To Catch A Thief (Saved By Desire 2) (12 page)

“What do you plan to do with the rest of the belongings? How much is left?”

Sophia led him to the cupboard under the stairs and showed him the box.

“She has tried to move it but I found it and put it back again. As far as she is concerned, it has been disappeared from where she left it. She won’t ask me for the items back because they aren’t hers either, and she knows I would take her to task over it. So, at the moment we are at a stalemate. Although she has promised me she will return the items, at the last minute she just refuses. Given that I am here, and we were going to homes of people who had items stolen, I thought I could return a few. I don’t see why Delilah should keep them.”

“You took an incredible risk,” he warned her. “Being caught at the ball with your hands on several stolen items would make even the most sceptical person question your integrity. You cannot be associated with this, Sophia. Don’t take such a risk again.”

“I know I should go to the magistrate, Jeb,” she whispered. “But she is my aunt. I cannot help but feel that I am betraying her. She has stopped stealing for now, but I just don’t know what to do. She claims she doesn’t know which items came from which houses.”

“But you know she does.”

“I think so.” She looked at him a little ruefully. “It doesn’t take a genius to work out who owns the Harvell’s hairbrushes.”

Jeb nodded his understanding. He swept a tender finger down her cheek and traced the tell-tale tear stains gently.

“Let me help you with this,” he pleaded huskily.

“I don’t want to go to the magistrate.”

He shook his head slowly, but his mind raced, looking at the possibilities and discarding the ones he knew wouldn’t work.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “I am not going to leave them in the house.”

When Jeb merely looked thoughtful for several moments, she looked up at him.

“Are you not angry with me?”

“For what? Trying to do the right thing?” He smiled gently and looked at her a little ruefully at her. “I must confess that when I first saw you in the study tonight I was furious, and wanted to put you over my knee. However, when I saw that some of the missing items were from my father’s house, I realised you had returned them. I warned myself not judge until I had all of the facts.”

“What do you think I should do? Besides go to the magistrate?” Her stomach was clenched in knots as she waited for his decision.

Jeb thought about that for several moments. He picked up the box and led the way back into the sitting room. He shoved it under the chaise and settled down next to her.

“I think we have to leave the box somewhere it can be found by someone trustworthy. They will ensure the contents are returned to the rightful owners. They won’t have any idea where it came from but will make sure the owners are found.”

“Who, though? How can we do that without incriminating them?”

Jeb thought carefully as he also considered the most estimable people in the village. Besides his father, there was only one person in the community whom Jeb knew wouldn’t get the finger of blame pointed at them. However, didn’t mention them to Sophia. He needed to think the matter over some more.

Sophia waited and waited.

“Let me take the goods and secure them at my father’s house. They will at least be out of Delilah’s reach. She cannot pass them on to someone if she cannot get her hands on them.” He looked questioningly at her. “What has she taken lately?”

“Nothing.” Sophia looked a little rueful for a moment. “I have to confess that I have refused to allow her out of the house with a reticule. I have also informed her that if I hear she has stolen anything from a social gathering I attend she leaves me no choice. I have to report her to the magistrate. I can describe some of the items I know she has stolen, including your father’s trinket boxes.”

Jeb smiled and kissed the back of her hand.

“You know she will start again once you go home, don’t you?” he murmured softly and gave her a warning look. “So you will have to stay here for a while longer.”

She was delighted at the possessive look he levelled on her. “I think I have to,” she admitted somewhat shyly.

“Good. That’s settled then.” He couldn’t help it. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his when passion immediately surfaced he had to lean back again. His heart thundered in his ears as he leaned back to study her.

She was stunning in candlelight; the shadows from which gave her a slightly mysterious look that made him want to unearth all of her secrets. Unfortunately, in spite of the lush temptation of her mouth being so very close, he daren’t chance another kiss. He was already painfully aware that he had already broken several of society’s dictates by being alone with her in the house. To be caught in a passionate clinch with him, should Delilah return home and catch them, might just get Sophia thrown out of the house, and that was something he couldn’t risk.

“I hope I haven’t gotten you in trouble by being here,” he murmured softly.

“No, you haven’t,” she assured him confidently. “I don’t think Delilah is in any position to protest. Do you?”

“Not really,” he admitted ruefully.

“So, what now?”

Jeb almost groaned. Was she talking about another kiss, or the stolen items?

“I will help you get rid of the stolen items. Let’s get them out of the house then the blame is less likely to fall on you. I want you to promise me that if you think Delilah has stolen anything else you will come to me first. Don’t go to the magistrate, and don’t worry about this on your own.”

“If you are sure?” she whispered, touching her tingling lips with tentative fingers.

Jeb watched that fleeting touch and mentally groaned. It was a struggle to keep his attention on their conversation as it was. The rapt, almost beseeching look on her face was making resisting her downright impossible.

“I have written to father to tell him,” she replied honestly. “I just haven’t had a reply yet.”

“How long should that take?”

“I am not sure. I should have hoped to have had a response by now. It is most unlike him.” She just hoped he was alright.

“Write to him again if you should have received a letter but haven’t. You don’t know if Delilah has withheld his reply.” He mentally winced when she gasped and turned to stare at him in shock.

“Do you think she has?”

“I am not sure.” He didn’t want to drive a deeper wedge between the relatives than was already there, but Sophia had an air of innocence about her that made him want to protect her.

Her aunt sounded utterly calculating, merciless, and selfish, and didn’t care one jot about her niece potentially being blamed for a crime she did not commit. In all honesty, he couldn’t say whether Delilah would try to stop the letters reaching Sophia, but he had to raise the possibility.

“Just write to him again, post the letter yourself, and warn him to disguise his writing or something, or send the message to me. As soon as it arrives, I will bring it to you. I am not saying she is interfering with your mail, but just in case she is, let’s remain one step ahead of her.”

He didn’t say so to her, but he was a little uncomfortable with her staying in the house with her aunt. He knew it was foolish really, because Delilah was more of a petty thief than a hardened criminal the likes of which the Star Elite were currently investigating. Still, a criminal was a criminal who flouted the law and had to be treated with caution. It was usually found that once a person broke the law in any way and crossed that invisible line of propriety, they were apt to do so again if the opportunity arose. He couldn’t risk that Sophia might just get dragged deeper into Delilah’s conduct through no fault of her own.

Although he was fairly confident he could use his Star Elite connections to stop any and all charges against Sophia from reaching a judge, he couldn’t do anything about preserving her reputation.

The clock on the mantle struck midnight. He was shocked to realise that how much time had passed. It felt as though he had been there for barely half an hour, yet three hours had passed since he had practically beaten the door down to get answers from her. He carefully ignored the fact that most of the time had been spent gazing at Sophia, and kissing her. At some point during the last hour, he had draped his arms comfortably around her in the manner of a couple who were entirely familiar with each other, but she was nestled against him as though she was revelling in every moment.

“I have to go. Do you want me to stay until Delilah gets back?”

“No, it is alright,” Sophia replied reluctantly.

In reality, she wanted him to stay for as long as he could, but she didn’t want to appear to be too clingy. Inwardly, she was battling the sensual daze that had wrapped around her more and more tightly each time he kissed her, and struggled to focus her thoughts on anything apart from just how wonderful he was, and how right it felt to be in his arms. Her behaviour was nothing short of scandalous, but her defiant nature refused to allow her to feel guilty about it. After all, they had not gone any further than a few kisses and a loving embrace or two. What could be wrong with that?

“How long should she be?” he whispered, eyeing her lips. He wondered if there was time for one last, very thorough kiss.

“She is usually the last one to leave the party,” Sophia admitted wryly. “She should be back within the next hour or so. The balls around here don’t go on until dawn like most do.”

“Good. Just make sure you keep the door to your room locked. May I call upon you tomorrow?” He lifted his brows and waited for her to nod.

“Of course, I should like that.” She beamed with delight.

“We can go for a walk, if you like? Then I can escort you to the posting office to post your letter to Hooky.”

It was a strange name for a man, but Jeb was used to working with a team of men who nearly all had nick-names, but he had no intention of telling her what his was.

Before he left, he retrieved the box of stolen items and carried them to the front door. Once there, he placed them at his feet and tugged her into his arms.

She melted into his embrace with an ease that was completely natural, and returned his kisses with an equal ferocity that left them both yearning for more.

“I will see you tomorrow, Sophia,” he promised huskily when he knew he had pushed his self-control as far as it would go.

“Tomorrow,” she sighed dreamily.

“Lock up behind me and don’t answer the door again,” he ordered, tucking the box under his arm as he stepped outside.

Sophia whispered goodnight and closed the door gently, a tender smile on her wondrously bruised lips.

The following morning, Jeb arrived in the breakfast room at Briggleberry, to find his father looking stern.

“Have you heard?” his father demanded without preamble.

“What?” Jeb collected a plate and heaped piles of bacon, eggs, and toast onto it.

“That Tabitha girl has been found.” He nodded when Jeb turned to look at him.

Jeb knew from the dark look on Algernon’s face that the news wasn’t good. “What happened to her? Where did they find her?”

“The Dobbs boy found her on his way back from the market last night. He took a short cut through the fields. She was discovered in a field to the woods on the far side of the village. According to Tranvers, the gardener, who was in the tavern at the time, the boy rushed in as white as a sheet and was barely coherent. He had fallen over and came almost face-to-face with her.”

“God in heaven,” Jeb muttered.

“Yes. When they eventually calmed him down, they were able to get him to tell them where she was because he refused to show them.”

“How did she die, do they know?” Jeb asked as he spread jam on his toast.

“God, how can you eat at a time like this?” his father demanded with a scowl.

Jeb stared down at the toast in his hand and shrugged. “My time in the Army prepared me to take on fuel while the opportunity was there because you never knew when you would get a break in fighting to eat again. Besides, my work for the Star Elite brings me into contact with dead bodies. I am not squeamish about death and dying. You see too much of it at war.”

His father was subdued for several moments while he considered that.

“I am not going to succeed in getting you to return to live here, am I?” He said morosely after several moments of thoughtful silence.

Jeb considered the wall opposite for a moment while he thought over what he had shared with Sophia last night.

“I wouldn’t say that,” he replied obliquely before tucking into the eggs on his plate.

When his father’s brows lifted in shock, Jeb knew he had to explain or else he would get pestered remorselessly.

“I am not saying no. It is just that at the moment the Star Elite are involved in quite an in-depth investigation for the War Office that I just cannot walk away from. I have to see it through to its conclusion before I can take up a future anywhere.”

He picked up the broadsheet and, sure enough, an article was there reporting yet another burglary, this time from the home of an eminent Professor. From the sound of the article, the theft was very similar to the recent spate that had hit several members of the aristocracy in London. Many items had been taken right under their noses while the household was asleep, and people were now demanding answers. 

Aware that his father was waiting, Jeb slid the broadsheet across the table. He motioned to the article at the bottom of the page and waited while Algernon read.

“Good Lord. Do you know who it is yet?”

“We do, but pinning anything on him is difficult. We suspect the culprit is a notorious criminal who is surrounded by people prepared to lie for him. We will catch him, but it takes time because we have to gather evidence to prove his guilt.”

“It sounds like the thefts here, doesn’t it?” He froze and stared at Jeb in horror. “Do you think -?”

Jeb nodded. “It’s one of the reasons why I was allowed to leave the investigation to come here,” he admitted. “Usually, we are not authorized to go anywhere during an investigation but, given the similarities between the two sets of thefts, I was asked to look into what has been going on. It is safe to say now that I have reason to believe the thefts here were committed by someone unconnected to the London thief.”

“Oh? Have you found the culprit here then?” Algernon looked at him hopefully.

Jeb paused.

“Who is it?” his father demanded when Jeb didn’t reply.

“I am not going to say until I have some more proof.” Jeb knew he had made the right decision when he saw a tell-tale flash of anger in his father’s eyes.

“The thefts sound the same.” Algernon tapped the broadsheet for emphasis.

“Yes, but there is one significant difference,” Jeb replied calmly.

“What?” Algernon was clearly not prepared to be appeased easily.

“Some of the items taken recently have been returned.”

“What?”

Jeb placed his father’s trinket boxes onto the table before him, and watched astonishment flood his father’s face.

“Good Lord, where did you get them from? Who took them?”

Jeb smiled. “I cannot say right now, but I have managed to retrieve several stolen items. At the moment, I need to focus my attention on who murdered Tabitha, because I suspect they are still in the area somewhere. Once that has been dealt with, I will make sure the thefts stop, and that should be the end of it. Then, and only then, I will tell you what I intend to do about the future.”

“Is it likely to be based here?”

Jeb smiled at his father and nodded. He was touched when his father beamed, and knew he had just bought himself the time needed to deal with the stolen goods, the murder, and Delilah.

A companionable silence settled over them while they finished their breakfast.

“Well, I’ll be off,” Algernon announced half an hour later. “I have a meeting with Everson in a minute, and need to see the farmer about the rent on the cottage. I will be back in time for dinner.”

“By the way,” Jeb called when his father had reached the door. “Where is the girl now?”

“Oh, she has been taken to the church where it was cold, but her body has already started to decompose because it has been outside for so long. I understand it is not a pretty sight.”

“I will go and take a look,” Jeb said anyway.

He knew from the dour look his father threw him that he wouldn’t like what he would see, but this was Jeb’s job. He had to face things most people shied away from. Once he was finished with his breakfast, he left the house and made his way over to the church.

“I am sorry,” the vicar said softly when he opened the door to the church. “The smell is a little noxious I am afraid. While I am more than happy to accommodate God’s children in their hour of need, I have had to arrange for her to be moved to the store room at the back of the vestry. Are you sure you want to see her? It is a little disturbing I am afraid.”

The vicar looked at him as though he had lost his mind when Jeb nodded.

“It is all part of my job. I need to see her to find out how she died,” he explained.

“I understand from the magistrate’s men that you are here officially so please, be my guest.” The vicar waved a hand vaguely toward the back of the church but made no attempt to accompany him.

“How did she die?”

“She was murdered, poor soul,” the clergyman replied somewhat hesitantly.

“I know, but was she stabbed, knifed, suffocated?” He saw the horror build in the cleric’s eyes and offered him a commiserating smile. “I am sorry. I don’t mean to upset you. It is the investigator in me talking. I need to establish a cause of death to be able to get some idea of what kind of person took her life. Please, you don’t have to come with me if you find it too distressing.”

“Oh, thank you,” the vicar gushed suddenly looking intensely relieved. “I was waiting for Mrs Banks to come. She is usually excellent with matters like this, but she hasn’t appeared yet which is most odd.”

He turned away with a frown, still mumbling about how uncharacteristic it was for such a stalwart lady used to her daily routine not to turn up on time.

Jeb let him go, and opened the door to the store room.

The smell hit him first. Whoever had placed her in the room had, thankfully, had the foresight to open the window, but the gentle breeze that swept through the room did nothing but stir the odour. Blocking out all thought of his roiling stomach, Jeb approached the body and lifted the sheet.

He began his search at the top of Tabitha’s head, prepared to make his way down the body until he established how she died. He didn’t have to search for long before he came across numerous ligature marks and dark bruising around the girl’s neck.

“Strangulation,” Jeb murmured aloud as he stared at the marks.

They looked startlingly similar to those on the corpses of Samson and Balgravia. They had been members of the aristocracy who had been murdered recently in London, and left hidden in parks to be found once the stench of rotting flesh became noticeable.

“It can’t be. This is nothing but a coincidence,” Jeb tried to reassure himself. Inside, though, he was less than convinced.

In a quest for answers, he ventured further down the body, and noted the clawed hands, most of the nails on which had been broken during her desperate struggle for life. He suspected from the mottled state of her flesh, and the fact that her limbs had gone limp again after rigor mortis, that she had been killed as soon as she had disappeared several days ago.

An hour later, he covered the body and quietly made his way out of the room. He came across the vicar standing beside the main doors, wringing his hands anxiously.

“What is it?” Jeb asked with a scowl.

Right now, he desperately wanted to see Sophia. He needed her sunny warmth and pleasant smile to chase away the lingering memory of what he had just witnessed, but it seemed that Fate, and the vicar, had other ideas.

“I am worried about Mrs Banks. It is so unlike her not to come to help out. The cleaning ladies will be here any moment and I need to go through their tasks with them so I cannot go to check on her,” the vicar fretted.

Jeb heaved a mental sigh. He knew what the clergyman was asking, and knew it would be churlish to leave him to worry.

“Do you want me to go and check on her?”

The vicar looked immensely relieved. “If you wouldn’t mind, that would be most helpful. There is nothing to say she has not had a fall, you see? Her house is so far out of the village that nobody would hear her cries for help. I wish I hadn’t done some paperwork in the office before I came here. I just assumed she would be here.”

Sensing he would be a while if he didn’t get away soon, Jeb interrupted. “I will go and see her. If there is anything wrong, I will summon help and send word to you. If you don’t hear anything it is because she is not at home and has undoubtedly been waylaid somewhere. Alright?”

“Of course. If you are sure it is not putting you out too much? It would be a welcome help indeed.” The vicar threw him a grateful look.

Jeb took his leave before the vicar could launch into another explanation about the reliability of Mrs Banks. With the desperate need to see Sophia nipping at his heels, he hurried through the village toward Mrs Banks’ house.

“A completely wasted trip,” Jeb grumbled when he saw the house, and smoke billowing steadily from the chimney. However, to appease the vicar he continued to the house and knocked on the front door.

When his knocks received no answer, he made his way around the side of the house to the back door. He froze, and knew immediately that this was not a wasted trip at all.

Something was terribly wrong.

“Mrs Banks?” he called as he eyed the open door at the back of the house with a frown. There was no sign of a struggle, but Mrs Banks was not in the garden, and no sound could be heard from inside the house. “Mrs Banks?” He yelled louder this time. “Are you home?”

When he still received no reply, he pushed the back door open and cautiously entered the kitchen. Fire roared in the fireplace, but he barely paid it any attention.

“Mrs Banks? Can you hear me?” Silence greeted him.

Glad that he had remembered to bring his gun, Jeb crept into the property. The rooms at the rear of the house were all empty. He glanced upstairs but couldn’t see anything untoward. The dining room at the front of the house was also devoid of life. He ventured across the hallway to the sitting room. As soon as he entered, he saw the back of a dark head resting against the back of a chair in front of the empty fireplace. Although her back was facing the door, he recognised the person in the seat as Mrs Banks.

He didn’t call out her name, partly for fear of scaring her, but partly because he knew that it was a waste of time. Mrs Banks had gone far beyond anybody’s reach. Bracing himself, he sidled around the outskirts of the room until he could see her face.

“Jesus,” he swore when he saw the mottled colour of death on her face. “Not you too.”

He studied the stiff features and suspected she had been dead for several hours. Rigor mortis had settled in and had yet to release its frozen grip. With her head tipped back to rest on the back of the chair, he could see the now familiar burn marks around her throat caused by the ligature that had killed her.

A dark frown scarred his brow. He hurried into the kitchen and stared at the heavily laden fireplace roaring away heartily.

“Now, if you have been dead for several hours, how in the world did you manage to light that?”

He knew from the fact that most of the wood in the grate had only just started to burn that this fire had been lit within the last hour, but who by? If someone knew there was a corpse in the house they wouldn’t light the fire, not least because going about such an everyday task was a tad disrespectful. Besides, any idiot knew it was best to keep a dead person cold.