I’d heard some of this from Joshua, but I didn’t mind hearing it again. She spoke about history the way I did, as if we could see the pictures and smell the odors as we said the words.
I wasn’t going to interrupt, but something occurred to me. “Wait, you said this is West Port?”
“Aye, that’s this district.”
“Hang on a second.” I pulled out my phone and hit the call button. “Rosie, where did you live in West Port? Where did Dr. Glenn live?”
Using the pen Bridget handed me as she took my coffee cup, I wrote the addresses on the inside of my wrist before I thanked Rosie and hung up.
“Can we find these places?” I said as I showed her my wrist.
“Easily. They’re just this way.”
Less than a minute later, we’d turned another corner that took us back to the older Edinburgh. Above the businesses that included other takeaway spots, souvenir shops, and the like, we pinpointed Rosie’s and Dr. Glenn’s old flats.
We looked up, neither of us needing to knock on doors.
“Rosie’s was smaller, but right next door. Dr. Glenn’s was larger and nicer, if the outsides of the buildings are any indication.”
“I don’t understand why we’re looking at these,” Bridget said.
“Rosie, my coworker, lived next door to Dr. Glenn, and I was curious where they lived.” I didn’t know exactly what Peter or Tink had been trying to tell me earlier, but coffee and the best pastry in the universe weren’t quite enough to make me trust Bridget all the way. Almost, but not quite.
“Oh. Interesting. Did she know his family?”
“Not well.”
“No good information then?”
“No.”
“Shame.” We gave Dr. Glenn’s old flat a long look. “You know, I felt most sorry for his daughter. Poor girl. I wonder what happened to her. I can’t believe I haven’t researched that. I’ll have to.”
“How?”
“Connections.” She looked at me. “Can’t divulge my sources, but I do have lots of connections. Some in the government. I might be able tae get into the foster care records. Make some calls.”
“Can you do that research from The Cracked Spine?” I asked.
“I’d rather do it at my office.”
“What if I could try to get that interview with Edwin?”
“Yeah?”
“No promises, but I’d try. For real this time.”
“All right.”
The trip back to the shop was a matter of getting around the volcanic crag that was holding up the castle. We hurried; we ran and dodged, looking like tourists late for a plane. I was the one who set the pace. A sense of urgency had come over me, but Bridget kept up without complaint.
We burst into the shop, finding Rosie with Hector tucked under her arm at the front desk. Edwin and Hamlet stood at the top of the stairs on the small balcony with a customer. We’d interrupted their conversation.
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry.”
Hector barked once.
“Everything okay?” Edwin asked from above.
“Yes. We’ll go to the back,” I said.
Edwin eyed the reporter before he and Hamlet turned back to the customer and guided him toward the books on the shelves against the wall.
Bridget, Rosie, and I made our way to the back table.
“This place is amazing,” Bridget said in a loud whisper. “I think I would just sit here and smell the books and look around all day.”
I smiled briefly at her, but I had more important things to do.
“Rosie,” I said, “Bridget is going to see if she can find any information about Dr. Glenn’s daughter. Is it okay for her to sit back here?”
“Aye,” she said doubtfully.
“I’d rather someplace more private,” Bridget said.
“We really don’t have anyplace more private,” I said. “This corner is quiet. The sound doesn’t travel.”
Rosie blinked at me, but she went along. “Aye.”
I wasn’t going to ever let Bridget cross over to the dark side. That was asking for trouble, even if I didn’t take her all the way to the warehouse door.
“Well, all right. Pen and paper I could borrow?” Bridget asked.
I’d never known a reporter who didn’t have them at the ready all the time, but I gathered the supplies from a shelf and then Bridget started making phone calls.
I stepped back to the front desk with Rosie and Hector.
“What’s going on, lass?” she whispered.
“I need to know what happened to Lily,” I said. “A picture, if we’re that lucky.”
“Why?”
“I think either Sophie or Rena is Lily. Most likely Rena, considering the way she talks about her childhood. I think that one or both of them have lied about their age, maybe to keep Rena—Lily—protected. I think Rena moved to Glasgow at the same age Lily’s world fell apart. The phone number for her father that she listed on the provenance of the books isn’t connected. It’s just … well, mostly it’s a gut instinct.”
“Awright,” Rosie said. She glanced back to the corner and then back at me. “Should I be friendly tae her? Grab some biscuits?”
I smiled. “It’s okay to be friendly, but don’t worry about the refreshments.” I looked up at the balcony. “I did tell her I would try to get her an interview with Edwin, and this time I meant it. If you get a chance to let him know, that would help.”
“I can do that,” she said. Hector panted supportively.
“Delaney,” Bridget said.
I moved back to the table.
“I put a call into someone in Glasgow, but she hasn’t called me back. My colleague at the paper sent me an old picture, though. We never printed it, but it’s in
