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‘You’re bleeding,’ Martha said to Buchan after the two constables led Hugh Stewart off to the police cells.
The constable stared at his hand as if wondering how the blood got there.
‘You probably cut yourself climbing in through the window.’
‘It’s nothing, just a scratch.’ He looked around the shop. ‘Miss Ethel . . . has she been harmed?’
‘The back room is empty, so she must have gone out of the window as I suggested. She should be in the house by this time.’
Buchan nodded and Martha thought she detected relief in his eyes.
‘You should be safe as long as Mr Stewart is under lock and key.’ After a moment’s hesitation, he added, ‘Will you give my regards to Miss Ethel?’ He placed his hand on the doorknob. ‘Ah! It appears I’m locked in. Perhaps I should leave the way I entered?’ He nodded at the window.
‘Kirsty,’ Martha said, turning to the younger woman, ‘do you still have the key?’
‘I put it under the counter. Give me a minute.’ She picked her way through the glass splinters and sidled past Buchan and Martha. The lock clicked when she turned the key while the bolts at top and bottom screeched as she pulled them from their sockets.
‘What about the window?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Martha said. ‘I’ll get a carpenter to board it until we get a replacement.’
‘Ladies,’ Buchan said, tipping a finger to his helmet as he turned to leave.
Martha placed a hand on his arm.
‘I have bandages in the house. You must let me dress that injury before you leave.’ She sensed his reluctance, and added, ‘I am sure your inspector wouldn’t wish you to leave before assuring yourself that Mr Stewart didn’t harm his daughter.’
Several women remained outside the shop to watch their exit; most of the crowd had dispersed after the policemen left with their captive. One of the stragglers stepped forward as the trio left the shop.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked. ‘I know some people are against you suffragettes, but there’s no excuse for that kind of violence.’
‘Thank you for your concern,’ Martha replied. ‘We are fine. The only damage done is to the window.’ Eager to escape curious eyes, she ushered Kirsty and Buchan into the close at the side of the shop and didn’t relax until they emerged into the courtyard at the back of the building.
Aggie was washing crockery when Martha led Buchan into the kitchen.
‘I believe we have bandages in one of the cupboards,’ Martha said.
The maid removed her hands from the soapy water and dried them on a towel. She extracted a small box from a cupboard and handed it to Martha.
‘Miss Ethel and her friend are in the drawing-room. I served them tea to calm them.’ Aggie’s eyes glittered with curiosity. ‘Been some kind of rumpus, I was told.’
Martha opened the box and inspected the contents. Bandages, iodine, several safety-pins and a small pair of scissors nestled inside.
‘You could say that,’ Martha replied. ‘It has left the shop with a broken window. It will need to be repaired to make sure intruders don’t get in and create more damage.’ She selected a bandage and two safety-pins from the box. ‘Do you know any carpenters who could board it?’
‘There’s one in Dock Street. He’s not a craftsman. Doesn’t make furniture or the like but boarding up a window should be no problem for him.’
‘I want you to go to him with instructions to come to do the work at once. After that, you’ll be about due to finish, so don’t worry about returning. Thanks, Aggie.’
After the maid had left, Martha snipped a small piece from the end of the bandage. She wet it and dabbed at the cut on the palm of Buchan’s hand.
‘Aggie’s a godsend, but she can be somewhat curious. I thought it best to dismiss her for the day.’
Buchan flinched as she dabbed the wet gauze on his skin.
‘Hold still.’
Martha unrolled the bandage. She took her time; she wanted to find out what the police were up to and the constable might be less guarded while his wound was being dressed.
‘Amelia’s mother came to see me,’ she said gently. ‘She says Billy Murphy is still locked up.’ She lifted his hand and laid the end of the bandage on his palm.
‘Yes. He’s being held for three of the killings.’
‘But surely Billy can’t be responsible if he was locked up at the time of the last murder?’ She wound the bandage around his hand, pulling it tight to make him concentrate on the pain and not what she was asking.
‘Inspector Hammond thinks the last murder was unconnected.’ Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead.
Martha’s brow puckered in a frown. She’d seen Constance with her sash wound around her neck, just as Amelia’s had been.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘Constance was strangled, just like the others.’ She finished wrapping the bandage and held it in place with her finger.
‘Strangulation was the cause of death for the other victims, but not the last one. It was different.’
‘In what way?’ She picked up a safety-pin and attached it to the end of the bandage.
‘The last victim was stabbed in the back. The sash was placed around her neck after her death. The inspector thinks the killer copied the other murders.’
‘But surely, if she’d been stabbed, there should have been more blood in the cab?’
‘I suppose that’s because the weapon was a slim blade. We nearly missed the wound; it was so small.’
‘I see.’ Martha frowned as she digested the information.
‘If that is the case, who killed Constance?’
‘The main suspect is the cabby, but we haven’t found him yet.’
‘All done.’ Martha patted his bandaged hand. ‘Now you can come and pay your respects to Ethel before you return to the station.’
As she led him to the drawing-room, she pondered the information he had provided. It made little sense for the cabby to kill Constance, and it made less sense for him to have copied the other murders. It could only be someone with inside knowledge. Someone who would have known how the other women were killed.