Anne Perry's Christmas Vigil by Anne Perry Page A

then he will do anything to come by it—but he will take great care that none of his friends know.”
    For a moment she forgot the toast and jam.
    â€œSomeone put it there for him, in the casket,” Balthasar went on. “And he waited out of sight, to dart out and pick it up when they were gone. Only this time Alf came by before he could do that. Continue with your tea, Gracie. We have business to do when we are finished.”
    â€œWe ’ave?” But she obeyed and reached for the mug.
    â€œWe have a little more thinking to do first.” He smiled bleakly. “I would tell you to go home, because I believe this will be dangerous, but I do not trust that you would obey. I would rather have you with me, where I can see you, than following after me and I don’t know where you are and cannot protect you. But you must promise to do as Isay, or we may both be in great danger, and Minnie Maude even more so.”
    â€œI promise,” she agreed instantly, her heart pounding, her mouth dry.
    â€œGood. Now let us consider what else we know, or may deduce.”
    â€œWot?”
    He half-concealed a smile. “I apologize—what we may work out as being true, because of what we already know. Would you like another piece of toast? There is sufficient time. Before we do anything, we must be certain that we have considered it all, and weighed every possibility. Do you not agree?”
    â€œYeah. An’ … an’ I’d like another piece o’ toast, if you please.”
    â€œCertainly.” He stood up quite solemnly and cut two more slices of bread and placed them before the open door of the oven. “Now, let us consider what else has happened, and what it means. Alf had the casket at the time he spoke to the chestnutman—Cob, I believe you called him? If we know the route that Mr. Quick normally took, then we know what the reverse of it would be, with some amendments for traffic. Hence we know where Alf is most likely to have gone next. And we know where his body was found.”
    â€œYeah, but it don’t fit in, cos ’oo’s blood is it on the stable floor? An’ ’oo fought there an’ bashed up the wall? An’ why’d ’e take Charlie an’ the cart as well?” She drew in her breath. “An’ if ’e killed Alf an’ took the casket, wot’s ’e still looking for? That’s stupid. If I done summink wrong, I don’t go makin’ a noise all over the place. I keep me ’ead down.” She colored with shame as she said it, but right then the truth was more important than pride.
    â€œYou have several good points, Gracie,” Mr. Balthasar agreed. “All of which we need to address.” He turned the toast over and filled her mug with fresh, hot tea.
    â€œThank you,” she acknowledged. The heat wasspreading through her now, and she looked forward to more toast and jam. She began to realize just how cold she had been.
    â€œI think it is clear,” he continued, sitting down again, “that the toff does not have the casket, or at the very least, he does not have whatever was inside it. If he did, he would not only, as you say, keep his head down, he would be enjoying the illicit pleasures of his purchase.”
    She did not know what “illicit” meant, but she could guess.
    â€œSo where is it, then? ’Oo’s got it?” she asked.
    â€œI think we must assume that Alf did something with it between speaking to Cob and meeting whoever killed him presumably the toff. Unless, of course, it was not the toff who killed him but someone else. Although to me that seems rather to be complicating things. We already have one unknown person …”
    â€œWe ’ave? ’Oo?”
    â€œWhoever passed that way just before Alf, andleft the casket,” he replied. “Have you any idea who that could be?”
    She felt his eyes on her, as if he could