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“Can you describe the interactions between the two young ladies?” Gideon asked as Kerrigan returned to his chair.

“Friendly. At times, almost silly. They gossiped, as I mentioned, and laughed a great deal.”

“And outside of their work at the museum?”

Kerrigan frowned. “How would I know? They mentioned dining together at The Willows pub once, and Potter mentioned them taking tea at the shop around the corner from the museum.”

“Samuel Potter?” Gideon clarified.

“Yes.”

“A suitor of Miss Collier’s, was he not?”

Kerrigan smiled, but it felt as if he’d forced his mouth to obey. His eyes did not. “A dog nipping at her heels would be more accurate.”

“He seemed very possessive regarding Miss Collier,” Electra said, wanting to egg Kerrigan into revealing his true feelings.

Had he harbored more than professional admiration toward Miss Collier?

“Unaccountably so, Miss Poole, seeing as she had no interest in the young man whatsoever.”

“How would you know?” Electra asked, echoing his words.

“I have eyes to see, and Miss Collier confided in me at times, as she did about Mr. Frye.”

Gideon glanced between them, then cleared his throat. “And Miss Delacourt? Did she confide in you as well?”

Kerrigan’s expression softened, ire replaced by sudden concern. “She did, especially after the disappearance of Miss Collier. Both Delacourt girls were familiar with loss after tending to their mother and mourning her, but the disappearance of Miss Collier was so sudden and inexplicable. Worry settled over her and seemed to induce a kind of acute anxiety. Though always soft-spoken, she talked even less. As I said, I urged her to stay at home, but she said the work gave her purpose.”

Kerrigan bent his head and stared at the carpet. “I haven’t been very helpful, have I?” he said quietly. “I do not know where she is, or where she might have gone. If I knew, Roger would have her back at home, I assure you.”

For a moment, they all fell silent, and Electra reached out for one of the documents on the table next to her chair. Eager to touch something else and see if it might spark her abilities. But as she reached for the paper, an odd scraping sounded out in the hall and then a low, throaty growl followed by a shrill yowl. A moment later, two small bodies shot across the room in a blur of black and orange fur, scrambling under the table, darting beneath Gideon’s chair, and then zipping back out the open library door.

“Jupiter! Apollo!” Footsteps came thundering up the stairs and then the housekeeper passed by. “Forgive me, Mr. Kerrigan. I could not catch them.”

“The cats,” Kerrigan explained. “They’ll tire themselves soon enough.”

A sound carried through the wall of bookshelves. Something thudded as if falling to the ground. Kerrigan winced.

“Oh dear me,” the housekeeper murmured distantly. “Not the vase.”

“Thank heavens for thick carpet,” Kerrigan said, sounding resigned to the chaos.

Gideon leaned forward and stretched out his arm. “My card, Mr. Kerrigan. If you recall anyone Miss Delacourt mentioned. Any conflict or worry, no matter how inconsequential it may have seemed to you, contact me.”

Kerrigan took Gideon’s card and tapped it against the arm of his chair. “Of course, I will, Inspector. I hope you find her very soon.”

Gideon nodded and got to his feet. Electra did the same, eyeing the document-covered table but giving up on the opportunity to touch something else in the man’s library as Gideon moved immediately toward the threshold.

They retrieved their coats from a rack near the front door and made their way out into the cool October evening.

“What do you think of him?” Electra asked once they were closed inside a hackney.

Gideon had settled beside her rather than across from her, and she found the heat of him pressed against her was a balm against the chill in the air.

“I think he was potentially more possessive of Miss Collier than Sam Potter,” Gideon said, voice low. “But he seemed far less interested in Miss Delacourt, despite arguably knowing her longer. He has a connection to her family, and yet discussion of Miss Collier sparked more of a reaction.”

He turned to look at her. “You touched the glass he gave you. Did you see anything?”