"What we really need to do is get outside and try to catch him in the act. Father refuses to let me go, though. He thinks I should leave it to the professionals." Ezra Wentworth shook his head, his blond curls more dishevelled than usual.

"No one should be walking around after dark. Especially not you." Leah glanced up from her drawing. "All the people that have been walking around at the time saw neither hide nor hair of whoever is doing this."

"Which means they are smart."

"Something you are not if you think you should be stalking the streets at night when the weather is as bad as it is. Besides, no one knows just when or where the person might strike next, so it is useless trying to preempt their next move."

Leah shrugged and glanced towards the window. Sleet lashed against the glass, a bitter wind rattled the window frame. The sleet and rain had been non-stop for several days, putting an end to any and all of Ezra's plans to catch the mysterious murderer. Instead, Mr Wentworth had taken him with him on his visit to Leah's father. The intention had been to talk business, but Ezra had other ideas.

To limit any talk of improper behaviour between the two of them, Leah had asked Emma to stay so they would not be alone. Not only did Leah want to avoid any whispers from the servants or her mother, she also didn't want to be left alone with just Ezra for company.

She did not think she could stand it if they were alone.

She had tried to speak as little as possible, allowing him to talk for as long as possible without responding. Perhaps he would realise that all of his plans to catch the attempted murderer were futile and give up, or at least realise that she was far from interested in helping him. Either way, Leah wanted to limit her engagement to the bare minimum.

Leah turned back to her drawing, frowning at how the flowers looked more like splodges of paint. Her needlepoint might have been passable, but her drawing had always been abysmal. She placed her drawing on the table, stood up, and crossed to the window. It was near impossible to see anything through the falling sleet.

The darkness had come early that day.

"At least with the weather like this, fewer people are around and I doubt even a hardened murderer would want to go out in this."

"You believe so?" Leah turned back to Ezra.

He nodded. "Only Father is likely to be crazy enough to step foot in the sleet in order to carry out his business, and even then we took a carriage. He has been rather cautious since the sixth body had been discovered."

"Most have," Emma said, speaking for the first time. "Some have not."

"They probably do not believe they are a target. This person is going after a very specific group of men. I just wish Father would be more careful. He has become increasingly reckless these past few days, even with the sleet."

Leah stepped away from the window and returned to her seat on the settee. She made no attempt to return her drawing. Instead, she simply rested her hands in her lap and stared at the window, watching the grey light disappear as the darkness seeped in.

Although Mr Manston had promised Leah that he would be more careful when travelling home, he had not kept his promise. He would return home long after dark without having taken a carriage or sending word. It didn't matter how often Leah reminded him to take a carriage or inform her if he was going to be late; he failed to do so.

She knew that her father was unlikely to fall victim to the elusive murderer; they attacked a particular type of man and her father wasn't like that. Still, he should have been more careful and avoided the same arrogance that haunted the other men.

All it took was one mistake and he, too, could fall victim.

"Can you hand me some of that paper, Miss Manston?" Ezra asked, waving his hand towards Leah's drawing pad.

"What for?"

"I just want to write some things down, try to determine if there is a pattern as to when and where this killer strikes his victims."

"How do you intend to do that?" Leah handed over the paper and a pencil. "Have you managed to commit every murder to memory?"

"Yes, yes, I have."

"That explains why there appears to be nothing else going on."

Ezra pulled a face, but immediately turned to his sheet of paper, scribbling away. Leah listened to the sound of the pencil scratching on the paper, the wind roaring past the window outside, and the fire crackling in the fireplace. The winter months always offered Leah slight comfort, as her mother's headaches were less common, and not even the threat of a murderer could chase away the warmth she felt from the glowing fire.

She watched Ezra scribbling away, wondering why he was so obsessed with chasing the murderer. In the years she had known him, Ezra had never shown much interest in anything and he became easily distracted whenever Mr Wentworth tried to get him involved with business conversations. This was a different side of Ezra Wentworth.

When he had finished writing, Ezra handed the sheet of paper back to Leah. She read through the names, dates, and locations that Ezra had listed, amazed that he could have remembered them all so accurately.

"How is this supposed to help?" She handed him the list. "None of them were killed in the same place."

"No, but most of them were killed out in alleyways, all except for Mr Wesley, who died outside his factory. They killed him in broad daylight moments after he stepped out at the end of the working day. The only people who would have been around being the workmen."

"You think one of them did it?"

Ezra shrugged. "Maybe. No one would have thought much of a worker double backing on themselves. This might be the work of a disgruntled employee."

"Who worked for six different companies?"

"I am just throwing ideas out there. It seems like a possible one."

Leah shook her head and picked up the discarded drawing, determined to finish it no matter how it might look. She left Ezra to his ramblings, deciding it was best if he conversed with himself about his theories rather than trying to bring her into it.

None of them seemed plausible to her and wanted to do anything but listen to them.

~~~

First Published - February 6th, 2023