“Are you the man who brings the bodies here?”
Helsaw nodded. “That I am.”
Will stepped closer into the bright lamplight. “Have you ever seen me before?”
Helsaw narrowed his eyes in thought. “Should I?”
“My identical twin brother died and was brought through here. We were estranged, and I have been searching for him for years. I tracked him down through Miss Frankenstein, and now I seek your records so I can bring the information back to our family, and to connect with his.”
Angelika was wordless with admiration of his quick mind, his rock-steady nerves, and the way the moonlight cut a shadow under his cheekbone and jaw. She could happily remain with her hand tucked into his bent arm for the rest of her life.
“A twin. I’ve heard of those, never seen one.” Helsaw thought over this explanation with one eye squinted shut. “I don’t go looking at the faces. I don’t keep records. I can’t even read. This is where the poor come through,” he explained patronizingly. “Your brother, if he was a gentleman, would have been held at his local church. These are working men.”
Will had truly expected a ledger of some sort to be produced. “You know nothing of where you collect each dead soul?”
“It was a day after the collapse of the mine shaft,” Angelika said to jog the man’s memory. “I checked through the newspapers.”
“Good thought. You’re so clever,” Will praised her, with a glow in his eyes that made her swell with pride.
Helsaw coughed and spat, spoiling the moment. “I didn’t get any out of that mine. They just filled the hole in. But it does help me remember the time,” he added as Angelika moved to put her coin back in her pocket. “There was a bunch of boys all died, up at Dunmore. Sometimes I wonder what they do up there,” he added conspiratorially.
For Will’s benefit, Angelika pointed in the general direction. “Dunmore Military Academy. I don’t know what they do, except march around, looking handsome in their uniforms.”
“They train, so they don’t lose the next war,” Helsaw clarified witheringly. “And they sometimes have gunpowder explosions.”
“Angelika said my brother’s body was completely mangled.” Will winced for himself now. “Would that fit the theory he came from the academy?”
“The Frankensteins are my premium buyers. They’d have just moved on to the next table if he was too bad. I bury the real damaged goods.”
“And would any of the bodies be wearing jewelry?” Will asked.
“Oh, sure, good sir. We dress our corpses with the finest gold and gemstones. Jewelry!” Helsaw looked at Angelika with eyes full of mirth. “Your new friend is not from around here, is he?”
“He’s rather naive,” she agreed acidly. “Well, we’ve taken up enough of your time. I might go down just to see if there’s anyone I can’t live without.” The doors were folded outward and blackness was all that could be seen. “I’m after someone exceptionally handsome for my research.”
“Of course,” Helsaw simpered as she gave him his payment; enough to feed his family for weeks. “I could even home-deliver, for a small amount more. Watch your skirts down the far end, but you know that. Floor gets wet,” he explained offhand to an appalled Will. “Take my lantern, my dear Miss Frankenstein.”
“Are you coming?” Angelika said to Will, who looked like he was about to mount his horse and kick it into a gallop. She thought of her bold brother and decided to impress Will with her bravery. She stepped in without expecting him to follow, but he did. He was breathing fast.
“Angelika,” he gasped in horror as she raised the lantern high. “This is something from a nightmare.”
She saw it through his eyes and had to agree. Without Victor’s brash apple-chewing presence, it seemed far worse. There were rows of motionless bodies stretched out on tables around them, and rats were at the edges of her vision. Fear began to tighten her limbs, until she could hardly take a step.
“I’ll be quick,” she told Will, but her eyes were unseeing as she went to the first table. There was no other face she could be interested in when Will stood behind her so close. When his hands slid around her waist, her grip on the lantern shook.
“Don’t let the candle burn out,” Will cried in terror, clinging to her. “Don’t leave me here.”
She put her hand over his and squeezed. “Haven’t I already proved that I will never leave you here?”