“I was,” she said, not making eye contact with any of them. “With Jonny and others from the team as well. Your husbands were there.”
“Were they with you the entire time?”
“No.”
“So, the rest of the time…”
“It was just the two of us.”
“And what happened?”
She sighed. “I’m trying to determine if that really matters anymore.”
“Oh, it does,” Minnie said softly. “Very much so. Jonny doesn’t let anyone close. Tommy said the team barely knows him, and he’s been playing with them for three years now. That he’s spending time with you, telling you things about his brother…” She studied Ada as though trying to read something there, but Ada looked away, unable to meet her gaze, knowing that she was keeping a fair amount from her friends as well.
“I thought he annoyed you,” Emmaline said, quirking a brow.
“Oh, he does,” Ada said. “I wouldn’t read anything into this. We just had some things to discuss.”
She could feel Lily’s eyes on her, knew that she had more to say, but thankfully, Emmaline moved onto the actual robbery itself.
“If this was Will, what does that mean?” Emmaline asked.
“I think it means that Sharpe is making his mark, and for whatever reason, he wants Jonny involved.”
Lily eyed her. “I think you need to stay far away from this, Ada,” she said, correctly reading her intentions.
“If Jonny won’t fight this, then who will?” she asked, her eyes narrowing and her hands clenching into fists. “We need to do this for him, so he doesn’t get unfairly blamed.”
“You know we will back you in whatever you want to do, Ada,” Minnie said, placing her hand on Ada’s. “Are you sure about this?”
“No,” she said. While she appreciated her friends’ support, she would do most of this herself so as not to put them in danger. They didn’t need to know that. “But I’m going to do it anyway.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Thank you, sir,” Jonny said to the retreating customer. He looked down, finalizing the notes to ensure all the details were correct.
“Jon?”
He lifted his head, ready to help one of the delivery men who had called his name, his jaw tightening when he saw why the man had called him.
“You have company,” the delivery man finished, a worried look on his face as Inspector Finch and another policeman entered the office behind him.
Jonny sighed, lifting his cap and running his hand through his hair. He’d had a feeling they were coming for him. He just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
“It’s all right, Fred,” he said to the man. “Can you do me a favor? Find Fawkes and tell him that I had an emergency and had to leave.”
“Should I tell him…” his eyes flicked over to Finch, who had nearly reached them.
“Up to you, Fred,” he said, not wanting to ask the man tolie. Fred’s lips tightened, but he nodded his head with a measure of respect.
“Inspector Finch,” Jonny said, rounding his desk to greet the officer. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“We need you to come down to the station,” Inspector Finch said, his expression nearly apologetic.
“Care to tell me why?”
“We’ve found evidence to tie you to the theft of Lady Harcourt’s jewels.”
