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Chapters (206)
  1. Praise for Maplecroft
  2. Title page
  3. Copyright page
  4. Contents
  5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  6. THESE ARE THE THINGS AN EARTHQUAKE BRINGS
  7. •   •   •
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  12. A DOCTOR, A LAWYER, A MERCHANT, A CHIEF
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  20. Phillip Zollicoffer, Professor of Biology, Miskatonic University
  21. Lizzie Andrew Borden
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  26. BE SURE YOUR SINS WILL FIND YOU OUT
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  29. I CROSS THE MAGPIE, THE MAGPIE CROSSES ME
  30. •   •   •
  31. Nance O’Neil
  32. THIS KNOT I KNIT, THIS KNOT I TIE
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  37. AND IF YOU HAVE A HORSE WITH ONE WHITE LEG . . .
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  43. THE WORST IS TO BE JUDGED WITHOUT HOPE
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  46. Lizzie Andrew Borden
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  53. BUT NETTLE SHANT HAVE NOTHING
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  55. CUT THEM ON FRIDAY, YOU CUT THEM FOR SORROW
  56. Phillip Zollicoffer, Professor of Biology, Miskatonic University
  57. •   •   •
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  62. HAPPY IS THE CORPSE THAT THE RAIN SHINES ON
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  67. A DWELLING PLACE OF JACKALS, THE DESOLATION FOREVER
  68. Lizzie Andrew Borden
  69. •   •   •
  70. •   •   •
  71. Nance O’Neil
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  84. Emma L. Borden
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  88. Owen Seabury, M.D.
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  91. Lizzie Andrew Borden
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  93. RIGHT CHEEK, LEFT CHEEK—WHY DO YOU BURN?
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  101. Aaron B. Stewart, Fire Chief, Farthington, Mass.
  102. Emma L. Borden
  103. •   •   •
  104. Gerald Macintyre, Telegraph Clerk, Western Union
  105. Owen Seabury, M.D.
  106. •   •   •
  107. Physalia, Z. University I Was Not Now
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  109. DEPART, ALL ANIMALS WITHOUT BONES
  110. Emma L. Borden
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  115. Owen Seabury, M.D.
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  119. Lizzie Andrew Borden
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  130. Owen Seabury, M.D.
  131. Phillip Zollicoffer. Physalia Zollicoffris.
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  137. Christoff Dane, M.D., Ph.D., University of Rhode Island, Kingston
  138. •   •   •
  139. Emma L. Borden
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  144. Owen Seabury, M.D.
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  150. Emma L. Borden
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  153. FAMILY SLAIN IN MAYFIELD
  154. Owen Seabury, M.D.
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  165. Lizzie Andrew Borden
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  176. Emma L. Borden
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  186. Owen Seabury, M.D.
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  197. Lizzie Andrew Borden
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  205. Inspector Simon Wolf
  206. •   •   •

His stout shape and bespectacled face were a sight for sore eyes, not least of all because I might be able to tell him something. Anything, really. Any small measure of what I’d learned from the Borden sisters . . . any illicit tidbit would unburden me by just that much.

I knew it was a silly, perhaps dangerous idea. But it had become so much to carry—so much more to watch for, to wonder about. It was as if my whole world had been upended, yet I remained unmoved. And now I am forced to piece together a mystery from my upside-down space, my head gone light and my brain confused by all the new angles.

Really, I was almost embarrassed by how glad I was to see him.

And before long, I would learn that he must be brought into our confidence to some minimal degree. Whether the ladies liked it or not.

•   •   •

I invited the man inside, and he politely agreed—though only long enough for me to find my shoes, coat, and hat. I was missing all three, but I was within my own home, and I’d learned that some mundane procedures of civility must be allowed to simply fall by the wayside when larger projects presented themselves.

He removed his hat and stood in the foyer, though of course he was welcome to enter the parlor, or anywhere else that suited his fancy, as far as I cared.

He said to me, “I hope I haven’t come at an inconvenient time.”

And I said, “No, of course not.” Then upon gazing at my surroundings—which I’d been neglecting, and having let the housekeeper go the week before . . . I hope he was not afraid that he’d interrupted some kind of personal tribulation.

So I added, “I beg your pardon, with regard to all the clutter. I’m finally going through the particulars of my late wife’s estate, on behalf of her sister in Virginia. It’s been a difficult upheaval.” I was lying through my teeth, and surely he knew it. “But a necessary one, all the same. Given the intimate nature of this matter, I’ve relieved the housekeeper for a week or two, and I’m sorting through the archives of papers and property myself.”

“My sympathies on your loss, Doctor.”

“And I do appreciate them, but enough time has passed now . . .” I hesitated, not wanting to appear too cavalier. “It’s been two years. The time has come, that’s all, and there are some obligations we cannot foist off on other people. Now, tell me . . . ,” I said, changing the subject as I reached for my jacket and shuffled into it, “how can I be of service?”

“Ah, yes. Perhaps I could treat you to coffee, or brunch? We can share a few words over something warm and filling.”