Poor Tom Is Cold (35 page)

Murdoch stood up. He wanted to say something to the dying man, something that might ease his soul into the next life, but even as he looked down at him, he saw it was too late.

Dr. Clark put the back of his hand under Frank’s nose to check for breath. After a moment, he shook his head.

“He’s gone.”

He lifted Frank’s wrist to confirm there was no pulse and then laid the dead man’s hands across his chest. “Sergeant, will you be so good as to bring in Mrs. Curran and her husband.”

Hales put away his notebook and with a nod at
Murdoch he left. The patrol sergeant was a man vindicated.

“We’ll need to send for a coroner and gather a jury,” continued Clark.

“I’ll see to that.”

There was no more to be done here, and Murdoch thought Augusta was owed some privacy in her grief. He’d wait until she had finished before he spoke to Peter Curran.

He went outside to the yard. After the brightness of the barn, the night seemed dark. He took a deep breath, shivering in the cold air. A horse whinnied softly nearby. Tingle had brought two of the horses out of the barn and they were tethered to the hitching post. Murdoch went over to them. The mare turned her head to look at him and he patted her neck.

“What a piece of work we men are, my girl. But you don’t care, do you? You just want some mash and a warm stall.” She tossed her head.

As for him, he felt sick at heart with the awareness of how much pain human beings were capable of inflicting on each other. He, too, wanted to get home as soon as he could. He needed some evidence that love could have as much power as hatred.

There are always so many people who help along the way in the process of writing a novel. I would like to thank Cindy Boht, who helped me with the horse material; Dr. Jerome Chen, who was my generous resource person; my brilliant dentist, Dr. Stephen Forgacs, who checked my facts and also sent me over to the archives of the Toronto School of Dentistry, where Dr. Dale and I literally climbed over old dentist chairs so she could show me the wonderful collection of dentures; and Larry and Eileen Richard, who kindly instructed me in the finer points of Catholicism. I am grateful that Dr. Geoffery Rheaume made his doctoral thesis on the history of the Queen Street Mental Health Facility available. It gave me invaluable material. I am particularly indebted to Cheryl Freedman, who read the book in manuscript form and gave me extremely helpful feedback. As always, I am grateful to my agent, Teresa Chris, and my editor, Ruth Cavin, for their patience and perspicacity.

MAUREEN JENNINGS’s first novel in the Detective Murdoch series,
Except the Dying
, was published to rave reviews and shortlisted for both the Arthur Ellis and the Anthony first novel awards. The influential
Drood Review
picked
Poor Tom Is Cold
as one of its favourite mysteries of 2001.
Let Loose the Dogs
was shortlisted for the 2004 Anthony Award for best historical mystery.
Night’s Child
was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award, the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award, the Barry Award, and the Macavity Historical Mystery Award. And
A Journeyman to Grief
was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award. Three of the Detective Murdoch novels have been adapted for television, and a Granada International television series,
The Murdoch Mysteries
, based on the characters from the novels, shown on CityTV and UKTV.