night. What’s he going to do? Kill them all?”
Sebastian turned to order a pint, then laid his forearms on the scarred old tabletop and leaned into them. “According to the gardener whose sickle ended up in Hayes’s back, Mrs. Bowers was wandering around the western shrubbery that evening. Seems she was one of the gardens’ regulars, which is how the gardener happened to know who she was.”
Gibson frowned with the effort of memory. “At the inquest, the gardener said he left that area around midday.”
“That’s what he said. But the truth is, he realized just before closing time that he must have left his sickle in the clearing and went back for it. That’s when he saw Mrs. Bowers.”
“And the killer? Did the gardener see him?”
Sebastian shook his head. “He says the only person he saw was Mrs. Bowers—and Hayes, of course, with the sickle in his back.”
“If he lied at the inquest, he could be lying to you.”
“He could be, but I doubt it.” Sebastian leaned back to let the young barmaid set his ale on the table before him. “Mrs. Bowers was killed on Saturday?”
“Friday night.”
“Our killer moved fast, didn’t he? He took care of Pennington in the morning and then Mrs. Bowers that night. I’m glad no one else saw him.”
“No one that you know about,” said Gibson. “It’s not like there was anything obvious linking Mrs. Bowers to Hayes.”
“True.” Sebastian paused to take a long, deep drink. “If I remember correctly, she was strangled with a strap, wasn’t she?”
“She was. From behind. She was a small woman and arthritic, so it wouldn’t have been too difficult a thing for someone to manage.” He paused. “The inquest concluded she was murdered by footpads. Her earrings and wedding ring were missing, remember?”
“A thief could have come along and robbed her body. Or the killer could have taken them himself to make it look like a robbery.”
Gibson took another bite of his roast beef, chewed, and swallowed. “If that’s true, then your murderer used three different weapons in his little killing spree: a sickle, a knife, and a strap. A knife was used twice—once on Pennington and then again on Seaforth—although I’m not convinced it was the same knife. And while Pennington was stabbed multiple times, your killer got the Earl on the first try.”
“Are you suggesting we could be looking for two different murderers?”
“It’s possible, although it’s also possible your killer simply aimed better the second time he used a knife. One assumes it’s easier to be more exact with that sort of thing when you do your killing on a deserted street at night.”
“You’ve finished Seaforth’s autopsy?”
“I have. The cool, damp weather has calmed everyone’s tempers enough that I’ve finally been able to get a few things done. Not that there was much to see with him. He was stabbed in the back with a dagger and then presumably dragged into the mews.” Gibson cut another slice of beef. “So what does all this tell you?”
“It tells me that Nicholas Hayes’s killing was, in all likelihood, impulsive. The killer either flew into a rage and grabbed the sickle because it just happened to be lying there, or he’d been wanting to kill Hayes, saw an opportunity, and decided to take it. Hayes might have been sick, but he was a tall man and still in the prime of his life. A man like that wouldn’t be easy to strangle, and the killer probably didn’t have a dagger on him. It’s not something most people carry. “
“Unless they’re carrying a sword stick.”
“True.”
Gibson was silent for a moment, his roast beef forgotten. “Your killer must have gone home that night, thought about anyone and everyone who could possibly link him to Hayes’s murder, and then set about deliberately eliminating them—this time making certain he had a more appropriate implement with him. What a charming fellow.”
“He was desperate. His killing of Hayes was messy, dangerous, and probably unpleasant. But this killer isn’t a stupid man. He recognized that what he’d done was a rash act that left him vulnerable. So he decided to fix it by killing the two people he knew could tie him to the tea gardens that night. And then he killed Seaforth too, perhaps because he was afraid the Earl could also somehow identify him.” Sebastian paused. “Except that he was wrong when he thought his little killing spree would fix his vulnerability, because by killing Mrs. Bowers he’s given us a way—maybe—to find him. What