The Poisonings of Horpington
Kate Trinity and Pentickle
Published by Kate Trinity and Pentickle on Smashwords.com
The Poisonings of Horpington© 2011 by Kate Trinity
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Author's note
This is a story previously published, but not finished, as Agua Envenenda in parts on hub pages, through the hubber Pen Tickle, in a much-condensed way. The reason for the change of title is that there is already a story with a very similar title and so I have chosen a new title.
I hope that anyone who read it on hub pages enjoyed it and enjoys the extra detail that appears in this eBook as well as the rest of the story, which turned out much longer than I thought it would.
I hope that you enjoy it and that you will read more of my work.
Also available by Kate Trinity: I love you, The Witches Curse, Lord of the Under World, The Under Born Witch, A Day in the Life of Nora Bee - Witch, The Under Born, Till the Dark of Winter (Which is a Free read) and coming soon 'It is the Demon in Me'.
The Poisoning of Horpington
Chapter One
Mimi ducked hurriedly between two of the closely packed market stalls and ran down the narrow alleyway between, which emptied onto a cobbled narrow street. Her pursuers wouldn't fit between the stalls but the fact that they had tried was evident from the increased shouting and swearing she had left in her wake.
She dodged the cat which had just sprang into her path and raced on, her heavy sheepskin lined boots making a solid thumping noise on the cobbles which echoed dully between the workers cottages on either side of her. A few pale faces watched her from behind net curtains but no one attempted to stop her.
As she reached the end of the cobbled street she slowed to a walk and glanced behind her, there was no one following so she nipped up the narrow partially hidden stone stairway to her left. It led up to the railway bridge and was meant for the workers who lived in the cottages to allow them to reach the train tracks above quickly and easily. They were often needed to fix the points or remove blockages from the track. There were people out there who held the belief that there should be no such atrocity as a steam engine, they believed that it was against nature and so tried quite often to derail them and cause them to be delayed, without much thought for the passengers or freight that the train may be carrying. There was nothing on the track today though and no workers about so Mimi ran along the side of the track, hidden by the great grey walls that made up the train carrying bridge. The ground was covered with large grey stones, which had sharp edges and made her progress quite precarious but which did not prevent her onwards journey.
As she reached the end of the bridge again, where the track once again drew level with the ground, she slowed and checked around her for prying eyes or pursuers. When no one appeared she moved forward into the trees that now surrounded the track and stopped over the rails to get to the opposite side.
She had borrowed the pony out of his field that morning so she could get to the market. An old tree stump near by served her as a mounting block to mount rather ungraciously onto the back of the hairy pony. He had nothing more than the halter he had on in the field that morning when she collected him, to which she had attached a length of rope through the ring on either side of his cheeks and which she held above his whithers so she could guide him.
He was a very fat pony and wasn't very fast at all but it was a long journey and he walked faster than she did and could travel for farther. She knew that he was called Old Man because that is what she heard the little girl who owned him call him. But she only rode him on the weekend and the pony spent the rest of the week in the field with the donkeys getting fat on the thick grass.
Mimi had always wanted to be an adventurer and she saw her little trips to the town as just that. At fifteen she was a little old for fantasizing but she had spent most of her life as a street orphan and it was only when she made friends with Henry that she began to see any kind of future. They had taken care of Gigi and Maybe when they had been thrown out of their home for not being able to pay the rent and it was Gigi who had told them all about the deserted workers house built into the bridge. Gigi was Maybe's Grandmother and could no longer work to earn money and Maybe was only six so she was also unable to work. They had all decided that if they could make it to the workers cottage and it was still empty they would live there together and take care of each other. But Mimi still dreamt of travelling to far away lands to learn foreign languages and find treasures to make them all rich.
The pair plodded off down a path that led back to the farm, it was a path that the pony seemed to know quite well and meant that Mimi didn't need to guide him too much and could continue her daydreaming. Mimi always rewarded Old Man with apples and sugar cubes and she suspected this was why he was so willing to let her ride him.
At the farm, Mimi let Old Man back into the field and gave him his treats before heading down the country lane that led to the second railway bridge. Within the boundary of the town and its outlying lands there were four of these bridges in all.
The one she was heading for was called Towns End Bridge because it ran parallel to the road of the same name. It was little travelled apart from people taking their wares to market. Sometimes a circus came through and set up in a near by field but that was usually in the summer months and right now it was the beginning of winter.
As she approached the bridges underside which ran over a river she spotted Maybe sat at the side of the water with a self made fishing rod and a look of hope on her face, Maybe loved fish. Gigi was sat on a large smoothed out stone that had grooves in it that made it look like bums had sat in it for centuries. It was quite a warm day for the time of year and the sun was peaking out from behind some ominous looking orangey grey clouds.
"Hey hey" Henry said stepping out from the door and spotting her "Get anything good?"
"Lets see shall we?" Mimi replied taking a seat on the swept pathway and crossing her legs.
She unfastened her bag and slid out the contents. She had managed to get some fruit and vegetables, some coffee and a joint of meat. There was also a loaf of bread, although a little squished from her escape and a jar of sweets. They thought it was a good haul and even better when Mimi handed over the coins she had managed to snatch from an unwary stall holder, they would be able to get Gigi's medicine again this week.
Henry had gone the other way the previous morning across the border and into the next county where he had managed to get a brace of pheasants and some butter in exchange for two days work.
"And" Henry said, "Maybe has caught two fish!"
"Wow" Mimi exclaimed, they were the first that she had ever gotten "Well we will feast tonight"
Chapter Two
The gravel of the drive crunched loudly under Agatha's shiny black boots in the cold frosty morning. She had been out at a private party the night before at Lord Balshie's house. There had been a number of highborn guests; several Agatha had been hoping to meet.
She was looking forward to getting into her bed and hoped that her niece would be quiet today. That girl had far too many male visitors, she was here to find a husband but was so picky that she had been staying with them for nearly a year now. Agatha was starting to find it a chore and exasperated at making the girl a suitable match. She should after all take whoever offered her a life, as she was a good five years past a respectable marrying age.
Agatha sighed, she had her own life to live and she didn't want it interrupting for much longer, she would have to think of something to do about it. First though she was going to soak in a hot bath, drink hot chocolate and then go to bed. She would have her maid light the fire in her room and heat the bed. She should be up by now it must be at least five am.
She took the key for the front door from out of her purse and inserted it in the keyhole. The lock was a special multi bar locking system that made the door incredibly heavy and thick, not to mention difficult to get through without the key. As she turned the key it was possible to hear the mechanism working as the pins slid from their locked positions to their unlocked state.
Stepping into the hall she was greeted by Mary who was just leaving the sitting room with the coal bucket, she had obviously been lighting the fires.
"Mary, be a doll and run me a bath with some relaxing scents in please, and bring hot chocolate and maybe something for my breakfast too. I plan on sleeping till tomorrow but I definitely need a bath and some food first."
"Yes Ma'am" Mary replied with a bob before heading back to the kitchen to rouse the kitchen girl to help her. Agatha dropped her long wool coat on the hall chair before heading upstairs to her room to remove everything else.
Reginald had said goodnight to his wife at the party and headed straight to the dock. His new ship the Marigold was due to sail that day and he intended to go with her. He had already stored his gear in the cabin on board. He decided however to visit the bathhouse on the way, last night had been sticky and he could do with a rub down. He paid his coin to the woman on the front desk, and arranged for a bath and soap with fresh towels. He also decided on a plate of breakfast and a girl to scrub him clean for just a little extra money.
He often did this and preferred to spend as much time away from his wife as possible. The marriage had been a marriage of profit as is so often the case, and they really didn't get along, there was no love in the relationship and so they lived their separate lives most of the time. They worked together only to increase the profit in their business, as they were both ludicrously ambitious and greedy. They were good at putting on a show though when they were in company and few knew of their arrangement.
The trip on the ship however was a godsend; he could look at the business over seas and balance the books. He could learn about it from a different point of view and he could spend the best part of the year away from his wife. He stepped into the steaming water and enjoyed the mild burning sensation as he sat down, once he had finished with the girl and his bath he would go and buy some luxuries to go with him on the ship and then board. No point going back to the house even if the ship didn't leave until later that afternoon.
Chapter Three
Rose was tired and aching, she peeled off her pink ballet shoes and took away the lambskin pad to see the damage tonight had caused. There was a little blood on the end of her toes and the cut between her big toe and second toe looked caked over and maybe even infected. That was the problem with spending most of her time in ballet shoe; when she took them off she cold hardly feel her feet anymore. Two nights ago she had stood on a shard of glass on her way out of the club, she hadn't felt the shard cut through her shoe and into her foot. She had kept on walking and gone to do her shopping in the market, it wasn't until she had returned to her rooms and taken her shoes off that she had been aware of the pain and the blood.
She hadn't had enough money to see a doctor so she had cleaned the wound herself with alcohol before pulling the shard out with a pair of tweezers. She had never felt so sick before in her life as she did when she pulled the glass out and the wound gushed with blood. She had run cold water over it until it had stopped bleeding and then put a salve and a piece of wadding on it. She knew however that when she had to put her ballet shoes on again to work she wouldn't be able to keep the wadding on and there was no way she would be able to take time off work, she only got paid if she worked, and she needed the extra tips she collected each night.
Tonight she pulled on a pair of thick knitted socks and the roomy boots she had bought after damaging the sole of the others with the glass. It was an expense that she had to make as she couldn't have holes in her shoes to let water in that might cause her feet problems, she earned her money dancing so her feet had to be in good condition.
Then she counted and pocketed her tips and set off for home. Between work and home there was a night market on a Friday, which it was, and they often sold off the surplice stock from the week. Cheaper than it normally was as they got new shipment in for the Saturday market and didn't want to store old stock as it would be unlikely they would be able to sell it off after Friday.
Rose wanted to see if she could get a piece of meat and some fruit and vegetables, she could eat some tonight and make stew for the following day. Saturday was a long workday and she always found it difficult to find the motivation to make something to eat when she got in. Much easier just to reheat something over the fire, whilst she took a bath.
As she made her purchases she overheard some of the stall holders having a moan about a young girl who had caused havoc earlier on in the day, damaging goods and stealing form the stalls before running off. Rose smiled, it was a hard life that led to theft but if you were going to do it you might as well do it with a bit of style that had everyone talking about it hours later.
She had never stolen anything herself but she had been close quite a few times, although she was convinced that the very second she attempted it she would get caught and arrested. She saved what she earned and used her tips as far as they would go to pay for her rent and other bills.
She smiled to the man handing her the bag of items she had chosen and paid him his money before heading home to her flat.
As she opened her front door the landlady stuck her head into the hall from the stairwell door and asked after her and for the rent, almost a week early.
Rose handed over the money willingly, this flat was in a better part of the town than she should have been able to afford, but she had gotten lucky and didn't want to give it up. The couple who rented her the basement of their house which they had spent a little money on to make it a flat when their eldest son was still at home had chosen, when all of their children had moved out, to rent out the attic space and the basement as separate flats to help make them a little extra money and stop their five floor street house from feeling to quiet and empty. They still had three floors for themselves and the staff, and had rented the attic space out as a flat to two Gentlemen who were very smart in appearance, and who greeted her politely whenever they met, but it was fair to say that they really didn't cross each other's paths often.
She unlocked the internal door to her flat and listened to the new lock going through the mechanism. Mr. Flanders the landlord had made his money in the lock business and had created some of the most secure locks in the town and surrounding areas. He had traveled some with his work to cities to instruct other in how to make the mechanisms and he got a commission from each sale his apprentices made.
She stepped through the door into what was now her kitchen; it was papered in the yellow and green stripes that had been there when she moved in. She wouldn't have changed it though had she had a choice, she thought it looked elegant. It was the original kitchen to the house that the servants had cooked and ate in so there was a large table and benches as well as the units and sink that had been there originally. There was a cold box for chilled items and a pantry for storage, far more than she really needed. She put her shopping away before she took her coat off, she had allowed the fire to go down through the day and the flat was quite cold so she had added fuel to the fire and allowed it to reheat the rooms and some water for tea.
She made her supper and the stew for the following day then snuggled down into the lumpy old armchair by the fire whilst she filled her complaining stomach. She was waiting for the fire to heat the water for her bath as well to ease her aching muscles and clean out her foot. She knew that she needed to start thinking about finding some other type of work soon as she would be unable to keep dancing for much longer, she was getting a little old to play pretty ballerina everyday.
She had learnt to dance as a child at her mother's insistence with a very grumpy male tutor who had once been very famous in his earlier career. Then when she was ten her parents had taken a trip together and on their return journey there had been an explosion on the steam engine they had been traveling on and neither had made it. Rose had been taken in by her Grandmother who insisted on reminding little Rose that if her father hadn't owed so much money they would have had more than they currently did. The bank had taken back the family home and all the servants had been made homeless and jobless all in the same day. According to Grandmother Rose was a poor little orphan and it was only due to her own good nature that she was paying for the things Rose needed. She even made Rose work and do cleaning and then when she was barely 16 she had begun her search for a husband for Rose. There were few willing to take a girl with no dowry and she had ended up married to a man more than three times her age.
It didn't last though, not longer after her Grandmother passed away her husband fell to drink as a result of his failing business and one day just didn't wake up. Rose was once again left penniless and now homeless a well and had to fend for herself. Everything that she could carry from the house before it was taken from her she took, along with a bag filled with clothing. She sold as much as she could and used the money to feed herself and pay for a roof over her head in hostels where she could but eventually it all ran out and she was left with one change of clothes and sleeping outside every night and avoiding the authorities.
She was saved however on the tenth night by a young woman named Grace who generously shared a bag of roasted chestnuts with her at the fountain and told her about where she worked.
Grace had taken her with her to work and the owner offered her some work, a place to sleep for a few nights in the attic rooms of the club and the use of a shower where the other staff sometimes got clean after a night. They would give her a costume and wages and she could keep any tips she could make. The owner seemed reluctant and it turned out that he had a bit of a soft spot for Grace who got away with rather a lot. She didn't however take people under her wing as she had with Rose very often so the owner had relented. He gave Rose a weeks trial to begin with. As far as Rose was concerned it was a job that paid enough money for her to eat and they had given her somewhere to sleep that wasn't outside so she wasn't going to refuse it. She knew she might not get another opportunity like it. They showed her the costume choices and there were lots of choices, most being fairly revealing, but there was one that attracted her attention, it was a pale pink ballet outfit that fit her almost perfectly. It was tight and revealing, with white lacy bits and a bodice, but it was still less terrifying than the other choices.
She started work the next night and stayed at the club to sleep for a week until she had come across the flat for rent. With the tips she had made she could afford a week's rent in advance and it was furnished so she needed no money for that.
She had settled in and made some friends and had managed to save a little money which she kept in the back of her wardrobe. She could now begin a life that was all her own. She often did well in tips and managed to save a little each week. It meant she very rarely went without.
She was saving against her future when she might not be able to work, although she thought that if she could change her act a little she may be able to work for longer, she knew though that eventually she would not be able to go on doing this same job. She wondered if she could be involved in the training of the new girls as Grace was.
She went through into the tiny bathroom, she was lucky to have indoor pluming and an indoor toilet, she knew that many of the town's smaller houses didn't and had to still nip out first thing in the morning even in the winter to the outdoor toilet. They used barrels, which had been cut in half or tin baths made by the blacksmith in front of the fire. She had a permanent indoor bath with running water to fill it. There was no need to heat the water over the fire and carry buckets of water in from outside.
She liked the way that all the piping was exposed across the floor and walls; it gave the room a little character. The rest of this room was a deep purple with a large mirror, which she brushed her hair in as the bath filled. She added some oils to the water and lit a couple of candles to keep the darkness at bay. Once the bath was full she returned to the kitchen to make a cup of hot sweet tea to drink whilst she soaked, it was a small indulgence she enjoyed from her early years.
Her toes tingled slightly as she stepped into the hot water and she began to feel quickly relaxed as the scents filled the room with the steam. She settled back and watched the flickering candles as she sipped her tea; the combination was making her feel really drowsy.
Chapter Four
When Anoushka had finished eating and had drank enough coffee she asked the landlord about a bath. She hadn't been in the town for long and had been in this inn for even less time, but this is where she had booked a room and this is where she would be staying for the foreseeable future. The Landlord Mr. Darby told her they were one of only a few inns and hotels that had indoor plumbing and that the water came from a well in the basement and not through the pipes as in some places. They had cold water and a system for heating it and then sending it through the pipes. He told her that because of this there was plenty of hot water whenever she turned the tap on in her room.
The bar area was still occupied with some late drinkers and a few of those where also staying at the inn. She joined them by the fire and chatted for a while before accepting a pot of hot chocolate and going to her room for her bath. She definitely needed it after spending all day on the train and the week before on board a ship.
In her room she peeled off her clothes whilst the steam from the running bath filled the room, the hot chocolate was placed reverently on the small table beside the bath before she stepped through the steam and into the water. She could hear, over the bustling noises coming from below in the inn and outside in the streets the persistent downpour. It clamored against the window pain as though trying to get in. She relaxed in the hot water listening to the rain; it was always nice to listen to when you were cozy inside.
Wrapped in a bath sheet she went back into the bedroom of her suite and realized that she must have dozed off at some point whilst in the bath. Someone had been into her room and taken her coat and boots, placed a bedpan under her bed covers and turned down the lamps. She pulled a long flannel nightgown from her wardrobe where her silent visitor had put her clothes. It was faded and frayed and in desperate need of replacing, but it was warm and this was a cold part of the country even if it wasn't as cold as where she had come from. She climbed into bed and was grateful for the warmth and the lack of rocking motion she had experienced on the ship.
She sent a boy with a message to a local seamstress the following morning after breaking her fast. She wanted to replace her old wardrobe with some clothes more fitting to the town. A few hours later a girl arrived with a heavy carpetbag clutched against her.
"Ma'am you requested a seamstress, I am the only one the boy you sent could find that was available. Apparently he had tried all the rest before he came to me" she grinned a little at this " I only arrived in the town a few months ago with my new husband who is a cobbler. I worked under some of the best dressmakers in the capitol Ma'am but no one would hire me here so I do personal fittings and make the clothes up myself. I can make anything you like."
"What is your name?" The girl seemed nervous but curiously confident in her own ability all the same.
"Poppy Ma'am. If you have need of footwear or other leather goods my husband is available this evening or tomorrow."
"You may call me Anoushka, and I am definitely in need of a new pair of boots so I will have to see your husband also later." She smiled at Poppy and placed a piece of red ribbon in the page of the book she had been reading to pass the time. "Now tell me what you need me to do"
"If you would like to give me a list of the items you need and the colors and materials I can make a list and then we can go somewhere more private so that I can take your measurements."
"Excellent, would you like a cup of tea whilst we work?" Anoushka offered.
An hour later Poppy had everything she needed and instructions to send her husband when he was free later that evening. Then she went into the bar and ordered something for her lunch.
"Miss, a letter came for you" Mrs. Darby said to her as she brought her food, I'll fetch it for you" and off she bustled. She returned quickly with a sealed envelope and handed it to Anoushka before heading back to the kitchen. Anoushka read the letter as she ate, it was fairly brief and to the point and provided the details she had been waiting for. She folded it and placed into her pocket before tucking into a delicious crumble.
She walked down to the livery yard that Mr. Darby had told her she could get a good horse from. She would need it to carry out her instructions. The stables were at the end of Market Street; the only building beyond it was the blacksmith's before the river claimed the land. The forge itself had quite a crowd around the hot coals in the fire, they were chatting and eating and getting warm. She smiled in at them before heading into the livery yard. There was no one about so she walked around the stables looking in at each horse. As she reached the back of the yard she could hear what sounded like a very angry animal somewhere in the barn behind.
"Good day miss" a voice behind her made her jump "Can I help you? A gentleman of around fifty stepped up to her and smiled.
Chapter Five
Anoushka looked at the man and new him to be the owner of the yard, he would hopefully prove to be helpful.
"Good morning Sir, I was looking to buy a horse for riding and was wondering what you have available" She asked him
"Ah, unfortunately I only have the one for sale at the moment, there have been a lot of folk heading out recently, avoiding the winter weather I should think and spending time with family. Pretty normal this time of year." He shrugged and look disappointed that he didn't have more to offer. "You might not be keen on the one I have left either. Its not exactly thoroughbred" He gestured for her to follow him as they went through a door and into a smaller yard behind that led to a carriage barn. Anoushka realized now that the noise hadn't been coming from the barn but from one of these stone built stables. Most of them were home to heavy horses used to pull the carriages, which could be hired or used for taxis in leaner times. The noise was coming from the end stable and when she looked over the door and into the darkness she laughed.
"That's a mule! Is he always this noisy?"
"Yup pretty much, unless he's eating then the noises come out the other end. His name is Goliath on account of his size I reckon. I bought him from a young girl who had come through town with the travelers months ago."
"Does he have any tack?" Anoushka asked as she picked up a halter and rope from a hook on the wall.
"Sure, one of those cowboy saddles and a weird bridal. I'll get them for you if you like and have one of the boys saddle him for you."
"No need, I can manage, make sure there is a saddle pad as well" Anoushka entered the stable and noted the man cringing at her as if he was waiting for to get attacked.
"Er he isn't the most pleasant of animals to deal with Miss, he hasn't been ridden since he came here cause everyone got thrown off and wouldn't get back on."
"You got somewhere for me to ride him them?" She asked as she tethered the wary animal to the ring on the wall. She found a brush and brushed off his dirt and sweat, paying particular attention to the saddle and girth area. The tack was plonked over the door, which made Goliath stomp his big hoof and snort. Anoushka didn't think he was scared, only likely to take advantage if he could so she tacked him up as if she had done it every day for years with him, didn't take any of his nonsense and by the time she was finished he was looking confused and watching her carefully. She gave him a nice scratch on his wither and told him what a good boy he was.
She led him out into the yard and realized that the anticipated dumping of a woman on the ground by this beast had drawn a crowd of interested men. Anoushka smiled knowingly and narrowed her eyes at them, then went through the barn with the mule following like a lazy puppy. One of the stable boys opened the gate to the small paddock behind and watched nervously as she used a handy tree stump to mount. She got comfy, settled the reins comfortably in her hands and put her heels down. He knew she was ready now and so he did exactly what he had been trained to do and leaped straight up in the air from all four hooves. He twisted and turned, reared and snorted and tried his hardest to dump her on the ground.
It was a while before the crowd realized she was singing, a low slow melody that they didn't recognize. One or two pointed out that the horse was listening, his ears pointed back to her and his jumps getting less fierce. Then as if they had been partners forever she put him into a dainty trot around the field, a nice collected canter and some clever school moves until he was relaxed and flexible and doing everything she asked.
"Wow" she heard someone mutter from the crowd before a strange round of applause started. She brought Goliath back to walk and let him stretch his neck out to cool off a bit before maneuvering him back to the field gate.
"I'll take him!" she told the yard owner "I think he is one highly trained animal and I'm going to have fun learning his tricks"
"Ma'am after that you can have him for a hundred" the yard owner said smiling, the stable hands all stared at their boss with their mouths open. She knew he would explain to them later that apart from it being the best entertainment they had seen in an age, there wouldn't be anyone else to buy him any time soon.
She rode the mule back to the inn, several young boys running alongside telling anyone interested about the way she had sat on him whilst he bronked, their story getting more and more elaborate with each telling. She hitched him in the yard whilst she went in to speak to Mr. Darby. She had to be away for a night or two and would he kindly keep her room for her. She nipped up and packed what she needed into a bag that would tie behind the saddle. Then saying bye to Mrs. Darby, who brought her a package of food for her journey, she leaped back onto Goliath and trotted from the yard and onto the main street heading out of the town.
Chapter Six
Stepping down from the Lady Godiva. The steam train which had carried her from Bram, a six hour Journey, she collected her trunk from the guards van and made her way to the front of the station. She had never visited Lulfstone before and wasn't sure what she would find, but as usual she found the thought of encountering new things pleasurable. She never brought much baggage with her, preferring to buy new off the rail items when she arrived places. Usually this worked well except for one place where she had arrived in a small northern village which had only one store and sold only work shirts, jumpers and weirdly colored men's trousers. The women went to the city once a year to buy their clothes and the children's clothes; they also bought material to make other things with. She had spent the next few days in bright red trousers that were three inches to short, a green work shirt and orange jumper that was long enough to reach her knees. It made you wonder about the men that lived there. She now always had at least one change of clothes with her.
Looking about she knew this was a busy place and was bound to have some good-sized shops. The ladies passing her were dressed very finely; the gentleman clearly didn't work any manual jobs and were dressed equally well. There were lower classes of people about; they were less visible though as if they were not permitted on this particular platform. She was attracting some gazes as she stood and looked around and she assumed it was because she was looking very travel stained and probably had flat hair from where she had fallen asleep against the window.
As she moved through the throngs of people she realized that there were not just a few people gazing at her, there were quite a number of people doing it and pointing her out to their companions. She frowned wondering whether she had dirt on her face or some other embarrassing thing about her person. She tried glancing in the windows as she passed them but she couldn't see anything. It wasn't until she looked in a large shop window that she saw the poster. It seemed to be a picture of a woman with red hair like her own and weirdly an outfit that seemed strangely familiar. She didn't think the artist had got it quite right though, there seemed to be something missing. As she was trying to figure out what exactly, a woman who unlike everyone else was not looking at her and had not been watching where she was going, knocked her. The woman stood and stared at her, glancing back and forth between her and the poster for a minute before lowering her gaze and dashing off.
From that point on she noticed that almost every available surface had one of the posters on and she pulled a loose one from a notice board as she passed. She could get a closer look at it later but for now she folded it and tucked it into her purse. She pulled up the overly large hood of her coat so that it hid her hair and face and determined that the first shop she came to she would go and buy those extra clothes. She stepped out of Station Street and onto Main street and was stunned. She had never seen anywhere so big and imposing before and she had travelled a lot. This place seemed brand new, as if everything had been built recently, there were even people constantly cleaning the streets, strange transportation devices on wheels with no horses in front and so many people she wasn't sure which way to go.
She realized that the building she was stood beside was a hotel and clearly stated in the window that there were vacancies so she nipped in to the lobby and up to the front desk.
"Yes Ma'am" a tall man in a suit asked her
"I would like a room please for two nights" she smiled at him but couldn't stop her eyes from roving around at the fancy paper and carpets; she hoped this wasn't going to be expensive.
"Yes Ma'am, would you prefer the front or back of the hotel? A single or double room? Breakfast, lunch and dinner included?" the man asked waiting with his pen poised over a large book. "Can I also have your name please?"
"Er, the back of the hotel please and a single room. Breakfast and Dinner included please and my name is Adrianna Vloshtock." Adrianna replied pulling off her gloves.
"Room 215 is free, that's the second floor at the back, the boy will take your baggage up and we will bring you a hot drink and something to eat shortly. Is there anything else that you require?"
"I think that will be all for now, thank you. This is my only baggage," she indicated the medium sized trunk she had been dragging behind her on wheels. The boy appeared from a side door and took it from her leading the way to her room.
Once she was settled and had eaten she went shopping. She firstly bought some hair dyes to make her hair darker than the color in the posters, and then bought some large scissors so she could cut it a little shorter. Then she got lost in a store filled wall to wall with woman's clothes, she had an armful of random choices designed to change her look so those that had already seen her would not recognize her again and so that the image in the poster didn't resemble her any more. A sales assistant suddenly appeared beside her.
"Can you find everything you want miss?" the girl asked, she was quite young and had that I haven't had enough to eat skinny figure and close cropped pale blond hair.
"Yes thank you, everything except my way to the till"
"I'll take you miss, and I can run your purchases through also and arrange for them to be taken to your hotel miss" the girl smiled and led the way confidently through the rails of clothing. It wasn't long before Adrianna was on her way back to the hotel, her purchases being brought for her so she didn't have to carry anything. She would have a bath and scrub herself clean before dying her hair and cutting it. She should have time before the dinner service where she could present herself in her new image and let herself be seen.
In the Dinner hall she took a table alone and ate a roast pork and vegetable dish followed by fruit. As she ate she wrote a brief letter to her cousin whom she must meet with urgently. Things were changing and with the appearance of the poster it was important that they discussed what must happen next. It was getting more and more difficult to remain unnoticed in their investigations. She allowed the front desk to post her letter for her and requested that she be called early in the morning for breakfast, as she needed to be ready for a meeting with a gentleman in the bank. This wasn't strictly true, the meeting would take place in the bank but the gentleman didn't have anything to do with banking and to be truthful very few genuine gentlemanly habits.
Chapter Seven
Detective PC Harry Sergeant was just finishing off his egg bun breakfast. He loved eggs and ate them as often as he could. He had already drank his first mug of black coffee and was just pouring his second, a necessity he found to get his eyes to open fully.
He had dressed in his usual gray trousers and white shirt, under a gray jumper and would top it with a black wool great coat just before he left the house along with hi black topper. His steel toe capped boots where warming by the fire, not too close though, no one wants their toes burnt off by their shoes. As his topper was for work it was reinforced to protect his head and had a purple silk band round with a gold edge to show his rank and discipline.
Putting the dishes into the sink for washing later he began putting on his boots, coats and hat, then grabbed his equipment case and walked to the station.
Jennifer Guard had been up for hours, she always went to bed as early as she could and then got up early each morning. She felt she was more productive this way. For breakfast she had two thinly cut slices of toast lightly buttered and with a smear of home made bramble jam on. She had two cups of tea with a dash of milk and one apple. She was conducting an experiment on how diet could affect moods. So far she wasn't happy with it.
Her other area of interest at the moment was to do with a contraption to attach to a horse to measure its speed. It was still in the early stages and she was having some difficulty sourcing the parts. The fact that she didn't know what half the parts were yet wasn't important.
She pulled on her heavy wool coat over her white but slightly smudged around the edges lab coat. Grabbed her sample case and locked the door behind her. Then bumped into a boy with a message as she turned to walk down the street, he told her that he had a message from her commanding officer Mr. Pips to go to the end house on river street immediately. No information and no reason required she headed off, she knew her partner Harry would have been sent the same message and so she would just meet him there.
There were four officers on the door when she arrived and a small crowd of people near by keeping their distance. Harry waved her in from further down the hall, and she squeezed through the officers and in through the door. She looked questioningly at Harry who shook his head and gestured into the room on her left, which turned out to be a flat. She followed the trail of police officers until she came to the bathroom and then she just stood and took in the scene.
“She worked at a local club and came in late last night according to the property owner. She lives alone and the last person who she spoke to seems to be the lady you just saw me talking to. She owns the property with her husband and rents out this flat to the girl, who is apparently called Rose Braddon or at least that is what she was registered as.” Harry had apparently followed her in “Other than to check for signs of life no one has touched her yet, we are waiting on the body cart still. I thought you might want to take your samples whilst we wait, I'm going to look around and see what there is.”
They spent the next few hours taking samples and making notes, but there didn't seem any reason for the death. The didn't find any signs of there having been anyone else in the flat, there were no marks on the body other than cuts to the toes which she had clearly got from dancing. Jennifer would test some of the samples in the lab when she got back to the station, but some she had tested on site and found nothing of any interest. It was the most puzzling incident they had ever come across, but it wouldn't be the last one.
Chapter Eight
Harry had pinned up pictures in his office of the crime scene on his office crime board. He had made notes at the scene and taken statements from bystanders. Now he sat in his threadbare chair, his feet on the desk and a coffee clasped in his cold hands. He was using the time to look over his notes and try to work things out in his head to see where the investigation would go next. He was staring at the pictures, thinking through the information.
This was the way he usually worked; he would spend an hour or two working through the information before deciding the next move. Other officers were out collecting further information for him and following up any immediate leads, and Jennifer had retreated to her laboratory in the basement with the samples they had collected. He would have to be patient and wait for the results, as he wasn't allowed in there at all. It was her secret domain.
Jennifer had begun by making a log of what had been collected ad locking them all into the big evidence room. Then removed her out door coat and boots and put on her lab shoes. A huge pair of rubber boots which although perfectly practical where not attractive at all. But they had practical purposes and protective properties so she put them on without complaint. She also put on a fresh lab coat and collected the first sample. Her lab coat pocket held the safety goggles and gloves she might need for her experiments.
For the next few hours things bubbled and popped, sparked and dripped and in one place glooped. For every item she tested she wrote down some rather complex notes. She knew that Harry was waiting but these things couldn't be rushed.
Harry was getting impatient; six officers had been in and brought him more information. Including some surprising information about Rose Bradon's background, which eventually Harry decided was pretty irrelevant to the case.
Just as he had determined to go down to the laboratory and risk the wrath of Jennifer, she burst into the room. Red in the face and slightly frazzled in the hair department, wearing the weirdest boots he had ever seen.
“I have it! I know how she died!” She practically yelled at him.
Harry flumped back into his chair that made a weird wee noise as air escaped from somewhere. 'Oh well' Harry thought 'It looked like it was going to be a long interesting case that would use his experience and well earned knowledge to draw marvelous conclusions that no one else would see. But it had apparently been solved by the new and rapidly growing discipline of science.'
“It was poison!” Jennifer told him dramatically slamming her hands down onto his desk.
Harry grinned slowly, not so cut and dry after all then.
Chapter Nine
He was late for work again, it didn't seem to matter how early he got up he was always late. His boss wouldn't notice, as he was never there. He just sent messages in to the foreman as to what needed doing; he liked the profits he made but not the dirty work.
He was just emerging from the cloakroom where he left his outdoor coat and put on his lab coat when the foreman appeared in front of him.
"Donald we have an important task for you today. It is very important and very top secret. There is a bonus in it if you complete it within the day." the foreman told him handing him a thin folder and disappearing back into his office.
"Right" Donald said to his retreating back flipping through the few sheets of paper in the folder before heading off to his lab. It was a small grotty corner unit at the far end of the water plant. They supplied water to half of the people in the city and it was his job to test it every now and again for purity and add substances to improve the water and benefit the people. The better the water the more people would change to their supply. He assumed that this was another one of those supplements.
The truth was though he wasn't a very good scientist and most of what he did was follow the instructions on the sheet he was given for each supplement. He could use all of the equipment and he knew what everything was called, he just had no idea what the processes he could follow would actually do. He knew very little about saturation or the properties of chemicals and so he was in his ideal position. They gave him the ingredient and instructions and he followed them to the letter. Everyone was happy because he never got it wrong and he didn't have the brains to question what he had been told to do.
He got out the required equipment as detailed in the documents, then the chemicals and the protective goggles. He did not want to loose the sight in his other eye as he had done in science school before he started the job he had now. It was the last time he ever tried experimenting. The blue liquid went into the water and the red liquid waited in the end container. He turned on the Bunsen burner to heat the liquid to begin the process before taking out his sandwiches and making a coffee. It said in the instructions that this process would take an hour before he had to add the silkweed and seaweed. He would spend the day in the lab locked away from prying eyes. He liked the sound of a bonus so he intended to get this finished before home time. The instructions said it would take about six hours in total including the freezing and reheating parts. Once it was done he was supposed to let the foreman know and then take it to Andy the Gopher who would add it to the appropriate entry point in the water treatment section.
Donald was pleased to deliver the supplement an hour before he was due to finish work. The foreman told him he could go home early and gave him an envelope with his bonus in. It was more money than he had seen all year.
Picking up some fresh meat and vegetables on his way home he stopped by the jewelers and bought his girlfriend a ring, they had been talking about getting married for the lat year but simply could not afford it. He decided he would ask her to marry him tonight after the meal.
Jennifer had ran him his nightly bath when he got in, and had been wondering what they would have for tea that night when Donald returned with his packages. After a very warm welcome they chatted about her day and Donald went in the bath, when Jennifer came in to wash his back he pulled her in on top of him to squeals and laughter. They had a bit of a kiss and cuddle before she went to get dried off and changed to finish dinner.
As Jennifer was putting out the plates she called him, concerned that she hadn't heard anything from him for a while. As she moved towards the bathroom she began to feel a little woozy but shook it off and went through the bathroom door. She screamed then, Donald was gray and slumped over the edge of the bath, blood trickling from his mouth. He looked like he had tried to get out and fell. She ran over to him and slipped in the spilled water around the bath. She was crying and screaming and crawling across the floor, trying to get back to the door to try to get help.
She never made it.
Chapter Ten
Adrianna could barely hear a word they were saying from her position in the eaves, she was high enough up that she couldn't be seen even if they should glance up. The only problem was that she was incredibly uncomfortable balanced on this beam. She had chosen a pair of trousers and close fitting jacket for her morning quest. However when she had left the hotel she had been wearing a skirt over her trousers, as any good lady would when visiting the bank. She had stashed it not far away so that when she left the bank she would be once again wearing it. The trousers prevented her position from being given away by the sound of her skirts moving and she most definitely didn't want to be noticed.
They were discussing the location of the water plant which they were currently using and where the water improvement ingredients where stored for safekeeping. Adrianna almost laughed out loud when she heard them call it water improvement ingredients. She couldn't help but wonder how they thought it was being improved. She watched as one man drew a diagram onto a pad of paper on the main desk and then a map underneath which she hoped showed its location. The problem she had was that from this height she couldn't see the map in enough detail.
She remained where she was whilst they talked of some small additions to the plan they wanted to make before taking the sheet of paper from the pad and leaving the room, all of them dressed in business suits and with briefcases and document folders to make the meeting appear official. Adrianna was finally able to move from her position and shuffled her numb body back down the beam to the little ledge beyond and the small door used only for repairs. The hallway beyond gave her enough space to run her hands through her hair and replace her skirt so that she could leave the building through the front doors, the best way for her to remain unnoticed. But first she needed to pass the big table and retrieve the pad of paper.
"Miss, you have a visitor," the doorman told her as she returned to the hotel "In the dinning room near the far corner, she says she is your cousin Anoushka"
"Thank you. I will go straight through" Adrianna replied
Anoushka was eating when Adrianna approached her, teacakes and coffee it would seem and Adrianna realized that Anoushka had ridden all morning at least to get there.
"Good morning cousin" Adrianna said as she sat down.
"Busy morning?" Anoushka smiled back, gesturing to the pot of tea she had on the table and the pair of teacups. Adrianna poured herself a cup of tea before pulling the pad of paper out from beneath her coat.