He stopped breathing.
Fenwick asked whether her sister remained obedient.
Richard laughed.
“Catherine believes what she is told.”
The remark reached Daniel through the wall with terrible clarity.
Then Fenwick said something Daniel would remember forever.
“The sister is still costing us money.”
Richard’s chair scraped.
“Lower your voice.”
Daniel resumed planing the door, making enough noise to hide his attention.
If Margaret was dead, she could not cost anyone money except through an estate.
Yet the conversation sounded as though she could still refuse a demand.
The office door opened suddenly.
Daniel kept working.
Richard stood beside him.
“Finish that hinge, then wait outside.”
“Yes, sir.”
The colonel studied the wood shavings.
“Have you seen anyone here?”
“Only the people who came with us.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“Good.”
After he left, Daniel noticed a narrow gap between the floorboards near the partition.
A folded scrap had been forced beneath it from the other side.
He retrieved it while reaching for a nail.
Three words were written in hurried ink.
“Ask for Eliza.”
He did not know who had written them.
He did not know whether they were bait.
He memorized the message and burned the scrap in a candle flame.
Outside, a young stablehand was watering horses.
Daniel asked whether anyone named Eliza lived nearby.
The boy looked over his shoulder.
“There’s an old woman at the tollhouse.”
“Is she alone?”
“Not always.”
The boy’s eyes moved toward the warehouse.
“People say she keeps accounts for folks who can’t pay.”
Daniel thanked him and returned to the carriage.
Richard and Fenwick emerged from the office carrying the wrapped ledger.
They spoke cheerfully about weather and tobacco prices.
Daniel wondered how many people had been made to disappear while those men discussed ordinary things.
He left Bell Crossing with one new name and a certainty he had not possessed before.
Margaret’s story was not finished.
Chapter 15: Eliza’s Inventory
Eliza Reed lived in a narrow brick cottage beside the abandoned tollhouse.
She had once worked as a clerk for a shipping company, but age and an injured hand had ended her employment.
Now she kept a small garden and repaired hats for travelers.
Daniel found a reason to return to Bell Crossing three days later when Richard sent him to retrieve an iron fitting from the warehouse.
He waited until the business agent stepped outside, then crossed the road to the cottage.
Eliza opened the door only far enough to see him.
