“And you’ve not seen him since? You’ve no idea where he might be now?”

“No. It’s been years since I’ve spoken to any of that family.”

Helen offered to make use of her connections to inquire.

I said, “Thank you.”

It was growing late. The sun was not yet down and there was light enough to see by in the street, but it had gained the golden glow that meant we’d stretched the day as long as it was possible and it would soon be coming to its end.

I did not want to let it end. I would have wished for Mrs. Graeme to stay longer, but there was no reason for it, nor could I see any reason for her to return here for another meeting until Gilroy and I had made further inquiries on her behalf. She’d told us everything she could, and given us what documents she had. I ran a finger down the edges of my papers so they formed a tidy stack. “I think we’ve made a good start, then,” I said, making an effort to mask my own disappointment.

Gilroy agreed. Then surprised me with, “Is it convenient, Mrs. Graeme, for you to return tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” she said.

I was not about to argue with him, even if I could not fathom what we’d be discussing. Still, since I was meant to be the lead man of this inquiry, I took the lead.

I said, “Shall we say ten o’clock?”

She gave a nod, and stood.

There was a scrape of chairs as Gilroy and I stood as well. And then it struck me that she would be walking in the street alone, and I had no idea where she lived.

“I’ll walk you home,” I said.

The light coming in through the windows was angled directly behind her at that exact moment so I couldn’t see her expression as she turned, and paused. “I do thank you, no. It’s a kind offer,” she said, “but I’ll find my own way.”

* * *

“Forrester’s Wynd,” Gilroy said, at my shoulder.

He’d come to stand next to me at the tall windows that looked to the Landmarket. I had positioned myself at the middle one, from which I had the best view of the length of the street, with its colorful flow of activity and the high solid bank of lands and tenements opposite, rising from arched shops to uneven rooftops, the windows unshuttered still to catch the last of the light.

When the shifting wheels and carts and people parted, I could see the shadowed narrow gaps between the buildings, at street level, giving entry to the wynds and closes that ran back between the Landmarket toward the Cowgate behind.

This time of day called out the thieves and pickpockets, and worse. I cast a keen eye on the young lad with no shoes who watched the ladies passing, and the older “gentleman” who seemed to take an interest in the stationer’s displays.