Chapter 52: Finding the killer
In the morning, when Jane arrived at her office, she was greeted by Addison, who quickly waved a newspaper at her and asked,
"Lady Jane, have you seen the news about the mayor??"
Jane replied as she entered, "I did."
"It is quite shocking that he would take his own life," Addison said in a tone of disbelief. "His wife said he couldn’t have killed himself, but there were no signs of breaking in and when they found his body in his study, his hand was on the dagger, which he killed himself with. And..."
Addison’s voice trailed when he noticed two men enter the office. He asked, "Who are you?" He then turned to Jane and asked, "Who are they?"
"Gruger and the inspector want to protect me," Jane replied, walking to her office room. When she came near the door, she turned around and spoke to the men, "You can be seated out here at these desks." Seeing the men nod, she entered her room and was followed by Addison.
"They are trying to keep an eye on you!" Addison whispered once the door closed.
"It would be an obvious move, considering I was the next person Ricardo was close to," Jane replied with a sigh. She wondered if he had anything to do with the mayor’s death, but the pattern of death was different compared to his usual style. She then said, "We should find the culprit, Addison. The copycat."
Addison nodded, but then turned worried as he asked, "But how are we going to do it, milady? Not only do we not have access to the case but now you will have people following you..."
That was true, thought Jane to herself. She then said, "But they aren’t following you, Addison. You will be my eyes and ears, the person to find answers. And we might have help."
When Addison gave a look, Jane stared back at him in quietness. He asked, "Who?"
"Ricardo."
"Ri-Ricardo?" Addison’s eyes bulged before he shook his head and said, "Ricardo Wood? How? When? Did you meet him??"
Jane gave him a nod. "Last night. Just before Gruger dropped by my place."
"Oh my God!" Addison exclaimed, as he hadn’t expected his lady to collide with the famous killer. "Did he say anything?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.
So many things, thought Jane in her mind. The things she heard and saw were bizarre. And hadn’t Gruger dropped by, she would have believed this morning it was all a dream. She shared with Addison what happened last night and the man’s jaw fell wide open.
"Do you think he can appear here now?" Addison asked.
"I don’t think he has that kind of ability. I don’t think he has any ability at all, except for what the scarecrow has and that’s its body fused into him," Jane explained to him before her lips set themselves in a thin line. "There’s also something else I need to find and make calls. In the mean time, you can go find out what they know about this killer so far, unless they haven’t gathered any information so far."
Jane couldn’t shake the feeling that the mayor’s death was orchestrated by Ricardo. Despite the official ruling of suicide, the circumstances were far too suspicious to ignore. It didn’t fit the profile of a typical suicide, but it wasn’t a clear-cut murder either.
She made calls to one of her relatives, a distant aunt, who lived three towns away from Riddleford. She wanted to know where her mother was, because by the Scarecrow’s law, her mother was a sinner and it made her worried.
Two days later, Addison returned with some urgent information. "Lady Jane, I found out there’s been another murder that took place while Mr. Crowley was in the asylum. The officers hid this from the public. There have been a total of three murders!"
Jane’s eyebrows furrowed. "That means they plan to pin everything on Ricardo, which will only enrage the public even more. Does the commissioner know about this?"
"I doubt it. Inspector Woodbead or Sergeant Gruger must have withheld the information," Addison suggested.
Jane tapped her nails on her desk thoughtfully. "There’s one way to bring this to light: tip the reporters."
"But won’t they question who leaked it?" Addison asked, worry etched on his face.
"Not if the reporters don’t know where the tip came from," Jane shrugged. "Even if the officers try to hide it, the reporters will dig up the information and bring it to light. It will create a twist in the story."
This was one way to get people off Ricardo’s back so that the actual murderer in question would be caught. She then asked him, "Did you find the similarities between the victims?"
"A few, milady. The killer is targeting single women, and they all belonged to wealthy families."
A deep frown formed on Jane’s face and she asked, "And none of the families bothered to question what happened?" She took the file from Addison and read the victim’s names. "I knew this one. She..."
"The three women were also past their marriageable age. It feels like he is going after spinsters," Addison explained in a quieter voice.
Jane didn’t bother to write the details on the board, knowing Gruger was also making sure she didn’t try to ’help’ the murderer. Going through the details one more time, she said,
"If he’s following Ricardo’s footsteps, then he is also going to pick up the next crescent moon for his kill. I can only guess that the families didn’t want to ruin their reputation and decided to stay hush."
"Do you think the killer is from high society? Otherwise, how would he be able to get the women to meet him?" Addison inquired with a questioning look in his eyes.
"It is possible. The women must have trusted and followed him. I don’t think questioning the families would do any good, but maybe see who the victims were seen with last," Jane instructed Addison, who gave her a nod.
"Yes, milady. But the next murder won’t be until the next few days."
"We thought there was a pattern too, until something triggered Ricardo. If this copycat killer has been following the scarecrow’s footsteps this closely, then he should also break the pattern when needed," Jane murmured, her mind overworking itself to find the culprit quickly.
With the officers searching for the killer, Jane doubted Ricardo would easily uncover the murderer’s identity. She then said, "I will be the one to break the pattern again."
Addison turned pale with worry. "To meet the killer yourself? I don’t think it’s safe!"
"Think about it, Addison. I am the perfect victim he might be looking for," Jane stated confidently.
As a detective, she was determined to uncover the truth, and this time, she would reveal it to everyone. She then added, "There’s something else you need to do for me apart from tipping the reporters about the previous deaths. We need rumours to spread that I’m the most eligible spinster in Riddleford so that it reaches the killer’s ears or eyes. It will only be a matter of time before the bait is taken."