Saving the Scientist (The Restitution League #2)(84)

The sickly sweet smell made his stomach heave.

Chloroform.

He clamped his mouth shut and covered his nose, scattering small bodies behind him as he scrambled backwards.

But it was too late.

Even as he sensed the gas taking hold in his lungs, his consciousness faded.

He tried to shout, but his brain was no longer able to command his mouth. As his vision narrowed, he caught sight of a familiar figure standing back behind the crowd, just outside the ring of light from the street lamp.

Him.

Even as consciousness faded, a jolt of fear pierced the darkness.

Ada would never be safe.





Chapter 25





Ada slumped at the desk next to Nelly’s telegraph machine. She flicked a finger against the handle, making the wooden knob spin round and round, willing it to spark to life. Maybe Stanton’s kidnapper would contact them via wireless.

Anything could happen.

She only prayed that it would. Every minute that ticked by ratcheted up the tension in the room until she wanted to scream.

She couldn’t blame Edison for bolting off. She only regretted she couldn’t do the same. Even level-headed Meena had begun showing signs of strain. If her husband flicked the case of his pocket watch shut one more time, Ada was sure the woman was going to bash him over the head with that teapot in her hand.

Briar had been hurling knives into a cork board for an hour now. The past few had missed the bull’s eye, digging into the wall just outside the target, causing small showers of plaster to dribble to the floor.

“You’ve got some kind of luck.” Detective Burke threw down his playing cards. “That’s your fifth hand in a row.” Eyes narrowed, he studied Henry’s carefully composed expression, as if searching out his secret.

The boy grinned. “I do have the Devil’s own luck.”

“Or his light fingers.” Nelly snorted. She had cajoled Henry and the tall detective into a game of hearts. Henry was fleecing both of them with a fearful amount of skill.

Ada sighed and stared out the large windows at the front of the office. After the rush of people hurrying down the street an hour past, the pavement remained deserted. Gaslight illuminated the bare tree branches on both sides of the street, painting them in stark yellow light. Sharp branches thrust skyward like evil, unwelcoming fingers, seeking to rent holes in the dark velvet sky.

The very air seemed tainted by evil. All Hallows Eve was still weeks away, but from the mood in the room, one would have expected apparitions from the underworld to spring up through the floorboards.

Meena slammed the teapot down on the counter. “He’s been too long. Something’s wrong.”

When Ada glanced at the clock, her breath caught in her throat. Meena was right. He’d been gone an hour at least. Far too long to stroll to the shop and back. A wave of anxiety so strong it felt like a shower of icicles, stabbed her from head to foot, leaving her skin tingling and her breath coming in short, sharp sips of air.

Henry bolted up from his seat, scattering playing cards across the table in his haste. “I’ll fetch him.”

Meena and her husband shared a look, then Meena nodded. “Good idea. You know the way. Take the carriage.”

“I’ll go along,” Nelly offered. “Two pairs of eyes’ll be better than one.”

This time Spencer nodded. “You two head straight to the chemical works and back. That’s it. And you turn around if anything feels off.” He pinned the young couple with a stern look. “I mean anything at all.”

Nelly nodded firmly. “Yes, sir. Anything a’tall.”

“I’ll be in the workshop,” Ada announced and followed after the pair as they headed out the back door of the offices. She needed to move, needed to occupy her brain, her hands.

Might as well fiddle about in Edison’s lab.

The lamps were still lit. Edison’s automatic butler gleamed in the flickering light of the two large kerosene lamps at either end of his vast work table.

Not thinking, she grabbed a rag off the nearest bench and approached it, rubbing the cloth over the head and face, erasing smudges and fingerprints from the polished brass.

Despite her fears, Ada smiled at the blank-faced automaton. The cheerful-looking creation seemed so at odds with his creator. Edison’s cheer was hidden deep inside him, beneath layers of intensity, focus, cynicism… even fear.

Ada stopped. The rag fell from her fingers.

He was afraid. Not like ordinary men. He had no fear of pain or death.

He feared intimacy.

As did she.

She sank down on the nearest stool. It was all so clear.

Even as a laugh escaped her, tears formed in the corners of her eyes. What a foolish pair they were. Both too afraid of heartache to find joy.

She sighed. The sound was as deep and shaky as she felt.

No wonder they’d never suit.

A clatter at the door, then Nelly’s breathless voice rang out. “‘E was never there. Mr. Edison never made it to the chemical works.”

She felt as if she couldn’t breath. Her vision blurring, Ada bolted down the hall to the front of the offices.

Worry lines etched into his handsome face, Burke stood in the center of the room, taking charge. “Nelly, send a telegram to my station. We need men here now.”

Meena grabbing her coat off the peg. “We should spread out, search the area.”