The two men scowled at each other, and Lily sighed. “Come along, Captain. If Mr. Page says there is nothing else to be done, then there is nothing else to be done.”
They left the room in silence, Mr. Page glaring at their backs. Jack’s expression was thunderous, and Lily’s mood was not much better. She did not try to moderate her sarcastic tone. “You were wonderfully helpful back there, Captain.”
“A man was murdered, Mrs. Adler, and they show no inclination to do a single thing about it. They can’t identify the man?” Jack made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat. “What is the good of the taxes we pay for them if they do not do their job?”
“I know.” Lily sighed. “But offending him was not going to get us anywhere. Why could you not manage him as you did the porter?”
“I don’t know.” Jack blew out a breath and ran one hand through his hair, a frustrated gesture Lily was beginning to recognize. “Something about that man sets me on edge.”
Lily snorted. “Perhaps both of you are too accustomed to being the one giving orders.”
She would have continued, but a figure down the hall caught her eye. A gentleman had just left one of the offices and was heading toward the front door. His broad-shouldered build and bright-blue coat looked familiar, but it wasn’t until he paused to talk to the porter that she recognized him. She had seen him just over an hour before, leaving the Walters’ home with three hundred pounds in his jacket.
Lily swallowed, feeling suddenly ill. “A moment, Captain.” Lily approached the porter; when he looked up, she tried to smile, hoping she did not look as disturbed as she felt. “Could you tell me the name of the gentleman who left just now? In the blue coat?”
“Th’ magistrate? That was Mr. Philip Neve.” The porter looked confused by the question. “Him as runs the Great Marlborough Street office. Did ye need to speak with him?”
“No, I … thank you. That is … no.” Not really sure what she was saying, Lily nodded to the porter just as Jack joined her. “Excuse me, Captain, I think I left something in Mr. Page’s office. I shall return in a moment.”
Leaving Jack looking confused behind her, Lily hurried back down the hall. She knocked sharply on Mr. Page’s door but did not wait for a response before entering.
The principal officer started to his feet, then sighed when he saw who had burst in on him. “Mrs. Alder, this is a place of business. I realize you may not know what that is—”
Lily did not wait for him to finish. “What would you say if I told you that I know why this case was dropped? If it was because someone bribed your magistrate to prevent it from being investigated as it should be?”
Mr. Page’s eyes had narrowed as she spoke, and his voice was cold as he replied. “I would say that I’m unsurprised. Your kind always thinks they can get away with anything because they have money.”
“Then what do you plan to do about it?” Lily’s heart was pounding. Surely he would realize that this could not be allowed, that someone had to find out what had happened?
“Do?” Mr. Page sat back down, no longer looking at her as he began to sort through the papers on his desk. “My job, Mrs. Adler, to the best of my ability. You can show yourself out.”
Lily stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing. But the constable did not look back up, and he did not reply when she said his name again. So at last she gave up, slamming the door shut behind her in an uncharacteristic display of temper.
When she returned to the lobby, Jack took one look at her face and hailed a hack carriage without asking any questions, staying silent until a driver had pulled up in front of them. “Shall I accompany you back to the Walters’, Mrs. Adler?” he asked.
By that point, Lily had taken several deep breaths and managed to regain at least a semblance of her normal calm. “No, thank you. I am sure you have your own affairs to attend to today, and I will only be packing up my things to return to Half Moon Street.”
Jack ran a hand through his hair. “We can try again tomorrow,” he offered. “I shall even be polite next time. If we make ourselves enough of a nuisance, someone will listen eventually.”
His offer took her by surprise. “You would do that?”
“Of course I would. Not as if I have much else to occupy my time while I’m stuck ashore,” Jack said. He shrugged as if it did not matter, but his eyes were serious. “Say the word, Mrs. Adler, and I will do what you need. Freddy would box me soundly if I did anything else.” He grinned, looking more like his usual self. “Have I done the unthinkable and shocked you into silence?”
“You are a dreadful man, Captain, I hope you know that,” Lily said, but her expression softened as she added, “And you are also very kind.”
“I like to be unexpected,” Jack agreed. “So what will it be?”
Lily thought about Mr. Page’s cold expression, the bitter way he had spoken of her class, and was about to tell Jack exactly what she thought of the infuriating principal officer. Then she thought about Philip Neve accepting a bribe worth more than his constables made in a year, about Lord Walter’s cool insistence that there be “no mess” for him to deal with. Did Serena know what her husband had done? And if not, did Lily have a responsibility to tell her?
No, she decided quickly, her mind taking only seconds to jump through the possible consequences. She couldn’t say anything without knowing why Lord Walter had made the bribe. If she could learn more, find out who the man was and why he had been killed, then she could figure out how Lord Walter was involved in the dreadful affair. But Bow Street had laid the case aside. We can’t identify the man …
And suddenly Lily could. She remembered exactly where she had seen the murdered young man, and he had been very much alive at the time.
Lily drew in a sharp breath before she recalled where she was. Jack was still watching her, one eyebrow lifted. It had been no more than a few seconds since he had asked his question, but as far as Lily was concerned, everything had changed.
“I do not think we should press the matter. But you are very good to offer.” Lily held out her hand. “Thank you for coming with me, and for your kindness.”
“Mrs. Adler.” Jack bowed over her hand, then helped her into the carriage. “I’m sure I shall see you again soon.”
Lily watched him stroll off, then turned to the driver. “Take me to Audley Street, please. Number twenty-nine. And quickly.”
CHAPTER 7
The footman who answered the door was rigidly dignified, staring at a point just above her head, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. “Madam?”
Lily held out her card, silently amused when it took him a moment to notice; his gaze had been too high. “Would you inform Miss Oswald that Mrs. Adler has called to see her?”
The young man bowed her in. “If you would wait in the front parlor, madam,” he said, opening the door to that room.
“Thank you.” There was a fire in the room, and Lily settled gratefully in front of it. April was a brisk month in London. As she waited, staring absently around the room, she wondered if Miss Oswald would agree to see her. Under normal circumstances, of course, it would be odd for the girl to refuse. But as Lily had realized, the circumstances in which Miss Oswald had found herself were anything but normal.