Jackaby

Abigail wakes and briefly thinks she’s back home in England. She reorients herself in her crowded guest room. Finding her day dress missing, she wears a fancy evening gown instead. In his laboratory, Jackaby is cooking breakfast. He tells Abigail that Jenny washed her dress; he suggests asking Douglas if there are any spare ladies’ clothes around. When Douglas leads her to a chest of clothes, Abigail finds the dresses too small and old-fashioned. Jenny appears, and she and Abigail talk about Abigail’s home life. Jenny gives Abigail her old clothes instead. She tells Abigail that when she was alive, she was studying science alongside her fiancé. When Abigail questions further, Jenny remains silent.

She and Douglas depart as Abigail tries on the new clothes. As she returns downstairs, Charlie arrives at the door. He tells them Henderson has been killed despite Charlie having stood outside the apartment all night. He encourages them to examine the scene. Jackaby wants to have breakfast first, but the breakfast he’d been preparing explodes. He elects to leave straight away.

Back at the apartment building, Charlie, Jackaby, and Abigail pass a crowd of policemen. Charlie explains the events of the previous night: He told Marlowe he believed Henderson had information about the killer and should be protected, but Commissioner Swift arrived, and Marlowe refused. However, Charlie returned to the apartment in secret. He could hear Henderson using the tuning fork throughout the night. Later, he heard a clinking sound in the hallway. When he returned to Henderson’s door, he heard only silence inside. He broke in and discovered Henderson dead. The killer had already escaped.

Marlowe meets them at the apartment and demands an explanation. He tells them Charlie retrieved them on his orders. They examine the crime scene, which is much bloodier than the previous one. Jackaby and Marlowe discuss the murders; Jackaby deduces that the killer mopped up some of the blood during his escape. The police could not follow the trail, and Charlie wasn’t with them at the time because he was locked up. Jackaby realizes that he was summoned so the police could search his house. Marlowe arrests Jackaby and Abigail. Mona accosts them as they’re taken away and accuses Jackaby of lying about Mrs. Morrigan. Contrary to his promise, Mrs. Morrigan’s seizure has continued and grown much worse. Jackaby realizes that means more death is coming.

Abigail and Jackaby sit in prison. The police have taken Jackaby’s hat and coat. Abigail reflects on the surprising banality of the jail. Jackaby tells Abigail he thinks the killer is a police officer. Abigail remembers claw marks on Henderson’s door and wonders if Charlie lied to them. Marlowe arrives and shows them the map taken from Jackaby’s house. He brings Jackaby out for questioning. After he leaves, Abigail attempts to make conversation with the officer standing guard.

Jackaby returns, and Abigail is summoned out. She sits in an interrogation room with Marlowe, who asks her about her arrival in New Fiddleham and her relationship with Jackaby. Abigail is intimidated but stands up for her employer. Marlowe confronts her about Bragg’s map, so Abigail tells him all about their adventure so far. Swift arrives and breaks up the interrogation. He tells Marlowe to keep Abigail and Jackaby locked up until the case is solved.

Abigail is returned to her cell and confesses that it’s “refreshing to be mistreated equally” (188). As they settle into their cells, they realize they can hear the sound of the banshee’s scream.

They listen to the banshee and contemplate their impending deaths. Charlie arrives looking exhausted and ill. He tells them he can hear the banshee’s wail too. Jackaby asks Charlie if he’s in control of himself, and Charlie realizes Jackaby knows his secret. Marlowe arrives and summons Charlie to join him. As they leave, Jackaby points out the people around them; everyone in the prison can hear the banshee.

Abigail wants to warn the others, but Jackaby tells her it’s kinder to let them die in ignorance. The banshee’s song grows more powerful until they can’t hear anything else. Just as Abigail prepares to die, the wailing stops. She and Jackaby are surprised to find they’re not dead. As they begin to celebrate, they hear Mona’s scream. Jackaby attempts to talk his way out of prison, but they remain there until Charlie arrives and tells them Mrs. Morrigan has been killed. Jackaby and Abigail are released.