She works her way on all fours across the remains of the upper floor. There’s definitely something unusual about the way things have burned, though she’s not enough of an expert to work out what it might be. The body-shaped shine in the office is floating in mid air, not apparently anchored to anything physical; going by the outline, it’s certainly a human figure lying down, and from the size probably male. There’s no trace of anyone else in the room. Looking through the ash, Lin Tan thinks there might have been something roughly briefcase-sized removed from the scene after the fire. There was one large window, with a view of the Locomotive Works, but it doesn’t seem like an obvious means of ingress, with just a flat brick wall outside.

Back downstairs, there’s not much more to find; a small administrative space behind the front desk seems as though it may have had books or files removed, though that might just be because of the firefighting. Lin Tan grabs some of the textbooks in case they’re useful, and hears a policemanly voice outside…

…where Gertrude and Milly explain that they’re on their way to Milly’s nephew who’s been taken poorly; the policeman seems happy enough with that, but insists on seeing them to the door, and even embarrassing him doesn’t work. They do persuade him not to come right up to the door with them (people in this area are unaccountably unhappy to see the police), and Gertrude has a ten-shilling note in her hand when a very large man answers the knock on his back door. Once he realises the situation, he’s happy to let them sit for half an hour until the constable’s on his way (and Milly leaves her card in case friends of his need some free doctoring with no questions asked).

Lin Tan waited for the policeman to move off, didn’t find the others, and headed back to Milly’s; everyone gets there around three. They bring each other up to date, then get some sleep.

Later in the day, Audrey, Gertrude and Milly visit Kennedy-Cox’s flat off Sloane Square; the valet says something about a sudden extended trip, but they can see that he’s not sure whether his salary is continuing; he does let slip that the police have already spoken with him.

Gertrude goes to the bookshop and writes a report on findings so far, and after some delay speaks with Miss Allen; as far as the police are concerned, nobody’s missing.

Milly and Audrey go back to the Canning Town settlement, where the same young man is on the desk; the Settlement Board has taken over the day-to-day administration, and the police are now saying that no body was found. As far as he knows Sir Reginald had little private life; certainly he had— has— a habit of turning up suddenly at unexpected times. Audrey prods him into asking some questions, suggesting that if he doesn’t nobody will ever find out what’s happened.