Page 74 of A Story of Love

“Oh, I trust the lads. It’s her I don’t trust.”

Gregg laughed and then opened the door to his own suite of rooms.

Fast disposed of himself in one of the chairs. “So, then. What is the need for such secrecy?”

“It was Moreland.”

Fast frowned. “What about Moreland?”

Gregg opened his mouth, hesitated, and then said with a grim look, “It was Moreland who had your brother killed, my lord.”

Fast stared. And when Gregg merely stared back, Fast gave a sharp bark of laughter. “The devil you say! Somebody is having you on, Gregg.”

But Gregg didn’t laugh with him. “I’m afraid not, my lord. Barker tracked Garcia down and found his lodgings. Unfortunately, he also found Garcia. Dead. Somebody slit his throat for him and then tossed his place. Not that there was much to toss. But it was obvious that whoever did it was looking for something.”

Fast shook his head. “But… but this makes no sense. How could Garcia tell Barker it was Moreland if he was already dead?”

“Because there was a witness to Garcia’s murder, my lord.”

Fast laughed again. “Now I know somebody is lying if they said they saw Moreland slit somebody’s throat. Bevil Norman faints at the sight of blood—he always has. He might kill a man, but not with a knife.”

Gregg rubbed his temple. “I’m making a mess of this.”

“You bloody well are,” Fast agreed. “Tell me straight what happened.”

“It wasn’t Moreland the witness saw, but a huge bloke who is one of the earl’s servants. A man named Edward Carey, who is as big as you.”

“What did he look like?” Fast asked, a sick feeling already blooming in his belly.

“A scar through his eyebrow with salt-and-pepper—”

“Damnation! That was the man who had Lorelei cornered in that alley last night.”

“A neighbor saw Carey enter Garcia’s flat, heard sounds of a scuffle, and saw Carey leave covered in blood.”

Fast shook his head in perplexity. “But…why?”

Gregg pressed his lips together and shrugged. “That, I don’t know. Barker and two other men are holding Carey captive in a corder’s shack on Bell Pier. It took a lot to soften him up, but he finally broke and confessed it was Moreland who sent him to kill Garcia.” Gregg snorted. “Not that there was much chance of him getting out of it. In any event, he swears that he knows nothing about why Moreland wanted Garcia dead. It seems the earl hasn’t taken him into his confidence to that extent.”

Fast shook his head, unable to credit what he was hearing. “And you really believe that Carey is working for Moreland?”

“Barker will be able to tell you the whole of the man’s confession, but there is no doubt of it, my lord. Carey has lived in a cottage on the Earl of Moreland’s estate for years and is well-known about the place. Moreland obviously placed a great deal of trust in him.” His jaw flexed. “Moreland is the man who paid Albert Jensen to kill your brother. And it makes sense to assume that he had Garcia killed—and his rooms searched—hoping to find the confession. I daresay Garcia has been bleeding him.”

The words echoed strangely. Fast could hear them, but it was simply too difficult for his brain to grasp. It was too…fantastical to accept that a man who had once been his best friend—and Percy’s too—was responsible for killing his brother and all but destroying Fast’s life.

He stilled his rampaging thoughts and took deep, controlled breaths. After a moment, he unclenched his fingers as his shock began to evaporate like fog under a hot sun.

“There’s something else.” Gregg’s voice seemed to come from a far way off.

“What?” he demanded irritably, grappling with rage now that shock had passed.

“Carey said that he found the girl.”

“Girl?”

“Jensen’s younger sister.”

Fast’s head whipped up. “Good God! Ellie Jensen is alive?”