Miss Charlotte’s Case Journal - Chapter 14

It was still the dark hours of dawn. Henry put on his hat and stepped out of the Metropolitan Police Department. He yawned once, tapped his cane lightly against the ground, and stretched his stiff shoulders with a small motion. Then, as he waited for the carriage that hadn’t yet arrived, he fell into thought.

Last night, after getting off the train, he barely managed to persuade Charlotte, who insisted she could go on her own, to ride the carriage with him. They hadn’t spoken much during the ride, but at least he’d gotten her home safely. Letting a lady travel alone at that hour would’ve been unthinkable. Henry nodded to himself and let out a deep sigh.

He’d sensed something suspicious in Charlotte’s demeanor yesterday. After meeting the baroness, she had acted like someone hiding something. It was completely different from how she’d confidently voiced her opinions about the case in his office earlier that day.

What was she hiding? Henry’s fingers clicked together as he thought. He could’ve questioned her right there on the train, but instead, he chose to remain silent. She’d tell him when the time was right. They’d only met the day before, but he could already tell she was an honest and sincere person.

Quite different from the rumors. Henry smirked and nodded. The youngest daughter of the famous Robern family. The social outcast. He’d heard all about how the Robern sons constantly fretted over their sister’s scandalous behavior. The Charlotte Robern described by gossip was eccentric, arrogant, rude, and utterly lacking in refinement as a lady. But the Charlotte Robern he’d spoken with in person was cheerful, considerate, and remarkably intelligent.

Rumors really couldn’t be trusted. Henry exhaled a low sigh.

The sound of carriage wheels echoed from the alleyway. He lifted his head mid-yawn, his eyes watering slightly and blurring his vision. A dark figure was approaching.

Grab.

“Ah!”

Henry flinched when someone suddenly seized his arm, taking a startled step back. The shadowed figure stiffened at his reaction and spoke in a curt tone.

“Why are you so jumpy?”

“…Miss Charlotte?”

Wiping his eyes quickly, Henry blinked his vision clear. Charlotte stood in front of him, pouting slightly.

“What are you doing here?”

“You’re going to the Bisset Pharmacy we talked about yesterday, right?”

“Yes, but….”

“Let’s go together. I finished everything last night.”

Henry was momentarily at a loss for words. The reason he’d told her to stay behind yesterday wasn’t only because of the absurd amount of paperwork but also because of how strangely she’d been acting. From the moment they’d left Baron Turobe’s mansion, she had grown quiet, avoided his eyes, and fidgeted restlessly with her hands—just like someone with something to hide.

Of course, Henry had believed she would tell him everything soon enough, but accompanying someone like that to an investigation site was a different matter entirely. Yesterday, they’d gone together to the Bisset Pharmacy by circumstance, but he’d planned to have her wait in the carriage while he questioned the pharmacist. If she protested, he’d intended to say she’d already helped enough by assisting in the interrogations of Baroness Turobe and Sir Lau. But today, it didn’t seem like he could find any excuse to send her away.

This was going to be troublesome.

However, whether Henry found it troublesome or not, Charlotte had no choice but to follow him. She needed to dig into every suspicious thing she had found about her friend yesterday and reach a conclusion, one way or another. Only then could she shake off this unease. Then she’d know what to do next. The bag holding the syringe suddenly felt as heavy as lead.

To do that, Charlotte had returned to the morgue last night after arriving at her mansion, washing up, and changing her clothes. She had stayed up all night finishing every bit of work assigned to her. Afterward, she’d left a note on Eugene’s desk—a detailed explanation saying she wouldn’t be coming in that day for various reasons—then dozed off on a bench by the lobby window. Even as she nodded off, she occasionally opened her eyes to check outside. The moment she saw Henry’s figure appear under the faint glow of the streetlamp, she rushed out without hesitation.

Before long, a carriage pulled up in front of the two. Charlotte opened the door first, climbed inside, and placed her bag on her lap. Then she looked at Henry and gestured for him to hurry and get in.

Henry had no choice but to follow. He figured it was better to depart quickly and not waste time arguing, lest they miss the train. Instead, he decided to give her a brief warning.

When the carriage arrived at the station, Henry stopped Charlotte’s hand just as she was about to open the door.

“Miss Charlotte, I won’t question you right now about what you discussed with the baroness yesterday.”

Charlotte’s pale eyes widened. Henry tightened his grip. Her slender fingers turned white and cold as ice in his grasp.

“I trust that you’ll tell me everything soon enough. And I believe you won’t turn away from what you must do, for the nation and for the public good.”

Charlotte bit her lip for a moment. Then, her eyes gradually calmed.

“Yes, Inspector. I won’t neglect my duty.”

“That’s enough, then.”

Henry smiled faintly, released her hand, and opened the carriage door. Stepping down first, he extended his hand toward her. Charlotte took it firmly.

***

“Ah, yes. That’s right. The knight from that household came here once a month to buy medicine.”

The pharmacist, Bisset, explained that Sir Lau had always come alone, except this month when a maid accompanied him. His statement matched what Sir Lau, Lucy, and Miss May had all said.

“What kind of medicine did he usually buy?”

“Nothing unusual. Mostly headache medicine and painkillers.”

Bisset rummaged through the drawers of a shelf lined with small compartments and pulled out several medicines. Charlotte studied them carefully. They were all oral medicines and ointments. None required the use of a syringe.

“Is this all?”

“These were what he usually bought.”

Henry picked up each medicine one by one, examining them closely, but he found nothing suspicious.

The bell above the pharmacy door jingled as it opened, and a woman in a robe stepped inside. Seeing the small shop already filled with people, she flinched in surprise and took a step back. But when the owner waved her in enthusiastically, she hesitantly moved forward.

“Welcome, Madam Smith.”

The owner greeted her warmly, pulling open one of the drawers from the shelf. Henry and Charlotte stepped back slightly, speaking in low voices as they watched.

“Looks like there’s nothing more we can learn here, aside from confirming that those three weren’t lying.”

Charlotte couldn’t immediately agree with Henry’s words. They still hadn’t identified the medicine used with the syringe. If it wasn’t purchased here, then where had it come from? Where should they start tracing it?

As she pondered deeply, Charlotte’s gaze caught the pharmacist taking out all the medicine from the drawer and placing them into a paper bag. He took the customer’s money, handed over the bag, then, after sending her off, refilled the drawer with the same medicine and slid it back into the shelf.

“What’s that?”

“Pardon?”

Charlotte strode toward the shelf. A small nameplate was attached to the corner of the drawer.

As she brushed her hand over it, the pharmacist gave an awkward smile.

“All the common medicines are pretty much the same, and customers usually ask for the same things… so I just prepare them in advance like this.”

“Then why didn’t you show us all the drawers earlier?”

He’d shown the entire drawer to Madam Smith just now, yet when it came to them, he’d only picked out the medicines one by one. Why?

Charlotte reached toward the drawer labeled “Turobe.” The pharmacist hurried to stop her, but she was faster. Something rolled with a dull clink inside.

Charlotte slowly lifted them out. A transparent ampoule bottle, small enough to fit her index finger, and a syringe.

“Ah, that, um….”

Henry took the ampoule from Charlotte’s hand and held it up to the lamp light. The pharmacist fidgeted anxiously, watching them both.

Charlotte pulled out the syringe she’d kept deep in her bag and compared the two. The design, the needle’s size, and even the manufacturer’s mark stamped near the corner were all identical.

She whispered to Henry, “I found this one yesterday, among the trash from the Turobe mansion. They appear to be the same product.”

Henry rolled the ampoule slowly in his palm. “So this was something the Turobe family bought regularly?”

“Well, that is to say….”

Sweat trickled down the pharmacist’s forehead. He glanced nervously at the two identical syringes in Charlotte’s hands, then shut his eyes tightly before answering.

“Yes… they were purchased together.”

Henry frowned. The pharmacist quickly began to stammer out excuses.

“I-I didn’t hide it on purpose! It’s just that… well, you see, that medicine is rather embarrassing to talk about. People usually buy such things discreetly, and if rumors spread that I’ve been blabbing about them, how could I keep my business open?”