As I stare, a prickle on the back of my neck has me scanning the crowd. I meet eyes. Male eyes, many angry, as if affronted at my presence here, front and center. That would include most of the other officers, unfortunately.
Get used to it, boys. The women at your crime scenes won’t always be lying on the ground with their throats slit.
The driver gets as far as he can, then hops down to open the door, as if for royalty. I’m surprised the poor guy isn’t expected to bow.
A man climbs out of the coach. The doctor’s assistant or intern. He’s in his late twenties, lanky and red-haired. He pulls out his boss’s black medical bag. Then he shuts the door and strides toward us.
“McCreadie,” he calls in a voice far too deep and hearty for his youth.
“Dr. Addington.”
I squint against the sun, thinking I must be wrong about his age, but myfirst impression doesn’t change as he grows closer. He’s ruddy-cheeked, with an unlined face that says he probably hasn’t passed his thirtieth birthday.
“Gray!” he calls. “What ever are you doing here?”
There’s no malice in his tone. No sarcasm either. His voice warms with the genuine affection of a man greeting an esteemed colleague.
“I heard of the death and thought it a rare opportunity to observe a murder victim in situ.”
“Excellent idea.” He claps Gray on the arm, and here a touch of condescension tinges Addington’s voice. “Now my question, McCreadie, is why someone didn’t come to tell me Dr. Gray was on the scene, so I didn’t need to come.”
“As you are the city’s police surgeon, sir, I am required to summon you. Also, I thought, like Duncan, you might wish to see the body, as he says, in situ.”
“What ever for?” Addington peers over at the woman’s body. “If you would like my opinion, Detective, the poor lady is quite dead.” He laughs at his own joke. “Dr. Gray may never have practiced medicine, but even he can tell you that.”
Gray stiffens. And there it is. The reason for Addington’s mild condescension. He is a “proper” doctor, and Gray is not.
“You still ought to have sent someone to tell me Dr. Gray is here,” Addington chides McCreadie. “I was in the midst of seeing a patient when your messenger arrived. How much more convenient for me to finish that up and have a cup of tea before strolling down to Dr. Gray’s house to conduct the examination.”
“Your convenience is my utmost concern, Dr. Addington,” McCreadie says.
Addington slaps him on the arm. “There’s a good chap. Now let’s see if you can clear this mess away so my coach may pass through, and with any luck, I can flee this wretched place before the stench ruins this suit forever.”
He turns to Gray. “Would you be a good chap and deliver her to your examination room?”
“Is that where you want her?” McCreadie says. “At Dr. Gray’s and not in the police office dead room?”
Addington shivers. “Why ever would I wish to examine herthere?Dr. Gray’s offices are so much better supplied and so much more convivial. We have this arrangement for a reason, McCreadie.”
“I am only making certain,” McCreadie murmurs. “So I might convey your decision to my superiors, who are of the opinion that this case may be different.”
“How? She’s dead. Murdered. Nothingdifferentin that. I shall await her at Dr. Gray’s offices.”
So this is how Gray gets away with examining bodies. They have an arrangement with Addington, who lives in the New Town and wants the prestige of being the police surgeon but not the inconvenience of carrying out autopsies in an actual police station. Cleverly done.
“Dr. Addington,” Gray says as the other man begins returning to his coach. “Might I beg your indulgence in allowing me to examine the body at the scene. For my studies.”
“Of course, of course. She’s not going anywhere, is she? Just move her out of the way so my coach can pass.”
Gray opens his mouth to argue, but Addington plows on, “Then I’ll nip by your house in, say an hour? Oh, and as I have missed my morning tea, could you please have your housekeeper fix me a tray? And if you could have that delightful little maid of yours bring it by, I would be most obliged.” He winks at Gray. “I haven’t seen her in a while, and I miss the sight of that delectable girl.”
He strides away, whistling, without waiting for a response.
“Please tell me he wasn’t talking about Alice,” I say.
McCreadie snorts a laugh. “No, thankfully. He meant you.”
“He failed to see me standing right here?”
“Dr. Addington fails to see anything he doesn’t want to see. Including, half the time, the proper cause of death.” McCreadie slants a glance at me. “Before you ask, he has not been in his position long. The former police surgeon was an excellent fellow, very deserving of the office. But he retired, and Dr. Addington has connections that saw him elected despite his incompetence. However, it does allow us to take advantage.”
I turn to Gray, but he’s already at the body, where she’s been moved to let Addington pass.
McCreadie winks. “Time for our not-a-lesson to resume.”