Chapter 34 #2
Apparently the good chief constable wouldn’t take them at their word. Not that Adrian blamed him. It was fine. The wounds would prove they’d fought for their lives. What Kendrick needn’t know was that they’d captured O’Leary first and that he’d stood no chance of leaving The Bearded Vulture alive.
“I should still apprehend you,” Kendrick murmured after he’d seen the stab wounds.
“On what grounds?” Samantha asked while Adrian and Murry made themselves presentable.
Kendrick stared at her. “Are you seriously asking me that question? O’Leary is dead, according to your husband. His body is gone along with the ones belonging to his crew. So at the very least, Croft can be charged with removing evidence from a crime scene.”
“Or,” Adrian said as he lowered himself to his chair and set his glass on top of the desk. He waited until everyone was looking at him before adding, “We can brush this nasty business under the rug and make a fresh bargain.”
“I’d be a fool to trust you again,” Kendrick said.
“Considering the information I have in my possession, you’d be a fool not to,” Adrian said.
Kendrick seemed to consider, weighing the pros and cons, and then, “What information would that be?”
Though he did not look at her directly, Adrian could tell that Samantha was watching him closely, with great interest. As was Murry.
He leaned back in his chair, his attention focused on Kendrick. “Let’s just say it’s a delicate matter requiring the utmost of care. If I share what I have discovered with you, I’ll need your word as a gentleman that you will consult with me first before you act. Every single step of the way.”
“On top of which I’m supposed to leave you be, pretend you didn’t attack me or kill O’Leary and his men and dispose of their bodies?
” Kendrick was already shaking his head.
He looked like he’d just been blackmailed into submitting his own resignation.
“You must be cracked in the head if you think that’s going to happen. ”
“Very well.” Adrian gestured toward the door. “Feel free to take your leave.”
Kendrick’s face turned a bright shade of crimson. “I am arresting you on behalf of Chief Magistrate Hastings. You will accompany me to Bow Street where you will be held until—”
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Samantha cut in. “You have no proof of any wrongdoing. As far as my husband and Murry are concerned, they were absent from the raid on O’Leary. In fact, they spent most of that evening at Marsdale House.”
Kendrick smirked. “You cannot in all seriousness think you can implicate the earl and his wife, along with their entire household, in such an outrageous lie.”
“Of course not.” When Kendrick showed hints of confusion Samantha told him, “Croft had to run an errand after everyone retired. Murry went with him and the pair encountered some thugs. A fight broke out, the result of which you’ve just seen.”
“No.” Kendrick’s hand sliced the air between them. “Croft and Murry met with me at a coffee shop on Gosfield Street, then accompanied me to Number 12 Hanson with every intention of taking down O’Leary. I was there when he killed the first of his men. I—”
“Do you have any witnesses you can call upon?” Samantha asked.
“I…” Kendrick’s eyes widened as if in panic. “I had Runners with me.”
“Did any of them see Croft or Murry there? Did they witness the events that occurred?”
Adrian allowed himself a satisfied smirk when Kendrick just opened and closed his mouth. His Runners had been on the periphery, deliberately kept away from the fighting. None of them would have seen a thing until they were brought to the scene by Kip so they could collect their chief constable.
“You bastard,” Kendrick muttered.
“I’m not the one trying to ruin a perfectly decent relationship over your own interpretation of what’s right and wrong.”
“You killed numerous men,” Kendrick exploded.
“I admit to no such thing,” Adrian said calmly. “However, if you believe O’Leary deserved to live, then you are mistaken.”
“But—”
“As for his men, they would have known who they were getting into bed with. Rest assured, they require no sympathy from anyone.”
Kendrick swallowed hard. His face was still flushed, his nostrils flared with the effort it took him to breathe. “The information you mentioned…”
Adrian truly felt bad for the man. After all, he was only trying to do what his job required of him. Unfortunately, his stubborn insistence on following protocol – his reluctance to bend the rules just a little in order to get things done – were his greatest weaknesses.
It was the weapon Adrian chose to use against him as he raised both eyebrows and quietly asked, “What information?”
Kendrick held his gaze for several seconds before breaking eye contact.
And then he left, without another word, and without bothering to shut the door behind him.
A moment of silence followed. The sound of the front door closing signaled the chief constable’s departure from the house itself.
Only then did Samantha say, “Will you tell us what that was about?”
Adrian retrieved the paper Simmons had given him earlier.
In retrospect, he was glad he’d found an excuse not to share it with Kendrick.
He’d regretted suggesting the bargain as soon as he’d made it.
The information he now possessed was far more valuable if it remained a secret.
After all, that was his primary business, was it not? Trading secrets for favors.
He rounded his desk to where Samantha was sitting and offered the paper for her to read. Murry peeled away from his corner, a keen look of interest in his pale blue eyes.
Samantha frowned. “I don’t understand. Where did you get this?”
“Simmons handed it to me earlier. He pulled it from one of O’Leary’s pockets.”
“What is it?” Murry asked.
Adrian felt the edge of his mouth twitch with the kind of amusement that always came from knowing he had an ace up his sleeve. “Proof that the Duchess of Eldridge was funding O’Leary’s operation.”
Samantha raised her gaze to Adrian before turning to Murry. “This is a promissory note for one thousand pounds.”
“Bloody hell,” Murry muttered. “How the devil do you suppose he managed to get her to sign away so much money?”
“I’m not sure,” Adrian said, considering. “From what I gather, Her Grace resides at one of the duchy’s estates. Servants would be present, making it hard for O’Leary to have threatened her physically. So maybe he blackmailed her into it somehow.”
Whatever the case, Adrian meant to get to the bottom of it, without alerting the lady’s husband.
The duke was a good man — a longtime family friend and trusted ally.
He’d proven his dependability when he’d helped obtain a pardon for Adrian last year.
Adrian owed him his life and would not repay the debt by demanding his wife be punished for what she had done.
At least not until the facts were verified.
After all, it was still possible she’d acted against her own will when she’d signed away that large amount to O’Leary.
But if she hadn’t… If she’d knowingly helped him in his attempt to murder Adrian and his family, then Adrian would make damn sure she got the punishment she deserved.
And when he did, no one would be able to shield her.
Not even her husband.
Because when it came to those nearest and dearest to Adrian’s heart, he’d take on the bloody world. Including a powerful duke.
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