“Mr. Hoffman, let us return to the main office. I would like my partner, Mr. Beck, to hear what you have to say. He’s recently returned from another case and will be assisting me from this point on. If you will excuse us, Sir Michael?” Daniel rounded the table, nudging the Montgomery ledgers on his way, having to rescue them from falling to the floor in a cascade of paper. As he passed Owen, he said, “When you’ve seen to your other duties, spend some time in here organizing the rest of this evidence.”

Owen couldn’t answer with some tart retort, not with Sir Michael in the room, but if looks were murderous, the office boy would be facing charges in the courtroom upstairs.

“Now, Mr. Hoffman,” Daniel said as they took seats around his and Ed’s desks in the common room, “what are your findings?”

The man carefully untied the ribbons on a folder and laid it open on Daniel’s desk. “First, the structure is now sound. I understand you were at the mill again Friday. Such an unfortunate occurrence, another dead body.” He shook his head. “As you will have seen, I called in some workers to remove part of the roof damaged in the explosion. It will need to be replaced in any case, and better to take it down intentionally than to have it come down and possibly injure someone.”

“Yes. Good thinking.”

“I hope Miss Montgomery will not mind my taking the initiative. Mr. Earnshaw, the business accountant for the family, was at the mill, and he authorized the expenditure.”

“Earnshaw was there? To what purpose?” Daniel asked.

Hoffman shook his head. “He said he was seeking a status update on when rebuilding could begin, and he needed some papers from the office in order to give a full accounting to his mistress. He was cross to find the offices had been cleared out. He went on for some time about how difficult it was for him to properly do his job for Miss Montgomery if he didn’t have the documents he needed.”

That would agitate a man, but the investigation had to take priority over all else. Daniel would return the papers as soon as he was able. “We’ve got many of the papers from both the manager’s office and that of Mr. Montgomery here. I did not think about Earnshaw’s need to have them. Have you determined a cause of the explosion?”

“That is where I hope you are available to go to the mill. I have a theory, but I have arranged to meet the scientist I mentioned to you to explain it. If we leave now, we can be there when he arrives. I have a carriage, but you will need your own transport to return to London.”