“Well, I should say so.” Irritation flowed through Nicole as she stood from the sofa. How could the father humiliate his son that way? Yet the probing question now was why did Ashton allow it to happen? “Tell me, Patsy, what did Ashton think of this?”
The housekeeper flipped her large hand in the air. “At first, ‘e didn’t know. All ‘e knew was that the other partners in the railway made ‘im an offer. Once the papers were all signed, then ‘e found out.” She released a heavy sigh and frowned. “Mr. Lee was not a ‘appy man. I think ‘e was very angry at ‘is father by that point. But Mr. Lee likes being in the railroad, so ‘e just didn’t say anything.”
Anger rolled through Nicole as she pieced together the story. The night of Ashton’s dinner party, she received the impression that he was good friends with Nickerson and Larson. At least the other two partners didn’t act as if they were upset at Ashton being with them. However, Larson was a little edgy. Then again, he’d acted that way throughout the evening. Glynn Nickerson had acted concerned and worried about Ashton, but in a caring way. She still couldn’t understand why Glynn would shoot her, though. Even if Mrs. Browning suspected Nicole to be a thief, that didn’t give Glynn the right to shoot her.
There was something that bothered her about Glynn that night. What had he been doing in Ashton’s house when Ashton was supposed to be down at the fishing shack waiting for her? Nicole’s gut feeling was that she needed to investigate the other two partners, but mainly Nickerson. Although there was no logical reason why, she still believed it must be done.
“Yes, well...” She focused back on the conversation with Patsy. “I’m sure Ashton’s father made a sweet deal to both Nickerson and Larson or else they wouldn’t have taken him in.”
“I’m sure that is what ‘appened.”
Nicole gave her empty teacup back to Patsy, and the woman waddled out of the room with the tray. This new enlightening information definitely needed to be passed to the other detectives. If Glynn and Steve were in any way upset about Mr. Lee bribing them to make his son a partner, this would give both partners a perfect motivation to want guilt for the railway robberies placed on Ashton.
This was the kind of information her father needed to know. Without a second thought, she quickly penned a note to her father and instructed one of Ashton’s servants to deliver it to him. After it had left the house, she paced the floor, wondering what else she could do. Restless, she wrung her hands until she was ready to scream.
Knowing she must do more, she hurried and fetched her bonnet and shawl. The prospect of walking so far to find one of the other detectives made her weary. But then she didn’t dare take one of Ashton’s buggies. Leaving his house, she felt strong enough, and she prayed the stroll through town wouldn’t exhaust her in any way.
It was difficult not to think of Ashton all the time, especially remembering his painful expression when she confessed the truth to him. It didn’t bother her when she’d learned he suspected her. After all, she was the one sneaking around in his house and going behind his back and asking questions. Yet it still left a hollow ache to her heart knowing the trust had been broken. It was up to her to repair it. She just wished she knew how.
By the time Nicole made it just inside town, her limbs were shaking. She needed to sit and rest a spell in order to regain her strength. A small park was just steps away, and she headed in that direction. When she found a shaded tree, she stumbled and fell against the tree, and then slid to her bottom, resting her back against the trunk as it braced her.
Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back. Perhaps coming this far into town had been a mistake. From the first day of being a detective, Nicole was forced to put aside her fears and to embrace bravery. It took a few years for her to finally gain it, and she needed to remain strong no matter what she had to face. Still, there were times she wished she could be like normal young ladies her age. For once, it would be nice to have a gallant man want to take care of her and protect her. For once, she wanted a man to get to know the real lady inside this courageous woman’s body.
From the distance, a Scottish ring to a man’s whiny voice brought her out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes. Standing near the building by the park’s entrance was none other than Joseph Donnelly. It was nearly impossible to forget a man like Donnelly. Taller than most Scots, he was very thin, and he had the oddest color of hair she had ever seen. It was almost like a burnt orange. His freckles popped out on his face, making him stand out even more. The man always tried to dress like a gentleman, but his actions and speech gave away his true character.
A year ago, the detectives were investigating opium dens that were reported to be spreading across the country. At that time, Nicole was with her brother and Mrs. Phelps in London trying to put the opium dens out of business—which they succeeded in doing, mostly.
Joseph Donnelly was close friends with one of the ladies who the detectives had arrested. On several occasions, they questioned Donnelly, only to discover the man was a constant liar.
So, what was he doing in Liverpool? During this time, they couldn’t find any reason to arrest him, although Nicole wished they had.
Now as she watched him, her interest in Donnelly grew. He and another man talked briefly on the street before the other man left. Instead of leaving himself, Donnelly walked to the nearest building and stopped. He peered up and down the street as if he were waiting to meet someone else. Shifting from one foot to the other, Nicole detected his impatience. From time to time, he scratched his overly large nose—another feature on him that was hard to forget.
He pulled a pocket watch out of his coat pocket and checked the time. Shaking his head, he placed the watch back and continued to search the street. Indeed, he was waiting for something, and it looked as if they were late.
A few minutes later, a woman slowly strolled up the walkway toward town wearing the latest style of dress. A parasol blocked her face so Nicole couldn’t tell her age. When Donnelly spotted her, his fidgeting stopped. He turned sharply and headed to the back of the building. The woman’s steps slowed considerably as she came closer. Just before she could pass the building, she made a sharp turn and quickly headed toward the back as well.
This made the pair more interesting to Nicole, but she didn’t want to be caught spying on them in case they noticed her, so she closed her eyes and hung her head to the side as if she were asleep. Barely opening her eyes, she studied the couple’s private meeting. Of course, she couldn’t hear them, but they stood close enough to each other as if not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation. The man did most of the talking as he waved his hands in the air.
Nicole could see the woman a little better now, but still the parasol hid most of her face. Every so often, the woman shifted, but she still didn’t allow Nicole to see her fully.
When the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tin, Nicole’s interest escalated. A small tin was the very thing dealers used when selling opium. She didn’t dare start a new case, not until the one with Ashton was solved, but her father must know about this. Today, if at all possible.
The woman lowered the parasol to reach into her wrist purse. Seconds later, she pulled out some money. Now that the woman’s face was out in the open, recognition struck, and Nicole couldn’t believe her eyes. No, this can’t be true. The sun must be playing tricks on her. But even after the lady paid Donnelly and turned to walk away, Nicole could see the woman’s identity. Mrs. Larson—Steve’s wife—the mousy woman from the dinner party at Ashton’s house.
Excitement pumped through Nicole once more, and she hoped it would soon move her legs since they were the very thing keeping her resting under the tree. She needed to alert the other detectives. And she needed to find Ashton and let him know. She highly doubted this had anything to do with the robberies, but she felt Ashton needed to know about his partner’s wife, nonetheless.
Nicole remained still even after Mrs. Larson disappeared from sight. Donnelly’s gaze moved around him and rested on Nicole. She didn’t move, hoping he would believe she was asleep. Her ruse worked, because he turned and left his spot behind the building, making his way toward the street going through town.
Once the man was gone, she breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled away from the tree, but her limbs were still drained of energy. Rubbing her forehead, she closed her eyes. Perhaps she should stay by the tree and wait until she was more rested. It didn’t look very proper to be alone and asleep by the tree, yet what else could she do if walking was nearly impossible at this moment? Still, she must move—if even just to a store or something. Surely, she’d be able to send her father or brother a missive, letting them know she was here and to come get her.
Taking a deep breath for strength, she struggled to stand, using the tree for support to brace her hand against it. Just as she knew they would, her legs trembled. Under her breath, she cursed herself for being so stubborn and wanting to venture into town before she was physically able.
She decided to take a shortcut into town by walking through the park. That might help, only because it gave her enough trees to rest by whenever she needed.
Turning, she took a step, but nearly collided with someone rushing up to her. Startled, she stumbled back, wondering why she hadn’t heard the man coming toward her. Mere steps in front of her, he stopped, his eyes widened in shock. Then a scowl crossed his familiar face.
“Miss Bastian.” He shook his head. “Whot a surprise it is tae run into ye here. Whot’s it been? A year since wee last met?” He folded his arms. “It does surprise me how quickly ye move from place to place. I believe we saw each other last in London. Am I correct?”
