Symptoms of Death (Dr. Alexandra Gladstone Book 1) (12 page)

Chapter
Eleven

“Zack! Zack, where are you? Are you all right?” Terror gripped Alexandra, rendering her almost unable to move. The fog, growing thicker, weighed her down as well. She forced herself to take a step forward in the darkness. And then another, and another, moving toward that horrific sound she
’d heard coming from Zack.

There had only been one yelping scream, and then silence except for the sound of the surf, oddly muffled in the fog. She called out again. “Zack! Are you…”

Suddenly a hand clamped her mouth, and another arm, encircling her body, pinned her arms to her side. A memory of the night in the stable yard flashed in her mind, but this was not the same person. The one who held her now was smaller, perhaps only a boy, and he smelled of stale beer and cheap tobacco.

“What is it yer doing here?” the boy asked. At the same time she heard Zack growl, low in his throat, and then a loud, ferocious bark. Next, pandemonium—Zack
’s bark, the arm letting go, the sound of a scuffle, young voices shouting, “Kill the bastard. He’s attacking.” And then another whimper from Zack.

“Don
’t hurt him.” Alexandra screamed.

Zack growled, and she saw what she thought was the shadowy form of him lunge.

“Damnation! The bugger’s tearing my leg off. Use the bloody knife for god’s sake. Aaargh.”

Then suddenly the light of a lantern sputtered weakly through the fog and mist and a young voice yelled, “Let the woman go you idjets
. She’s here to see me.” And then the same voice directed at Alexandra. “Call the bloody beast off of the boys before he kills ’em.” The speaker held the lantern at arm’s length in front of him so that the glaring light kept Alexandra from seeing his face clearly.

There was a moment
’s hesitation, and then, “Zack! Zack! Heel!” She had to call twice more before the dog could be convinced, and by this time, his victims were both groaning miserably. Finally Zack heeded her command and moved toward her. She put her hands on him, feeling in the darkness for a wound that might have made him cry out in pain. She felt dampness around his mouth, but she couldn’t be sure if it was blood or the profuse saliva that was characteristic of him. If it was blood, had it come from Zack or the boys? Then she felt the wet, matted hair on his head as well as evidence of a gash in his skin. He had been injured, but in the darkness, it was impossible to tell how badly.

The dog was tense and alert, pacing nervously and growling, low and menacing, even as the two injured young men tried to move away, scooting on their backsides.

The boy with the lantern shouted at them in anger. “You buggard clods. Didn’t I tell you I had business here tonight?”

“We was just makin
’ sure it wasn’t trouble she was here for, Quince,” one of the young men on the ground whimpered. “How was we to know she’d ’ave the bloody bear dog with ’er? I think the beast ’as tore Artie’s face off.”

There was a sickening groan from the other boy. It sounded as if he was lying on the ground.

“Serves you right for bein’ such fools,” the boy with the lantern said. “Now off with you.”

“But
, Quince—”

“Out of my sight, the two of you
.” With that, he squelched the lantern’s light.

“Wait!” Alexandra took a step toward the two boys as they stumbled away, but Zack blocked her with his huge body.

“Leave ’em be.” Quince’s words were a harsh command.

“But they
’re hurt. Those wounds should be—”

“I said leave
’em be.” Alexandra could feel his hand like a stone weight on her arm, dragging her back. “I’ll see to it later. For now we’ve got to talk.” His voice was a harsh whisper, and she could sense, even smell, his fear.

Alexandra
’s heart was pounding out her own fear as well. Zack sensed it, growled, and took a menacing step toward Quince. Alexandra grabbed his leash and had to use both hands to restrain him.

“Can
’t we go someplace more comfortable? Some place where I can see—”

“No! It
’s best we not be seen together, and it
'
’
s best ye not tell anyone ye talked to me, ye hear?”

“Well, I—”

“If ye value yer life…”

“Good Lord
.”

“And if ye don
’t value yer own life, then think of the girl yer tryin’ to save.”

Alexander
’s heart pounded even harder. Perhaps she should have heeded Nicholas’s warning about coming here. “I…I’m afraid I don’t understand—”

“What I
’m doin’, I’m doin’ for Georgie. And ye best keep yer voice down, Miss.”

Alexandra
’s mouth was dry, and she was finding it difficult to speak at all, but she managed to whisper, “Of course, George Stirling was your friend.” She paused, screwing up her courage, then added, “Do you know who killed him?”

There was a long moment of silence before Quince spoke. “Did the girl, the one they call Elsie, did she tell you she seen
’is ghost?”

“She said she
’d heard him speak to her.”

“And ye didn
’t believe ’er.”

“I believe she thinks she heard him.”

Quince’s laugh was a hard, brittle sound. “Aye, but yer a clever one with words, ye are. But I tell ye for sure, I know who done the deed.”

“Then you must tell—”

Zack suddenly became even more restless, and Alexandra felt him tense again. She sensed that his head had lifted, and he was sniffing the air, as if someone was approaching. Alexandra placed her hand on his head, being careful not to touch his wound. The touch was partly to soothe him and partly to read his body language as she whispered to Quince.

“If you know who killed George and
the earl, you must tell the constable.”

Quince drew back from her. “I won
’t talk to a copper, Miss, and I ain’t so willin’ to talk to you if it wasn’t for me doin’ it for Georgie.”

“Do you know who murdered Lord Dunsford?”

Quince leaned toward her and seemed about to say something when Zack let out another sharp bark. In almost the same instant, Quince moved quickly to grab Alexandra again, clasping his hand around her mouth and holding her arms against her sides in the same manner the other boy had done. Zack lunged at him, but he managed to back away.

“Somebody
’s coming.” Quince’s mouth was close to her ear, and his whisper was full of terror. “I ought to kill ye to keep ye quiet about this.”

Alexandra tried to say something, but his hand on her mouth made it almost impossible to breath
e and certainly impossible to speak. Zack barked, loud, harsh, and angry and tried over and over again to lunge at Quince, but Quince’s deft maneuvers kept Alexandra between him and the dog so that Zack could not attack without harming the one he was trying to protect.

A voice, muffled by the mist and fog, called out. “Who
’s there?”

Another whisper, hoarse and curdled with fear, came from Quince
’s lips, still close to her ear. “Hold the dog.”

She nodded, or tried to nod as much as his restraining hand would allow and pulled Zack
’s leash shorter. Immediately Quince loosened his grip on her and fled. Almost instantly the darkness swallowed him, and the fog softened his footfall.

Zack barked and strained at his leash, but Alexandra would not let go. She started to call out Quince
’s name, but the memory of his fear that someone might find out he had spoken to her kept her quiet. She resolved to try again to see him. She could come down to the piers again tomorrow in the light of day and ask for him. No, that would be unwise. He had not wanted anyone to know he had spoken to her, and he had threatened her with her own and Elsie’s life if she revealed it. She would have to find another way.

“Zack,” she said, still whispering. “Hush now. We must go home.”

Zack obeyed her and stopped his barking, but he kept up a low undulating growl that sounded almost like vowel sounds, as if he were trying to speak to her in her own language to warn her of danger.

“It
’s all right, Zack. We’re going home now.” She took a few steps forward, blind in the heavy darkness, allowing Zack to lead her. He had given up trying to talk to her and had resorted to his loud, threatening barks again. She followed the sound and bulk of him, and then screamed in fear when a human hand touched her face.

At the same time, Zack leapt, snarling, but Alexandra managed somehow, awkwardly, to get in his way, and it was she he knocked to the ground. Zack seemed confused. The voice she had heard earlier, muffled by the fog said her name.

“Dr. Gladstone?”

Alexandra held her breath, puzzled for a moment. Then: “Mr. Atewater? Is that you? Zack! Stay!”

Two hands reached to bring her to her feet, gently. They both spoke at the same time. “Dr. Gladstone, what are you doing out this time of…?”

“Mr. Atewater, I thought you were in…”

“I thought it was you I saw walking this direction, and I must confess, I followed you,” Atewater said. He held her arm and led her away from the water toward the dim lights of the town.

In spite of her commands, Zack was still growling and lunging against the leash. Obviously the encounter on the pier had upset him. And there was still the possibility that he had been injured. She had Jeremy Atewater to deal with now, however.

“You followed me? I don’t understand…”

“Frankly, I found it odd that a woman would be out alone so late at night. Even with a dog as large as the one you have,” Atewater said. “I thought perhaps I should keep an eye on you. It was so dark, though, I lost you. And then when I heard the dog barking, I followed the sound. To be honest, I was frightened you
’d been attacked.”

“Oh no, not at all. Zack was just barking at shadows. And…and I often walk Zack at night.” Alexandra wasn
’t sure why she was lying. Why she felt the need to protect Quince. “But what are you doing here, Mr. Atewater? I thought you and Mrs. Atewater had returned to London. Zack, quiet, please.”

Atewater, who was now leading her toward a street, walked briskly. The fog made light from cottage windows dance out of bounds. “You
’re quite right,” he said. “We did plan to go to London, but at the last minute, I decided to stay. You see, Lord Dunsford and I were involved in a rather complicated business venture together, and I’m afraid his death precipitated rather a lot of work and decisions I’m forced to make. Mrs. Atewater went on without me. I took a room at the inn. More convenient than staying so far away at Montmarsh, you see.”

“I see,” Alexandra said, trying not to let her curiosity overcome good manners. She wanted to ask him exactly what sort of business kept him here and why he was out walking so late.

Atewater’s grip tightened on her arm. “Forgive me for being presumptuous, Dr. Gladstone, but I must say, it’s rather not a good idea for you to be in the habit of walking about so late. Especially in light of recent events.”

“Perhaps you
’re right.” Alexandra stumbled in the darkness as she tried to calm Zack. “Perhaps it’s rather not a good idea for either of us.”

“Point well taken. And I for one would have gone straight to my lodgings at the inn had I not seen you and felt compelled to—”

“Excuse me, Mr. Atewater, we’re headed in the direction away from my house, and I’m afraid I really must return home. My housekeeper will be—”

“Of course
. Forgive me, I’m afraid I don’t know where you live.” Atewater said.

“It
’s that way.” She pointed toward her house. “And I must thank you for your concern for me tonight, and perhaps, if whatever kept you here isn’t too consuming, I shall see you again.” She was eager to get away to examine Zack. He was still acting odd, and she knew the wound was bleeding. Quince’s ruffians had hurt him, and she wanted to see how serious his injury might be.

“Oh, but I can
’t allow you to walk home alone.” Atewater took her arm again.

“But, Mr. Atewater—”

“Yes, yes, I know you’re accustomed to walking alone, and you do have your dog to protect you, but I simply would never forgive myself if I allowed you to walk home and then learned some ill fortune had befallen you.”

His firm grip and his long, measured stride confirmed that it would do no good to argue with him. She only hoped he would be quiet once they reached her door so that
Nancy wouldn’t awaken. She had too much to think about now to have to contend with Nancy.

Zack
’s behavior was even more erratic when they reached the house, and Alexandra was sure that his low growls and occasional agitated barks would awaken Nancy, and she would have to be dealt with anyway.

When they reached the front door, and before she unlocked it, Alexandra reached down to touch Zack again, with the hope of calming him.

He yelped in pain, and Atewater drew back, alarmed.

“Sorry,” Alexandra said, “I
’m afraid Zack stumbled back there along the water front, and he must have hit his head on a rock.” Alexandra was surprised at how easily the lie came to her lips. As she moved her hand gently along Zack’s head, he cried out again as she touched the wound, the same sharp scream of pain she had heard in the darkness earlier. Perhaps they had stuck him only out of fear, but it made her angry nevertheless.