[Letter from Retif de Vincennes, to his wife, Régine, 16 July 1736] A footman brought me a note from Bedwalters. It was short and sounded dispirited. He’d found plenty of evidence of the killer’s petty theft, of his taste in fine clothes; he’d found someone who’d lost money to him at cards and was convinced he’d cheated. But there was no sign of the fellow in town at the moment. Of course there wasn’t, I thought; he was hanging around Long End in the hope of getting the book from me. I needed to get back to Newcastle and look at that book. Every answer must lie in its pages. But simply to ride off would have two undesirable effects: firstly, it would result in Alyson dismissing me – and I was still determined on payment for my work – and secondly, the murderer or his accomplice would follow me back to town. Or, worse, one would follow me, the other would stay within reach of Esther. Whatever I did, I had to take Esther with me, to watch over her safety.
