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“Palmer?” Jasper asked.

Mary’s tensed brow smoothed, and she didn’t respond. She appeared to no longer be conscious, though she was still breathing.

“Do you think she meant Silas Palmer?” Leo asked.

Jasper got to his feet. “He was listening in when Warnock and I decided to visit Samuel Edwards’s address first. He knew he would have time to get to her before we could.”

Leo felt ill thinking of the time she’d spent with Detective Palmer at the Golden Harp and that he could be the false Mr. Gray.

“I need to bring him in,” Jasper said moving away from Mary’s side. He then drew to a stop, grimacing. Leo knew why.

“Constable Price will be here momentarily, I’m sure. If you’ll only stop in Room 8 down the hall and tell my uncle where I am, I can stay with Mary until he arrives,” Leo said. She rested her hand on his arm. “You need to find Detective Palmer before he disappears.”

If Silas Palmer had been at the agency when Warnock and the other constables arrived, and if he found out Mary was not yet dead, he might take the opportunity to run.

Jasper hesitated only another moment. “All right. I’ll ask for a warder to come stand outside this door until the other constables arrive. Just to be safe.”

“It will be fine, Jasper. Go.”

He covered her hand with his, then nodded before exiting the room into the corridor.

Leo turned back to Mary, whose coloring had marginally improved since she roused to consciousness. The wounds she’d sustained could still kill her, however, especially if infection set in.

Leo pulled a chair to the bedside and settled into it, prepared to speak to Mary, should she wake again. Pa was hardly a firm indication that Palmer was her assailant. Should Mary not live and be able to more aptly name her attacker, Leo doubted any charges against Silas Palmer would hold up in court.

“Mary?” Leo thought perhaps the sound of a voice might stir her awake. She took the woman’s cold hand, lying flat on the blanket, into her own. “Mary, we need your help.”

Leo gave her hand a light squeeze. Should she live, Mary would be arrested for her involvement in a scheme that had left one woman dead and another, nearly so. There was no telling just yet to what extent she had participated in the murder of Victoria Herrington and the attempt on Augusta Lawlor’s life, but Leo imagined the young woman might currently be wondering if fighting to live would be worth it.

The tapping of footfalls out in the corridor signaled someone’s approach. Leo presumed it was the warder Jasper had promised, but when she turned in her chair, she saw Mr. Castelan.

“Miss Spencer, I didn’t expect to see you.” The private detective lingered in the doorway, his bowler hat clasped in his hands. “I came as soon as I heard about Miss Keating. How is she?”

Mr. Castelan had evidently not passed Jasper in the corridor. If he had, Jasper would have informed him of Mary’s condition, and of Leo’s presence. But then, Jasper had been concerned Mary’s attacker would return to finish the job. He wouldn’t have allowed Mr. Castelan—one of the men who’d known of Jasper’s intent to visit Mary—to come in here alone.

A strange qualm filled her.

“She is alive,” Leo replied. “And lucky to be so. Inspector Reid found her at a critical moment.”

Mr. Castelan came into the room, closing the door behind him all but for an inch. “As I have heard. Does the inspector have any leads?”

“He is looking for Silas Palmer,” she said warily.

Mr. Castelan tucked his chin. “Palmer? You cannot be serious.”

“I’m afraid I am,” she replied. “When did you last see him?”

He sighed. “Last I knew, he was at the office.”

“Was he questioned?” Leo asked.

“Questioned by whom?” he replied, his light gray eyes narrowed in confusion.

A realization struck her: He did not know Sergeant Warnock and Constables Mills and Price had been sent to his agency to interview the staff. Had Mr. Castelan left before they had arrived?

But then…how else would he have learned Mary was here after being wounded?

Leo’s hand, still clasping Mary’s, felt a weak squeeze. While Mary’s eyes were still shut, she no longer had the softened jaw or mouth of a person who was asleep.