“I’ll go along,” Nelly offered. “Two pairs of eyes’ll be better than one.”
This time Spencer nodded. “You two head straight to the chemical works and back. That’s it. And you turn around if anything feels off.” He pinned the young couple with a stern look. “I mean anything at all.”
Nelly nodded firmly. “Yes, sir. Anything a’tall.”
“I’ll be in the workshop,” Ada announced and followed after the pair as they headed out the back door of the offices. She needed to move, needed to occupy her brain, her hands.
Might as well fiddle about in Edison’s lab.
The lamps were still lit. Edison’s automatic butler gleamed in the flickering light of the two large kerosene lamps at either end of his vast work table.
Not thinking, she grabbed a rag off the nearest bench and approached it, rubbing the cloth over the head and face, erasing smudges and fingerprints from the polished brass.
Despite her fears, Ada smiled at the blank-faced automaton. The cheerful-looking creation seemed so at odds with his creator. Edison’s cheer was hidden deep inside him, beneath layers of intensity, focus, cynicism… even fear.
Ada stopped. The rag fell from her fingers.
He was afraid. Not like ordinary men. He had no fear of pain or death.
He feared intimacy.
As did she.
She sank down on the nearest stool. It was all so clear.
Even as a laugh escaped her, tears formed in the corners of her eyes. What a foolish pair they were. Both too afraid of heartache to find joy.
She sighed. The sound was as deep and shaky as she felt.
No wonder they’d never suit.
A clatter at the door, then Nelly’s breathless voice rang out. “‘E was never there. Mr. Edison never made it to the chemical works.”
She felt as if she couldn’t breath. Her vision blurring, Ada bolted down the hall to the front of the offices.
Worry lines etched into his handsome face, Burke stood in the center of the room, taking charge. “Nelly, send a telegram to my station. We need men here now.”
Meena grabbing her coat off the peg. “We should spread out, search the area.”
Burke stopped her. “I’ve got patrol officers for that.” He thought for a moment. “Might be best to start at this chemical shop and work backwards.”
“Good idea.” Spencer stood shoulder to shoulder with his wife. “Meena and I will tackle that.”
Ada rushed into the room. “I’ll go with you.”
She didn’t like the worried look that passed between Spencer and his wife. She knew she wasn’t going to like what they had to say.
“That won’t do,” Meena said gently. “We know the area. We know my cousin. Whoever’s out there wants you. If it comes down to it, you’re our only bargaining chip.”
“I understand.” Ada rubbed her hands together as the muscles in her shoulders tightened painfully. “But another set of eyes…” her voice trailed off. The set of their faces told her better than words that her argument wasn’t working.
She hung her head. “I understand. You can’t be worrying about me.”
“Besides,” Meena added, “I’m hoping he stopped by the local pub for a pint.” She tried to smile. “Then I can kill him myself.”
A shaky laugh escaped Ada’s lips.
Spencer and Meena and Burke were throwing on their overcoats, preparing to leave.
“They should be armed,” Spencer said to the Inspector.
Burke nodded. “Not a bad idea.”
Spencer nodded. “Nelly, Henry, you stay with Mrs. Templeton.” He pulled a revolver from a desk drawer. “I have a bad feeling our man is out there. If he snatched Edison, it’s only because he’s been watching us. All of us.”
Nelly cocked her gun and caught Ada’s eye. “Don’t worry, Mrs. T, I can shoot the eye outta a potato at twenty paces. Ain’t no bruisers gonna get past me.”
At the slight girl’s boast, Henry’s eyes widened, making Ada laugh. She treasured that second when the blanket of fear lifted for an instant before dragging her down again.
“Bolt the door behind us,” Meena ordered as she and the men slipped out into the night.
*
Henry had been staring at the door so long Ada wondered if he’d fall into some sort of trance, as if he were trying to will Meena and the men back inside.
“They’ll be all right,” he announced finally, with all the fake bravado a young, strong boy could muster.
He checked the revolver again, squinting down at the bullets nestled in their chambers as if he hadn’t done the same thing eight times already. That done, he grabbed the door handle and pulled, rattling the door in its frame as he tested the deadbolt.
Again.
Nelly tensed. She left off the delicate work of brushing the ink and lint from the typewriter keys. “Leave off,” she ordered. “You’ll make us all crazy.”
“Sorry.” He sank down in the chair next to her telegraph machine and reached out a finger to spin her fountain pen around and around on the blotter.
Nelly clucked her tongue like a harried governess and grabbed the thing out of his hands.
Ada sympathized with the boy’s need to fidget. She was having trouble controlling her own urges. She longed to be in Edison’s workshop, tidying or arranging or fiddling, but it wouldn’t do to leave the younger ones alone in the front office.
“We could do with some tea.” Ada headed for the hotplate next to the sink in the small galley-style kitchen behind the desk area.
“You never did say where you’re from,” Ada heard Nelly say. “And don’t pretend it’s the East End. Yer accent barkered off days ago.”
Itching to hear his reply to such a pointed observation, Ada turned quietly, wanting to watch the exchange without reminding them of her presence.
Henry stared hard at the back of the door. “I can’t say.”
The fear in his tone tugged at her heart.
Nelly huffed. “If ya don’t trust us by now, ya never will.” She turned her attention back to cleaning. “Fine by me.”
“If I told you, you’d be in danger.”
Nelly looked up at him from the level of her typewriter keys. Henry likely missed it, but to Ada, the hitch in her shoulders spoke of hurt.
“We’re always in danger.” Nelly’s tone was light. “Won’t change a thing for me.” Her brush swept back and forth over the metal strikers with quick, short strokes. “But if you ain’t smart enough to see the league could help, y’don’t got brains enough t’last out there, anyway.”
Now Henry puffed up like a pigeon. “I’ve been out there for weeks, living off nothing but my wits. Ever since—” He cut himself off.
Instead of pushing, Nelly surprised her. “You ‘ave been showin’ an uncommon skill for following Mr. Edison’s directions.” She pointed the brush at him. “Maybe they’ll let you stay. Our league gets about important work. Helping folks and the like. Lots of bang up adventures.”
Ada smiled at the thought of the pint-sized dynamo chasing down hulking thugs.