The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton (children's books read aloud .TXT) 📗

ensure that they shined the light of their investigation straight in his direction.

Whoever it was who had broken into the house before them could be the real killer or merely someone who too was being blackmailed and hadn’t wanted that information to fall into the hands of the police.

But they still had a list of a few of the people whose files had been hidden here instead of at Harding’s office. It was a place to start.

“You will not be charged with breaking and entering, since, given your position and title, you will be in and out of jail faster than we can do the booking process. But hear this”—Carson pointed his finger at William—“if you continue to get in our way, you will be charged—both of you—and although it might not amount to much, it will be uncomfortable for a day or so. And I don’t imagine it will do much for your business reputation, Wethington, or sit well with your father, Lady Amy.”

“Are you threatening us, Detective?” Amy asked, her nose in the air.

William could have placed his hand over her mouth and dragged her out of the room. It was not good to antagonize the police. Certainly not from the position in which they currently found themselves.

“No, my lady. That is not a threat but a promise.”

Amy stood and shook out her skirts. “In that case, Detectives, we will be on our way.”

Carson glared at her but didn’t stop William from taking Amy’s hand and moving toward the door.

“Once again, I remind you not to leave Bath without permission,” Carson said as Marsh closed his notebook. “We will be interviewing everyone in these files, which includes you.”

“I shall notify my barrister. Good day, Detective,” William said as he hurried Amy down the corridor to the back door. They practically ran to the carriage and climbed in. William tapped on the ceiling, and the carriage pulled forward.

“That was—” Amy took in a deep breath.

“Stupid and our own fault,” William added, totally disgusted with himself.

Amy glanced out the window, her expression as annoyed as he felt. “I hate to admit it, but I believe you are correct. We never should have let down our guard that way.”

“Speaking of guards, I should have asked my driver, John, to watch out for someone arriving. Not that it was his fault, but he was probably dozing when the detectives arrived.”

Amy withdrew the paper from her bodice. “At least we have this.”

“Yes.” William gave her a curt nod. “I was so caught up with the police arriving I forgot about the list—thank goodness you did not, seeing that we lost the files.”

“But we managed to get three names.” Amy placed her hand on her forehead. “I have the most incredible headache. I am sure it is from the fright we received. I need a very hot and very large cup of tea.”

“I could use a very large brandy,” William said.

“Once your driver arrives at my house, I suggest we have lunch. I’m afraid I was quite anxious about this visit and had a scant breakfast.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes, collecting their thoughts. “I found it quite interesting that Harding was not only cheating his clients but also blackmailing at least one person.”

“Poor Miss Gertrude. Did you see for what reason he was blackmailing her?”

William shook his head. “No. Only the information from when she was a client, with a notation that he had ‘uncovered’ an interesting fact and would make use of it.

“It might be assumed that the files in the house were blackmail victims as well as those he was cheating. The files of people he was doing normal business with were probably the ones in his office.”

“Yet your file was there, and he wasn’t blackmailing you.” She paused. “Was he?”

“Of course not! There is nothing in my life that would encourage someone to blackmail me. As I said, most likely he kept the files of anyone he was doing shady dealings with—cheating or blackmail—out of his office.”

She sighed. “It must be something devastating for poor Miss Gertrude if it became known. Perhaps she is our murderer.”

William’s brows rose. “Somehow I cannot see Miss Gertrude shoving Harding into a river.”

Amy tapped her chin. “She could have hired someone to do it.”

“That is a possibility,” William said.

“She seemed terribly gay Thursday evening. We even commented upon it. It could very well have been relief at having her blackmailer dead.”

“But that didn’t mean she killed him or hired someone to do the deed.” No matter how he tried, William could not imagine that sweet woman killing someone.

“Maybe so, but she remains on our list. We also have these other names.” Amy waved the paper around.

“However, because we didn’t have time to go through those files, we don’t know if they were also being blackmailed or, like Lemmon and me, being bilked,” William said.

“Either case could encourage someone toward murder. Either to remove a threat or as revenge for thievery. Two common reasons for murder.” Amy smiled at him. “My research.”

“It would have to be more than revenge, I believe. It would certainly not cross my mind to do away with the man because he was stealing from me, and based on what Lemmon said about his solicitor trying to get his papers back, I don’t think murder was on his mind either.”

Silence reigned for a while. Then William continued. “Blackmail would be a good motive, I think, but since we weren’t able to go through the files and sort out those being blackmailed from those being fleeced, we will have to assume everyone on this list is a victim of Harding’s perfidy, and thus a potential killer.”

“Even Miss Gertrude?” Amy asked.

William nodded. “For now. Yes.”

“And there could be one other name that we don’t have because based on the opened back door, someone before us could have entered Harding’s house and took their file.”

“Yes. But we have to start somewhere. I’m afraid, like last time, that our favorite detectives are focusing