Gideon sat forward. “What did you learn about Marshall?”
“Just that he grew up poor, made a fortune in oil or something of that sort, and has an eye for the ladies, even though he’s determined to marry into the society set, no matter if he has to settle for a less-than-fashionable lady in the process.”
“That right there may be reason enough to flag him as a potential suspect,” Adelaide said, tapping her finger against her chin. “I’m sure Marshall knows that if he sets his sights on a wallflower and the mother of that wallflower learns he’s got a roving eyeandthat he might only be marrying this wallflower to improve his social standing, his plans could be disrupted. He might even find himself banned from future society events, something I’m sure he would go to great lengths to ensure never happens.”
Sophia’s mouth pursed. “While I can certainly understand why Marshall Wilson wouldn’t want that information to get out, Lottie was already working for me when I allowed him to take me to dinner. Besides that, the tasty tidbits Marshall let slip were actually incredibly tame compared to the downright scandalous revelations I’ve learned about from other men.”
“Which suggests there could be numerous suspects who might have the proper incentive to hire a man like Frank Fitzsimmons to steal any evidence regarding their wrongdoings, which means...” Adelaide worried her lip for a moment, then nodded. “I bet Lottie was sent to take up a position as your dresser so she could uncover whether you truly do keep journals, how often you write in them, and where you store your journals when you’re not scribbling tidbits into them.”
Gideon fought a smile because clearly Adelaide was on to something, and even though he couldn’t in good conscience bring her fully into the accounting firm, it was fascinating to watch her puzzle out particulars regarding Sophia’s case.
“You’re not missing one of your journals, are you?” Adelaide asked next. “Perhaps the one you’re currently writing in?”
Sophia shook her head. “After Gideon sent word that Lottie was not the down-on-her-luck girl she presented herself to me as, I began to worry that something was amiss, especially after Frank Fitzsimmons wanted to meet with me. Since then, I always keep my current journal on my person during the day, and the others never come out of the safe, so no, I’m not missing any of them.”
“One would have thought you’d bring your concerns about Frank to Gideon,” Adelaide said.
It really wasn’t a surprise when Sophia began fluttering her lashes at Gideon again. “I wanted to tell you, Gideon, truly I did, but then I would have had to admit what I’d written in those journals and ... I thought you might think poorly of me.”
Given all he’d seen during his time as an intelligence agent,learning Sophia dabbled in her own peculiar form of blackmail wasn’t exactly a surprise.
He caught her eye. “I knew you were deliberately avoiding me, and at least now I understand why.”
She gave another flutter of lashes. “Does that mean you’ll overlook my somewhat questionable behavior when it comes to the contents of my journals?”
“Blackmail, just like breaking and entering, is actually against the law,” Gideon said, causing Sophia’s eyes to widen.
“Surely you’re not intending on having me arrested, are you?” she breathed.
“Not if you discontinue using privileged information to increase the size of your jewelry collection.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior from this point forward.”
“See that you are,” he said, suppressing a grin when Adelaide rolled her eyes before she gave a pointed clearing of her throat.
“Bad behavior aside,” Adelaide began, waiting until Sophia stopped batting her lashes at Gideon and returned her attention to Adelaide before she continued. “I don’t believe it’s much of a stretch to conclude that Lottie was unable to get her hands on your journals, so she then set her sights on discovering what the combination to your safe was. You mentioned you haven’t committed the combination to memory, which leaves me concluding that you’ve written it down somewhere.”
Sophia winced. “I might have kept it written on a scrap of paper I tucked into the back of my vanity, although I took it out after I learned that Lottie had taken up a position with me for some nefarious purpose.”
“Which would explain why someone rifled through your vanity last evening,” Adelaide said.
“But I would think Lottie left her position with me because she found the combination. Why come back again?”
“There’s a distinct possibility that the combination Lottie undoubtedly stole the first time around was lost,” Adelaidesaid before she caught Gideon’s eye. “I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s highly probable that someone who is written about in the journals has decided they need to get rid of whatever nastiness Sophia’s jotted down about them. The question that remains, of course, is who that someone is.”
“I agree.” Gideon nodded to Sophia. “Unfortunately, the only way we’re going to have a chance of solving your case is if you give me access to your journals. I’ll need to read them in order to discern which gentleman you’ve written about stands out as the most viable culprit.”
Sophia raised a hand to her throat. “I can’t allow you to read my journals. My life in glaring detail is written on the pages, some of those details shockingly personal.”
“I’m sure Gideon understands your reluctance to share your journals,” Adelaide said, leaning forward. “But perhaps you could jot down the names of some of the gentlemen you dined with right before the time Lottie came to work for you—specifically men who may have imparted sensitive information.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have the luxury of the time that would be needed to accomplish that,” Sophia admitted. “I dine with numerous gentlemen a week, and even the journal I’m writing in now probably has tidbits on at least thirty, if not fifty, men in it.”
Adelaide’s eyes widened. “It’s no wonder you have a vast collection of jewels, but investigating fifty men would indeed be time consuming, which is problematic, given that someone is obviously determined to destroy whatever you’ve written about them as soon as possible.”
“So I truly am in danger?” Sophia breathed.
“It would be foolish to believe otherwise, and you should make certain you have a guard on duty to protect you at all times, as well as someone to watch over your safe.”
