‘But I don’t get why two differentsets of people are so adamant that you stop working on finding a housemaid whodisappeared more than a hundred years ago. It doesn’t add up.’
Morton shrugged. ‘I still don’tknow. All I can think is that Mary Mercer discovered something thatfinding what happened to her would now reveal…I don’t know. It’s allguesswork at the moment. Something could obviously still cause realdamage.’
‘If you’re right about all this, you’vegot a period of grace where the killer thinks you’re dead. Use that timeto get on with cracking the case.’ Juliette pushed his legs offher. ‘Now stop moping and get on with it, Mr Farrier.’
‘What are you up to today?’
‘Not sure yet. I might pop to theshops. Pick up something nice for dinner.’
‘Fancy giving me a fresh set of eyes?’Morton asked. Although not a great lover of the finer points ofgenealogy, Juliette could rarely resist sharing her opinion on the reasoning,motivations and detection aspects of the bigger cases on which he hadworked. Today, Morton was glad of some assistance since his own brain wasrunning on flat batteries.
‘Why not. Come on, then,’ she said,standing up and offering him her hand.
He took her hand and stood heavily, hisbody weight dragging him down, making a dramatic performance of standing.
Upstairsin the study Morton used his notepad and the wall, covered with Mercer Case information,to talk Juliette through every aspect of his work so far. In her ownbrooding way and with few words, Juliette broadly agreed with his summations.
‘I need to see this in a more linear way,’she said. ‘I can’t follow your logic when it’s all pinned up haphazardlylike that. I need a timeline of some sort.’ She pulled a piece ofA4 paper from the printer and then proceeded to roughly tear it into threestrips. ‘Right, let’s start at the beginning.’
And so, for the next two hours, Morton andJuliette created a crude hand-drawn timeline for the key events surrounding thedisappearance of Mary Mercer.
‘I’ve just got something new to add to thetimeline. Well, maybe not actually—I’m not sure it helps,’ Morton said,wafting his mobile in front of Juliette. ‘Nova Scotia Archives have gotback to me.’
‘And?’ Juliette said, poised with a penand the timeline.
‘Dear Mr Farrier. Thank you foryour e-mail. Nova Scotia Archives has printed “Lists of Voters for theCity of Halifax” (RG 5 Series E. Vol. 28). It is somewhat large and istoo fragile to photocopy. The names are divided by wards and within eachward names are divided by men and women, giving name, occupation andaddress. I have looked at the years you requested and have the followinginformation, which I trust is of use: 1921-1925 gives the same occupant: MarthaStone, teacher. 1926-1930 Michael Fellows, Fruiterer, Julia Fellows,laundress. Kind regards, Martin Lythgoe, Reference Archivist.’
‘Hmm,’ Juliette mused, gazing at thetimeline. ‘It is of interest when you look at what happened in1925.’
Morton stood beside Juliette, wondering atwhat extra information she had been able to glean from this latest email thathe hadn’t.
‘Edith Leyton travels out to visit Marthain 1925. That same year, Martha moves out. Possibly a coincidence,or did something between her and Edith happen to make her move on?’
Morton wasn’t convinced that the twothings were necessarily connected to each other, never mind the disappearanceof Mary Mercer. It was looking increasingly like a dead end. ‘I’mkeeping an open mind on it… But I think Edith visiting her old neighbour inCanada in 1925 is just a holiday. The fact that Martha then moved outafterwards is just a coincidence.’
‘I thought you didn’t believe incoincidences?’
Morton shrugged. There was somethingabout Martha and Edith that pricked at his genealogical intuition.
‘Look at this,’ Juliette saidexcitedly. She drummed a finger on the images of Dr Leyden's leases forWisteria Cottage. ‘Guess which year Edith’s husband's rent-free leaseexpired?’
‘1925?’ Morton suggested.
‘Exactly. Something happened toEdith that year, Morton,’ Juliette said. She paused and ran her fingersthrough her hair. ‘Okay. What about this. In 1925 Edith setsabout trying to find her twin again, having failed for the previous fourteenyears. She goes out to see Martha, who knows something about it. Martha gets spooked and runs away. Edith comes home.’
Morton laughed. ‘Jesus, I reallyhope you don’t use that kind of logic at work, Juliette. That’s ninetypercent fiction and ten percent fact. What about the other piece ofinformation about the rental of Wisteria Cottage coming to an end? Youdidn’t incorporate that into your lovely story.’
Juliette thought for a moment. ‘Didn’t you say she split up with Dr Leyden?’
Morton nodded.
‘There you go, then, she splits up andmoves out. New adventure to Canada. Done.’
Morton smiled. ‘I might just ask Raywhen his grandmother divorced Dr Leyden, just out of interest. Other thanthat, I really don’t see much more point in pursuing the Canada and MarthaStone avenue. For the moment, at least.’
‘Can’t say I didn’t try. Drink?’
‘Coffee, please,’ Morton said with agrin. He knew what was coming next.
‘One decaf coffee coming right up,’Juliette said and disappeared from the room.
Whilst he was alone in the room, Mortonstared at the wall that Juliette had dubbed haphazard. It might lookchaotic, but each little pin, Post-it and string connection made sense inMorton’s head. At the centre of it all was the photo of Mary. Thelast known picture ever taken of her. He sent the latest email from theNova Scotia Archives to the printer and added the information to the wall thenemailed Ray Mercer asking if he knew when his grandmother divorced.
‘Here you go, sir,’ Juliette said as sheentered the study and set down Morton’s coffee.
‘Thank you, madam,’ Morton replied.
Juliette clutched a mug in bothhands. ‘Listen, unless you need me more here, I’m going to go and try andfind a present for Jeremy and Guy.’
‘We’ve got two months yet.’
‘Yeah, but you know what you’re like atleaving things to
