Chorus of the Dead

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

But not the dark arch,

Or the black flowing river:

Ainsley reached Dr. Bennett's house just before midnight. The house was silent, not simply audibly silent but everything was gripped by the hush of recent death. The intensity of mourning may not have been as pronounced as it was at the Lloyd residence but it was unmistakably there. As Ainsley walked through the front door he could also sense an emptiness and he knew at once the body of Dr. Bennett was gone, most likely on its way back to Edinburgh for burial.

Ainsley paused momentarily at the bottom of the stairs, his hand perched on the handrail, his gaze fixated on the closed door at the top of the stairs, the room in which Dr. Bennett slept and then died. Exhaustion taking hold Ainsley shuffled to the parlour and found Jonas at a side table, a microscope in front of him and medical texts arranged around him. He wore his spectacles, perched on the bridge of his nose while he looked into the lens of the scientific tool. Jonas took one look at Ainsley, and seeing the fatigue on his face, abandoned his intense study. "Should I ask how the rest of your day went?"

Ainsley shook his head, said nothing, and slipped into the armchair.

Mrs. Crane emerged from the kitchen. She looked to the empty chair beside Ainsley, the chair in which Bennett had sat when she served them sandwiches and tea just days before. Ainsley could see her pushing back tears as she straightened her stance and addressed him directly. "Dr. Bennett's brother came for him this afternoon while you were out," Mrs. Crane explained, evidence of recent weeping lacing the highs and lows of her voice. "He said he was sorry to have missed you."

Ainsley nodded. "Likewise. I am sorry to have missed him."

The room fell silent for a moment, each occupant lost in their own thoughts. Ainsley had been so focused on Lillian that he had nearly forgotten that he lost a new friend. Even the autopsy did not seem real, just an educational exercise like all the others. It was only then, with the body gone and normal life attempting to move forward, hesitation punctuating each action, that Ainsley saw the loss, the real loss he felt for his new friend and colleague.

It was the weary exhale of breath from Mrs. Crane that drew Ainsley's attention back to the business at hand. "He said you can forward the death certificate as soon as you have signed it."

Ainsley nodded, still unsure of how much information he should give the housekeeper. Would she want to know that the man she worked for all these years had been murdered? Or was it better to keep her believing it was the damp chill that did him in? As the examining physician Ainsley was bound by oath to give an accurate account of his and Jonas's findings, but perhaps he needed to play his cards closer to his chest. A quick glance to Jonas gave him further reason to keep the cause of death to himself for the time being. There was no point in upsetting things, not when he was so desperate to find out who the killer was.

"I will complete it in the morning." His answer was greeted with a nod from Mrs. Crane before she retreated to the kitchen.

"You don't plan on telling her?" Jonas asked, leaning in closer and placing his elbows on his knees. His hands were in front of him clutching his round spectacles in delicate fingers.

Ainsley gave a quick shake of his head and pursed his lips. "Not yet. Can't have her spreading rumours around town, not when I am so close." Ainsley began to bite his knuckles as he stared at the dying fire in front of him in the hearth. "I told the Lloyds about my suspicions, of course." Ainsley heard Jonas give a slight gasp but did not turn to look. If his method of detection was not clear to his friend, then how could he explain himself? "They will not tell a soul. They wouldn't want to be wrapped up in a scandal now, would they?"

Jonas looked skeptical.

"I told them as a way of deciphering more about their character. Would they be shocked, or would they take it easily?"

"Which was it?"

"Mrs. Lloyd and Miss Elizabeth were both dismayed. They seemed to have a professional, yet slightly personal regard for Dr. Bennett yet when I saw Mrs. Lloyd today it appeared to be business as usual for the Lloyd family."

"What do you make of that?"

"Can't say. Margaret and I have been invited to visit tomorrow."

Jonas raised an eyebrow at this, most likely wondering why he had not been invited as well.

"Cheer up my friend," Ainsley said with a slight laugh, "I can't say you will be missing much. Margaret will be under strict orders not to eat a morsel. I will not have that on my conscience as well." Ainsley slipped further into his chair, stretching his legs to the ottoman in front of him.

"As well? You can't mean to say you take responsibility for Dr. Bennett's death?"

Ainsley gave his friend a questioning look. "Why is it so outlandish? He and I were partners. For all I know that funeral cake was meant for me. I should have seen it coming, quite frankly. Dr. Bennett himself told me he suspected poisoning. I was simply too analytical to believe it straight away. I feel like I should have listened to him."

Jonas leaned forward and looked intently at Ainsley. "Do not be so hard on yourself. You could not have known."

For a moment, Ainsley remained pensive. His fingers danced over his chin, as if imitating the thoughts swirling in his head. "What if that funeral cake was meant for me?" His eyes were grave when his gaze found his friend. "He ate his and mine, since I haven't much interest in sweets. Mine could have been the poisoned one."

"I suppose it's possible." Jonas reached for the desk and grabbed the two tonic bottles Ainsley had given him earlier. "These were clear," he said. "There was a slight amount of arsenic in this one though completely within standard medicinal amounts."

Ainsley nodded.

Dr. Bennett was killed with arsenic, this they had proven, but there was no evidence that either Mr. Lloyd or Josephine were poisoned, save for some anecdotal evidence of their illnesses. Ainsley needed more proof if he had any hope of diagnosing Lillian.

"I need to see the bodies," Ainsley said suddenly. "With or without Mrs. Lloyd's permission." Ainsley looked over to his friend. "Care to join me?"

"What? Tonight?" Jonas rubbed his hand over his tired eyes.

Ainsley stood up quickly. "It would be like old times." Ainsley flashed his friend a mischievous grin. For doctors in training, grave robbing was a way to make enough money to pay for schooling. Ainsley did it for the thrill of course, giving all of his earnings to Jonas. They stuck to the cemeteries on the outskirts of London, since harvesting bodies for science had been outlawed and the city's burial sites were more heavily patrolled. With only a pale moon to light their way, they would target the recently buried and cart them, under the cover of darkness, to the university where they would be paid handsomely. The professors all knew and would even encourage the practice seeing it as beneficial to both student and school.

Enticing Jonas to come with him, Ainsley was anxious to head out. "I need to see it," he said, grabbing for his jacket, "with my own eyes."