The Edge of Dreams (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #14)

“That may have a perfectly simple explanation,” Daniel said. “It was devilishly hot. There were the usual summer epidemics in the city at that time. Our killer could have caught some disease and been too sick to carry out his planned murder. Or he could have decided to let the early-August victim live. Or it could be that he hadn’t actually planned these murders to be three weeks apart, and the dates were purely circumstantial.”


“I think he sounds like the sort of meticulous individual to whom dates would matter. It’s also important that several of these deaths, if not all, could have been ruled as accidents. Feebleminded Dolly stepping out in front of a tram; the overbearing mother accidentally knocking her lamp into the bath; the judge’s wife dying of gastric trouble; the butcher accidentally locking himself into the safe. Only your university student’s cyanide would have shown up as a deliberate murder.” I looked up at Daniel. “This is a game to him, Daniel. A game of cat and mouse, and he wants to make sure you stay on his trail.”

“You can say that again.” Daniel sighed as he walked toward the door. “He is enjoying taunting me, showing up my inadequacies.”

“All the more reason to figure out who might have a personal grudge against you. I think you should do as I suggested, and make a list of criminals who were convicted and executed thanks to you. My guess is that this is someone’s brother or best friend, seeking revenge on behalf of a dead prisoner.”

“But why is he including innocent people in his revenge?” Daniel lingered with his hand on the door handle. “Why would anyone gloat over pushing a simple old woman under a trolley?”

“That’s what you need to find out,” I said. “Either they are all random killings, or all but one are random killings, meant to hide the one instance in which he wanted a person dead. Or … he is enjoying sending you off on fools’ errands, or…” And I paused, considering this, “Or he has some kind of agenda and reason for wanting these particular people dead.”

“And me with no way of finding out why.” Daniel frowned, turned to go, then remembered something. “Oh, Molly, I meant to tell you. I did accomplish something positive this morning,” he said. “I stopped by Sloane’s and ordered two beds—one for the spare room, and a single one for the maid’s room upstairs. That way my mother can come to stay right away to take care of you, and she can help you look for a new servant. Perhaps you’d feel strong enough to make a list of the various sheets and pillows and things that we’ll need, and I can ask Wanamaker’s dry goods to deliver. The sooner our life is back to normal, the better for all of us.”

Then he gave me an encouraging smile and closed the door behind him. I sat at the vanity, looking at my reflection in the mirror and trying not to feel annoyed. I suppose he genuinely thought he was doing me a kindness by bringing his mother down to look after me, but I took it to mean that he wanted me out of Sid and Gus’s clutches as soon as possible. I finished my toilette and went downstairs, easing myself down step by step, as walking was still painful. I came into the drawing room to find Sid on the floor, creeping around on all fours and growling as she chased a delighted Liam.

“I’m a bear,” she said, looking up as I came in. “A very fierce bear.” And she growled again, making Liam shriek, half in delight and half in terror.

“Don’t be too realistic,” I said. “I don’t want him having nightmares.”

“He likes it,” she said, standing up and brushing off the dust from her black silk trousers. “It’s good for children to be scared from time to time. How about some luncheon—the delicatessen had a fine-looking ham this morning, and we’ve tomatoes as an extra treat?”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I said. Having grown up without ever meeting a tomato, I still hadn’t really developed a taste for them, but I did know they were a luxury item, and there was a hot debate going on as to whether they were a fruit or a vegetable.

“And you’d like some lunch, wouldn’t you, young man?” Sid swept up Liam and carried him through to the kitchen. It had rained during the night, leaving the air bright and fresh with just a hint of fall about it. The windows of the conservatory behind the kitchen had been opened, letting in a refreshing breeze. I sat Liam on my knee and fed him soup and mashed potato, both of which he ate with relish in spite of the garlic I could taste in the former. Clearly he’d grow up to be a young man of cosmopolitan taste.

“Do I gather that Daniel was annoyed I had been to your apartment?” Sid asked as she bustled about the kitchen, retrieving items from the meat safe. “He certainly seemed put out when I told him.”

“He wasn’t angry with you. He was frightened. He thought someone might have come to kidnap me,” I said.