All That Glitters: A Maggie Power Adventure (Maggie Power #2) *Unedited version*

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Later, after he located me, Blake walked me back to Marylebone Road, hailed a cab and took me home.

During the journey, he explained, as delicately as he could, the scene he and his men had picked over. They believed that some type of undiluted acid had been used to disfigure the face of the man in the bed. He supposed the victim was already dead by the time this attack had taken place; for he thought the cries from such an assault would have awoken the dead, if the victim had indeed been conscious throughout such a wicked ordeal. He was still, however, unsure of the initial cause of death. They could find no wounds upon the man's body; no bruises or cuts, no sign of a struggle.

"He may have been poisoned at first. Then, as a way to disguise the identity of the victim, the acid was thrown over his face. The substance had seeped through the bedding and burned a hole through the bed itself."

Next he told me that the clothes upon the victim's body resembled those worn by the missing gentleman, Mr Templeton-Wells.

"They were very fine stitches indeed. Not the sort of clothes worn by a struggling artist," he said.

The fate of the missing banker was beginning to look a lot clearer, he assured me. But, he continued, the motivation for such an extreme attack, and the architect behind such a dreadful murder, seemed less certain.

"We have a body, but the difficult work begins now, Maggie," he said. "And I'm sorry you were subjected to that today. Truly, if I had known–"

"But you were not to have known, detective. I went with you voluntarily. Besides, I enjoy our work. I wasn't quite expecting such a sight today. That is all."

He smiled. "Very well, my able assistant. Best keep this outing from my sister. Best for all, I should think."

When I reached home, I said I felt tired and Blake told his sister I'd had a taxing day regarding matters pertaining to the case which caused such upset earlier that day. He told her that he thought it might be best if I had a lie down, and recover from my present difficulties. Emily agreed. I saw that she had read the newspaper, now on the table next to her chair. The one which Blake had brought around earlier. The one which brought the Countess and Whitmore back into my life.

Later that evening, shortly after Emily and I had sat in almost complete silence and ate, Blake called to see how I was bearing up. During his brief visit, I felt Emily's coldness and hostility towards both of us grow the longer he stayed.

"Have you no work to be getting on with?" asked Emily.

"I called to see how Maggie is bearing up, after a such difficult day down at the station," Blake replied.

Before I could answer, Emily once more intervened. "She was pale as a ghost when she returned, Samuel. I'm not happy about you taking her off to deal with such upsetting matters. It's not the first time, either. And she is still a girl, Samuel. You would do good to keep that in mind when you come here and speak of the terrible goings on in that wretched world which you inhabit."

"I'm sorry, Maggie, but this business with Whitmore and the Countess is, I believe, at and end now," said Blake. "You can be certain that you will not be hearing any more from either of them," he continued. "I have let it be known that if Whitmore comes anywhere near you, he shall have me to deal with, as well as the full force of the Metropolitan Police."

"Well I, for one, am glad to hear that," said Emily. "Poor Maggie has been so distressed by these matters. And Samuel, I hope it shall mean we will be seeing rather less of you, too. As much as I love and admire you, I fear you will end up a bachelor for life at this rate. You will not find a wife at this address. Your job takes up enough of your time as it is. Spending your spare hours around here and dwelling on matters that should–"