Darker Still (31 page)

“Of course,” Mr. Stewart said, glancing about. “But the matter is resolved.”

That’s when I noticed the diary upon the desk with the subject’s name upon it. “What’s this? I think I’ll have to examine this, sir, if you don’t mind.”

“There’s really no need,” Stewart said quickly—which increased my curiosity. “It was sent to me just this week from Natalie herself, proving she’s fine.” He flipped through the pages and took out the separate letter addressed to him and, with cursory inspection, I saw that the penmanship did match. “You can see that she’s still alive. And that it didn’t come from New York. The postage bears a seal of Chicago.”

“Indeed, so she’s not dead. But I’m still taking this diary into the station. There’s a file for her, you know. Just in case something else comes up.”

The man’s nerves made me not trust the situation. Mr. Stewart was loath to let it go, which I suppose is understandable, but it remains with us nonetheless.

“And do you approve of your daughter’s actions?” I had to ask.

“No…but…but I’ve been overruled.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“My late wife…she…well…” Mr. Stewart coughed uncomfortably. “Well, she told me she quite approves of the situation and I need to let it be for the time being.”

“And just how did you find this out from your
late
wife?”

“Séance, Sergeant,” Stewart murmured, flushing.

“A séance?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I doubt words of a dead woman would hold up in court,” I retorted. “But it doesn’t look as though this is going to court, so go ahead and have fun with your magical parlor tricks,” I stated, having had quite enough.

I will peruse this diary, though, in case there’s something I should attend to, or if it may indicate that Mr. Stewart is lying and the girl is being kept somewhere against her will.

July 6, 1880

Sergeant James Patt, New York City Police

Notes on Stewart Case/Five Points Murders

Good God.

After having read this mad account, I must now turn the diary over to the detective investigating the Five Points murders.

• • •

I spoke with the Five Points detective, and he told me they’d nabbed a man named Crenfall for the crimes—got him out of a local madhouse after he’d been reportedly wandering the Metropolitan Museum like a mumbling bum. Seems he killed an artist in France, too, before committing murders in England, some young lord, and then here in New York. He confessed to all of it, though I’m unconvinced he has enough wits to speak to a woman, let alone kill her. Mrs. Evelyn Northe brought his name to their attention. Seems she shot the man in the leg when he broke into her house after a painting. What a lot of fuss over brushstrokes and canvas!

Crenfall. I recognized the name from the diary pages, and I now saw it was all connected. I’m going to pay a visit to Mrs. Northe then. This very afternoon.

• • •

I will say this; the woman is charming.

“Mrs. Northe, I have no jurisdiction to arrest you but I’m almost inclined to.”

“Yes, I was told you took Miss Stewart’s diary. Since you’re here, I assume we all look guilty in your eyes because you don’t believe the girl.”

“You do?”

“Wholly.”

“Crenfall did it, did he?”

“Well, he assisted. The possessor did the rest, sir. And I’d be wary. This is only the sign of more to come. So don’t waste your time following a young girl and her lover. That’s not the problem. There’s a society of people calling upon forces of evil and amassing dark magic practices. What you read in that diary was only one instance of a host of bad omens. The society is who I’d worry about. You need to think about a different sort of battle on a different sort of battlefield.”

“Whom and what should the precinct employ, then, Mrs. Northe, a battalion of mediums and fortune-tellers?”

“That would be a very good start, sir,” Mrs. Northe replied.

I shook my head and begged her leave.

I stand by my decision to give these materials over to the Five Points detective, who likely will see it closed, satisfied enough to have a conviction in Crenfall. I want nothing to do with the case; it makes my head hurt.

Should you be curious about devils, societies, séances, etc., please call on Mrs. Evelyn Northe, Fifth Avenue. I’m sure she’ll be glad to oblige you. If there is such a thing as a society of devils, then I hope to God they stay patrons of the arts and leave the rest of us regulars alone.

Should anyone who has followed this narrative to this conclusion regret doing so, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Acknowledgments

My dear Oscar Wilde, thank you for Dorian Gray and for your genius. I’d like to think that if I had the privilege of knowing you, we’d have gotten along famously. Regardless, I am eternally your fan.

Thank you, Biz Urban, for going through this book line by line with me; your presence in my life has been so helpful in so many ways.

Thank you to Lexie for your time, care, and insight. This book goes out in particular to you.

Thank you, Christina, for your valuable thoughts and many windows onto communication.

Thanks to amazing author and friend Sarah Maclean for spot-on advice and support.

To my dear writer gals—Hanna L., Sammi W., Lizzie W., and Akasha H., don’t you ever stop writing or dreaming, girls. You’re talented, and don’t you
ever
forget it.

Marijo, it’s your turn.

Thanks to my angels in the book blogging community who have been so thrilled about the prospect of this series. You’re more valuable to me than you can ever know.

Thanks as always to my hero of an agent, Nicholas Roman Lewis; and to my fabulous editor, Leah Hultenschmidt, for the opportunity of this new adventure and the joy that is working with you; and thank you, Dominique and Sourcebooks, for being as excited as I am.

About the Author

Leanna Renee Hieber aims to be a gateway drug for nineteenth-century literature. Having graduated with a theater degree and a focus on the Victorian era, she’s adapted works of Victorian literature for the stage, and her one-act plays have been produced around the country.

The
Strangely
Beautiful
Tale
of
Miss
Percy
Parker
, the first in Leanna’s Strangely Beautiful quartet of Gothic Victorian fantasy novels, hit Barnes & Noble’s bestseller lists and won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy and Best First Book). Option rights have been sold for a musical theater production currently in development.

A member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Romance Writers of America, she’s the RWA NYC 2010 Author of the Year. A member of actors’ unions AEA, SAG, and AFTRA, Leanna occasionally works in film and television. A devotee of ghost stories and Goth clubs, she resides in New York City with her real-life hero and their beloved rescued lab rabbit, Persebunny. Visit her at
www.leannareneehieber.com
, and follow her @LeannaRenee.