Chapter Eight
There had been many times in Tobias’s life he’d felt like a fool and an imposter.
Mostly, as a boy when competing against his older brother, Adam, and then many times after that when he’d first joined the Yard and been a young constable on the streets, feeling like a complete fish out of the water.
But over the years, especially having faced death the number of times he had, he’d soon learned that worrying about anyone else’s opinion was a fool’s errand and not worth a shred of his energy.
That attitude was going to serve him well as news of his predicament of being handcuffed to his own filing cabinet, with his own cuffs, no less, spread through the Yard like wildfire, as it was surely bound to after he’d just given instructions to a constable to send out a description of the woman to all officers, with her apprehension a high priority.
He doubted the constable would also stay quiet about seeing his boss cuffed to a filing cabinet.
The laughter that was sure to follow, and which he was currently having to listen to as Iain began to unlock him from the handle of the cabinet, Tobias could deal with.
But knowing that the slip of a woman had bested him was something he wasn’t likely to forget.
She’d come into his space and shown him up in a manner that had left him as equally impressed as he was furious.
He’d spent the first ten minutes after she’d left him alone in his office, trying to valiantly wrench his hand free from the locked handle, all the while swearing like a trooper and puzzling over how she’d done it…
The speed of her actions had been beyond the skills he’d seen in ordinary criminals.
She’d gotten him close to her and then used what had honestly felt like bloody magic against him, all before he’d even been able to process what had happened.
How she’d done what she had, almost to the point her actions hadn’t been visible, he still couldn’t fathom, but what was even more confounding was: how had he let it happen?
He’d dealt with thieves and pickpockets for over fifteen years and had never once had any of them pull the wool over his eyes or take anything from his person, either, though many had tried.
Yet here, a pretty woman comes into his sanctuary, distracts him with her expert manipulation, and this is the end result?
He still couldn’t get his head around it, but he intended to find out. He would find her, and he would damn well arrest her, taking a great deal more precautions dealing with her a second time around than he had the first.
“There we go,” Iain said with a flourish as he freed Tobias’s wrist from the shackle. “You’re free! Damn, I should have gotten Phillip to come in and take a picture of you locked to the cabinet. What a keepsake that would have been to treasure.”
“You’re hilarious, Iain.” Tobias blew out a breath and dragged his now-free hand through his hair.
“Though this is no laughing matter. Yes, the woman got the better of me, and in a manner I still can’t comprehend, but what’s worse is she got through building security and gained entry into our offices, all without detection and under the noses of over a hundred police officers. ”
“Aye, she did, didn’t she?” Iain sounded impressed rather than worried. “I’m actually rather curious to meet the lass. Anyone who can do all that and best you, old friend, is a woman worth meeting.”
“Trust me, you will meet her,” Tobias vowed. “I have every intention of finding her, arresting her, and then hauling her pretty, little derriere into a cell.”
“Pretty, was she?” Iain raised one of his bushy, red brows. “Now I do have to meet her.”
“You’ll stay away from her.” Tobias’s voice cut through the room like a whip, with far more intensity than he’d intended.
“She’s dangerous, Iain,” he said, moderating his tone.
“I’ve honestly never seen the likes of her skills.
She had me cuffed in two seconds, and no more, I swear.
It took me a moment to even process what she’d done. ”
“A master thief, then, do you think?” Iain scratched at his beard. “Though I’m sure we’d have heard of a woman with her skills, if she were.”
“I didn’t get the sense she was a thief.
” Her eyes were far too direct and challenging.
“In fact, I don’t know who or what she is.
” Which was the most frustrating part. He had no clue who she was or what she was up to, or how to find her.
And in a city of almost six million people, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Worse, probably, given she was obviously well versed in disguises.
But his gut was telling him she was involved in this latest case in some way, and finding her was a must, not an option.
“She was clearly looking for information on my desk and given her skills with sleight of hand and distractions and disguises, I have to assume her involvement relates to this new case.”
“Do you think she’s working with the killer, perhaps?”
“Maybe.” The thought didn’t sit well with him, though he wasn’t sure why he felt disturbed by that possibility.
It would make this case much easier if she was involved and he caught her.
But he honestly hadn’t gotten the sense that she was evil, as surely anyone involved in the death of that young woman had to have been.
“We need to find her as a priority. If she’s not directly involved in the case, I need to find out why she’s interested in it. ”
“Her skills might come in handy to us,” Iain added.
“Why? Do you feel like getting locked to your filing cabinet too?”
“Nah, that’s going be your legacy, Tobias, not mine.” Iain grinned. “But if she’s not involved, she’s clearly got magic skills, it seems, so she might be able to help us, like a consultant of some sort.”
Tobias blinked. “You want to give her a job?”
“Why not?” Iain shrugged. “She seems like she might be handy to have around if a magical killer is on the loose, don’t you think, especially as you and I don’t know a bloody thing about magic?”
“I intend to arrest her, not hire her.”
Iain shrugged. “You gotta catch the lass first, and even then, if you do, she got away once. I dare say she’ll have other tricks up her sleeve to do so again.”
“Not on my watch, she won’t.”
“Here.” Iain handed him his cuffs. “You might need these, then. Just be sure to use them on her, not let her use them again on you, won’t you?” His hearty laughter reverberated around the room once again.
Tobias shook his head. “You’re not going to let me forget this, are you?”
“What’s a mate for, except to constantly remind his friend of the most embarrassing moment of his life?” Iain clapped him on the back. “I wouldn’t be much of a best mate if I didn’t do that, now would I?”
“Best mate or not, I’m still your boss.”
“Semantics.” Iain grinned again. “Now come on, boss. Don’t we have some enquiries to make?”
“We do.” Tobias glanced over at the clock, wondering how long they had until the killer struck again. “Come on. Let’s get this circus over with.”
Because without a doubt, in the ten minutes since he’d sent the constable to fetch Iain and keep a look out for the woman, news of his temporary incarceration by his own cuffs would have spread to every inch of the building like wildfire by now.
That woman had a lot to answer for, and Tobias was determined to find her, no matter what it took.