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“He did request leave for next month,” Cecillia confirmed.“He told the headmaster he needed to consult archives in Paris, though he was uncharacteristically vague about the specific purpose.”

Evander digested this with growing unease.“Is there anything else, Professor Harrington?”he pressed.“Anything at all that struck you as unusual?”

Cecillia faltered, her fingers worrying at the cameo brooch at her throat.

“The night before he disappeared, I saw him burning papers in his fireplace,” she finally admitted.“When he noticed me at the door, he seemed startled.Almost guilty, in fact.He claimed they were failed drafts of a new paper, but Walter never disposed of his work that way.He was meticulous about keeping his archives.”

Shaw’s eyes lit up.“That’s why the hearth was so clean when I examined it.”She glanced at Evander and Rufus.“He must have thoroughly cleared away the evidence.”

“And you believe these papers were related to his current research?”Evander pressed Cecillia.

“I can’t be certain, but I cannot see what else they would have been about.”She frowned and glanced at Whitley’s desk.“He’d been making notes in a small, leather-bound journal for weeks.He always kept it with his papers.I noticed it was missing when I came to check on him the morning after the dinner.”

Chapter10

Every instinct Evanderpossessed screamed at him that the missing journal was a key lead in their investigation.

“Could it be what they were searching his chambers for this morning?”Shaw pondered.

“The same thought crossed my mind,” Rufus muttered.

Evander’s gaze swept the room once more, taking in the disarray with fresh eyes.The missing journal, the burned papers—all of it pointed to a man desperately trying to conceal something of great importance.

It seemed his instincts on the ride here had been correct, after all.

He turned to Cecillia.“Thank you, Professor Harrington.You’ve been more helpful than the rest of the faculty combined.”

A shadow crossed her face.“I hope I haven’t betrayed Walter’s trust.But if he’s in danger…” She faltered and bit her lip.

“If he is, we’re his best chance,” Rufus assured her.“And we’ll do everything in our power to find him.”

“I do have one final question for you,” Evander told Cecillia.

She gave him a puzzled look.

“How was Walter Whitley’s relationship with Caine Renwick?”

Cecillia’s expression grew shuttered, but not before Evander glimpsed a spark of dread in the depths of her eyes.

“It wasn’t the most amicable of work relations,” she confessed in a strained voice.“Though many in the faculty considered Professor Renwick to have a brilliant mind, Walter once privately told me he thought Renwick was dangerous.He was civil to the man, but he did not engage with him beyond what was strictly necessary.”

“Thank you for being candid with your answer,” Evander said quietly.“It’s a breath of fresh air compared to what we’ve endured today.”

Cecillia smiled weakly.She handed Evander a small card as they prepared to leave.

“My address, should you need to reach me.I’m not staying in my Institute quarters at present.I don’t feel safe here, what with Walter’s disappearance.”

Evander pocketed the card with a nod of thanks.The sun was starting to sink as they departed the Royal Institute.He felt dozens of eyes follow their progress to the gates as they crossed the long shadows in the courtyard.

Bartley was snoring softly beside Fitch.He awoke with a startled “Gnnhh!”when his colleague jabbed an elbow sharply in his ribs.

“Glad to see one of you stayed alert,” Rufus remarked acerbically.

“I was just resting my eyes, Inspector,” Bartley protested.His jaw-splitting yawn did little to support this blatant lie.

“Ollie?”

“Yes, Freddie?”