Final Sale (Book 3, the Night Shift series)

Chapter One

Daniel

Daniel had been following the women nearly half an hour. The trees in the park were still covered in buds, the leaves not yet matured. The sun was out, but the chill in the wind made him wish he had gloves.

"Terrifying to imagine it could happen so quickly." The woman's coat reached past her knees to black stockings and modest shoes. The wheels of the pram crunched along the gravel path.

"But is the doctor sure?" asked the second woman, similarly dressed with a baby carriage of her own. "They didn't find him right away. He could have been choked by an intruder or scared to death at the sight of a ghost." Her voice took on an anticipatory tone. "Strange things happen during full moons."

The first woman laughed. "Flo, you're a scream. What happened to old Mr. Simpson was the flu. Plain and simple." She turned to her friend and scrunched up her nose. "But yes, he was found days after he died. Stench was something awful, they say."

"My lady says it was Spanish Influenza that took him down. She ordered the maid soak all the baby clothes in bleach because Mr. Simpson had delivered the weekly order from the butcher to the house only three days before he took sick."

The first nanny turned to her friend and nodded solemnly.

Daniel squinted at her profile. The voice was completely wrong, but the complexion and curve of her chin was so like Mary's.

He continued walking behind them, slowly increasing his speed so he could eavesdrop some more. He was supposed to be making his way to the theatre, but earlier this girl had crossed his path pushing the baby carriage and Daniel had been so sure it was Mary.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you—" Her smile disappeared when she caught Daniel staring.

He dropped his gaze to the ground, suddenly self-conscious of his appearance. The pea coat, although not exactly fashionable for the early twentieth century, was plain enough for him to blend in, but the eyepatch was a menacing touch. He brought up his right hand and pulled down his wool cap, trying to hide his face. 

"Come along, Flo," the first nanny urged. "Strange things happen in broad daylight as well."

Daniel kept his focus on the pathway. The hurried sound of the pram's wheels grew faint as the nannies made haste, disappearing around the nearest corner. Their hushed gossip made his ears burn and heart ache.

Since the fire he'd only seen Mary in his dreams, but here in the past, she was everywhere; a small shoulder just out of reach, a long wave of brown hair under a hat, the hint of a smile behind a gloved hand.

He'd fooled himself into thinking it would be that easy to find her. And if it had been Mary, his logic interrupted, what was he supposed to say?

His earlier optimism was waning as a heaviness settled on his shoulders. He shivered despite the afternoon sun. Daniel glanced around; blossoms were opening, robins were making nests, and blades of bright green were poking through the brownish landscape of the park.

Spring was coming.

Daniel laughed bitterly to himself. "See what's coming up this spring at Willard's," he said.

Willard's. James D. Willard, Esq.

Blinking hard, he tried to focus his attention on orientating himself. His brain felt fuzzy. The edges of the world began to blur. "You're not dreaming," he whispered, coaxing himself on.

He was wasting time.

Time.

How much did he have? A week? One day? One hour?