a mighty important bit about ye: she didn’t mention what a whiny bitch ye are! Anyways, I’m glad that chap Caroli’s looking for the name o’ that tune. My gut told me I had to ask him.’

‘There, there. Next you will tell me that you have inner eyes too. Shall we go and question that bloody Joe Fiddler now?’

‘Nae. ’Tis past noon. I need lunch.’

I sighed wearily, for I was beginning to learn that protesting against McGray was a total waste of energy. He innocently invited me to eat with him at the Ensign Ewart, and I could only laugh. ‘
Eat there again?
I’d as soon rub my tongue with a culture of bubonic plague.’

Nine-Nails replied with an unintelligible splutter in his most impenetrable Scottish and then went away. I saw him ride towards Castle Rock followed by Tucker, while I turned north heading to the New Club. That day they
served the most succulent platter of fish and mussels, and as I savoured it I reflected on our visit to that bloody gypsy.

She was one disgusting person; undoubtedly one of those cold-blooded rogues who know exactly how to squeeze the paupers’ pockets. Nevertheless – and it pains me to even write this – the wretched woman had simply talked with sense! Her accuracy when describing my character was most remarkable … disturbing even: I still doubted that my efforts to redeem myself professionally were worth the doing, and felt utterly out of place in this town and in the stupid subdivision I had been assigned to … and Katerina managed to mention those sentiments with astonishing precision. She even divined my ‘lack of purpose’, which were the very words that haunted me throughout my dreadful journey to Edinburgh. Could such coincidences come to be? It was very unlikely, but not impossible.

And what if the information she’d given us regarding the case was similarly accurate? Her description of something that could have well been the interior of a chimney also puzzled me, and her further words – those that I could not verify from my previous knowledge – were intriguing, especially regarding the cage: ‘an encaged genius … bloodthirsty and desperate to prove its value to the world’. It was a chilling statement, and I could not forget that humbled, petrified look in her eyes, as if fear had displaced all her shrewdness.

So absorbed was I in these thoughts that I did not hear the voice of a man calling my name. He had to clear his throat loudly for me to notice, and looking up I found
none other than Alistair Ardglass, with his jutting belly, standing next to my table.

‘Why, Mr Ardglass!’

‘Inspector Frey, what a delight to find you here! I did not know that you held a membership.’

‘I only acquired it recently.’

‘Would you mind if I joined you for a few minutes?’

‘By all means. Have a seat.’ Ardglass did so, and immediately the waiter cleared my table and served us some strong coffee. ‘I must tell you that I cannot be detained for long. I need to go back to my duties.’

‘I understand, Inspector. I shall not entertain you more than a little while. You see, last night I happened to have dinner with my good aunt Lady Anne Ardglass, have you heard about her?’

McGray’s sneering description of ‘Lady Glass’ was impossible to forget. ‘Her name has been mentioned once or twice since I arrived.’

My answer appeared to mortify rather than please him. Lady Glass must have her reputation after all.

‘While conversing with her, your name inevitably came up,’ he continued, ‘and my dear aunt was intrigued. She wishes to know whether you are related to the Freys of Magdeburg, connected to Chancery Lane.’

I arched my eyebrows in surprise. ‘Indeed I am. I did not know that our name would be acknowledged this far from London.’

‘Oh, believe me, some distinguished few do know about you. You see, my aunt had some thorny conveyancing business settled by a very good attorney; Mr William Frey. Do you know him?’

‘You might say so. He is my father.’

‘Your father! Oh, how delightful. My aunt will be so pleased to know that. She told me how troublesome that case was, and that your good father took care of everything quickly and neatly. She said that she hardly had to lift a finger once he was involved.’

I nodded. ‘Yes, my father is still well known in Chancery Lane. He is retired now though.’

‘A well deserved rest, I am sure. Inspector, I must tell you that my aunt would be very happy if you paid her a visit at your earliest convenience.’

I instantly remembered what McGray had said about Lady Glass being Fontaine’s landlady. Paying her a visit might help us a good deal, but the fact that she herself had requested the appointment inevitably raised my suspicions.

‘I am afraid that may take a while,’ I said, for I did not want to appear too keen. ‘The case of Mr Fontaine is top priority for the CID.’

‘Of course, we understand that. You have a very serious profession. But do,
do
feel welcome to call on her whenever you have some time to spare. I shall give you her card …’ He produced a card written on expensive cotton paper. ‘Are there any means to contact you?’

‘Well, I am staying at 27 Moray Place; you can send any correspondence there.’ I checked my pocket watch. ‘You will excuse me, I must go now.’ I was not in a terrible rush, but I have never liked to become too close to the people involved in my investigations. I took the card and kept it safe in my breast pocket.

‘Oh, Inspector Frey!’ Ardglass called before I left, and
then came and whispered at my ear. ‘Do not believe everything that Nine-Nails tells you, please. People say that mad blood runs in the veins of the McGrays;
mad blood
. I know that we are civilized gentlemen, not to believe in such tales, but one cannot deny it when a family happens to be that … odd.’

I could not help but wrinkle my nose. Every time Ardglass opened his mouth I liked him a little less.

15

‘
What the hell is this, Frey?
’

I had not passed through the doorway when McGray’s thunderous yell pierced my ears.

The main hall was full of trunks and packages of all shapes and sizes, so many that there were hardly any free spots on the floor. Sticking up between the mess there were two high piles of boxes, between which I found the plump, round figure of old Joan. The woman was wearing a mighty frown, her irreverence more evident than ever, and the dark bags around her eyes told me how tired and sick she was. Nevertheless, seeing her familiar face brought me a warm feeling I did not quite expect.

‘Master!’ George cried, trying desperately to find a way through the crammed hall. ‘This auld woman came in as if she owned the house and got the place all jam-packed! The witch won’t listen to me!’

‘
Who’re ya calling witch?
’ Joan howled. I had to put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from screaming out all the slander I know her capable of.

‘McGray, this is Joan, my personal servant. I asked her to bring my essentials from London.’

‘
Yer essentials!
’

‘She even got a dammed mare and pushed it in the stable with yer horse, master!’ George snapped.

‘Why, you brought Philippa!’ I exclaimed, grinning like a child on Christmas Day. Then my eyes met McGray’s furious face and I had to clear my throat. ‘Joan, I gave you a very concise list of the things you were supposed to fetch! Why did you bring all these bundles?’

‘I only brought what you asked me, sir,’ Joan retorted, handing me the two-page list that I had written myself. I scanned it swiftly and checked the piles of stuff around me. I was sure there was a mistake, but very soon it became clear that I had slightly underestimated the size of my requirements.

‘Dear Lord …’ I sighed. ‘I never thought this list would turn out to be so voluminous.’

‘Sir, the one thing I brought that’s not in the list is your mare, but Mr Elgie insisted. He said that you would not be happy without a proper mount.’

I nodded and slowly turned back to McGray. ‘Is there any, ehem, problem if I keep these things here?’

McGray shook his head. ‘I imagine I have no choice.’

Joan sighed in relief and extended a hand, waiting for the settlement that I had promised, but then a brilliant idea hit me.

‘Actually … McGray, I suppose I should be entitled to have a personal servant. Am I not? I would prefer to have Joan staying here.’

‘Impossible! We only have rooms for two servants!’ George cried, and McGray had to restrain him just as I had restrained Joan.

‘We shan’t be here for too long,’ I added promptly, recalling the poor suit that Agnes had patched and the
nasty, lumpy porridge she served in the mornings. ‘After all, Commissioner Monro is supposed to arrange my permanent accommodation in less than a fortnight …’

‘And I hope he does,’ Joan spat in a monotone. ‘This place is a whiffy hole!’

I cast an infuriated look at her.
You are not helping!
I mouthed.

McGray shook his head again; I could tell how sick of me he was. ‘How can ye call all this twaddle yer essentials?’ He walked around and picked one of the boxes. ‘Earl Grey tea! Cos we wild Scots don’t have tea, I suppose! And now ye want to be served by an Englishwoman! That’s typical. Wherever youse English go, there youse take yer teas, yer jams, yer nauseating cucumber sandwiches!’ He looked at Joan. ‘And yer hogbeasts too!’