Страница 66 из 68
“Why do you want a copy of your old formula? You must know it by heart,” Blackford asked.
“I want my brother’s letter to Daisy because of what it proves. And don’t try to hide your knife. Set it down on the rug. Good. Now kick it over here.”
The duke did as he was told with an air of complete indifference. “What does the letter prove?”
Hancock kicked the knife to the corner of the room without taking his eyes off us. “You know very well what it proves. That my brother developed the formula before he died. And that I killed him and his wife.”
“Why would you kill your own brother? Just for the formula or for the title?” I asked. I needed to keep him talking. Sumner had to be nearby, ready to rescue us.
“The title is useless. It didn’t come with anything but debts. I sold off everything I could, but it wasn’t enough. The formula gained me money and fame for a while, but now I need to come up with another invention as successful as the first. Another chemical compound that will bring me lots of money and full membership in the Royal Society.”
“But your laboratory was destroyed.”
“All the fault of that clumsy young man there. If he hadn’t knocked over those beakers, the fire wouldn’t have traveled to the explosives. I kept them safely tucked away in the corner so nothing would happen to them. One reason why I didn’t want people marching through my laboratory.” Watching us all the time, he walked over to where Jacob lay and kicked him in the stomach.
I couldn’t let him abuse Jacob. I took two steps toward him. “Where are you going to find another laboratory?”
“After I finish with all of you, I’ll have to escape back to Africa. There I’ll study the effects of plants on humans. I have experience in the field. I’ll regain my fame. I just need to find the right plant.”
“Going to practice on yourself?” Blackford asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Of course not. There are plenty of natives I can use.”
“They may not like it,” I suggested. What was taking Sumner so long? Then I realized. Hancock was staying to the side of the doorway. Sumner would have to show himself before he could find Hancock to kill him, and by then, Sumner would be dead.
“That’s of small importance.”
“Tell me about poisoning your brother,” Blackford said.
“You know how I killed him? Oh, yes, you’ve read the other letter.” He kept the gun trained on me. I kept my chin up to mask my trembling and watched him. “It was Daisy’s birthday. My brother and his wife were having a family di
“But Daisy survived,” I said.
“You can’t imagine how disappointed I was to be saddled with that self-important little minx. It turned out she didn’t like spinach, so her parents allowed her to decline the dish. Can you imagine? A child telling her parents what she will or will not eat? Preposterous.”
“But why kill them for the formula?” I asked.
“I knew he had discovered something clever. Something that would make money. And more importantly, something that would garner praise from the Royal Society. Though how he could come up with a brilliant formula when all he did was dabble, while I devoted my life to scientific research, was something I don’t understand. Of course, he had that wonderful laboratory. I wanted that, too.” Lord Hancock frowned at Blackford and raised his pistol to aim straight at the duke’s heart.
He nodded toward a coil of rope on the floor. “Tie Miss Fenchurch up in that chair,” he instructed the duke.
I began to walk toward the chair, encouraged by Hancock now pointing the gun at me. “You mentioned a letter?”
“Didn’t the duke tell you? Daisy insisted on hosting a large party while we were still living at Chelling Meadows, during which Drake broke into my laboratory. He found the letter the cook wrote to her sister a few months after my brother’s death, spelling out her suspicions.
“The cook’d been looking at me in an odd way. When she sneaked out of the house the night she was supposedly killed by a thief, she was going to mail the letter. At the time, the shortest way to the postbox was by the laboratory. I saw her and followed her. She never mailed the letter.” He smiled and turned his head toward Blackford. “Tie her up.”
Blackford had worked his way to the side wall. “You tie her up.”
Hancock’s finger moved on the trigger as he aimed at me. “Then she won’t be tied up. I’ll just shoot her.”
Chapter Twenty-three
"WAIT.” I was certain Hancock was about to shoot me. He was crazy, and I had to stop the madman from killing me. Talking seemed to be my only weapon. “I don’t understand why you didn’t burn the letter. It’s not proof of anything, but it seems dangerous to keep it.”
“Why? It was in my laboratory. Mine. No one was ever allowed in. I could sit in my room, surrounded by my equipment, and look at the letter that showed how clever I’d been in removing the people who were in my way. Just as I’ll remove the people who now put me in danger.” Hancock aimed at my head and cocked the trigger.
I sat down hard in the chair as my knees gave out under me.
The duke stalked toward him.
Hancock’s hand shook as he swung around, backed up, and aimed at Blackford. He raised his voice to proclaim, “You may be a high and mighty duke, but I hold the gun.”
“And I’m the only one who can get you your letters. You need me.” The duke advanced. Hancock continued backward until he was clearly visible in the doorway.
“Hancock,” a gravelly voice said.
Hancock wheeled around and fired as he tumbled onto his back, a knife handle protruding from his chest and the gun still in his grip. The noise in the small area shook the walls and left my heart pounding at a gallop. The room smelled of gunpowder like a Guy Fawkes Night celebration. Blackford stepped forward and grabbed the pistol. I could see there was no need to hurry. Hancock’s hand was already lifeless.
I swung around to discover if Sumner was hurt. He appeared uninjured as he faced Blackford and pointed upward. There was a hole in the plastered ceiling near the doorway, with spidery cracks leading away in all directions and plaster dust sifting into a coating on the faded carpet.
After that, everything became a commotion. Inspector Grantham and several uniformed constables arrived in a clatter. Sir Broderick, Emma, Dominique, and Jacob were freed of their bonds. The police carried Jacob to his bed and sent for a doctor to examine him. Inspector Grantham examined the room before Hancock’s body could be taken away for the police medical officer to examine. Blackford and Sumner followed Inspector Grantham as he pushed Sir Broderick in his wheeled chair into another room to hold a conference.