Penny for Your Secrets (A Verity Kent Mystery Book 3) by Anna Lee Huber

Author:Anna Lee Huber [Huber, Anna Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2019-10-29T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

“What did Lord Croyde have to say?” I asked Sidney as our cab pulled away from Calliope’s townhouse. I’d noticed how much calmer the young lord was when they’d returned to the drawing room. His mouth had even curled into a genuine smile, if not a large one.

“A great deal.” There was a wealth of meaning beneath Sidney’s words. “But the gist of it is, I don’t think he did it.”

“You don’t think he killed his father?”

“No.” He spoke with quiet certainty, turning to gaze out the window at the sun-drenched buildings of Belgravia. “He’s simply an angry, directionless man. Not a killer.”

That Sidney was so sure of this did not surprise me. I had anticipated he would be able to comprehend Croyde better than I. But there was something in his eyes, some shadow that wasn’t there before, and I pondered what had put it there.

When I didn’t reply, he must have assumed I doubted his assessment, for his voice sharpened. “He provided me with an alibi, but it will be as difficult to verify as the one Ardmore gave you. We can attempt to run it to ground, but I think that would be a waste of our time.”

“Yes, and we’ve had enough of that for one day,” I muttered. “No, if you think he’s innocent, then I trust your judgment. Nothing else points to his guilt anyway, except his position as his father’s heir and their poor relationship. But many sons have poor relationships with their fathers. That doesn’t mean they would kill them.”

“True,” he murmured, still not looking at me, and I wondered if he was thinking of his relationship with his own father. One that was so distant, it was practically nonexistent. For all that my mother was too prying and judgmental, at least I knew beneath all that criticism she cared.

“Did he know anything about his father’s import/export business?” I asked.

“Very little. He claimed it was the part of his father’s business assets that interested him the least, and the one his father seemed least likely to release control of, so he never asked.”

“That’s interesting.” Why should Rockham be so determined to retain control over that aspect of his investments? It seemed an odd concern for a man who had no other interest in the sea, so far as I could tell.

Hearing the speculation in my voice, Sidney finally glanced at me. “What did Calliope have to say about the matter?”

I told him what she’d informed me about the lost shipments during the war, but he had no greater knowledge than I did about maritime insurance or government funding for lost cargo meant for British troops.

His eyes narrowed. “Although, I had a sergeant who worked for Lloyd’s before the war, as some sort of insurance adjuster. He probably returned to it. Maybe he could explain how it works to us, or point us to someone who can.” His mouth flattened. “That is, if he’ll talk to me.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

He gave me a perturbed look.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.