“I’ve been on the lookout for firearms recovered in the Thames,” Cull said. “This one was caught in a trawling net this morning. Not far from where Lady Hastings’s body was found.”
“May I?” With thudding excitement, Pippa gestured to the gun.
Cull nodded, and she picked up the weapon with care, feeling the balanced weight and examining the precise percussion mechanism. The gunmaker’s mark was engraved in elegant letters on the lock plate: J PURDEY No 314 ½ OXFORD STREET LONDON.
“Obviously, we don’t know if this was the weapon that was used to kill Julianna Hastings,” Charlie said. “But Mr. Cullen makes a good case for it.”
“Given the growing crowd and the arrival of the police, I could only do a precursory inspection of Lady Hastings’s body. She had two wounds that I saw,” Cull said. “One in the shoulder, one through the heart. The size and state of the wounds were similar, most likely made by a double-barreled weapon and at close range. Lady Hastings’s hands were also free of any damage, her nails clean and unbroken. She didn’t attempt to defend herself, which suggests the attack took her by surprise. Either she didn’t see her killer coming…or she saw the killer but didn’t expect him or her to attack.”
Now Pippa understood why her mentor was amenable to a joint effort. The Prince of Larks’s information was extraordinary. Cull had won over Charlie with his skill and expertise.
Livy pursed her lips. “You mean to say Lady Hastings knew her murderer?”
“It is a possibility,” Cull replied.
“The papers are claiming that her death is the result of criminal behavior among the lower classes,” Glory said, wrinkling her nose. “Then again, they tend to blame the less fortunate for a variety of social ills.”
“The papers profit from selling fear to the masses,” Cull said. “This pistol is far too expensive to belong to a common thug. Its state indicates that it hasn’t been in the river long—less than a week, I’d say. Which coincides with the time of the murder.”
Pippa glanced at the ormolu clock on the mantel; it was nearing four o’clock. “I could go to Purdey’s to see if anyone can identify the pistol’s owner. If I leave soon, I’ll get there before the shop closes.”
“If you don’t mind the company, I will escort you,” Cull said.
Pippa beamed at him. “I would like that.”
“Be discreet,” Charlie advised. “In the meantime, we still have the mysterious Thor to track down and Hastings to monitor.”
“I’ll put larks on Hastings.” Cull lifted his brows. “Who is Thor?”
Pippa shared what she and Livy had learned from Mrs. Loverly about the silver-eyed fellow, and the other Angels volunteered to start canvassing for him. In the meantime, Charlie would comb the drawing rooms for gossip related to the case.
Charlie set down her cup with a satisfied click. “It seems we have a plan.”
19
Before the carriage door was fully closed, Cull hauled Pippa into his arms. A giggle left her as she tipped her head back for his kiss, looping her arms around his neck. It felt delightfully reckless carrying on in this fashion in a carriage in the middle of the day. Those thoughts melted away as Cull ran his tongue along the roof of her mouth, and the kiss caught fire.
By the time they broke apart, they were both panting.
“I was thinking about doing this the entire meeting,” Cull murmured.
Catching her breath, Pippa said, “That is not very professional of you.”
He smiled lazily. “I’m capable of concentrating on more than one thing at once.”
“Really?” For some reason, his words ignited a spark of challenge. She’d never felt this carefree and playful with any man.
She trailed a gloved hand down his chest, feeling the powerful rise and fall of the man beneath the unassuming clothes. It madeherfeel powerful to know she had this effect on him…to hear the mysterious and all-knowing Prince of Larks groan when she found him hard as steel. She stroked his turgid length through the fabric, leaning up to nip his earlobe as she did so.
“Jesus wept.” He leaned his head against the wall, his eyes shutting in pleasure. “You don’t know what you do to me.”
Emboldened, she caressed him the way he’d shown her the night before. His pulsing vitality strained the worn wool of his trousers, his burgeoned heat pushing into the curve of her palm. She imagined his flesh filling another part of her, and her intimate muscles clenched.
“Does frigging my cock make you wet, Pippa?” His simmering gaze read all her secrets. “Does that tight little cunny of yours want what’s in your hand?”
Heavens.Here she was thinking that she was the one in control. Her body reacted instantly to Cull’s wicked sensuality, even though he wasn’t even touching her.
“When I woke up this morning, I could still taste you,” he said in a gravelly tone. “It made me so hard that I had to do what you’re doing now.”
