Chapter 95: Switching interest (3)
"Henry, you should take a look at this."
In a quiet area rarely frequented by the townspeople, the town guards gathered after receiving word that someone had been found dead near bushes.
Henry was not happy to hear there was yet another death in Lockwood since it would shake up the townspeople and send them into a panic.
Henry followed a fellow town guard to where the young woman had been found. "Heavens," he said, looking away from the young woman for a moment. "Is it anyone that we know? Anyone we have been searching for?"
"No," replied Felix, a town guard under Henry’s command. "I didn’t get any new reports of a young lady missing. She’s dressed up like she’s going to a ball. Doesn’t this remind you of something?"
Felix used a stick to push the young woman’s hair out of her face to reveal a mask.
Henry stooped down to get another look. "It’s like the young lady who died at the ball. I haven’t heard of any masquerade balls unless there is some secret meeting?’
"I have heard rumours of young ladies seeking out experienced women in the red light district to teach them how to please a man. They would cover their faces so as not to be recognised. Could this be tied to that?" Felix wondered.
"No," Henry shook his head. "This is something else. The death at the ball seemed to be calculated to get the attention of Duchess Alessandra Collins. This seems tied to that."