Page 33 of Her Cruel Dahlias
He shook his head. “I should’ve—”
The sound of horses’ hooves pummeling the earth through the gathering mist soared with the breeze. Cricket jerked her head up, then leapt to her feet, peering between two caravans to catch sight of Bram, Charles, Miles, and Wilder riding their horses toward them.
Zephyr jogged away to retrieve Mistress Eliza. A few moments later, the horses halted and their riders dismounted. Bram raked a hand through his thick hair, a rigid expression on his face. Charles frowned when his gaze met hers, and Bram gave her a brief nod. They kept words at a minimum as they inspected the body.
“I’ve seen her,” Miles said. “Her name’s Joanna. She works at the meat shop.” A name with a body only made this nightmare more real, especially knowing that her family would soon discover her horrible fate.
Once Mistress Eliza and Zephyr returned, they were each questioned. Charles’s eyebrows pinched together when Mistress Eliza admitted she’d tried to revive the victim, which was why the dahlias were no longer on her eyes or in her mouth.
Charles and Miles then went door to door of the caravans, asking if anyone had encountered the victim before today or had seen or heard anything suspicious the previous night. A carriage came shortly after to take the body away to the coroner, leaving only a pool of blood behind.
Bram stepped toward Cricket, his expression grim. “I need to discuss something with you. Will you follow me?”
Her chest tightened as he led her to where his horse lingered. The note felt weighted in her bodice, and she hoped he didn’t believe she’d had something to do with this intentionally. As they came to a stop, she turned to him and asked, “What is it?”
“You’re hiding something. If you want to help these victims, you can’t keep secrets from me.”
Cricket sighed and fished out the note from her bodice. “I didn’t want anyone else at the carnival to see this.”
Without a word, Bram took the note from her hand and read it over. His throat bobbed as he peered down at her. “This letter is specifically for you, Cricket. That body was left for you. And you didn’t give me this as soon as I arrived?”
Cricket gazed at the ground in silence. “I would’ve shown you.” This was Bram, her friend, an authority she trusted, and she should’ve given it to him as soon as he’d gotten there, but she hadn’t.
“From now on, if anything else is left for you, or you want to do something illegally, come to me. Please. There’s only so much protecting you from ending up in a prison cell that I can do.”
She frowned. “What do you think the reason is for the note?” The murderer had known she didn’t perform last night, which meant they’d been at the carnival as well as the other times when she’d been on stage with Zephyr.
“The murders began a little after you left Nobel, so I believe it was to lure you back here for some reason. But even though you’re here now, the murders are continuing. So my theory may not be right, or maybe it needs to be adjusted. I feel as if this case is pushing us in circles.”
“Are you going to tell everyone about the note?”
“Only the authorities for the time being. There’s handwriting on this, and if we can find a match, that could be the key we need to catch this murderer. If you want to keep silent on this matter from the other performers, that’s your decision. They weren’t threatened directly, and the letter wasn’t sent to them—it was left for you. I can’t force you to come to my manor, but the door is always open.”
“Thank you, Bram. I’m staying here, though.”
He ran his hand across his jaw, his lips tight as though he wanted to argue. “One more thing. Last night, Zephyr was with you for most of it?”
“Yes, I’m unsure of the precise time he left.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you asking me that? Do you think one of us did it? That I wrote the note to myself? I know how authorities think sometimes.”
“You?” he asked, incredulous. “Of course not. But I was going to suggest that you stay with someone at night if you remain here. I think it should be Zephyr since he seems to care about your safety and looks like he could defend you. I believe it necessary, especially after a letter was left with your name on it.”
Cricket considered it. “All right, I’ll see about it.” She would ask Zephyr, but she wouldn’t tell him about the letter. There was no need for him or anyone else to worry about her, not when Mistress Eliza had already reprimanded him for helping her the last time. Besides that, Juniper wanted it to stay between them, even though she’d already fractured that a bit by telling Bram.
But the truth was, things were becoming a little clearer, and the victims’ murders were most certainly her fault.
Chapter Fifteen
Once the authorities left, Cricket found Juniper walking away from Stormy toward her caravan. She caught up with her, noticing tears beading along her lashes and worry filling her gaze.
“What is it?” Cricket asked and immediately cursed herself for it. “Sorry, that was a foolish question.”
“If I’m to be honest, I’m frightened. But not for me, for you. After the letter…” she finished the last part in a whisper.
Cricket sighed. She would be a liar if she didn’t say she was at least a little frightened too. “I couldn’t hold onto it—I gave it to Bram. It wasn’t hard for him to know I was hiding something. Thankfully, he will see if he can find a match for the handwriting.”
Juniper nodded and seemed to fold in on herself. “I should’ve thought about that. But what about the others? The carnival will be closed again, so you need to keep quiet about it. Mistress Eliza isn’t the only one in a raging mood.”
Mistress Eliza wasn’t a fool—even without the letter, she would still assume that there was a possible link between the victims and Cricket due to the dahlias, the hair, the eyes... “For now, I’m not telling anyone. However, Bram wants someone to stay with me, and—”