no surprise, Maisie. You invited that country into your life, so do not marvel that it has come to you.”
“It is a very cold trail, Khan. You have recommended me, yet I do not know if I will be successful. I am only asking questions the police asked before, I am sure. If a loose thread remains, I will be hard-pushed to find it.”
“Then do not press so hard upon the fabric.” Khan put out his hand and grasped the curtain as it flapped. Holding the material with one hand, he reached forward until he felt Maisie’s right hand. “Here.” He pressed her hand firm upon the fabric, holding her fingers and running them back and forth across the muslin. “What do you feel?”
“Just the curtain.”
“Do you feel the pattern?”
“There is no pattern.”
“Oh, but there is. Now, feel the pattern.” He took her fingers, holding them gently upon the white fabric. So light was her touch that she could barely feel it beneath her skin. But then, as she closed her eyes, she began to feel a movement, like tiniest ripples across a pond, and then something clearer. A slub in the weave, a thread proud against her fingertips. Khan smiled. “Ah, you feel it?”
“Yes.”
“Do your work with a light step. Run your fingers across the weaving of knowledge you’ve gathered. Then you will be successful.”
Maisie sighed. “Murder is never a light touch, Khan.”
“No, it isn’t. But truth buried for a long time can be trodden down by a heavy footfall. Step lightly.” He stopped speaking and breathed deeply. “You would like to know about Pramal, Usha’s brother?”
“Yes, I would,” said Maisie.
“I knew the children’s father when he was a boy—though at my age anyone much younger than I seems like a boy. He lost his wife when his daughter was quite young, and in her he saw his wife incarnated. Such was his love for Usha that he indulged her with freedoms she might not have otherwise encountered. He treated her as older than her years. I know this because he wrote to me about his children. He held his son in high esteem, and was full of praise for his service in the war. But though he had not a favorite among his children, Usha was favored—and if Maurice were here, he would ask you to see the distinction.”
“I know—and I do,” said Maisie.
“But Usha’s brother has assumed the responsibility of the father, and he has come to find the person who took his sister’s life, and to see that she is laid to rest, that her soul does not suffer. He was not confident in the work of the authorities here, so he wanted to know whom he should task with this challenge. Yours was the only name I could give him.”
“I have a question, Khan, and I know it will sound clumsy and disrespectful. But I must ask it.”
Khan smiled. “I will save you from using a heavy hand, Maisie Dobbs. I will tell you now that I who am never shocked would swear that Pramal would never have lifted a finger to bring an end to his sister’s life. I would have misjudged him greatly if that were the case.”
Maisie nodded. “Thank you, Khan. It is time I took my leave—you must be tired.”
There was no answer, and she realized that the old man’s eyes were closed. Coming to her feet, she stepped away from the cushions and towards the door. When she looked back, she noticed that Khan was still holding on to the curtain, his finger and thumb running across the raised threads with the lightest of touches.
Chapter Nine
It was some two years earlier that Maisie had first asked James about the possibility of a position for Billy with the Compton Corporation. Canada was on her mind then, as she wondered how it might be possible for the family to emigrate with some sort of work and accommodation already in place. Billy’s dream had been to embark upon a new life in Canada—but was it still a dream for him? Since moving from the dark streets of Shoreditch to a new house in Eltham—helped by Maisie—Billy had seemed more settled, though the move had not been without problems in the wake of Billy’s attack. Now she wanted to see him settled in a job with more regular hours and less risk. And she also wanted to know that he was not without work when she left, for as time went on she was