way in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. In the middle of the next block, Ewan led them down an alley and turned left. They took a set of wooden stairs to the second floor. He opened the door and took them down a dark hallway. Out of habit, Lachlan’s immediately put his hand on the hilt of the dirk in his belt and placed the other on the small of Keevah’s back.
They paused halfway down and waited for Ewan to unlock the door. Lachlan glanced both ways before following Murdoch and Keevah inside.
’Twas by no means a spacious or opulently appointed space. Low ceilings overhead made it feel even smaller. A bed was tucked in one corner, with a small table beside it. Along the opposite wall was a long table filled with all manner of documents, books, and parchments.
What truly interested Lachlan was the wall to his left. A large map of Inverness had been carefully painted onto it. Each of the streets carefully labeled in blue paint. Important buildings and points of interest had also been just as attentively applied.
Murdoch whistled as he studied the map. “Who did this?”
“I did,” Ewan replied as he hung his cloak on the peg by the door. Immediately, he went to the long table and began scouring through the scrolls and other documents. Finding the one he was searching for, he began reading aloud.
“The first victim was found in the late morning hours on the twelfth day of September. Alisia MacGee. Aged seven and thirty. Blond hair, blue eyes, quite comely for her age. Husband is one Alexander MacGee.” Going to the map, he pointed to a little red dot and tapped the area with his index finger. “She was found here, in an alleyway on Kenneth Street.”
Turning back to his document. “The next victim was Georgette MacAulay, aged one and thirty. Married to William MacAulay, one son, aged thirteen. She was found in the late morning hours on the second of October on Greig street.” He pointed to another red dot.
“Eighteen of October, again, late morning hours, the body of Mary Williams was found near Castle street. Aged two and forty, married to Connor Williams, one child, a daughter, aged nine and ten. On the first of November, Celeste McCreery was found in an alley a block from Mary Williams.” The longer he spoke, the more intense he became, pacing back and forth, reading from his scroll, pointing to the map.
“The twenty-first of November, Deirdre Boyden, widowed, one child, a boy, aged seven. Third of December, Mary Andrews, aged seven and twenty, unmarried, one child, aged eleven, a girl. And today, the eighth of December, Forveleth.”
He stared at the map as if it held the secrets he needed to find the answers he sought. “Each woman was found in the early morning hours, in alleys around the city. Each had their throats cut, dresses torn, skirts yanked up. There was very little blood at any of the scenes. And no witnesses.”
Keevah stepped up to look at the map more closely. A shiver traced up and down her sign. “I knew all but two of the women,” she whispered. There but for the grace of God go I. “They were all prostitutes,” she said.
“Former prostitutes,” Ewan said. “They were either married now or widowed. One, Mary Andrews, had opened a little seamstress shop about eight months ago.”
Keevah listened intently as she tried to make sense of it all.
“I feel as though he is tryin’ to send a message,” Ewan said. “But what that message is, I dunnae ken.”
“He hates prostitutes,” Lachlan said, breaking his silence.
“If that were the case, why is he killin’ former prostitutes?” Murdoch asked. “Why nae those who are still whor- in that line of work?”
“There is more, something I have nae shared with the Sheriff or anyone else,” Ewan said as he returned to his table. “At each of the sights, a small wooden crucifix was left behind.”
He opened a small wooden box and retrieved one of the crucifixes. ’Twas crude craftsmanship at best. He handed it to Lachlan for his perusal.
“Tis naught more than pieces of rushes tied together with a bit of coarse wool,” he said after looking at it for a quick moment.
“Aye, they are. One was left, either on, next to, or verra near each of the victims.”
“Did ye find one with Forveleth?” Keevah asked.
He nodded and pulled the small crucifix from the pouch on his belt. It looked like the other.