Her interest caught, Cecily leaned forward. “Basil?”

Mrs. Taylor nodded. “Basil Baker. Both he and Jimmy were sweet on the same girl. Gracie Peterson. Jimmy won her, though. They were talking about getting married and all.” The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “That won’t happen now.”

“I’m so sorry.” Cecily paused to give the other woman time to compose herself, then added, “I imagine Basil was quite upset when Jimmy and Gracie made marriage plans.”

Mrs. Taylor gave her a sharp look. “You’re not suggesting that Basil killed my Jimmy? They might have been rivals, Mrs. Baxter, but Basil is not a murderer.”

Cecily frowned. “It was my understanding that Jimmy’s death was an accident. True, someone threw a rock at him, but it was the fall and blow to his head on a wheel shaft that killed him, was it not? Isn’t it possible that Basil, in his disappointment, lost his temper and threw the rock without meaning to cause Jimmy’s death?”

Jimmy’s mother briefly closed her eyes. “Possible, but not likely, to my way of thinking. Whoever threw that rock did so with enough force to knock our Jimmy right off his feet. I think that monster meant to kill my boy, and I shan’t rest until I know who did this evil deed. I just can’t bring myself to believe it was Basil. Those two were such good friends before that girl came along.”

She showed signs of breaking down again, and Cecily rose to her feet. “I don’t want to upset you further, Mrs. Taylor. I think I would like a word with Basil, however. He might be able to shed some light on this tragedy. Perhaps you can tell me where to find him?“

Mrs. Taylor looked up, her eyes wary. “You won’t be getting him in any trouble, will you?”

“Let’s just say I’d like to know why this happened.”

The other woman gave her an address, and Samuel nodded. “I know where that is, m’m.”