“Instinct compels me to doubt every word he’s told us.”She stood, arms crossed and with an edgy look about her, as though she expected Kendrick to show up at any second.“We’d be fools to trust him.Beyond that, this situation bears too much resemblance to Clive Newton’s capture for my liking.”
Adrian acknowledged her point though he disagreed with the last part.“I’ll grant you that Melroy might just be trying to save his own skin.If he’s a member of this Asclepius Society, he could have been trying to make sure there was no evidence of foul play to be found in case Bow Street happened upon the secret location.He could have been part of a cover up operation that’s underway now that bodies are turning up and the chief constable himself has begun investigating.That said, our current situation is entirely different from anything relating to Clive Newton.”
“He was brought here as well, was he not?”
Adrian stared at her.While he’d alluded to the part he’d played in Newton’s capture and subsequent death, they’d never openly discussed it.
“Yes,” Adrian confessed.He’d be damned if he’d lie to her.“Not to the parlor, however, but to the room in the cellar beneath the stairs.”
“We cannot do that to Melroy.”
“Of course we can’t.”They weren’t even sure of Melroy’s guilt.“Newton murdered several women, including my sister.To suggest I might treat a potentially innocent man as I would that monster makes me worry about your opinion of me.”
“My opinion of you is that you can be rash and unforgiving.Or have you forgotten the public accusation you made against the Marquess of Lundquist when you wrongly declared him to be Evie’s killer?It’s a miracle you didn’t have to face him in a duel.”
“I daresay we’ve both made mistakes.However, I’ve no intention of locking Melroy in that room and torturing him without good reason.Murry guarding him will suffice for now.”
“You have to tell Kendrick.”
“About what?The hidden tunnels and secret society?The fact that we ran into Melroy while hunting for clues?Or that he’s our guest at the moment?”
“All of it.”She held his gaze with unwavering firmness.“You cannot keep this from him, Adrian.As it is, he told us to stand down and let him handle matters.Not only did we choose not to listen and find information that could prove helpful to his investigation, we’ve also impacted the tunnel and the chamber with our presence.If Kendrick heads down there when he goes to search St.George’s, he’ll find the gate unlocked and a smashed oil lamp, which will likely skew his deductions.”
“I didn’t think you trusted him enough to make the right ones.”
“I don’t, which is why we went looking for answers.The whole point was to help him, was it not?”
“That was before we ended up having an altercation with a surgeon.My intention was to send Kendrick an anonymous note, informing him where to look.He might have suspected it was from me, but he wouldn’t have had any proof.All of that has changed now.Melroy will tell him what happened the second the two of them speak.”
“I expect so, which is yet another reason for you to come clean.”
Adrian shook his head, unable to understand why she wasn’t more worried about the potential repercussion of doing so.“Kendrick specifically told me to leave the investigation to him.He told me to stay out of it and I said I’d do so.My breaking into St.George’s and threatening Melroy is just the sort of thing Kendrick needs in order to put me back behind bars.You, too, since you were the one holding a dagger to Melroy’s chest.”
“We didn’t kill anyone.”
“No, but—”
“Whatever charges Kendrick might press, Shaw can have them dismissed with ease.It wouldn’t result in more than a brief annoyance.”
“Coming on the heels of the last charges I faced, I’d like to avoid anything remotely damning to my reputation.”
“And so you shall.Kendrick won’t act against you, Adrian.”When he arched a brow in disbelief she said, “He risked too much to help you.If the extent of his involvement in your getting pardoned ever gets out, his career will be over.”
Adrian stared at her as what she said sank in.He’d not really thought about that but she was right.He and Kendrick were bound to each other because of Kendrick’s decision to help him.However reluctant Adrian was to use that against the chief constable, it was an ace worth taking into consideration.
“If you withhold our findings from him,” Samantha pressed, “you won’t be aiding the investigation but hindering it.”
“Fine.”Adrian sat behind his desk and retrieved a blank sheet of paper.He reached for his quill next.Kendrick wouldn’t like what he had to say but Samantha was right.The constable needed to know what they’d learned.
* * *
Peter Kendrick tried to calm down.The deep breaths he’d been taking since reading Croft’s message an hour ago only helped for a brief second.As soon as he recalled the words, blood rushed to the top of his skull once more.Honestly, his head felt like it might explode, he was so bloody angry.
“I thought we were going to St.George’s,” Miss Hastings said.
She sat across from him and Jackson as they travelled through the city by carriage.These were the first words she’d uttered since they’d set off.No one else had spoken either.Which suited Peter fine.He was too busy visualizing the dressing down he planned to give Croft as soon as they met.
“I have an inconvenient matter I’m forced to attend to first,” Kendrick told her.“We’ll head to St.George’s after.”
