The results were mixed: a few articles on the eighteenth-century gin obsession; a Wiki page on the Apothecaries Act of 1815; and an academic journal page on bone fractures. I clicked on the second page of search results, and a website with an inventory of London’s old criminal court—the Old Bailey—seemed the best search hit so far. I used my finger to scan the page, but it was terribly long and I had no idea how to do a document search on my cell phone. A moment later, the amount of data on the site froze my web browser. I cursed, swiping up on my phone to close the app altogether.

Frustrated, I sighed. Did I really think I could solve this with a simple web search? James would probably blame it on inadequate research techniques, which might have been better primed during undergrad if I’d read more textbooks and fewer novels during my long days at the university library.

The library. I jerked my head up and asked a passerby for the nearest Underground station, crossing my fingers that Gaynor would be working again today.

A short time later, I stepped inside the Maps Room, glad that I wasn’t rain-drenched and covered in stink like last time. I spotted Gaynor immediately, but she was in the middle of helping someone at a computer, so I waited patiently for her to finish.

After a few minutes, Gaynor made her way back to the desk. Upon seeing me, she gave me a smile. “You’re back! Did you learn anything about the vial?” she asked cheerily. Then she feigned a serious look. “Or did you go mudlarking again, and you’ve brought me another mystery?”

I laughed, feeling a surge of warmth toward her. “Neither, actually.” I told her about the hospital papers and the note by the unknown author, alluding to the apothecary’s involvement in multiple deaths. “The note was dated 1816. It mentioned a Bear Alley, which just so happens to be close to my hotel. I ventured over there this morning but didn’t see much.”

“You’re a budding researcher,” she said playfully. “And I would have done the exact same thing.” Gaynor tidied a few folders sitting in front of her, then put them aside. “Bear Alley, you said? Well, the etching on your vial did resemble a bear, though it seems a bit of a stretch that the two might be connected.”

“I agree.” I leaned my hip against the desk. “The whole story seems a bit of a stretch, to be honest, but...” I trailed off, my eyes falling on a stack of books behind Gaynor. “But what if it’s not? What if there’s something to it?”

“You think this apothecary might really have existed, then?” Gaynor crossed her arms, looking at me inquisitively.