The Affinity Bridge Read Online Free PDF Page A

remaining two constables.
    “Good morning, ma’am.” He looked vaguely uncomfortable ;it the thought of being questioned by a woman.
    “Good morning, Constable…?”
    “Pratt, ma’am.”
    “Good morning, Constable Pratt. I’m in need of some assistance. You see, my colleagues over there are labouring under the impression that I’m fully up-to-date with all the minutiae of this murder inquiry, but, as I’m relatively new to the job, I seem to be missing some of the pertinent facts. I was hoping you could help me out of my predicament?”
“Certainly, ma’am. Where would you like me to begin?”
    Veronica feigned ignorance. “Well, we could start with the victims. How many are there now?”
    Pratt hesitated before going on. “Well ma’am, there are seven official victims, all of them strangled to death and abandoned in the street, just like this one. All from the same area of the city.”
“Official victims?”
    “Yes ma’am. Folk around here are saying there’s actually around three times that number, if not more. Sometimes the families come and move the bodies before the police happen upon them, other times the corpses are stripped and robbed and end up floating down the river.”
“And what of witnesses?”
    “People aren’t too forthcoming, ma’am. They’re attributing these killings to a phantom, the glowing policeman. Talk like that makes them clam up good and proper when a man in uniform comes knocking on their door. Not only that, but people are scared to come out at night. On one hand they’re worried about the murderer, on the other about the revenants that are walking the streets at night, hiding in the gutters like animals. Places like this, they ain’t safe, ma’am. People keep themselves to themselves.”
    Veronica smiled. “So do you think this is the work of the glowing policeman, Constable Pratt?”
    “I’m not qualified to say, ma’am. But I do know folk who claim they’ve seen him out here, wandering around in the fog, his face and hands glowing with ghostly blue light whilst he waits for his next victim.”
    “Thank you, constable. Most useful.” She made her way back to where Newbury and Bainbridge were standing, a wry smile on her face. “It sounds as if these bodies may be just the tip of the iceberg.”
    Bainbridge nodded, obviously impressed. “You continue to confound me, Miss Hobbes.”
    Veronica smiled. “Let’s just hope it proves useful in bringing the killer to justice, Sir Charles.”
“Indeed. Indeed.”
    Newbury docked his hat to his old friend. “Charles, we’ll take our leave. Watch your back out here, won’t you, and remember to call by the office this afternoon for a talk. I’m sure we can start moving forward in this matter, hopefully before another sorry individual loses his life.”
    “Thank you, Newbury. Your assistance is most appreciated.”
    “Say no more.” And with that, Newbury and Veronica turned on their heels and disappeared into the fog-laden morning in search of a cab.
     
    “I liked your trick with the constable back there.” Newbury was in a much more talkative mood, now that the two of them had managed to hail a hansom cab and were on their way back to the museum. Veronica was relieved that, this time, they’d been able to settle on a more traditional vehicle, pulled by horses instead of the more temperamental steam engine they had suffered before. She regarded Newbury from across the carriage.
    “I’ve always believed that it’s worth keeping one’s ear to the ground, finding out what people are saying. Invariably, in my experience, that’s where one may find the truth, or at least the kernel of the truth that has given rise to the tall tales.”
    Newbury nodded in agreement. “An admirable tactic, and one that I’m convinced will bear fruit. But consider this…” He paused for dramatic effect, “What if, in this instance, the tall tales were actually based on fact?”
    Veronica’s eyes betrayed her incredulity.