The Dark Between (30 page)

“Still …” Elsie frowned. “He seemed such a gentleman.”

Asher nodded. “I found him quite congenial. Billy would have, too … perhaps to the point of letting his guard down, or growing too bold.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Elsie murmured.

“I don’t understand how applying an electric shock would give someone a special ability,” said Kate. “But might this explain Elsie’s visions? She
was
struck by lightning.”

“Dr. Marshall didn’t provide much in the way of details,” he said. “But if one did stop the heart, and then start it again with an electric shock—it’s been done with animals, I’m told—perhaps it has some altering effect. Perhaps it truly does bring light to those darkened corners of the brain.”

“Whatever Dr. Marshall is doing, it can’t continue,” Kate said fiercely.

“I agree,” said Asher. “But we can’t rush to the police with a theory like this—they’d laugh us out the door.”

“You’re right,” Elsie murmured. “It would be about as convincing as me accusing my mother of murder because of what my dead grandmother said in a vision.”

Asher frowned. “You’re not still sore about that, are you? I’m doing my best to put my skepticism aside—you know that, don’t you?”

“I know. I’m just agreeing with you, Asher. We need
more
.”

He held her gaze for a moment before nodding. “We need tangible evidence. Billy must have somehow broken into Trinity and opened Marshall’s research cabinet if he was able to find the notes you described, Kate.” Asher paused, thinking. “Marshall told me he’ll be at the Metaphysical Society meeting in London tomorrow night. I wonder if I could somehow persuade the porter that I’d left something in his rooms.”

“Even if you were let into his rooms, you wouldn’t know how to open a locked cabinet,” said Kate.

Asher sighed. “I’ll have to think of something else. In the meantime, though, we need to get into the old lab. If something
happened to Billy there, I want to see if we can find anything. Perhaps Marshall stole the key from Mr. Thompson, and he uses that building because it is so remote.”

“Or maybe my uncle
gave
him the key,” Elsie said. “How could he not know what’s going on right under his nose?”

Kate shook her head. “I can’t see sweet old Mr. Thompson being involved. The building is some distance from the Gatehouse, and this time of year the trees provide cover. A colleague of Mr. Thompson’s might notice this and take advantage of the setting.”

“Perhaps getting into the old lab will clarify matters,” Asher said. “The problem is getting in without causing damage or drawing attention.”

“I can get us in easy.” Kate raised her chin. “I took Tec’s lock picks.”

“And you know how to use them?”

“Of course I do. Billy taught me. I say we wait until after dark tonight and then meet on the landing by Elsie’s room. We’ll go down together and make our way to the old lab. I don’t need light to pick the lock, but we should have a lamp or electric torch once we’re inside. Can you figure that out, Elsie?”

Elsie nodded. “I’ll bring my camera, too.”

“Wait, now,” Asher said. “Tomorrow night might be better—the Thompsons will be in London for the Metaphysical meeting. We’ll be less likely to get caught.”

“I want to save tomorrow night for breaking into Marshall’s rooms at Trinity. If Billy could manage it, I can, too, but it’ll take a little planning.” Kate’s eyes were bold. “Tonight is the old lab, and if that doesn’t give us what we need, it’s you, me, and Marshall’s research cabinet tomorrow night.”

Was Kate giving the orders now?

Well … she did seem awfully good at it. Asher held her gaze, noting the defiant gleam in her eyes. The girl knew her own mind, much more than he did his own. Those brown eyes challenged him to contradict her—she knew him that well—but he had no challenge of his own to return.

“Fine,” he said evenly. “In fact, it sounds like a good plan.”

Chapter 31

E
lsie sat in the darkness, entirely awake. She checked her clock with the electric torch purloined from the hall closet.

Not much longer
.

Once the evening’s plan had been settled upon, she’d taken half a spoon of Chlorodyne and napped until supper. A headache was forming around her temples now that it was past eleven o’clock, but at least she was alert.

She wasn’t afraid, not really. Certainly she’d done wilder things than break into the old lab. And yet this plan was more dangerous than their earlier forays into detecting. At least two people had died, and they knew who’d killed them—now it was a matter of gathering evidence. They had moved past proving Elsie’s abilities. Now they were going to prove a murder.

A strange excitement quickened her pulse, but it was nothing like the giddy pleasure of anticipation. Rather, it was a charge to her senses that came from doing something important, taking a risk to achieve a good thing, a
right
thing. She’d never felt this way before. For so long she’d allowed herself to slip into drowsy avoidance whenever conflict reared its head. The only
effort she’d made was to attract a man. One who would solve her problems just by loving her. It seemed ridiculous now.

A soft knock came at the door—Kate and Asher were ready for her. She set the clock down and quietly rose from her chair. She could barely see their faces in the hall, but she sensed the tension in their bodies and knew they felt the same excitement. Her heart warmed to them.

No one spoke until they were within sight of the old lab.

“I just need one glimpse of the lock and then I should be able to work it,” Kate said. “Elsie, can you shine the light when I tell you to? Asher can stand behind you and provide cover.”

Elsie did as told, grateful for Asher’s reassuring presence. Kate studied the lock, then slipped a leather-wrapped bundle from her pocket and ran her fingers over each slender tool. “This one should do.” She eased one pick into the lock and then inserted a second one over it. “You can shut off the light. I’ve got the feel of it now.”

After a moment Elsie heard a faint click, and Kate grunted in satisfaction.

“Is that all it takes?” Asher whispered.

Kate opened the door. “Nothing to it.”

Once the door was shut behind them, Kate and Asher checked that all the drapes were tightly closed. “You can switch the torch back on,” Kate whispered.

Elsie pointed the light in the nearest corner. “Let’s start here and work our way around.”

They scanned shelves, cabinets, and small equipment, none of which looked particularly menacing to Elsie. It was a dusty, stale-smelling building, with a frightful number of cobwebs. Finally the beam of her torch alighted on something that made Asher gasp.

“That’s it. I’d wager that box contains an induction coil.”
He opened the lid to reveal a substantial metal cylinder. “It’s larger than Dr. Spring’s.” He lifted a paddle that attached to the cylinder with a wire. “If you apply this to the chest and flip the lever, you deliver a shock so powerful that it can stop the heart. But apparently if you shock the heart again, you restart the beating. Dr. Spring told me it had been done on a dog, but I think Marshall’s been trying to figure out how to do it on a human.”

“And killing old men and children in the process,” said Elsie bitterly. “It took lightning to stop my heart. How can they harness that power in such a small apparatus?”

“Can you take a photograph of it?” Kate asked.

“Asher, you take the torch,” Elsie said, handing it to him, “and shine it directly on the induction coil. I must hold the camera very steady, or else the photograph will be blurry.” She lifted the camera strap over her head, but after a closer look at the coil she couldn’t resist reaching toward the metal cylinder—it was simple, and yet so menacing.

The instant her hand touched the cool metal of the coil, the air began to shimmer and contort. A tremendous shudder coursed through her body and the camera fell to the floor.

“Elsie, are you all right?” asked Kate.

Elsie heard the words, but she couldn’t answer. Already the pull of the dark between overwhelmed her. All she could do was grit her teeth and endure the fall.

When she felt steady enough to risk opening her eyes, she saw a young man. He stared down at the induction coil, his dark hair flopping into his eyes. His shirt sagged loosely over a thin frame. He lifted his chin and met her gaze. She saw now that he was near her age, and that his blue eyes, framed by dark brows, were handsome. They widened at the sight of her.

“Has he sent you to fetch me?” he asked eagerly.

“What?”

“I’m scared, miss. It’s not right me being here. It’s too far away, and I’m afraid I’ll never get back.”

No spirit had ever spoken to her like this. She’d seen confusion and fear—anger even—but not this particular sort of desperation.

“I’m afraid I don’t know how to help you. What happened?”

“Same thing as happened to Billy, I think, but Billy’s gone for good. The gentleman said it would work this time. But, miss, I fear I’m stuck here.”

She took a breath. “Tell me your name.”

He frowned. “It’s Thomas.”

The poor boy didn’t understand. She had to tell him, but gently. She took a deep breath. “Thomas, you have died. As soon as you realize that, you will be able to move on.”

He shook his head. “But, miss, I ain’t dead. And I don’t want to be stuck here no longer!”

He lunged forward, forcing her to step back. His urgency was alarming—all she wanted in that moment was to be far away from him. With that thought she felt the familiar pulling, spinning sensation. It was almost a relief to fall.

She woke to find herself on the dusty floor, cradled in Asher’s arms. Kate crouched next to them, clutching Elsie’s camera.

“Elsie!” Kate laid a cool hand on her forehead. “Are you all right? I never expected another seizure.” She turned to Asher, as if seeking confirmation. “The last two times we were near the old lab, nothing happened.”

“This is the first time we’ve been inside it, though,” said Asher.

“Did you see Billy?” Kate said.

Elsie allowed Asher to help her sit upright. “No. This vision was … so very strange.” She shivered. “The spirit I saw seemed
unusually aware, and yet more vulnerable than any other I’ve encountered.”

“Another victim of Marshall’s experiments?” Asher asked.

“Yes. A recent one, I think. Otherwise I would have felt him before, wouldn’t I? He was tall and thin with unruly dark hair. Close to our age, I think. He said his name was Thomas.”

“No!”

Elsie turned to Kate. “What is it?”

“I just saw him yesterday,” Kate moaned. “He can’t be dead.”

“Who?”

“Tec. My friend in Castle End—I took you to his house. His real name is Thomas.”

“I thought you said he was rough with you.” Asher pointed at her lip. “He did that, didn’t he?”

“He must have been trying to get me as far away as possible.” Kate slumped against the table, her eyes glistening in the torchlight. “Maybe he knew something terrible was going to happen.”

Elsie took both her hands. “I’m so sorry, Kate.”

“Was he scared?” Kate finally asked. “Did he know what had happened?”

“I don’t think so. He said he wasn’t dead, and that he thought I was coming to fetch him.” Elsie shook her head. “I’ve seen other spirits who weren’t yet aware—Billy was that way—but this boy was different. He said the same thing that happened to Billy happened to him, that Billy was gone for good, but he was stuck. I don’t know. I can’t quite make sense of it.”

“He can’t be
gone
,” Kate whispered. “I never got to … I mean, there never was a chance for me to say …”

Kate began to cry, and Elsie pulled her into an embrace, stroking her head until the shuddering and sniffling eased. She’d assumed Kate cared for Tec as a friend, but clearly it ran
deeper than that. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, drawing a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiping Kate’s face.

Asher stood. “That makes three deaths now.” He helped Kate to her feet, holding her until she was steady. When he extended his hand to Elsie, she took it gratefully.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“We break into Dr. Marshall’s rooms tomorrow night,” said Kate with grim determination.

Elsie looked to Asher, almost wishing he would say no, that after this night, these revelations, he wasn’t willing to risk it.

“Tomorrow night, then,” he said.

Chapter 32

K
ate looked up from her sewing to glance at the sitting room clock. “Four more hours.”

Since they’d settled on their plan, she’d lost her nerve at least a dozen times. The scheme was preposterous, after all. Breaking into a college? What did they expect to find—a signed confession? But then she remembered Billy’s pale corpse, and her last encounter with Tec, and she regained her resolve.

“I hate waiting,” Asher muttered. “Wish we could just get it over with.”

“It’ll come soon enough,” said Elsie. “I’ll hate staying behind while you two do your sleuthing.”

Kate turned to her. “Surely you didn’t want to go.”

“I
can’t
. Millie will be hovering—Aunt has given her orders—and there’s no way she’d keep silent if I left the house. I’ll have a hard enough time explaining your absence.”

“It’s difficult imagining two of us sneaking into Trinity,” Asher said. “Three is just asking to get caught.”

They fell silent again. Kate gave up watching the clock and turned back to the trousers she was hemming. Once worn by the gardener’s young assistant, they’d been consigned to the
ragbag when he outgrew them. Elsie had fished them out that morning, arguing that Kate couldn’t well enter Trinity College wearing a skirt. Kate warmed to this immediately. She rather liked the idea of trousers—much easier to sneak about that way.

All of this would have been much easier had she been a boy.

She’d thought to be gone by now. Gone to London with coins in her pocket from Mrs. Elizabeth Gardner. Gone with Tec to find a new scheme in the biggest city in all of England, far away from Robert Eliot.