If he'd run after her immediately, he might have seen the direction she took, but he'd stayed with me to see if I was all right. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be sorry about that.
"Who do you think she stole the book for?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Who knows? Her brother, a friend, or just because she liked the look of it and thought it would fetch a good price. Whoever it was, there's a good chance they were the ones who cursed the amulet, or will know who did. We have to find them."
I nodded. "I'm not sure if our research can help us there though. George and I learned that the demon was well known to gypsies across Europe. They used to summon it then direct it to destroy their enemies, or the horses of their enemies."
"So we can strike gypsies off our list of suspects."
"Why?"
"Gypsies pass down their customs through the generations by word of mouth. They won't need a book to tell them how to summon a shape-shifting demon."
The street grew busier as we drew closer to the Kings Road precinct so we strolled in silence although my mind was in turmoil. I was still a little shaken by the incident with Maree, and even more shaken by the knowledge that someone was directing a demon based on whatever knowledge they could gain from one book.
But there was something even more troubling. No, not troubling as such, but it occupied my thoughts almost to the exclusion of all else. "George told me about your family," I said to Jacob eventually. We were only a block away from my house and I didn't know when we'd have a chance to speak so openly to one another again. I'd expected Jacob to disappear and let me walk home alone but he'd remained by my side the entire time. Was he still worried about the incident with Maree? Did he expect me to faint out of fright at any moment?
He said nothing, so I went on. "Not that George knew much, but he did tell me they're very...distressed about your death because your body was never found, you see, so they can't have peace." I was rambling, the words tumbling out of my mouth without me thinking them through first. I was afraid that if I did think about them, I wouldn't say anything, and I desperately wanted to broach the topic with Jacob. It seemed vital somehow, but to whom, I wasn't sure. Him? Or me? Or his family?
"That isn't your concern, Emily," he said, striding ahead. I had to walk fast to keep up with him. His legs were very long.