Sweet Things Dying - Chapter XV

In which Cole leaves London in pursuit of a suspect...

XV

“If Tommy Thorne knows anything about what `appended to `eather, then you’d best get on with finding `im, Mr. Cole.”

Given McWilliams’ blessings, and a further stipend of a guinea, Cole had wasted no time in pursuing the thin lead he had on Thorne’s whereabouts. Before the sun had crested the rooftops, he’d gathered what he needed, left a message for Sacker, and boarded the Great North Railway Co. morning express from King’s Cross to Whitby.

In part, he wanted to stay in London. The inquest into Heather’s death was to begin that morning. But he couldn’t risk another day’s delay, for if his instincts about Thorne were right, the man would soon be at sea – if he wasn’t already.

When the train shunted to a stop amidst a whisper of steam, he climbed off the hard, third-class bench, carpetbag in hand, and welcomed the blood back into his legs as he crossed the platform. A newsvendor offered an afternoon circular with some preliminary details from the inquest. Thorough summaries would come in the evening press and full accounts would begin to appear in tomorrow morning’s papers.

Before leaving the station he checked in with the telegraph office and found a message from Sacker awaiting him:

Glad to see you off your ---- getting work done. S.

Cole smirked at the omitted word. The clerk in London who sent the message, or perhaps the one in Whitby who’d received it, had been too embarrassed to commit it to print.

He sent off a quick message to Inspector Quinn to make him aware of the lead on Thorne, with a promise to follow-up. He assumed Thorne was not yet a police suspect. Best to put him into the minds of the officials, Cole thought. Their help might be needed once he found the man.