The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

While Grace keeps watch, Aiden and Cunningham rummage through Bell’s room. Cunningham explains that he has been working with Daniel Coleridge because he wants to prove that his father (Carver) didn’t actually kill Thomas Hardcastle, and he thinks that Stanwin has information about the true killer in his secrets. Aiden tells Cunningham about Stanwin’s claim that Lady Helena was the killer, and Cunningham is horrified because he has known for a long time that Lady Helena is his mother, and the two of them are close. However, according to Cunningham, Lady Helena has been acting strangely for about a year now. Aiden reflects that this timeline aligns with Michael’s report of Lady Helena finding something to do with clothes.

Aiden also asks Cunningham what Cunningham found out when he asked Alf Miller about the disappearance of Keith Parker. Cunningham had learned from a police officer that Carver’s guilt was less certain since the other little boy disappeared only a week earlier at a time when Carver was not at the estate (implying that maybe someone else killed both boys). However, given that Parker’s body was never found, nothing could be concluded. Aiden promises Cunningham that “we’re going to put this right” (328).

Aiden goes to the gatehouse to meet with Anna. He finds her in shock next to the dead body of Lord Peter. Aiden and Anna figure out that Lord Peter has been poisoned. A note placed in his pocket has been written by the murderer to implicate Evelyn, since “somebody wants us to believe this is Evelyn’s doing. The murderer’s trying to wrap it all up in a nice little bow” (334). Aiden sends Anna to tell Evelyn to come to the gatehouse under the guise of meeting with the butler.

Aiden waits for three hours, but neither Anna nor Evelyn comes. Aiden returns to Blackheath and goes to Evelyn’s room. He can’t find what he’s looking for, but he goes into Lady Helena’s adjoining room, and under her mattress, he finds the black revolver with one bullet missing, a vial of blood, and a syringe of liquid. He goes downstairs and finds Evelyn.

Aiden reveals to Evelyn that he has figured out that Evelyn intends to fake death by suicide, but that “unfortunately, somebody’s going to use that fake suicide to murder you” (339). Evelyn’s plan is elaborate and meticulous: In plain view of all the guests, she will appear to fire a shot into her stomach, simultaneously breaking a vial of blood. She will have taken a tranquilizer so that she will collapse; Doctor Dickie is in on the plan and will quickly cover up the body and sign off on the death certificate. When Evelyn demands to know how Aiden came up with the information, Aiden lies and tells her that Stanwin told him everything.

Evelyn admits that she was desperate to get out of the marriage to Ravencourt, and faking her death seemed to be the only way to do it. Aiden surprises Evelyn by telling her that he wants her to go through with her plan so that they can flush out the killer. Evelyn hesitates but decides to trust him.

Outside of the house, Aiden runs into the Plague Doctor and accuses him of conspiring with Daniel and leading the Footman to Anna. The Plague Doctor explains that he hasn’t been meeting with Daniel and that he will tell Aiden more later.

Aiden positions himself so that when Evelyn fires the false shot with Doctor Dickie’s silver pistol and collapses into the pool, he can be the first to grab her. When he hears the gunshot, Aiden is triggered by a sudden vague memory of a woman who is somehow tied up with how he came to be at Blackheath: “It’s so close. I can almost see another face, hear another plea. Another woman I failed to save, who I came to Blackheath to […] what?” (345).

The plan unfolds as Evelyn ingeniously set it up. Doctor Dickie confirms her death and then her body is covered up and taken to a quiet room in the house. Aiden has already hidden there, and he watches as Michael Hardcastle comes into the room. Michael knows that Evelyn hasn’t actually shot herself, and he now tries to shoot her in the stomach, but Aiden has tampered with Michael’s gun. When his gun doesn’t fire, Aiden comes out of hiding and confronts Michael.

Aiden has figured out why the change of guns was significant: Evelyn told Michael about her plan to fake her death by suicide, and Michael agreed to help by being the one to pull her out of the water (ensuring she had a few more moments for the sedative to take effect so that she would be unconscious and appear dead). However, Michael was going to take advantage of the moment to actually shoot her (using an identical gun), and thus cover up his murder. Aiden had Evelyn use a different gun (the silver one from Doctor Dickie, not the black one from Lady Helena), which led Michael to be suspicious and resort to coming to shoot his sister later on.

Michael explains why he was going to kill his sister: He has learned that Doctor Dickie was going to sell them out, and that after the whole plot, Evelyn was going to wake up forced to go through with the marriage after all. Michael preferred to kill his sister himself rather than see her face such a fate. However, Aiden confronts Michael about having killed Lord Peter: “I found his body, Michael. I know you poisoned him” (353). Before Michael can respond, he begins having a seizure due to poisoning. Aiden calls for help, noticing that Evelyn is now showing signs of the same poisoning.

Aiden realizes why he got the note telling him to procure specific drugs; he took those from Sebastian Bell earlier in the day. He hurriedly administers the drugs to Evelyn, and she seems to show signs of improvement. Since Aiden has only enough drugs for one, Michael dies. Evelyn faintly tells Aiden that Millicent Derby was murdered. Aiden is now infuriated to realize that the murder is still not completely solved, but before he can do more, the Footman appears and kills him. 

Aiden wakes up back in the body of Donald Davies. Two women found him passed out by the side of the road and have put him in a carriage with them. They are on their way back to Blackheath, and it is early enough that Aiden knows he might have a chance to find out if Michael is working with anyone else. Despite having been warned earlier not to get out of the carriage, he leaps out and heads to the stables to get a gun.

Once he has the shotgun, Aiden runs into Daniel, who urges him to come to the graveyard, where the Footman has Anna. Aiden reluctantly goes with Daniel, even though he knows he is losing the precious time he needs to try and get proof that Michael is the murderer. Once there, Aiden holds Daniel at gunpoint, revealing that he knows Daniel is not his future self, but a competitor in the game: “I followed this man into the graveyard, knowing that if I didn’t confront him, I’d always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to strike again” (362).

Aiden also accuses Daniel of conspiring with the Footman, but Daniel explains that the Footman is not a player in the game: He’s merely a violent man whom Daniel has paid to stalk and kill all of Aiden’s hosts. Daniel also has a henchman who now has Aiden at gunpoint.

Aiden is surprised when someone who looks like the Plague Doctor appears, but upon closer inspection, he realizes that this new individual (whom he nicknames Silver Tear) is a different person wearing a similar costume. Aiden thought he saw Daniel meeting with the Plague Doctor, but in reality, Daniel was meeting with Silver Tear. Silver Tear, like the Plague Doctor, also oversees the game, but he is concerned about the way that the Plague Doctor has helped Aiden and how close Anna is coming to actually solving the crime. The Plague Doctor joins them, and he and Silver Tear argue. They have superiors who have tasked them with supervising the complex game at Blackheath, and Silver Tear fears that the Plague Doctor is neglecting his responsibilities. Daniel and Silver Tear are insistent that Aiden tell them where Anna is so that they can ensure she doesn’t solve the murder.

Aiden persuades the Plague Doctor to leave, and Daniel prepares to torture Aiden into revealing Anna. Before he can begin, Grace, Lucy, and Stanwin’s thug appear, all armed. This turns the tables, making Daniel and Silver Tear nervous. Aiden tries to persuade Daniel to stand down, but he refuses and runs away. Aiden pursues Daniel through the woods, and the two men fight. Daniel attempts to drown Aiden in the lake; Aiden briefly regains consciousness to see that someone has hit Daniel on the head and killed him, but Aiden is too far gone and dies in the body of Donald Davies.

Aiden wakes up in the body of Gregory Gold. Aiden begins documenting all of the connections and information he has uncovered. The Plague Doctor comes and praises Aiden for solving the murder, telling Aiden that the next time he wakes up, he will be free. Aiden insists that he won’t leave without Anna. He also says that he had unfair advantages, but the Plague Doctor explains that the rules for Aiden have been different because he came to Blackheath voluntarily. Aiden insists that Anna will never be able to escape without the advantages he had, explaining that “I couldn’t have done this without Ravencourt’s intelligence and Dance’s cunning. It was only because of Rashton that I started looking at the clues like evidence” (380).

The Plague Doctor finally explains that Blackheath is a type of prison, ingeniously requiring people who have done awful deeds to redeem themselves by solving the crime of another. Anna is here due to her crimes, hence why Silver Tear was so concerned about the possibility that Anna might solve the murder and be set free. The Plague Doctor tells Aiden that Aiden pursued Anna here out of vengeance: He has been torturing her through loop after loop of the game. The Plague Doctor has been able to give Aiden special treatment because he is an innocent man who entered the game voluntarily. The Plague Doctor removes his mask and tells Aiden his true name: Oliver. When the Plague Doctor argues that Anna, whose true name is Annabelle Caulker, has been involved in atrocious acts of violence before she was sent to Blackheath, Aiden can see how that might be true. However, he also feels that Anna has served her time and redeemed herself.

The Plague Doctor tells Aiden that Anna brutally murdered his sister. This information stirs up a memory: Aiden recalls his sister Juliette and the terrible grief he felt. He wasn’t convinced that Anna would suffer enough at Blackheath, so he came to add to her torments. However, 30 years have worn down his personality and his emotions. In his mind, Annabelle Caulker no longer exists, and Anna is someone entirely different, someone he cares for. Aiden insists on the Plague Doctor going to the meeting place to see if Anna arrives with the solution to the crime. The Plague Doctor objects that regardless, Aiden has already been the first to solve the crime, but Aiden points out that he still doesn’t know who poisoned Michael and Evelyn; thus, there is someone else who was trying to kill her, and who presumably killed Millicent Derby. Aiden is insistent that someone else was working with Michael, and thus to truly solve the crime, someone would have to identify both killers. Aiden argues that if Anna can identify the second killer, she should be freed. 

Aiden returns to Blackheath, trying to figure out how he can find Millicent Derby’s killer.