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It didn’t take more than five minutes for all three to be seated, upon which Samantha launched right into the information they’d come to impart. Meanwhile, Miss Hastings wrote with impressive speed, only pausing occasionally to dip her quill in the inkwell.

Once finished, she re-read her notes, then froze – an almost dazed look making it seem as though she were staring inward instead of outward. A series of rapid blinks followed, and then her lips parted, as if on an unspoken thought.

She shoved her chair back and stood. “Excuse me. Both of you. I’ll be back in a moment.” Then out the door she went.

Adrian turned to Samantha, who appeared as confused as he felt. “What just happened?”

“I’ve no idea.”

Thankfully, Miss Hastings did not keep them waiting long. When she returned she brought some papers with her. “Your account brought to mind a report filed earlier this year. It pertains to a missing woman.”

“And you believe she could be the Albourne maid?” Adrian asked.

Miss Hastings resumed her seat and pinned her index finger to the papers she’d placed on the desk. “It was Lady Albourne’s housekeeper who brought Miss Bancroft’s disappearance to Bow Street’s attention. I happened upon her statement last night.”

Miss Hastings pushed the papers across the desk so Adrian and Samantha could read them.

Adrian did so quickly, then re-read them once again before glancing at Miss Hastings.

“There’s no mention of Miss Bancroft being in service or of either woman having ties to the Albourne title. How did you make the connection?”

“Because your wife mentioned the Albourne home being near Green Park.” Miss Hastings folded her arms on the desk.

“The address associated with Mrs. Gilbert, the housekeeper, is Number 2 Bury Street, which I believe runs parallel to the park in question. Add to that the time frame and the nature of the case and I’m sure Miss Bancroft must be Lady Albourne’s missing maid.

Adrian was beginning to be impressed. “And just to be clear, you read the file because of the case you’re helping Kendrick with?”

“No. There’s no indication that this is a missing person’s report, until one starts reading, that is.

A fault I mean to rectify at some point to make cross referencing easier.

” Miss Hastings pulled the papers Adrian and Samantha had read back into a pile.

“Truth is, I wanted something to read yesterday evening so I took a few unsolved cases home with me.”

Samantha leaned forward. “And you just happened to recall a minor detail?”

Color rose to Miss Hastings’ cheeks. “As I mentioned, I’m good at making connections.”

Adrian chuckled. “You don’t say.”

Appearing equally stumped, Samantha sat back, hands folded in her lap. “If I may say so, Kendrick is fortunate to have you on his team.”

Miss Hastings bit her lip. “I’m not sure he would agree. You see, he doesn’t approve of women engaging in this line of work. Tried to talk Papa out of having me help him, but Papa sided with me, so here I am.”

“In my chair, it would seem.”

Miss Hastings jolted in response to Kendrick’s voice and began scrambling to her feet. Adrian glanced toward the chief constable, who stood in the doorway, a somber look in his eyes. He stepped forward and recommended Miss Hastings remain seated before greeting Adrian and Samantha.

“I can only suppose you’re here to provide additional insight into my case,” he said once they’d finished with the pleasantries. Leaning against a bookcase, hands in his pockets, he directed a questioning look toward Adrian.

“You’re not wrong,” Adrian said with a smirk. “We’ve given Miss Hastings the details.”

It was hard to miss the annoyance that flickered in Kendrick’s blue eyes. His deep frown and flat mouth amplified the emotion, making it clear to Adrian that the chief constable had gotten himself an assistant he’d like to be rid of, but couldn’t.

Amused, Adrian added, “She’s extraordinarily clever, by the way. Figured out that a maid reported missing in May was likely working at Albourne House and that she may be yet another victim for us to consider.”

“Really?” Interest rather than shock had Kendrick straightening his posture. He sent Miss Hastings a somber look. “What would suggest that?”

It took a few seconds for the flustered Miss Hastings to find her tongue, but once she did, she explained the details of her findings with perfect clarity.

Meanwhile, Kendrick appeared to hang on her every word.

So much so, Adrian wondered if the chief constable might have a deeper interest in the lady herself.

“Croft is correct,” Kendrick said when Miss Hastings was done explaining. That irritated look from earlier had resurfaced. “You are extraordinarily clever.”

Miss Hastings beamed in response to the compliment. Samantha made a soft noise that sounded like stifled laughter while Adrian bit his tongue.

The chief constable’s expression remained stiff. Sober. All business. He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his silver cheroot case. Miss Hastings’s smile fell. She scrunched her nose and glanced toward the closed window.

“My office, my rules,” Kendrick told her, clearly referencing an earlier discussion between the pair.

He selected a cheroot and lit it without further warning, then spoke to the room at large.

“Thanks to Mr. Murdoch’s help in identifying Miss Griffin, I’ve been able to call on her last place of employment. ”

Adrian straightened. “What did you learn?”

“Turns out she was being romanced by one of the footmen. Mr. Thompson is his name. Young bloke in his early twenties. Very polite and utterly crushed by the news of Miss Griffin’s death. But despite his grief, he did prove helpful.”

“He gave you a lead,” Samantha murmured.

Kendrick set his half-burned cheroot to his lips and inhaled, then exhaled the smoke before saying, “According to Mr. Thompson, Miss Griffin complained about feeling poorly in the days leading up to her death. Of course, we know from Fellowes that she was expecting. It’s possible Thompson had no wish to reveal this to me or that he wasn’t aware.

In any case, he said he’d suggested Miss Griffin see a physician - a man Thompson recommended - when she continued complaining about feeling poorly. ”

“And?” Miss Hastings prodded when Kendrick paused. When he merely allowed himself to enjoy another drag from his cheroot, she huffed a breath and went to open the window.

Adrian sent a these-two-will-either-murder-each-other-or-end-up-married kind of look to Samantha, who responded with an inconspicuous nod.

“Miss Griffin told him she was going to do as he advised. She discussed this with the housekeeper, who granted her permission to take the afternoon off, and left Ottersburg House as soon as she was done removing stains from a table cloth used at the previous day’s supper.”

“And that’s the last time Mr. Thompson and the rest of the servants saw her?” Samantha asked.

“Precisely,” Kendrick confirmed.

“The next logical step then would be to speak with the physician she went to see,” Miss Hastings said.

“I’ve done so,” Kendrick clipped. He snuffed out the remainder of his cheroot in a crystal dish.

“In that case, you ought to consider the route Miss Griffin took in order to get there. Clearly she—”

“I am aware of how to do my job, Miss Hastings.” Kendrick glared at her.

“And yet, your track record leaves much to be desired,” she countered.

Adrian cleared his throat, forcing Kendrick’s attention away from the woman he looked about ready to strangle, and back to him and Samantha. “Who’s the physician?”

Kendrick blinked. “Um…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Doctor Preordian.”

“Unusual name,” Samantha said. “Where’s his office?”

“At Number 13 Floral Street.” Kendrick retrieved a notebook from his other jacket pocket and dropped it on top of his desk in front of Miss Hastings.

“Knowledgeable fellow. Helpful too, but a dead end where Miss Griffin is concerned since he’s never met her.

Which does indeed mean that something prevented her from reaching her destination on the day of her disappearance.

I walked that stretch of road, mind you.

” Another censorious glance at Miss Hastings who merely crossed her arms and raised her chin in response.

“It’s almost a mile. Winding through various streets would have brought her close to the rookery. ”

“You think the culprit we’re seeking could be a lowly thug?” Adrian asked, not the least bit convinced by such a possibility.

As if sensing this, Kendrick held his gaze for a long moment before eventually saying, “I’m not sure. It would make more sense than the culprit being from the upper class. Would it not?”

A little disappointed in the chief constable’s line of thinking, which ignored the most pertinent facts they’d discovered, Adrian said, “We have four possible victims so far.”

“Of which three are still missing,” Kendrick pointed out. “We don’t even know what happened to them for certain – if they’re dead or if there’s another explanation as to why they disappeared.”

“True,” Adrian agreed, “but even if there’s no connection between these cases, the marks on Miss Griffin’s wrists still indicate that she was restrained before her death.”

“Any madman could have abducted her,” Kendrick said. “Hell, it could have been a hackney driver for all we know. Fact is she was dumped in the Thames. There’s no clue as to which class the person who killed her belongs. Could be anyone for the moment. Until we learn more.”

“From the next victim?” Samantha asked with a pointed look.

“Or from a previous one,” Kendrick said, annoyance showing in his tone. “We’ve only just gotten started on this. We’ll need time to figure it out.”

Adrian knew he was right. He also worried Samantha might have a point. If the cases were connected, as he suspected they might be, that meant the killer was sure to strike again. Unless someone stopped him.

Choosing not to voice this thought, Adrian privately considered what he would have to do next.