The Apothecary's Poison (Glass and Steele #3)(57)

I finished freshening up and found Polly in the servants’ sitting room, mending Miss Glass's dress hem. I sent her upstairs and waited for Matt in the entrance hall. He joined me a few minutes later, frowning.

"She's all right," he said when I asked. "Frail, but aware of who everyone is."

"I'm glad to hear it. She did turn very suddenly that time."

"Why was she in your room? And what is the other matter you two had been discussing?"

"It's something between us. She wouldn't want you to know."

His frown deepened but he didn't press me for an answer.

Bryce drove us to the office of The Weekly Gazette where we found Oscar Barratt writing in a notebook. He snapped it shut upon seeing us and welcomed us in.

"This is a pleasant surprise," he said, smiling, "and fortuitous, too. You've saved me a walk to Mayfair to see you both." He held a chair out for me then returned to the other side of the desk. "Nasty bruise you've got, Glass."

"I walked into a door," Matt said.

"Of course you did. So how may I help you?"

"How do you know Lord Coyle?" Matt asked.

"Coyle?" Mr. Barratt's gaze shifted between us. "I don't know him beyond an initial meeting I had with him only this morning. I'm guessing from your expression you already know this, Mr. Glass. May I ask why the interest?"

"One question at a time," Matt said calmly. "What was your meeting about?"

Mr. Barratt sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "He summoned me, as it happens. Apparently men like Coyle expect you to visit them when they want to talk with you, not the other way around. His world works differently to mine." He laughed without humor. "He told me he has read some of my articles and was curious if I was alluding to magic in them."

"He asked you that outright?" I said.

He nodded. "It was rather bold, but he seemed to think I would answer in the affirmative. I suppose when one is aware of magic and looking for it, one can tell from my articles that I believe."

"Then what did he say?" Matt went on.

"He asked me how much I knew. I told him I'd heard about magic and said that some of the subjects in my articles claimed to be magicians, Dr. Hale among them."

"Did he ask a lot of questions about Hale, or his death?"

"He asked none. He didn't mention Hale specifically after I told him the doctor claimed to be an apothecary magician. If I had to guess, I would say he wasn't overly interested in Dr. Hale or his murder."

"That's odd," I said. "You would think a man with Coyle's interests would be wildly curious."

"Unless he knew everything he needed to know about Hale already," Matt said, "and his death."

Could Coyle be behind the murder? But why? What would he gain?

"What do you mean, a man with his interests would be curious?" Mr. Barratt asked.

He addressed me but I waited for Matt to answer. I no longer trusted my own instincts when it came to Barratt, or how much to tell him.

"Miss Steele?"

I looked to Matt but he simply frowned back at me. It would seem he wasn't going to guide me. So be it. It was on his head if he didn't like what I was going to say.

"We're quite certain Lord Coyle knows about magic," I said.

"Do you think he's a magician?"

"We don't know. He collects magical objects but we're not certain if he put the magic into any of them."

"He collects them? Whatever for?"

"There seems to be no reason behind it. Most of the magic in his collection would have disappeared—many years ago, in some cases. He kept the collection hidden and only brings it out on special occasions for select guests."

"Perhaps he's merely an eccentric." He tapped his fingers together in thought. "It explains his interest in my articles. If he's collecting magical objects, he'll want to know of any magicians who can provide him with artifacts to add to his collection."

"Did you tell him you're an ink magician?" Matt asked.

"No. I probably would have, if he had asked directly, but he didn't. I got the feeling he suspected, however. It was a strange sort of standoff. I was waiting for him to tell me he was a magician, and he was waiting for me."

"You think he is?"

"I did at the time, merely to explain his interest in my articles, but in light of what you've said about his collection, I'm no longer sure. An artless man may like to collect magic objects as much as a man who can't paint likes to collect paintings."

"Did you see a man arrive at Coyle's house a few minutes before you left?" I described the stranger to him, but he shook his head.

"Sorry," he said. "The butler let me in and out. A footman took me up to Coyle's office and I met with Coyle. I saw no one else. Why? Who is he?"

"We're assuming he's Coyle's man," Matt said. "He ordered us to cease our investigation into Hale's murder."

"Good lord. That's brazen. In broad daylight?"

"In Matt's house," I said. "Miss Glass and I had just returned from a walk and he came right up to the door and threatened me."