Tom said, “We were here last night too, Edwin.”
Edwin opened his mouth to speak again, but I jumped in. “We came to search for something. We found things that we put in the desk drawer. I’ll give you and the police all the details. But I’m sure we both double-checked all the locks.”
“The front door was just open?” Tom asked Rosie.
“Aye,” Rosie said.
“Any sign of a break-in?” Tom asked.
“No,” Rosie said. “That’s why Hamlet and I thought it okay tae come inside. I was the last one oot yesterday and I thought meebe I’d left it open, or meebe Delaney or Edwin was inside already.”
“We checked the locks,” I said as I looked at Tom. “We checked them all more than once.”
Tom nodded. “We did.”
“I have no doubt,” Edwin said.
But how could he not doubt what Tom and I were saying? I was as sure as I could be that we’d confirmed that the shop and the contents inside it were secure, and I still doubted.
“Delaney, Tom, the door was open but there was no sign that anything had been taken from inside. No damage to anything,” Edwin continued. “Other than the window, and that looked to be broken in from outside.”
“It looked like no one had come into the shop? Did … did the police check everywhere?” They all knew what I meant.
“Aye. I checked the warehouse first,” Edwin said. “Nothing seemed out of place, but I wouldn’t have thought tae look in the desk for anything. When he got here, the officer in charge walked through everywhere with me, including a brief look inside the locked warehouse. He said they’d probably only need to cordon off the kitchen for now to gather possible evidence. He’d tell me if he needed to look further, but they suspect the bulk of any evidence will be found in the close. I’ve given them full access to everywhere. I didn’t hesitate,” Edwin said.
I nodded. “Do you think she was trying to get inside through the window?”
“That’s our best guess, but no one would have been able to make it in through the security grate over the window,” Hamlet said. “You just met her last night?”
“Yes, I was at a pub with Rena, Sophie, and Mallory. The bookshop did come up in conversation, when one of their professors, a Dr. Eban, joined us at the table. He asked if the warehouse really existed, asked about some scalpels…”
“She was curious tae see, maybe,” Edwin said.
“Possibly, but she was killed, murdered? Or did she hurt herself out there?” A note of hope lifted my voice. Accidental death was so much better than murder.
“I dinnae think so,” Rosie said. “There was … She looked … Hamlet, please explain.”
Hamlet nodded and blinked as he called up some stronger resolve.
“We walked back there and when we spotted her, we hurried, thinking maybe someone needed help. I turned her over and it was clear she was dead. Her … her neck was bruised—I’ll never forget that.” He paused. “There was something else, too. A skull. A human skull had been placed next to the body. As if it had been staged.” He shook his head.
It took me a moment to understand why the skull seemed to unsettle him further, but I figured it out. I reached over the table and put my hand on his. “You thought it might be a message to you?”
“I just wasn’t sure. It was so eerie and wrong—and the skull. Shakespeare and Hamlet and skulls…”
“No, Hamlet, it had nothing to do with you. I met her last night, and it’s a good bet that our conversation somehow brought her here and her killer here. Nothing to do with you. The skull … well, who knows, but I have no doubt that it has nothing to do with you.”
Hamlet nodded.
“It’s all right, lad. It’s all right.” Edwin moved to Hamlet and patted his shoulder.
“Did anyone call Inspector Winters?” I asked. Inspector Winters had become a friend to all of us, though an ever-suspicious friend to Edwin.
No one had.
“Should we call him? Are the other police out in the close? I need to talk to an officer,” I said.
“We’ll not call Winters yet,” Edwin said. “And, I’m afraid I’m going tae have tae intervene and ask you not tae talk tae anyone until you and Tom have an attorney.”
“I can just give a statement,” I said.
“No, lass. We need to do this the right way,” Edwin said. “We can tell them that you want tae talk tae them, but we’ll be meeting with them later. Same goes for you, Tom.”
“Aye. I have a friend,” Tom said. He looked at me. “He’d be happy tae represent us both. He’ll tell us if there’s some conflict. Let me ring him.”
“All right,” Edwin said. “If we need more than one, I have a few we could contact.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Excuse me. I’ll ring him right now and let him know.” Tom stood, but then didn’t seem to know which direction to go.
“Go on tae the pub, Tom. We’ll let the police know you aren’t a flight risk,” Edwin said. “You should call from somewhere private, and I can’t rest assured there’s any place around here that is at the moment.”
Instead of leaving immediately, Tom crouched next to me. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I don’t think we did anything to make this happen.”
“Of course not.”
“Call me when you’ve talked to him.”
“I will.” He kissed my forehead, shared a look with Edwin, and then hurried out of the bookshop.
I looked at Hamlet. “How do you think she broke the window?
“It was just a rock. Nothing unusual, except that it might be unusual tae find one its size around here.” He made a five inch or so diameter circle with his hands. “She, or the killer, might have brought it from elsewhere. I don’t know. I didn’t put all that together in my mind.”
“Can I tell you all about last night first? The details, now, before I talk to the police?
