Page 38 of In Want of a Suspect

“Her name is Leticia Cavendish,” Darcy said suddenly. “Her family ought to be notified.”

The Runner in charge gave him a sidelong look. “And will you be willing to do that, sir? On account of you knowing her and all?”

Lizzie peered up at Darcy. His trademark stern expression was in place, but Lizzie could tell that this was not Darcy just being aloof. He swallowed hard and nodded.

Lizzie and Darcy were ushered off to the side, and someone gave up their coat to cover Leticia’s lifeless face while they waited. “Darcy,” Lizzie whispered, unsure of what she was going to say next:Are you all right? What should we do now? What does it mean for this case?

But Darcy just shook his head.

All right then,Lizzie thought.Time to step up.

“Sir,” she said to the head Runner, tightening her fist around the necklace. “That young lady was killed.”

He gave her a passing glance. “I know, I know, right upsetting, it is.”

Lizzie might have rolled her eyes, if the situation hadn’t been so serious. “Her murderer might still be in the park,” she hissed.

Now the man did look at her, and he seemed to take stock of her. He smiled in a condescending way that made Lizzie’s scalp prickle. “Now, don’t worry, miss. You’re safe enough. No one will try anything untoward in this crowd.”

Never mind that Leticia Cavendish had likely thought the same thing. “I am less concerned about my welfare than I am about a murderer on the loose. Don’t you think your men ought to canvas the park for witnesses?”

It was what Lizzie would do if she were in charge. She’d order that this section of the park be cordoned off, and that reinforcements be brought in. Then she’d have every single person questioned—who knew what someone might have seen!

The man looked affronted. “Whoever did that poor girl in is long gone. The sad truth is that it was likely some ruffian who saw her alone and took his chance to rob her. She might have struggled or attempted to fight back, and...” He shrugged, as if Lizzie could finish the story.

Except, there were about five things wrong with that theory. First of all, Leticia was wearing a riding habit, suggesting that she had a horse somewhere that had yet to be recovered and that someone would have had to lure her off of her mount. Second, no young lady willingly went behind a copse of trees with someone she didn’t know, and certainly not with any strange menthat could be rightly classified as ruffians. Third, the park was crowded, and if Leticia had feared for her safety, all she would have had to do was call out or scream for help. Fourth, strangling was an intimate, personal way to kill a person—you had to get close enough to lay hands on them, and it took considerable force and time to kill them. If someone had managed to get close enough to her in order to strangle her without Leticia drawing any attention, that suggested it had been someone she trusted.

And fifth, the person had dropped the necklace. The same necklace that Lizzie was now glad she’d kept from this imperceptive man.

Lizzie turned to Darcy. “Tell them they need to search for evidence,” she demanded.

Darcy still wore that strange, wooden look. He shook his head. “I have to reach Josette. She cannot hear about this from one of these Runners.”

“But...” Lizzie trailed off when she realized Darcy wasn’t listening. He was looking around for his horse, and she realized that he meant to gonow.

Behind the line of Runners stood Bingley, holding each of their horses. Darcy strode toward him and Lizzie scrambled to follow. “Darcy!” she hissed.

“There’s nothing more we can do here,” he said. “The Runners wouldn’t dare detain this many members of the ton. Most of them are probably halfway home, anyway.”

Lizzie looked about and had to admit that he was right. Many of the riders had already cleared out, and the ones that remainedwere looking on in a most obvious fashion. She caught a glimpse of a man walking purposefully in the opposite direction, and her heart skipped a beat—perhaps it was someone who’d seen something? But then a horse obscured her view and by the time it had passed, he was gone.

She turned back to Darcy. “What are we supposed to do? She was our only lead!”

“I need to tell Josette, and ensure she isn’t in danger,” Darcy whispered. “If someone is targeting her cousin, she could be next.”

Darcy had a point. But Lizzie couldn’t help but feel as though someone might have seen something in the park and she couldn’t give up so quickly. “Go. You’ll be able to ride faster without me.”

“And leave you?”

“I’m hardly alone,” Lizzie said, tilting her head toward where Bingley waited anxiously with the horses. “Go quickly. Call on me when you’re finished.”

They were surrounded by far too many people for Lizzie to dare reach out for him, despite her wish to cling to him for a moment, and feel the reassuring warmth of his solid chest and arms around her. Darcy held her gaze for a long moment, and she knew his thoughts were not far from her own. Finally, he nodded and mounted his horse, and kicked him into a canter, ignoring the cries of protest from other riders and the shocked gasps.

Bingley was left holding Violet. “Your sister is with Caroline and Louisa on the other side of the track,” he told her. “Louisa became dizzy when she heard....”

“That’s all right,” Lizzie said, doing some quick thinking. “Can the groom take Violet back to the stable? I need to see to a few more questions and arrangements. The young lady who was killed was connected to our case, and I need answers.”

Bingley’s eyes widened in alarm. “You intend to walk home? Miss Elizabeth, a young lady has been murdered!”