‘Dear God, Polly,’ said I. ‘You should have stayed at Baker Street last night. Cambridge is no place for you alone after dark.’

‘I know about it, sir. I have managed before.’

‘Are you all right, my poor girl? Not hurt in any way?’

She held up her right hand. Her knuckles were bruised. ‘I am less hurt than some chap named Pete in there.’ She smiled.

‘Mr Holmes is incarcerated as well,’ I said.

‘Don’t worry, Doctor Watson. He’s in regular gaol, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘They play fair over there. Not all of ’em. But mostly.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘My sister. She is a bit of a thief. Nice girl, though. And she don’t work at night – for the reason you just saw.’

‘Where is your sister now?’

‘At work. Well, her lawful-like work. She has a room nearby,’ said Polly, indicating with a thumb in an easterly direction.

‘Write down the address on this slip of paper. Can you take refuge there ’til we come for you? Wyndham will have you arrested. He thinks you stole from him. Will you be safe?’

She nodded, and I watched her, relieved, as she vanished up the street. She nearly ran into two boys of about the same age who galloped towards me down the street, ringing a bell. ‘A dead body! A dead body! A ha’penny for the news,’ they cried.

My stomach lurched. I grabbed one by the arm as he brushed by me. ‘What news? What body?’

The boy held his hand out and I slammed a coin into it. ‘Dead girl. In the Jesus Lock. Drownded!’ he rasped.

‘Girl? How old?’

The boy shrugged. ‘Dunno. Grown up, maybe?’

‘A love affair gone wrong, methinks,’ intoned the other with a knowing look and his hand out for another coin. But I was off and running for the police station.

CHAPTER 29

The Lady in the Lock

The place was a madhouse. Evidently news of the body had arrived at the station only minutes before, and the officers were assembling in the reception area, with Hadley barking orders. Before I could approach him, he spotted me and gestured me over brusquely.

‘Dr Watson,’ he said, ‘a body was spotted in the Jesus Lock some hours ago. A young woman, drowned. Long blonde hair. Age twenty or thereabouts. It is looking like a murder. We’ve just managed to get her out of the water.’

My stomach sank. Dillie.

‘Can you accompany me, please? I know you have experience with … such things,’ Hadley said.

Pickering materialized behind him with a length of cloth, his face like an eager wolf. ‘We have it in hand, sir. No need to bring the Londoner in.’

Hadley turned sharply to his subordinate. ‘Attend to the men, Pickering. I’ll bring whom I like.’ Pickering gave me a sour look and melted away.