“Thank you, Lady Rose,” Tarrance said as he took a sip.
“Of course, Mr. Bolds,” she said. She stepped back, a few steps away from the Specter, but she, too, was listening intently. “Please, go ahead.”
The man nodded.
“Well, in truth, I was asleep at around the time he is usually expected to return home from the theater,” James’s father said. “In fact, I slept until almost 10 o’clock. I went to see if he had retired for the night, but his room and bed were empty.”
The man’s hand began to tremble, and Rose moved forward to place her hand on his. She gave him a patient, reassuring smile.
“Take your time, Mr. Bolds,” she said.
Tarrance cleared his throat, then gave a nod of his head.
“I thought it unusual that he would be out so late, but in truth, my first reaction was not one of grave concern,” the man continued. “I thought, perhaps, he had been needed to work a bit later, or that he had simply stayed to visit with some of his friends here. I am ashamed to admit it, but even with my son not at home that late at night, I felt too unwell to begin searching for him right away. Instead, I went back to bed to rest awhile. As it got nearer to midnight, I began to grow somewhat concerned, and then set out to look for him. I went from home to home, establishment to establishment, any place I could think where he might be. I searched everywhere, into the Early morning hours.”
Tarrance took another drink of the water, and Daniel saw that his eyes were tearing up. The feeling of dread in Daniel’s stomach was spreading with each passing second, and he had to will himself to remain calm. The search for James could not begin until he knew where to start looking.
“I should have continued looking,” Tarrance said. “But I was so ill and weary that I had to go home and rest for a little while.”
“Mr. Bolds,” said Rose. “Surely, you are not blaming yourself.”
The man looked up, into both Rose and Daniel’s faces. His lip was trembling, and he was fumbling with his coat for something.
“Perhaps, I am,” James’s father said. “Or, at least, perhaps, I should.” He continued wrestling with a button on his coat, nearly dropping his water glass. Rose swooped in and gently took it from him just as it began to tilt in his hand. The elderly man gave her a small, sheepish smile as he worked with both hands to unfasten the button. Once he had done so, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out something that made Daniel’s heart stop. “After my rest, just before I came here, I found this outside on my porch.” He began coughing again, much more haggardly this time, as Daniel took what the man was holding out to him. Even as he turned it over in his hands, Daniel could hardly believe what he was seeing. Another of these letters…
Daniel pulled open the red envelop that was identical to the ones that Allison and Lord Roxbough had received. He had to take a few deep breaths to steady his own trembling hands as he retrieved the letter and began to read it.
Surprise, Specter. I have young James, and you and your little pet Rose have precious little time to find him, before it is too late. I suggest that you hurry. And, yes, I do mean the both of you.
Daniel looked wildly around the theater, as though he might catch a glimpse of some madman dragging James through the theater. Panic gripped him, and he frantically tried to come up with a plan to begin searching for the boy.
Rose approached him so silently that she startled him when he felt her brush his hand. He started and looked down to see that she was gently holding on to the letter. Reluctantly, he let her read it, and he instantly regretted it. The color drained from her face, and for a moment, he feared that she would faint.
“We should start by asking if anyone here saw him after we were done for the evening last night,” she said, with a surprising amount of strength in her voice, given her current visage. “The last of us to see him before he left will likely be our biggest clue.”
Daniel forced himself to calm down and try to think more clearly.
“Yes, of course,” Daniel said.
“I shall go speak with the ladies here,” Rose began.
“And I will talk with the gentlemen,” Daniel finished for her.
Rose nodded and set off to speak to the nearest cluster of women.
Daniel and Rose spent over an hour speaking with every person in the theater, cast members and theater employees alike. Many of them could not remember specifically seeing James, and others could only recall a nod or wave from him Earlier in the day. A few, however, were James’s friends, and Daniel was able to garner a bit more information from them. Unfortunately, what he learned made him more unsettled than ever before.
When he completed his questioning, he went in search of Rose, nearly bumping right into her as he scanned the ever-growing crowd surrounding Tarrance Bolds.
“Please, tell me that you have better news than I,” Daniel said.
Rose looked at him, her eyes wider than he could ever recall seeing them.
“From every account so far, none of the women remember seeing James much, if at all, yesterday,” Rose said. “I saw him, myself, but only for a moment. So, he was certainly here.”
Daniel felt his blood ran cold.
“That is very troubling,” he said.
Rose looked at him, her entire body tensing.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I spoke with some friends of his,” Daniel said, forcing the words to come out of his mouth. “They said that they always ride home together. But they waited for two extra hours for James, long after there was no one else here but them, and James never came.”
Rose put her hand on her chest and bit her lip.
“Then, that could only mean…” she said, her voice trailing off helplessly.
“That James likely never left the theater at all,” Daniel said, nodding gravely. “Do you know of any places where someone could hide and go completely unnoticed for hours, by everyone at the theater?”
Rose thought for a moment.
“Only the veranda, and the basement, where we store some things,” Rose said. “But James and his friends are the ones who double check those places and ensure that everything is clean and put away, and that everyone has gone before they leave.”
Daniel winced. He had been certain that those were the only places, too, because he knew that theater as well as Rose did. However, he knew that they could not risk a single oversight, and time was of the essence.
“Alright, everyone,” he said, praying that Rose would not be angry with him for taking charge in that moment. “May I have your attention, please?”
All conversation buzzing around the theater ceased at once, and every pair of eyes was locked straight on Daniel.