I felt so stunned that for a moment, I couldn’t speak.
Tony got a puzzled look on his face. “My father seems rather calm about the matter.”
For a dozen years, I’d believed Peedro Sluff to be my father. “I’d better sit down.”
“Oh, gods, yes. Of course.” Tony brought me to the sofa, and there we sat.
Too much was happening. “What ... how?”
Tony let out a breath. “He was shot in his liquor store, sometime last night after he closed up. The police were called mid-morning when he didn’t open the store and no knocking could rouse him.”
The poor man, I thought. Just when he was finally getting his life back together.
“I’m sorry, Jacqui. This has to be a shock.”
Then the tears came. “No matter what Mr. Hart tells me, I still think of Peedro as my father.”
* * *
We took dinner in our rooms; Tony lay by my side, holding me all night long as I wept.
I didn’t even know why I was crying. Peedro Sluff was an utter scoundrel, a man who had done the little girl I’d been so much harm.
But he was also a man who’d been broken by a horror too much for him, and yet somehow had been able to recover.
I cried myself to sleep, and in the morning, Tony was still there. “The servants have been told to stay out unless we ring for them. And I had Pearson cancel my appointments and tell the bridge guards we’re not at home. I won’t leave you alone in your mourning.”
“Thank you.” I knew he didn’t understand, not really. But he was there, for once, and that meant a great deal to me. “I never told him I was pregnant.” That set off another surge of grief, and I turned away. He’d never get to see the child.
Why did I even care?
Tony kissed my hair, slid his arm under my neck, and we lay like this for some time.
Later, we had breakfast at my tea-table, the sun streaming in. “Do they have any idea who might have done it?”
“None,” said Tony. “Nothing was taken.” He hesitated. “But the Diamonds and Harts both had reason to kill him.”
“What does Roy plan?”
“For once, the man wants to stop and think before starting a war.” Tony let out a snort of derision. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Do you think Jack Diamond might have done this?”
I sat back, appalled. “He certainly has motive!” Peedro had shot Jack’s manservant in cold blood right in front of me when I was twelve. Rumor had it that Jack and the servant were lovers. I leaned forward, spoke in a whisper. “Jack told me all this farce about him being mad was to learn why Peedro shot his servant.”
Tony nodded slowly. “I must tell my father.”
I whispered, “No! What if someone else killed him? What if Roy goes to Jack’s parents with the truth? Everything Jack’s done will have been for nothing, not to mention that —”
Tony whispered, “Wait. His parents don’t know he’s alive?” He sat back and said, full volume, “For gods’ sake!”
I said, “Tony, you must stay silent —”
“How can I?” He leaned forward, whispering, “My father will get us into a war over this scoundrel unless I tell him.”
“He’s going to blame the Diamonds in either case.” I whispered, “At least now, Jack is protected.”
Tony said nothing.
I spoke softly. “We don’t know enough about what’s going on. When he captured me, Jack said people were following him, that ‘almost everyone’ was trying to kill him.”
Tony’s eyes widened.
“Jonathan said it was imperative that we stay silent, but he wouldn’t say why. Only that we might all be killed otherwise. Now, I don’t know if his parents know. Perhaps he’s told them and Jon doesn’t know it. But Jack may fear spies, or ... I don’t know, maybe his father’s part of it —”
“Surely you don’t think his own father —”
“That’s it. We don’t know. But Jack Diamond went to remarkable lengths to fake his death, and we can’t undo that.”
Tony sat silent for a moment. “I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be the one defending him.”
That made me laugh.
He sighed. “Very well; I’ll say nothing. I can only hope we find the culprit before things get out of hand.”
Many had motive to kill Peedro Sluff. But who would have the nerve, the audacity, to perform an unauthorized hit on a man under Spadros protection? And this was the third one. “Is there anything new on the Inventor’s murder?”
Tony snorted. “It never occurred to me before, but a maid would be the perfect person to commit such a crime. Every inch of that place has been dusted for prints, and not a one of hers remains. She’d cleaned the place, top to bottom, then wore gloves to do the deed.”
“That’s ... rather impressive.”
Tony let out a short laugh. “Indeed it is. And none of the dozen men outside could give any good description of her.” He threw up his hands. “Who ever looks at a maid? Other than lechery, no one ever has need to.”
This reminded me of what Tony’s manservant had said a few weeks past. “I think I’m going to lie down now.”
Tony smiled at me. “Take all the time you need.”
* * *
Tony and I stayed in my rooms the rest of the day, but the next one I thought I felt well enough to sit on the veranda and let Tony go about his business. Whilst he was glad I felt better, he decided to stay home to do some work there. It was a bit chill out, so I wore the lovely green wrapper Tenni had made for me over my house-dress.
In my mail that day, I received something which surprised me no end: a hand-written wedding invitation in fine calligraphy.
But this invitation wasn’t to Josie’s wedding. One of my old friends, Vig Vikenti, was to wed his cook, one of the Travelers, whose name was Natalia.
I was quite happy for them. Vig had been my friend for almost a decade, saving my life when I was sixteen and on my first case as an investigator. And Natalia had helped me many a time since I’d met her three years back.
I smiled fondly at the invitation. For once, something was going right in the world.
Blitz and Mary had apparently heard about Peedro, because they came by after luncheon. When Pearson told me they were here, I had them sent out at once. Mary rushed to my side to embrace me. “Oh, mum, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” I said. Ariana looked so adorable in her little bonnet. “I appreciate you coming to call.”
I still had the invitation here on my table, so I asked Blitz about it. “I thought the Travelers only married their own people.”
“Vig’s mother was a Traveler before she married.” Blitz shrugged, face disbelieving. “I guess that’s good enough for them.”
I tried to picture his little mother in one of those outfits Natalia wore. “But I didn’t even know they fancied each other.”
Blitz chuckled. “If you’d seen them fuss at each other the way I have ...” He grinned. “I thought they’d be married long before this.”
I handed Mary the invitation. “Look how beautifully she writes!”
Mary seemed as impressed as I was. She handed it to Blitz.
Blitz peered at it, then handed the invitation back to me. “Look at the date.”
Right when the baby was due. “Surely I can’t miss Vig’s wedding!”
Blitz laughed. “I don’t believe this. You honestly want to appear in public like that?”
I sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
Blitz said, “Should I send regrets?”
I felt so disappointed. But I didn’t want to tell Vig and Natalia no, not just yet. “Let’s wait. Maybe the baby will come early.”
Mary let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t rely on that, mum — not with your first one.”
* * *
I spent the rest of the day outside, sitting and walking, smoking and thinking. The gardens were beautiful, fresh and full in the late spring air. Perhaps sensing my mood, our bomb-sniffer dog Rocket came up from time to time. He'd lay his head upon my foot, or walk beside me.
The birds sang, which always reminded me of my poor little bird back home at my apartments, under the smooth flat stone there.
What had it felt like to be free, really free? Did my little bird have a moment of peace, or had the cat’s claw ended its joy before it might even understand it?
With such morbid and melancholy thoughts I spent my day, so when we got a knock at the door after dinner, it seemed only good and right that the night should be stormy, and that we should have a late night visitor, hooded and cloaked.
The real surprise was the identity of the cloaked man standing in our hallway that dark and stormy night: Mr. Paul Blackberry, the editor of the Bridges Daily.