Cold Comfort (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 5)

Oliver lifted his brows. “But I haven’t asked you anything yet.”

“I know what you were going to ask, and the answer is no.”

“What was I going to ask?” Oliver demanded, his restlessness growing in leaps and bounds.

“If I will go and talk to the chit and the answer is no.”

“She is nice. All she needs is an escort into town.”

“So you go,” Niall countered flatly.

“I have just spent the sodding day with the magistrate and his men. They have found another body. Have you heard?”

“Yes.”

“What have you heard?” Oliver wondered if he should lop the apple he was about to eat at his friend’s head. He scowled and contemplated Niall a little more closely. It was unusual for his friend to be this uncommunicative. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“What are you reading?”

“The case files again. It appears that the young woman who was found in the graveyard is one of our missing women, a Dawn Hepplebottom. She worked on the Earl of Carrington’s estate,” Niall read aloud.

“So, our kidnapper is killing the victims one by one,” Oliver sighed. “The magistrate has asked the locals in the village if they have seen anybody new in the area, but nobody saw or heard a damned thing. I have also been to take a closer look at Caroline’s body, God help me. There are no other injuries except for the ligature marks around her neck.”

“She must have struggled.” Niall lifted his brows at his colleague.

Oliver slowly shook his head.

“Well, she cannot have just sat there and let him strangle her,” Niall countered flatly.

“There are no signs of a struggle,” Oliver replied. “On her in any case. There are no scratches or bruises anywhere on her person. There are just the ligature marks around her neck indicating that she died by strangulation.”

“Is the Coroner sure she died by strangulation or was she strangled after her death to make it look like she was killed by the same person who killed Felicity Inson?” Niall murmured thoughtfully.

“Now that is a good question,” Oliver replied with a slow and careful nod. He stared thoughtfully across the room while he munched on the apple in his hand. “That is entirely probable. If the Smidgley brothers heard of Felicity’s death, they would invariably learn how she was killed. It must have been gossiped about for weeks and was in the broadsheets. If they were in London at the time of Felicity’s death and had witnesses, there is nothing to say that they couldn’t get rid of their victims in some way, by poison or something similar, and then make it look as if they had been strangled so they wouldn’t get the blame. Whoever killed Felicity Inson gets the blame for all of the dead women who are found in this area who have been killed by strangulation.”

“It would explain why Caroline was dead for several days before she was found. Maybe she was killed in London and brought up here specifically so the Smidgleys didn’t get the blame, but the person who killed Felicity would? But we don’t know who has killed Felicity Inson yet,” Niall warned.

“I know that, and you know that.”

“They know that seeing as the killer is still at large,” Niall snorted.

“Everyone knows that,” Oliver growled. “That is the problem. Too many people know too much. I was in Emmeline’s house earlier, and within half an hour of my arrival, her neighbour found out not only what I look like, but Emmeline gave her my name to go with it.”

Niall grinned and leaned back in his chair. “I wonder if we should have a twilight brigade.”

Oliver’s brows shot skyward. “A what brigade?”

“Well, these women who are in their – ahem – twilight years, seem to be able to get a lot of information a Hell of a lot faster than we can. Look at Angus and Charity’s ladies. They are better at interrogating people than Sir Hugo. They come at you from all angles and leave you so bamboozled that you tell them everything just to be left in peace. They then chew over what you tell them and bombard you with more demands for information that even your own surgeon shouldn’t need.”

Oliver laughed despite his exhaustion. “A twilight brigade. I like it. Suggest it to Sir Hugo the next time you see him and see what he thinks.”

Niall sighed and turned solemn. “We are going to have to do something rash if we want to get this investigation closed. It is rumbling on forever. At this rate, all the victims are going to be dead and the kidnapper and the killer, if they are not one and the same person, will escape back into the shadows before we can capture him. Unfortunately, given what Sir Hugo has said, we cannot call upon the help of the local lads now. We are well and truly on our own.”

“Well, I have managed to persuade Emmeline to help us. All we need to do is show her a few manoeuvres so she can protect herself should anyone try to make a grab for her. Then, we need to find out where the Smidgley brothers are. If they are still holed up like Sir Hugo says, we have to think of a way to lure them out so they can see her.” Oliver tore off a piece of bread and began to munch it in between bites of his apple.

“The Smidgley brothers are still at their mansion. They have been joined by their Uncle Claude, the Earl of Hervill. Yesterday, as a matter of fact,” Niall informed him. “Rhys and Ryan are on watch.”