The Bride of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep

Author:Michelle Griep [Griep, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636092706
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Grit in his eyes and cotton in his mouth, Jackson dragged his empty shell into the station. One of these nights he’d sleep. He’d have to. His body couldn’t take much more of this. But every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was a loose-haired wildcat in a brown skirt. Gads! He had been right all along.

Kit would be the death of him.

Keeping to the far wall, he evaded eye contact while avoiding the stairway leading up to the chief’s office. Come Monday morning, he’d have to inform his superior of his intention to leave the force. But not today. He’d need all his wits about him for that little tête-à-tête.

“Oy, Forge!” The clerk at the front counter waved him over.

So much for beelining it to the sergeant’s office unaccosted. “Yes, Smitty?”

“From Baggett.” He shoved a folded slip of paper across the scarred countertop.

“Thank you.” Jackson scooped it up then continued down the corridor, opening the note as he went.

Still at it.

Frowning, Jackson shoved the paper into his pocket. Though no more attempts on his life had occurred in the past three days, neither had Baggett been able to discover the blackguard at the root of it all. Dash it. Perhaps if he created a timeline of when the attacks had begun, the location of each, the frequency and such, he might have a better idea of who wished him dead.

But for now, he rapped his knuckles against Sergeant Graybone’s closed door and waited for a corresponding “Enter.” Once inside, he pulled off his hat while purposely taking the chair farthest from the door. Kit always sat in the other, with a proud toss of her head and a bounce to her toes as she settled onto the leather seat.

“You look like a dog’s dinner,” Graybone rumbled. “Haven’t slept in days, have you?”

Oh, no. He’d not dive down that rabbit hole with the man who would’ve been his father-in-law. “My sleeping habits have no bearing on the investigation of Miss Dalton. Now, shall we compare notes, or would you also like to question my dental hygiene practices?”

A merlot-coloured flush ran up the sergeant’s neck, stark against the deep blue collar of his uniform. “I’ve thrashed men for lesser cheek than that.”

Jackson scraped his nails along his scalp. The sergeant was right. He ought to receive a whack with a truncheon for such insolence. Dropping his hand, he dipped his head as well. “I beg your pardon, sir.”

Graybone grunted. “What did you discover at the Mann residence yesterday?”

“That he is absent until Friday. I queried the housekeeper, though. She provided written records of hiring Isabella Dalton on April twenty-fifth as a scullery maid.”

“Scullery!” Graybone slammed his meaty fist against the desk, rattling the inkwell. For a few moments, his nostrils flared large above his bushy moustache. “I never should have left her, but there’s naught to be done for it now.”

Pain ran husky in the man’s tone. After two decades, he still grieved the loss of his love.

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.