Page 4 of Ashes To Ashes
The fact he was thinking about heragainwasn't lost him. But those thoughts would become fewer soon, he was sure of it. It was just a matter of time.
He returned O'Neill's file to the drawer and was met on the staircase by Doyle, who was out of breath and looked relieved to see him.
"There you are," said Seth, striding along the corridor from the right. Gus came from the left, and both converged on the staircase as if they were trying to trap their employer. "Where were you?"
Since when did his men question where he'd been? "Attic. There's been another supernatural murder."
Gus and Seth both swore, their language as colorful as it had been before Charlie arrived. The very proper Doyle didn't bat an eyelid. He pressed his hand to his chest and murmured, "Dear lord. Will you be investigating, sir?"
Lincoln had previously told Doyle that he was the leader of a secretive semi-government organization that investigated crimes the police couldn't solve. He'd left out the part about supernaturals. It explained the comings and goings at Lichfield well enough without worrying the man unnecessarily.
Lincoln nodded. "Seth and Gus, prepare the coach and horses." He strode past Seth, back to his rooms. "We're going to the circus."
Chapter 2
Lincoln was rarely surprised, and never astounded, but watching the acrobats, exotic animals and other performers parade into the vast hall of the Olympia, he came close. Some performers traveled in golden chariots, others sat atop one of the thirteen elephants, or rode horses and camels, while yet others led in zebras, carried monkeys, or simply danced or tumbled. There was no strong man, of course, but the crowd whispered Brutus’s name in hushed, shocked tones. If the performers missed O'Neill's presence among them, on this first show following his death, they gave no indication. Their smiles were wide and bright.
A brass band led the parade past the grandstands where Lincoln and Seth sat, along with thousands of others. Seth's jaw fell open as he watched the spectacle pass by. For a worldly individual, he could be childlike sometimes.
"There must be hundreds of people involved," Seth breathed. "My God!" He leaned forward and squinted at the large glass container passing by on the back of a horse-drawn cart. The box contained water and a woman. "Is that a mermaid?"
"No," Lincoln said. "Mermaids aren't real."
Seth sat back with ahumph. "Spoil sport."
Lincoln refrained from retorting that Seth should know better, given his education. Clearly a good education and gullibility weren't mutually exclusive.
The menagerie split up and filled the three rings and two stages. Riders performed tricks on horseback in one ring, acrobats tumbled in another, elephants lifted their left fore-legs in unison in another, while a vaudevillian show and ballet occupied the stages.
"I don't know where to look," Seth said, his gaze flicking between each of the performances.
"That's the point," Lincoln told him.
"What?"
He sounded distracted, but Lincoln explained anyway. "With so many acts on at once, it's impossible to see everything. You'll leave here today wanting to come back and see the things you missed. You'll buy another ticket for tomorrow on your way out."
"Or get one the way you did." Seth flashed him a grin, but it quickly withered and he turned back to the show.
Lincoln had been prepared to pay for tickets, but it seemed all of London wanted to see the famous Barnum and Bailey circus, and the show was sold out. Lincoln had resorted to picking the pocket of a passing gentleman.
Seth applauded along with the audience as an aerialist dressed in short pantaloons somersaulted in mid-air and caught a swinging bar high above them. "Charlie would love this." Lincoln felt Seth's gaze burning into him. "You should bring her when she comes home," he went on.
Lincoln didn't bother correcting him. It never seemed to sink in that Charlie wasn't coming back, no matter how many times Lincoln told him.
Lincoln stood and headed back down the aisle, away from the spectacles. He didn't wait to see if Seth followed but he heard his footsteps.
"Was it something I said?" The pout in Seth's voice was as much an act as the performances in the rings.
Lincoln fisted his hand at his side. Hitting Seth wouldn't be wise when he wanted to move around the Olympia undetected. Maybe later, after they'd finished investigating, he'd offer to spar with him to relieve some tension. They both needed to get it out of their system.
They skirted the perimeter of the enormous Olympia theater. Most of the spectators were inside watching the displays, giving the sideshow freaks time to themselves, away from their booths. Nobody paid Lincoln and Seth any attention, not even when Seth gawped at the oddities.
"Did you see that girl?" he whispered. "She has two heads!"
Lincoln didn't think he warranted an answer, so he gave none.
"Blimey, that man has three legs." A moment later, Seth made a horrified sound. "I've seen some hairy women in my time, but she takes the cake. Do you think she's just a man dressed like a woman?"
