Page 81 of A Whisper in the Shadows

“As much as I would like to come along,” Tilda said, “I will instead see what I can learn from Mrs. Atkins about Mr. Jarret and his early friendship with Phelps.”

Hadrian nodded, and Tilda went into the common room where Mrs. Atkins had gone. Hadrian and Maxwell walked to where Furnier and Nevill stood near the door.

“Let’s go into the common room,” Nevill said, gesturing for Hadrian and Maxwell to precede him. The four men walked to the corner, away from where people were clustered, to speak.

Nevill directed his attention to Hadrian first. “Mr. Beck, we would like to offer you the position of canvasser."

“I accept,” Hadrian said quickly.

“Excellent.” Nevill appeared quite pleased whilst Furnier merely nodded. “When can you start?”

“Right away,” Hadrian said. “I thank you very much.” He looked to Furnier and reached out to shake the man’s hand. Bracing himself, he worked to keep his expression normal, though this ought to be a relatively short vision—if he had one.

The common room became Phelps’s parlor. Furnier looked toward the fireplace mantel where a knife was displayed. It was long and thin, just like what the coroner had described. It had not been in Phelps’s house on either occasion that Hadrian had been in the parlor. The handshake ended, and so did the vision along with it.

Hadrian moved on to shake Nevill’s hand. A pain sliced through Hadrian’s forehead. Nevill was also in Phelps’s house, but Hadrian did not see Furnier. He did see Phelps, who appeared distressed—he was pale, and his features were deeply creased.

Nevill looked down and a man lay prone on the floor of the parlor. Hadrian had never met the man, but he looked as Mrs. Vickers had described Timothy Eaton.

Blood soaked the front of his clothing and his eyes were open, staring into nothing.

The handshake ended and so did the vision. Hadrian managed to keep from gasping, but his heart was thuddingmadly. He closed his eyes briefly in a long blink to preserve what he’d seen. He could hardly wait to share it with Tilda. He glanced toward where she stood with Mrs. Atkins.

Hadrian couldn’t go to her now. They wouldn’t have any privacy to speak. Furthermore, he needed to continue with his inquiries, and that included shaking more hands and potentially seeing more visions. His head already ached terribly.

Focusing on Nevill and Furnier, Hadrian inhaled deeply to calm his still-racing heart. “I would like to speak with Dr. Giles. One of the first things I hope to do is identify those who should not be members because they’re ill.”

He wanted to say he would use the ledger that Eaton had created, but he couldn’t let them know that he had it. They would ask how it had come to be in his possession, and he could not explain that the police had allowed him to search Phelps’s house.

“You’ll need to identify the people Eaton recruited,” Furnier said. His brows gathered in what appeared to be annoyance. “I’m not sure how you will do that.” He glanced toward Draper, who stood with the other men from the mercantile house. “I believe some of those people paid Draper at a weekly meeting. You could ask him if he knows the identities of any of those unfortunate people.”

“I’ll do that,” Hadrian said.

Furnier pursed his lips. “I should also add that we’re not sure how much longer Dr. Giles will remain with the society. He has indicated he may prefer to leave.”

“Why is that?” Maxwell asked.

Nevill glanced toward the doctor, who was speaking to someone Hadrian didn’t know. “He doesn’t wish to be associated with the society since Phelps was murdered and Eaton was committing fraud. He’d hoped the Amicable Society would boost his fledgling career and perhaps elevate his status, not ruin those things.”

Hadrian recalled what Nevill had told him and Tilda about Dr. Giles not having the right “pedigree” to establish himself as a physician. Being the physician for a troubled friendly society would not support his goals.

“But we are going to turn things around,” Nevill declared with a smile. “I just feel it, especially if we have a third administrator who might be willing to work hard and instill confidence in the community.” He looked at Maxwell as he said this.

“Are you offering me the position?” Maxwell asked. “I would be honored.”

“We’re willing to give you a chance,” Furnier said, almost tersely. “Mrs. Atkins seems to think you would be a fine choice, but I can’t tell why she thinks so. Other than you are Mr. Beck’s brother-in-law. Apparently, that alone recommends you, at least in her opinion.”

Hadrian glanced toward where Tilda was speaking with Mrs. Atkins. The older woman was looking in his direction, and she smiled at him as their eyes met. Hadrian jerked his attention back to Nevill and Furnier.

“I’m glad for the chance to prove myself,” Maxwell said. “The Amicable Society performs a necessary and benevolent service that I should like to further. I’m also committed to ensuring that Mrs. Cardy, and others who have paid into the society without any hope of collecting a benefit, are restored.”

“We don’t disagree,” Furnier said crisply. “However, we must find a way to do that, since we do not know where those funds have gone. We can’t simply manufacture money to repay these poor people. I find it disturbing that Eaton’s body was found without any money. It makes me think whoever killed him stole the funds that Eaton swindled. I fear we may never find out what happened to that money.”

Nevill shook his head sadly. “I agree.”

Hadrian tried not to look directly at Nevill, lest he somehow convey what he’d just seen when shaking the man’s hand. And though Hadrian hadn’t seen Furnier in the memory, that didn’t mean he hadn’t also been there. Hadrian avoided focusing on him too. “Have you any idea who killed Mr. Eaton?”

Nevill coughed and looked away. “No.”