“I apologize. I thought I saw something and wanted a better look. I expected you to stay where you were, but you left me.”
“What did you see?”
“I’m sorry?”
“In the woods. What did you see that caused you to run off?”
“It was nothing.”
“What did you think it was?”
“There was nothing there, so what does it matter?”
“Was it a man with a hole in his face? More than a scar, a great gaping maw where his jaw might ordinarily be expected?”
Behind them, at the kitchen door, Bennett Rose gasped and dropped a cup. It clattered on the stone floor and rolled for an instant before shattering against the wainscoting. Rose dropped to one knee and began mopping up tea. Hammersmith jumped up and went to help, and Day noticed that the sergeant was covered in muck from head to toe.
“You do look as if you’ve had an adventure,” Day said.
“We’ve spent half the night looking for you.”
“I had my compass, my knife, a good pair of boots. You needn’t have worried.”
“We thought you were lost.”
“I was. But then I wasn’t. As soon as I heard the whoosh of flames from the furnaces, I knew I was close to the tree line, and I simply followed the noise out.” Day swiveled in his seat as Hammersmith returned to the fire. Bennett Rose was already on his way back to the kitchen, holding the fragments of the broken cup in the palm of one hand and a sopping dishcloth in the other. “Mr Rose,” Day said, “why were you surprised just now?”
“No time for talk, sir. I should take care of this mess.”
“Was it because you recognized my description of the man in the woods?”
“Man in the woods, sir?”
“Mr Rose, you surprise me. For an innkeeper, you’re a terrible liar.”
Rose shook his head and hurried away through the kitchen door. Hammersmith turned to Day and raised an eyebrow.
“Shall I follow?” he said. “I may be able to make him talk.”
“No,” Day said. “Let him be. He wants to tell us what’s troubling him, but he hasn’t quite got his courage up yet. Let him sleep on it and he may tell us about it in the morning.”
Hammersmith glanced back at the kitchen door. “It’s morning now, isn’t it? In the technical sense, I mean.” But he walked reluctantly to where Day and Campbell sat by the fire. He took a brocade-covered chair across from the inspector.
“I believe you’ve just now ruined Mr Rose’s chair, Sergeant,” Day said. “He may decide not to talk to us, after all.”
Hammersmith held his arms out in front of him and looked down at himself. “I’m dry. The mud should brush out of the upholstery without difficulty.”
“Ah, of course. You think of everything.”
“You seem a bit tetchy.”
“Not at all. But you did leave me in the woods, after all.”
“Actually, I believe you left us in the woods.”
“Quite so.”
“I only came back to refill the oil in our lanterns.”
“You were going back out tonight?”
“Couldn’t leave you there.”
“I’m touched.”
Hammersmith pointed to the little wooden box by the fire. He raised an eyebrow.
“Have a look,” Day said. “But be quiet. He’s only just settled down.”
Hammersmith stood and walked to the hearth. He looked down into the top of the box and then crouched to get a closer look. “It’s a bird,” he said. “Did you bring back a souvenir from the woods, Mr Day?”
“I’m thinking of promoting the little fellow to sergeant already.”
“Looks more like an inspector to me.”
“Well, we’ll see how he does. He’ll have to work his way through the ranks, same as anyone else. I rescued him. Rose gave me that box for him.”
Hammersmith stood and shook his head. “Kind of him.”
“Actually,” Day said, “Mr Campbell might be able to help us with our new ward.”
“How is that?” Campbell said.
“You’re the resident expert on birds. What should we do for him?”
“What have you done for him so far?”
“I gave him raisins from a biscuit in my pocket. And I like to think I saved him from being eaten by a fox.”
“I’m amazed he didn’t choke on raisins. They must have been awfully firm.”
“They were.”
“Baby birds generally have their food chewed for them.”
“He’s remarkably hardy, I think. I’m quite proud of him.”
“You should be. But you might moisten anything you give to him in the future.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Fascinating as your bird may be,” Hammersmith said, “we found something, too, Grimes and me.” He reached into his jacket and frowned. He opened the front of the jacket wider and checked the other side. “There it is. Forgot where the pocket was. Look at this.”
He pulled out a small cloth bundle and unwrapped it. The stains had been folded on the inside surface to help preserve them. He found the seams at the tops of the shoulders and held the child’s dress up for Day to see. Day sat forward and peered at it, moving his head to take advantage of the light from the fireplace. He didn’t touch the dress. Campbell stood and looked over Day’s shoulder.
“Is that blood?” he said.
“I think it might be,” Hammersmith said.
“The missing child is a boy,” Day said, “and I presume the missing woman is too big to wear this.”
“A nightshirt perhaps?” Campbell said.
“I thought of that,” Hammersmith said.
“But a flower pattern around the hem here.”
“Yes.”
“Curious.”
“The doctor will be here soon,” Hammersmith said.
“Good thing, too,” Day said. “And good of you to find something for him to do, Sergeant.”
Hammersmith smiled grimly and folded the dress, putting it back in his pocket. “I rather think it’s him who will put us to work,” he said.
“Who is this doctor?” Campbell said.
“Dr Kingsley,” Day said. “A colleague of ours.”
“To help if we find the boy alive?”
“Well, that, yes. But the doctor is, in his way, another detective of the Yard. He often finds clues in the evidence we bring him.”
Campbell stood and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.
“I’ll turn in. If you chaps are going back out there in the daylight, whatever time, I’ll go with you, if you’ll have me. The boy’s not dead. We’ll find him, and your doctor will help him.”
Campbell nodded at each of them in turn, and they nodded back and watched him cross the room and mount the stairs. He turned at the landing and disappeared from view.
“Mr Hammersmith,” Day said. “What do we know about Mr Campbell?”
“Very little. I’m not sure he’s much of an expert on birds. I might have given the same advice about our baby
