The Lost Apothecary

As Eliza helps Nella with her coat, the woman internally admits that she does not plan to leave the shop temporarily but to meet an unspecified death. She keeps this from Eliza, though she holds that “from the moment of her arrival, this child had unwittingly began to unravel me, to expose something inside of me” (239). Eliza asks whether Nella will take the register. Nella briefly considers it, as taking the register “to the bottom of the Thames” (240) with her would undoubtedly protect the women who bought poisons from her. But she decides that doing so would erase them from history; her clients are regular women for whom this register constitutes their one indelible mark on the world. She takes some frankincense to calm her in preparation for what she plans to do, finding it fitting that in the final moments of her life, she is aided by one of the many vials on her shelf. As she looks at Eliza for the final time, she does not harbor any ill feelings for her mistake with the vial; Nella only blames Lady Clarence and her “scheming lady’s maid” (241) for the way this situation unfolded. As Nella and Eliza exit the shop, they see three constables coming toward the store. They turn and run toward the river together.

As one of the officers unlatches his handcuffs from his belt, Caroline’s phone rings. Gaynor is on the other line. At first, Caroline tries to get her off the phone because of the poor timing, but then she realizes that Gaynor’s station at the library might help her case. She asks Gaynor to come to St. Bartholomew’s without telling her that she is in police custody, and Gaynor agrees. Gaynor steps into the interrogation room “with a terrified look on her face” (243), but she is genuinely concerned about Caroline and her husband. Caroline asks Gaynor to confirm that she has been to the library twice and is, in fact, conducting research on the apothecary. One of the officers shows Gaynor the notebook with the notes on the apothecary’s register; Gaynor has no knowledge of either the apothecary shop that Caroline found or the apothecary’s register that Caroline photographed, since Caroline never told her about either. Caroline thinks this will be the moment when Gaynor’s words further condemn her. But Gaynor comes to her defense instead, showing the officers her library employee card and even offering to request camera footage of Caroline at the library as further proof. One officer gets a call that James would like to see Caroline. The officer escorts Caroline to James’s room, his presence signaling that she’s still not off the hook.

Eliza and Nella sprint through the alley, fleeing the constables. They eventually find a stable to hide in as the officers close in on them. Nella tells Eliza that should the authorities find them, Eliza should deny knowing Nella and even tell them that Nella threatened her into helping her. Nella is physically drained from the chase, and Eliza worries over her condition. Through a peephole in the stable wall, Eliza sees a group of young men speaking and knows that they cannot go out the way they came in. Their best chance of escape is to scale the stable’s back wall, but Eliza is not sure that Nella is strong enough to do so. Eliza knows she could escape now and leave Nella for the authorities, but she wants to help since she blames herself for Nella’s current trouble. Eliza tells Nella of the stable wall and her escape plan. Nella crawls across the floor and hops over the wall. Eliza follows her and sees that she is heading for the River Thames.

As she chases Nella and sees her head for Blackfriars’ Bridge, Eliza anxiously warns her that “[they] will be in clear view” (251). The constables spot the pair and are in hot pursuit. As Eliza chases Nella and watches her proceed onto the crowded bridge, she is startled and confused at Nella’s apparent disregard for exposure. She wonders where Nella means to go and what Nella means to do. During this sprint, Eliza notices, with the help of a nearby clock, that the vials on her person are now fully cured. She wholeheartedly believes the vials will fix everything. She is glad to have two so she can give one to Nella. Nella stops in the middle of the bridge. Eliza finally catches up with her and tries to hand her one of the vials. Nella ignores the vial and tells Eliza that they must part now, that Eliza should run into the crowd and “let the men follow [Nella] into the river” (253). Eliza finally realizes what Nella means to do. The officers are right behind them.

Caroline’s police escort brings her to James’s room. The charge nurse tells them that James’s condition has stabilized and that they are preparing to take him out of critical care; James wants to see Caroline before the move. James wears “a look of astonishment” (254) as he spots the constable who walks in with Caroline. Caroline tells James that the officers believe she poisoned him. Hearing this, James attempts to come to her defense and tells the constable present that Caroline did no such thing. The man seems somewhat unconvinced, handing James his business card with a comment that James may call the station to “share something confidentially” (254). Despite this, the officer leaves. Caroline tells James that she had she feared for his life. James tells her they are not meant to be apart with “an expectant look” (254) on his face. Sensing that he is waiting for an answer she is not ready to give, Caroline says she needs some air and leaves the room.

Caroline goes to the waiting room and cries, grieving her marriage and wondering over the nature of secrets, including the one that cleaved her relationship and the one about the apothecary, which she is keeping from James. Gaynor finds her in the waiting room, and Caroline apologizes for involving her in the interrogation. She also tells Gaynor about James’s infidelity. Gaynor offers Caroline emotional support and then returns Caroline’s notebook to her, saying that she wants to give Caroline a chance to explain its contents. Caroline tells Gaynor about the apothecary shop, sharing the pictures she took. Gaynor says she can decide what to do with the information she has found.

After her confession to Gaynor, Caroline returns to James’s bedside to find him asleep. Preparing to settle in for the night, she goes to the bathroom. There, she has her period, confirming that she is not pregnant. She is relieved by this news, as now, “no matter what would come of [her] marriage, there was no baby to complicate things” (259). She goes back to James’s room and lays on the couch to rest. She remembers that she never looked at the second article Gaynor gave her, so she pulls it out. The headline of this article reads: “Apothecary Killer Jumps from Bridge, Suicide.” Her hands tremble as though she is “[reading] the death announcement of someone [she knows] all too well” (260).

On Blackfriars’ Bridge, two constables approach Eliza and Nella. As Nella prepares to jump into the Thames, the one memory that comes to her now is not one of “[her] mother, [her] lost child, or Frederick” (261), but of Eliza the first time she came to the shop. Instead of running into the crowd as Nella told her to do, Eliza climbs onto the bridge railing. She drinks one of her vials before throwing it into the river. She believes that mixture “will save [her]” (262) and jumps into the frigid, roaring river below.

The authorities reach Nella just as Eliza descends into the river; she is in a state of utter shock. One constable asks Nella whether she and Eliza were partners in this crime, but Nella is so speechless by the turn of events that she cannot respond and must hold on to the railing for support. The other constable is adamant that Nella cannot be the second suspect since she can barely stand. The constables argue with each other over whether Nella is culpable. Finally, one of the constables asks if Nella knows of who bought the poison that killed Lord Clarence, to which she replies that she does not know who Lord Clarence is and is unaware of any poison that killed him. The third constable, who stayed behind to investigate Nella’s shop, catches up with the other two on the bridge. He says that there is nothing in the room he looked in and that he found only a “dry storage bin full of rotted grain” (264). The constables are also unable to positively identify Nella as one of the people they chased, particularly because she was so spirited while running away from them but now seems physically frail. The constables leave her alone, and Nella remains free. She is tremendously remorseful over Eliza’s jump and wonders whether she can survive another day bearing the guilt of Eliza’s death. She steps toward the railing and “[leans] over the hungry black waves” (265).