The Gadgeteer

Chapter 12

NEARING DINNERTIME, the hospital came into sight - and what a sight, Arabeth thought. Abandoned. Decrepit.

The decaying structure sat irregularly covered in vines, and the entire grounds were unkempt. Still, it would be a good place to hide what you were up to, if you didn't cause a path to the front door.

Bernie's leads were rarely wrong. That meant this was the perfect disguise for something... but what?

Silently, she and Hicks dismounted their horses. With no hitching post or other horse-friendly parking, Arabeth led her steed forward, looking for a sturdy tree with tall branches to high-tie to.

"I hear a voice," Hicks said. "Calm, but loud."

"Group instructions or talking to the hard of hearing?"

"Like that. Why? What are you thinking?"

She shook her head. "Just assessing. Let's have a look."

"We're not exactly going to blend in," she said, looking at Hicks in his usual suit and long coat. "We'll need a story."

Hicks reached out and took her arm, pulling her behind him. "Wait."

Arabeth stepped out from behind him.

"Stop peeking," he whispered and side-stepped to stand in front of her again. "Get behind a tree if you can't stand here."

She was about to peek around when a voice called out to Hicks.

"Samuel Hicks! What brings you out this way? Looking to get away from the city for a while?"

Harold Jacobs? What was he doing out here—did that mean Melanie was still safe back at Betsy's house?

Arabeth peered out, regardless of the risk. This was Jacobs. He could be trusted, she was sure. The hired-man was wearing travelling clothes, a long, heavy wool coat and cap, and high-quality boots. Apparently he'd been helping himself to things the Marshes had left behind. Fair enough. Perhaps they were a gift. Arabeth didn't actually care.

She was about to step around and forward to ask what he was doing all the way out here, but intuition stopped her.

"I got a report of strange goings-on and thought it should be checked out," Hicks was keeping his voice low, relaxed. "What brings you out here? I thought you had to keep a close eye on the Marsh house."

"That place watches itself, for the most part. No one wants to go near it, saying it brings bad luck." Jacobs fidgeted a moment, then shrugged. "To be frank, there's an element of boredom in an unoccupied home. This place arouses curiosity, wouldn't you say? It's an oddity. You'll want to avoid the inside of it. It's dangerous, if you see what I mean." He pointed at some related rubble near the entrance. "It's falling apart. Not sure what you're looking for, but you'll be risking your neck if you go inside."

Hicks nodded. It was a reasonable story from someone who hadn't expected other foot traffic here.

"Thank you for your warning, but I'm sure it can't hurt to look inside," Hicks said.

Jacobs' face went red and his hands tightened into fists. "You oughtn't. I'm insisting."

Hicks cocked his head to one side. "Every report must be thoroughly investigated," he said. "Do you really propose to come into the law on this?"

Arabeth could only imagine his expression, but his body language said he was confident, maybe even arrogant. Hicks was playing up to Jacob's class expectations, no doubt. He had to come across as more than diligent or be seen as suspicious.