A Death Along the River Fleet Read Online Free PDF Page A

your loss of memory, although I must say it is a most odd phenomenon. Have you struck your head recently?”
    â€œI do not believe so,” the woman replied, reaching up to feel her head. She put her hand at the base of her neck. “I can feel a sharp pain here.”
    â€œLet me see,” Dr. Larimer said. He pushed the woman’s heavy hair off the base of her neck. When he did that, he exposed another scar that they had not previously noticed, which ran vertically along the woman’s neck. He inhaled sharply.
    â€œWhat is it?” Lucy asked.
    â€œA surgeon has been letting her blood,” he said, probing the scar with gentle hands. “The skin here is just healed. See how it is scabbed over?” he said to Lucy, who nodded.
    He turned his attention back to the woman. “For what condition has the surgeon been at your neck?”
    The woman shook her head, wincing a bit at the movement. “I cannot say! I do not remember!” she replied, anxiety rising in her voice. “Who would do that to me?”
    â€œSuch bloodletting from the vein of your neck tells me that you have had a disorder of the head that someone has been seeking to correct,” the physician explained. “It may explain why you do not remember. Your memory loss may have been what he was trying to alleviate when he performed the bloodletting.”
    â€œCan you tell how long ago the bloodletting occurred?” Lucy asked Dr. Larimer, in a low tone.
    â€œRecently. The skin is pink and new where the scar has formed,” he replied, still examining her carefully. “Within the last few weeks, of that I am certain.”
    â€œOh, why can I not remember?” The woman’s voice caught in a half sob, and Lucy could hear a bit of hysteria rising once again. “I can scarcely think.”
    Dr. Larimer resumed his questions. “What is the last thing you do remember? Do you know why you were at Holborn Bridge?”
    â€œHolborn Bridge? Where is that?”
    â€œIt crosses the River Fleet. Just beyond the great expanse where the Fire laid waste,” Lucy replied. “It is where I found you, before I brought you here. I washed your hands—do you recall that?”
    The woman blinked, trying to remember. “Washed my hands?” A flicker of recognition. “By a well, was it not?” Her brow furrowed. “There was a crowd, was there not? They were shouting.” She looked at Lucy. “Someone threw potatoes at us!” She looked scandalized, which would have made Lucy smile if she were not so concerned.
    â€œDo you remember anything before that? What brought you to Holborn Bridge?” Dr. Larimer continued to press. When the woman did not answer, he pointed to the bruises on her wrists. “Do you recall how you received these injuries?”
    He touched them gently, and she flinched. “I do not know.” The woman pulled back, taking on the stance of a trapped animal. She put a hand to her chest and neck, frantically feeling for the object that had hung around her neck.
    â€œWhere is it?” she cried. “Where is my amulet? Give it back to me!” she demanded. “I need it!”
    Hastily, Lucy handed her the amulet, and the woman put it back around her neck.
    â€œIt’s beautiful,” Lucy said. “Where did you get it?”
    The woman looked startled, and afraid. “I do not know! I just remember the feeling of the amulet around my neck.” As she stroked the gemstone, her rapid breathing began to slow, and she pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. It was clear that she had no wish to continue the conversation.
    The physician coughed then, still regarding the woman’s form in a puzzled way. “Such extreme memory loss is very uncommon,” he said to Lucy. “I wonder—”
    She did not know what he would have said, for just then James Sheridan, Dr. Larimer’s assistant, strode into the room. He was