Page 19 of Murder in Disguise (Mary and Bright #5)

Gabriel blew out a breath while Mary wrote perfunctory notes.

“God, what a coil. The killer is growing bolder.” And just like the first two dead girls, this body didn’t have any signs of trauma or obvious wounds that would have killed her.

“Let’s get her out of the damned window.

She doesn’t deserve to be on display like that. ”

“Of course, Inspector.”

A quarter of an hour later, he and the constable had the dead girl out of the window.

Since he didn’t want to disturb the work on the tables inside the modiste’s shop, he directed the constable to help him lay the girl on the ground in the alley out back, well away from the front of the shop as well as the street.

“Thank you, Constable. Keep the crowds back and let me know when the coroner arrives,” Gabriel said in dismissal. Then he glanced at Mary. “Ready to perform a cursory examination?”

“Of course.” She nodded and moved to one side of the body while he kneeled on the other side. “How old do you think she is?”

“Probably not more than one and twenty. Perhaps a year older?” The gown she wore was of a wine color with a low scooped bodice. “Look here.” Like the first girl they’d found, there were faint scratch marks on the dead woman’s neck. “Check her hands for defensive wounds.”

As Mary did that, he turned the girl’s head back and forth so he could examine her neck more closely. The staring green eyes discomfited him, but he tried to keep his gaze from that empty one.

“I am not finding any bruising or cuts that indicated she was in a fight.” She paused to write a couple of notations in her notebook.

“However, there is some sort of soft matter beneath a few of her fingernails.” So saying, Mary held up one of the woman’s hands, indicated dirt and other unidentifiable matter under some of the nails.

“Since she’s not wearing gloves, my theory is that the killer came up behind her, taking her by surprise.

She fought back, which is how the scratches formed on her neck.

Whatever the killer used as a weapon must have rubbed against the skin there.

” With the nub of the pencil, she pointed to some of the shallow, red scratches.

“No doubt the killer was obliged to hold this woman about the neck in an effort to stab the back of the skull with the pin.”

“God, what a horrible way to die.” He frowned while lifting the dead girl’s head up enough that he could exam the base of her skull.

Sure enough, there was a trace of blood there, a tiny bead of it from when the needle had been pulled away.

“I can’t even imagine the terror this poor woman felt as she struggled and fought for her very life.

” In his mind’s eye, he saw Adelaide in the same position, and his chest tightened.

“I want this damned killer found and brought to justice.”

“I know.” Mary met his gaze over the corpse. “You’re thinking of Adeliade, aren’t you?”

“I am.” He nodded. “How can I not? She’s around the same age, and since this man is still running amok in London, what’s to say more girls won’t be taken?”

“We need to keep the faith, Bright.” As she spoke, Mary moved to the dead woman’s legs, and as she performed a quick examination beneath the dead woman’s skirts, he fought to compose himself.

“How is that possible when everything we’ve done thus far had led to dead ends, no pun intended.” Since this young woman didn’t have a prop like the others—for she had been the killer’s prop—he patted his hands over her gown. “Where’s the damned note. There must be one here.”

“Easy, Gabriel,” Mary said in a soft voice with understanding in her gaze. “We are going to solve this case.”

“At what cost, though? There are now three dead girls.” Frustration tightened his chest while worry pulled knots through his gut. “I’m going to be flayed alive by the press once they get wind of this.”

“Perhaps not. As with every case we work, the killer grows complacent. He will make a mistake, and you know it.” With a tiny sound of triumph, she tugged a scrap of paper from the inside of one of the dead woman’s slippers. “Here it is.” Then she passed the note to him.

Gingerly, he opened the paper scrap that had been folded once. Then he read it silently in his head. “Damn.”

“Is it bad? Does the killer still taunt you?”

“Of course, and it’s quite personal now.

” Fighting the urge to crush the note in his hand, Gabriel strove for calm, and after a deep breath, he read the note aloud.

“’I’m disappointed in you, Inspector. Why haven’t you figured out who I am by now?

This body was because you’ve managed to overlook me yet again.

Am I in disguise or are you in denial of who I am?

Unless you want another body and more missing girls, think harder. ’”

Mary’s eyebrows went upward. “That note was much longer than the others.”

“Because he’s taunting me. Basically, this bastard has called me out.” A muscle in his cheek ticced. “He’s growing frustrated, though, so that is in our favor.”

“Agreed, but don’t give away that you think thusly. In the meanwhile, we need to intensify our investigation. No personal breaks into we’ve gained a specific direction.”

Which meant not letting kissing his wife carry him away. Time between them was already limited, and now it would be nonexistent until the case was solved. Good motivation. “That’s as good an idea as any.” And he was damned impressed about it. “I’m glad you’re here, Mary.”

“Where else would I be?” She pulled the skirting back into place over the dead woman’s body. “No signs of sexual assault, no bruising, and no swags in her stockings.”

“None of the deaths were about this man getting his rocks off,” he said in a conversational tone as he frowned at the woman’s body.

“That’s not to say he isn’t aroused by either kidnapping the girls or killing them in a very specific way.

” Mary put the notebook and pencil nub into her reticule.

Then she folded the girl’s hands at her waist and gently encouraged the eyes to close.

“Regardless, we need to make sure Adelaide and her friends are kept safe until we catch the man.”

He nodded. “I’ll tap one of the footmen to act as a guard. If we need more help, I’ll hire one of the new men at Bow Street.”

“That makes me feel a bit more at ease.” With a sigh, she stood, as he did.

“It makes no sense. There is nothing these girls have in common except being in their Come Out years. Two are part of the beau monde , the other two barely in the ton only by the connections their fathers have in trade. Does that make a difference or is it a coincidence?”

He grunted. “I don’t believe in coincidence, at least not when it comes to murder.

” As he shook his head, Gabriel offered her a gloved hand.

“I’ll have to think on it. Perhaps we are missing something or not looking at this thing from the right angle.

” Then he tucked the note into his waistcoat pocket.

“We might be. I’ll think about that.” She frowned. “Other than that, the girls don’t look alike. They’ve all had different colors of hair. Only one was wearing a day dress.”

“That is what concerns me. Serial killers usually prey on women who look alike, who look like someone who has wronged or abused them in the past. There is nothing connecting these girls except for their ages.”

“So we assume at this point, but I’m hoping more information will soon come to light.” She met his gaze. “If you’re right and the killer is growing impatient with you in playing his game, then he’ll make a mistake. I only hope you or I are there when it happens.”

He squeezed her fingers as he led her away from the body. “Stronger together, my dear. We’ll see this through, and I promise to ignore the papers if this grows bad.”

Not that he could stop the backlash if it did. These things came with the position.