Clairemont rose to shake his old friend’s hand. “Not at all. The fact that the Duke of Clairemont fired his entire previous staff and brought on all new servants seems to have put the fear of God into them. I have never seen such swift and efficient work.”
Stalwood smiled. “Well, the old staff got incredibly good references and have all landed on their feet.”
“Then a happy ending for everyone, it seems,” Clairemont said. “Sit, won’t you? Would you like a brandy?”
Stalwood shook his head. “No, I ought not. I actually come bearing news about this fellow Perry that Grayson Danford mentioned last week.”
At that, Clairemont took a step toward him. “Excellent. I have been wishing I could pursue that lead myself, but my situation here prevents it.”
“Yes, these pesky duties of the titled,” Stalwood teased.
“Even the falsely titled,” Clairemont agreed with a frown. “Being a duke is stifling.”
“You must be excited then at the prospect of ending the charade and going back to the field,” Stalwood said. “And perhaps this information gets us that much closer to ending this.”
Tension suddenly coiled in Clairemont like a tightly wound spring. “What have you discovered?”
“Perry is not in any way related to therealClairemont,” Stalwood began. “That was a lie on the duke’s part, probably to subvert any questions Danford would have had about the man. Suggest a cousin as a good worker and there are fewer questions than if you suggest a stranger with a checkered past.”
“It implies he doesn’t want Danford to know something,” Clairemont agreed. “And that bodes well for Danford’s lack of true involvement or knowledge about the real Clairemont’s conspiracies.”
“It does. In fact, our agents can find nothing at all that concretely ties Danford to Clairemont’s true schemes.”
Relief washed over Clairemont at those words. He had come to much the same conclusion already after observing Danford over the past few times they’d interacted, but a gut feeling and actual evidence were two different things.
“He’s being used,” he said. “With his fingers in so many pies, he’s the perfect person to invest in and funnel money or use his ventures to trade secrets or goods.”
“Exactly,” Stalwood said with a quick nod.
“So is Perry a contact or a lackey?” Clairemont asked.
“A lackey, we believe. The real Clairemont had some other partner, one he was trying to keep hidden. Perry appears to be the conduit, so that the two men never have to interact directly.”
“Could this mystery partner be our killer?”
“Very possibly,” Stalwood said, digging into his pocket to retrieve a paper with a long list of observations from the last few days. “There’s been some odd activity down in Withershank since the real Clairemont’s death. Shipment reroutes, changes to those employed at the canal port. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Clairemont looked over it briefly. “No, it can’t be. And Danford is unaware of all this. Which would be the last indication to make me certain of his innocence.”
Stalwood nodded. “I agree. We can set him aside as a suspect and I would suggest finding out who else is investing in the canal project specifically. It might be the most direct route to our next villain.”
Clairemont set the paper down on his desk and walked to the window where he stood staring outside. He should have been thrilled by this development. Being stalled was infinitely frustrating. Now he could move forward. He could close this case and walk away, happy in the fact that he had served his country and saved lives once again.
But he wasn’t thinking about lives. He was thinking about something else entirely.
“I shouldn’t have moved forward with courting Celia until we had worked on Danford more fully,” he said, shaking his head at the faint reflection of himself in the glass. “Now that it is clear her brother-in-law isn’t involved, that means I will tear her apart fornothing.”
“Not nothing,” Stalwood said, moving toward him and grasping his arm to turn him around. “By building a closer relationship in his family, you will be better able to use Danford to help you with the truth. Whatever is happening, it still likely ties to Danford’s businesses.”
“But at what cost?” Clairemont hissed, self-loathing washing over him, coating everything about him.
“At what cost if youdidn’tpursue this course of action?” Stalwood retorted. He leaned in, searching Clairemont’s face intently. “I’m worried about you. I’ve never seen you like this before, vacillating on a case. Or worrying so much about collateral damage when the stakes are so high.”
“Celia isn’t collateral damage,” he said, shaking his arm away from his friend. Right now he didn’t want to have this conversation.
Stalwood was silent for what felt like an eternity. “Whatisit about this woman?” he asked at last. “What has you tangled up so completely?”
Clairemont stared at his friend, then shook his head as his body sagged back against the window pane. “I-I don’t know. I realize what my duty is, I swear to you I do. But it’s complicated. Hurting her is…it is the worst thing I’ve ever done. Ihatemyself for it.”
