Before Claire had become involved with Cosmos, she and I had been close friends. But then she’d turned her considerable wiles on my brother, and our friendship had become strained. Only recently had I come to realize it was more than a mere attraction on her part. She genuinely cared for him.
“Thank you. That means a great deal to me.” I glanced toward the door. “I’m on my way to see him now, as he has news. So, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Wait,” Claire said. “I have something to share that may inform your investigation.”
I waited. There was nothing else to be done.
“There is a lady we both know. I won’t reveal her name,” Claire said, taking a seat on the sofa. “She moves in…unusual circles.”
I joined her on the seat. “What sort of circles?”
“The sort that exist beyond respectable society.” She drew a breath. “There is no delicate way to say this. She exerts control over men. She uses her power to inflict pain. It’s consensual on both sides,” she rushed to say. “She is what is known as a dominatrix.”
I frowned. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I feared as much,” she said with a sigh. “Have you heard of the Marquis de Sade?”
“Must be a French aristocrat. But no, I don’t recognize the name.”
“He was infamous for cruelty. Especially toward women.”
My breath hitched. “I am listening.”
“The word sadism derives from his name. Some people seek these…arrangements willingly. There are two roles. One who inflicts pain. One who submits to it.”
“And this woman?” I asked.
“She inflicts it,” Claire said quietly. “She commands. Men defer to her. She sets rules, controls access, and enforces obedience.”
That sharpened my attention.
“What is the other party called?”
“A submissive,” Claire said. “She doesn’t play that role. She never has.”
“Where do these activities take place?” I asked. “Surely not in her home.”
“There are…establishments around London that cater to them. And lately she has attended gatherings at a well-appointed house east of London.” Claire’s voice tightened. “She believed them to be consensual. But at the one held last month, she discovered some of the women, young girls no older than seventeen, were not there of their own free will. They were brought out and put on display, some of them weeping openly, while the men bid on them.”
I forced back the bile that rose in my throat and willed my thoughts to the vanished women. This place, this house east of London, was where they’d been taken to satisfy the perversions of wealthy and titled men.
“As soon as she realized it, she walked out,” Claire continued, “and made her way back to London. She will not be attending any more of these gatherings. She will be departing for the continent in the morning and will not return for several months. But an invitation will still be issued to her as she has not made her intentions known.”
“When is the next one?” I asked.
“Tomorrow night. The meeting point is a barge. Somewhere on the Thames. It will take the women to the location where this…gathering is held.”
“Where exactly?”
Claire shook her head. “The guests are not told the location until the afternoon of the event. It will be included with the invitation.”
“They’ve already killed at least two young women, Claire. Their bodies were found in the Thames. I saw one of them yesterday in a mortuary before dawn. She had been whipped.”
“Dear heaven,” Claire breathed, clutching her hands. “You must stop this. You and Steele.”
“We intend to,” I said. “Steele probably already knows about this “gathering.” That’s the news he must have. But he could not put it into writing. He sent word last night asking me to come to him.”
She proceeded to share more details about the gathering, something we would need to know. “Tell him what I shared with you,” Claire urged, pressing my hands. “There is no time to waste.”
