The Apothecary's Poison (Glass and Steele #3)(30)

"Because you believe it's revenge for your wife's death," Matt said.

"Not entirely. Dr. Hale's own death extinguished my anger toward him for my wife's. The satisfaction I speak of is not personal, it's business. My Cure-All used to be the top selling medicine until his went on the market. I've been trying to claw back my share ever since, but to no avail. His Cure-All became more and more popular. Until today. Today, I win."

There was no mistaking the bitterness in his tone and the undercurrent of deep satisfaction too. He had every reason to want Dr. Hale dead, both personally and professionally. He had just rocketed to the top of my list of suspects.

I returned the last pot to the desk. "You said his Cure-All. Mr. Pitt claims he created it, and that Dr. Hale simply lent his name to it. You don't believe that?"

He sat at his desk and made a great show of rearranging things. "I wouldn't know. Those two kept to themselves. They never told anyone what was in their Cure-All."

"Dr. Hale was no longer a member of the Apothecary's Guild," Matt said. "Is Mr. Pitt an active member?"

"Yes. He only goes to the hall when it's compulsory. He doesn't join us for dinners or meetings. Now, unless you have any more questions directly related to Dr. Hale's death, I'll have to ask you to leave. I'm very busy."

"Thank you," Matt said. "You've been very helpful."

Mr. Oakshot sat back and clasped his hands over his stomach. "I'm sorry about before. I was…overset."

"We understand," I said.

"What will you do if you discover who murdered him?"

"Tell the police," Matt said.

"I hope I get to shake the killer's hand before he hangs."

I hurried out with Matt, Mr. Oakshot's macabre words ringing in my ears. "I know he's grieving, but there's something sinister about his reaction to Hale's death," I said as Matt assisted me into the carriage.

He folded up the step and directed Bryce to drive us home. "We should allow him some liberties," Matt said, settling opposite me. "It seems as though he loved his wife very much. I think I'd be just as angry toward Hale if his incompetence led to the death of someone I loved."

I watched him closely and he regarded me levelly in turn, as if daring me to challenge his opinion. "Would you kill him, though?"

"For incompetence? No."

But would Matt kill a man who'd deliberately murdered his loved one? "If Mr. Oakshot is a magician, he hides it very well. There was no warmth in the bottles on his desk."

"He might have infused other medicines with magic, just not those," he said.

"The workmen on the factory floor would wonder why he removed bottles to his office."

"Not if he did it after they'd all departed for the day."

He had a point and I conceded it with a nod. "We can't dismiss him, but I can't imagine he'd be on the Court of Assistants for the guild if he was magical."

"It could be the perfect place to hide, right there in plain sight. I've done it before, many times."

"You have? How intriguing. Tell me more."

He smiled. "You have a thirst for knowledge about my past."

"That's because you've told me so little. Any information I can get is a little piece of the puzzle I didn't have before."

"So I'm a puzzle, now."

"You always have been, Matt, and you know it."

He tipped his head back and laughed. "And here I thought you had my measure. You seem to know what I'm thinking, most of the time. So what is it you want to know?"

"Tell me about hiding in plain sight, for starters. Was it when you were an outlaw in your grandfather's gang or after you left and began working for the law?"

"Both. There's not much to tell. When the lawmen came looking for us, I pretended to be an innocent bystander and gave them directions to my grandfather's men—in the opposite direction to where they'd actually gone. And later, when I worked on the right side of the law, I would pretend to be my grandfather's lackey to dupe the outlaws he associated with. It worked for a time, until word got out. After that, I had to lay low. I kept my distance from my grandfather and his posse."

"Was that when you became friends with Duke and Cyclops?"

He nodded. "Duke had been Willie's friend for a long time, and he became mine too while she harbored me. I met Cyclops one night when we were both sleeping rough." He smiled. "I came across his camp, but it appeared to be vacated so I helped myself to the food left behind. Little did I know that he'd heard me coming and had hidden so he could ambush me."

"And did he ambush you?"

"Yes. He tried to kill me, but I managed to explain that I wasn't his enemy before he beat me senseless."

"You talked him out of attacking you? Why am I not surprised?"

"Only after I got in a few good punches of my own, thank you. He didn't completely overpower me, although it wasn't easy. We fought for so long we both reached the point of exhaustion and we simply couldn't go on. So it was a win by mutual surrender. It was several minutes before I'd regained my breath enough to talk to him."

Despite his somewhat whimsical retelling, I suspected it had been a frightening time. Cyclops was a giant. Matt may have a more athletic frame, but if Cyclops had him in his grasp, it would be difficult to get out.