A Very Dishonest Scandal (The Hero Next Door Book 5)

by Rebecca King

  ‘Good,’ Luke announced. ‘Let them follow. They will see that we have gone straight to the magistrate then, won’t they?’

  He didn’t mention that he knew the magistrate, William Debrette, from having worked on several investigations with the man. William was good at his job and wouldn’t tolerate physical violence no matter what problem Miss Samantha Morton had with Rosemary. Consequently, Luke didn’t hesitate to lead Rosemary through town to the magistrate’s house.

  Once there, Luke knocked on the door and stood back to wait. It didn’t surprise him to see the young women loitering at the end of the street, trying hard to pretend that they weren’t watching. Luke boldly turned to face them and kept his gaze trained on them while he waited for William to answer the door. The worst of the troublemakers, Miss Morton, stared boldly back at him. He watched her titter something to her friends who all boldly turned to stare at him before Miss Morton coquettishly cocked her hip and smirked. Luke knew then that Miss Morton’s major problem was that she thought that she could do what she liked to people and there would be no consequences. She was arrogant.

  ‘We have a problem,’ Luke announced darkly when William answered the door.

  William’s brows lifted. He looked from Luke to the beautiful young woman on his arm. It didn’t surprise him that his good friend had been in the area for barely a week and had already found himself a future bride. Whoever this young woman was clearly mattered to Luke given the tender way he guided her through the door. Startled by what he was witnessing, William thoughtfully waved his friend into the house.

  William guided Luke’s friend to a chair before the fireplace because her lips were blue, and she was openly shivering. He studied the mud stains on her dress and wondered if she had something to do with a Star Elite investigation.

  Luke briskly told him everything. Rosemary remained silent mostly because she was struggling to comprehend how swiftly everything had changed in the space of one morning. Not only did she now not need to face Samantha Morton on her own, but she had the might of the Star Elite on her side, and the magistrate too apparently. Mr Debrette, although still in his shirt sleeves, was nodding sagely and staring thoughtfully across the room as he listened to Luke as if contemplating the situation carefully before deciding what he should do.

  ‘I know of your father. Everyone around here has heard of him. I must warn you now that it will be difficult to prove that Miss Morton is the originator of the gossip against him, even though she has openly admitted to being the culprit. It is your word against hers. Unless my good friend here can get her to admit it to him, we don’t have much chance of persuading a judge to consider a case against her for defamation of character. However, I will call upon her father and warn him about what Miss Morton and her friends did this morning. It could have resulted in a serious accident if not a loss of life, and that is a major crime. I am sure my visit will be more than enough to warn her father to control her behaviour in the future. Leave it with me.’ William studied Luke and noted just how little Luke took his eyes off the woman seated beside him.

  ‘I intend to warn Roger about this because I suspect that I am going to need him to help investigate what is going on,’ Luke informed him.

  There was something in his tone that warned William the situation was far more serious than young women squabbling. He hesitated. When he looked at Luke a little more closely, there was a glint of warning in his friend’s eyes that made Debrette wary. Luke just couldn’t discuss his concerns in the presence of the victim but there was more he hadn’t reported yet.

  ‘I will summon a carriage for you,’ William offered, launching out of his seat.

  ‘Oh, but, really, it isn’t necessary. I already have a ticket for the next carriage back to Oakley Bridge,’ Rosemary protested. She didn’t mention that it was inside her basket, which was soaking wet thanks to the muddy puddle.

  ‘I am afraid that I cannot allow you to travel on public transport today. You have to go in a carriage,’ William insisted. He tugged on a bell pull and waited until a young boy appeared in the doorway. ‘Go and fetch a carriage for the young lady please, Simon.’

  The young boy darted out of the front door. Minutes later, he was back. A carriage pulled to a stop outside the magistrate’s house.

  ‘Thank you,’ Rosemary whispered.

  ‘I shall call upon you when I have spoken with Miss Morton and her father. If someone is casting false accusations against your father, it won’t hurt for them to see me paying him a visit. It won’t hurt to remind the gossips about the law in this country either.’ As he spoke, William looked at Luke, but something in Luke’s reticence warned him not to say anything else.

  Rosemary hesitated. ‘I think that might just make them worse. If you call at the shop, it might support their claims that my father is breaking the law or something.’

  ‘If they start a fresh wave of gossip about my visit to your father’s, they are infringing on my professional duty as a member of the Star Elite,’ Luke informed her crisply. ‘I will then know who is spreading malicious lies about my visit to your father and will have a word with her myself in an official capacity. Miss Morton won’t challenge the War Office, no matter who she thinks she is.’

  ‘The same applies to me,’ William added. ‘The locals know me. If they speculate, and think a visit adds to their beliefs then they are proving they in the wrong.’

  Rosemary realised then what Luke had planned. By giving the women fodder for gossip in the form of his presence in the shop, William Debrette would be able to follow a new trail of salacious news. It was startling that he had come up with a plan like that so easily, and so swiftly. Now that she understood his logic, Rosemary wasn’t as concerned by him calling upon her father as she would have been had he not explained that there was a way to trap Samantha Morton in the act and prove her guilt.

  ‘Thank you,’ Rosemary whispered tearfully, hugely relieved that there may be a way to stop her problems after all. Her view of Luke blurred so badly that she felt certain her tears would escape but she rapidly blinked them away and smiled mistily at him.

  ‘I will see you soon,’ William murmured, looking worriedly at Luke who pursed his lips and silently shook his head. Luke would return later when he had spoken with Roger.

  ‘Come on, I will see you home.’ Luke guided Rosemary to the waiting carriage.

  ‘Is that them?’ William asked from his front doorstep as he looked up and down the road and saw the group of young women loitering on the street corner. ‘It is highly unlikely that they have any idea who I am. They have just watched you come to my house in town, so will gossip about your visit. Nevertheless, my dear, I am not prepared to allow them to behave the way they have.’

  When William turned to look at them again, he studied each woman in detail, and mentally made a note to find out who they all were. As soon as he had the details, he was going to pay their families a visit. Until then, William was more concerned about the young woman who seemed far too kind to have done anything untoward to anybody. More importantly, he seriously doubted that anybody of Thomas Tynesdale’s fine reputation would risk ruination by trying to defraud anybody out of watches.

  ‘Thank you,’ Rosemary murmured softly as the carriage wound through the town.

  ‘I am glad that I was there to help,’ Luke murmured with a smile. He leant forward and braced his elbows on his knees to look down at the space between his boots for several moments. When he looked up, his gaze was frank. ‘I think you already know that the women will retaliate when they realise that the magistrate has been informed about their behaviour today. People like them, once they are in a small group, will become nastier before they are stopped.’

  ‘I don’t doubt that the worst is yet to come,’ Rosemary whispered. ‘I don’t think that they can do much more damage, though. The business has almost been ruined. I am sure that my father won’t mind me telling you that money is now extremely tight. We are left with no choice but to move out ju
st to survive but cannot afford to purchase anywhere else. The shop we are in needs so much work it is barely habitable. They have ruined a profitable business with their tawdry lies. My father has worked hard all his life and has earnt his reputation. It isn’t fair that this should happen to him. I don’t understand why they would do everything possible to ruin him.’

  ‘Sometimes people don’t have to have a reason. It is who they are and what they do. They don’t see anything wrong with it because they have never had anybody make them face justice before. The problem is that when they become arrogant, they make their crimes a way of life. They don’t realise that they make their punishment harsher when they do get put before a judge. If their punishment is harsh, almost without mercy, they should be reluctant to return to their old ways when they are released. If they do, then they will get an even harsher punishment when they are put behind bars again, and so on and so forth. A criminal can spend an exceptionally long time going in and out of gaol while they learn to stop their life of crime, or until they die. It is that simple. There are very few people who are strong enough to stop their own negative or destructive behaviour. It is easy to blame others, as I don’t doubt Samantha Morton does. It will be easy for Miss Morton and her friends to blame you for their crimes because there are many voices against one. However, with that comes a major problem in that there are too many witnesses to assaults like the one on you today. It is condemning that those witnesses haven’t reported what happened to the magistrate. What I know from having worked with the Star Elite is that upon questioning not all witnesses stick to the same story if they have lied about what they have seen. If they make one mistake, tell one falsehood that doesn’t fit with the rest, the whole pack of lies will come cascading down about them and the truth will be revealed. I am afraid that Miss Morton has seen us together this morning, and now thinks she can damage your reputation further. She has no idea that we are watching and waiting for her to lie about you again. The second she starts to gossip about this morning, we will be able to speak with her friends and family because those young women are the only people who have openly watched and followed us.’

  ‘How do you think about and plan all of this?’ Rosemary whispered.

  ‘I work with the Star Elite. We deal with criminals every day. The Star Elite doesn’t waste time asking someone like her why they did this or that, or what her version of events is. People like Samantha Morton will blame others because it is easier than living like everyone else or accepting responsibility for their own behaviour. We will deal with her.’

  ‘Why do you think she has decided to target me?’ Rosemary asked quietly.

  ‘She is jealous,’ Luke announced bluntly. ‘People like her often pick on people living normal lives because they aren’t normal themselves. They have probably either never experienced an ordinary life or have resentments or jealousies they cannot deal with because they aren’t mature enough to handle their emotions. It is easier for the criminal to look at someone, decide that they are their victim, and set to work doing everything possible to damage that ordinary person because it is easier than having to cope with their own problems. If a criminal were made to look at what they are doing, even in a crowd of people just like them, they would find themselves in a world that stands against them. If they look around, the criminal will see houses, people’s homes, and people going about their business, just like their victim. Picking on someone living a normal life doesn’t make the victim vulnerable, or wrong. The criminal is vulnerable because for every day they bully, every day they are physically violent or damaging of someone else, they commit crimes the victim and the law will use against them. Unfortunately, in small villages, people like Samantha Morton will stand out, like the group of women have today.’

  ‘But the women didn’t stand out,’ Rosemary replied.

  ‘Yes, they did. They were dressed just like you. They blended in with everyone in society this morning. Unfortunately, what they were doing didn’t fit in. They were standing on a street corner openly watching you. They were throwing dirty looks at you. I don’t doubt they are the root cause of all your problems. Now that we, as Star Elite, know who the culprit is we will find evidence of their lies and make sure that they face justice. We have to firstly prove that Samantha Morton is a gossip and a liar.’

  ‘How on earth do we go about doing that?’ Rosemary gasped.

  ‘Leave it to me.’ Luke smiled knowingly.

  ‘Why are you helping me like this? I mean, this has ruined my father, but you are the Star Elite. You deal with serious criminals. I heard about the recent investigation you were involved in where you hunted those kidnappers,’ Rosemary said.

  ‘I cannot leave now that I know a serious assault has been carried out against you, especially one that I witnessed,’ Luke assured her.

  Rosemary tried to hide her disappointment. She wasn’t sure what she had expected from him, but she was almost deflated by his explanation. It was foolish to want something more from the man. He had already done so much for her. But Rosemary did want something more.

  ‘It is not uncommon for criminals to take their criminal activity into their victim’s house,’ Luke warned.

  Rosemary gasped and stared at him. Her mind raced. She felt sick, helpless, but also incredibly angry at the same time. Without hesitation, she told Luke about the badger.

  ‘It’s already getting considerably more serious then,’ Luke warned with a nod. ‘I hadn’t realised that the situation was already so bad. Nevertheless, if she is getting bold enough to venture onto your property, she will have no qualms about stepping inside it. That is enough for us to be able to arrest her because it is trespassing.’

  Rosemary’s mind was reeling. She stared at the landscape passing by the carriage window but struggled to know what to think anymore. One thing that did start to worry her was how on earth she was going to explain this morning’s events to her father.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  When Rosemary returned to the shop later that day, she found her father sweeping shattered glass off the shop floor. ‘When did it happen?’ she asked quietly.

  Thomas barely glanced at her. He kept his head lowered and frantically swept the shattered glass into a pile. Luke picked up the brick that had been thrown through the huge bay window. He hefted its weight and studied the contents of the shop. The window seemed to be the only casualty, and Thomas of course. It was clear from his jerky movements that the shop keeper was deeply distressed by what had happened.

  ‘Father,’ Rosemary pressed when Thomas didn’t acknowledge her.

  ‘I will get a board for that window,’ Thomas announced, handing her the broom and marching out of the room.

  Rosemary glared at several locals who were looking through the broken window at them. None of them acknowledged her or asked if they could help. They were looking at Luke, openly staring at him, obviously curious about him and why he was in the shop.

  ‘I didn’t realise that there were attacks on the house as well,’ Luke murmured. ‘What else has happened?’

  Rosemary told him about the badger.

  Luke knew that the smashed window couldn’t have been damaged by Samantha Morton because they had just left her and her friends in town. What troubled him more than anything was that it was the middle of the day, a time when a lot of people were out and about. Someone should have seen the culprit throw the brick. The fact that he, or she, had, and nobody had reported it warned Luke that the locals had a serious dislike of Thomas Tynesdale and his daughter. What Luke needed to know was why.

  ‘Can you not move earlier than planned?’ Luke asked, but as he eyed the clocks on the wall, he knew that wasn’t going to be an easy task. There were at least forty clocks adorning the walls, and even more behind the shop counter. Further, there was a workroom behind the shop that was positively littered with all sorts of equipment and tools. Moving all of it was going to take time, money, and a lot of people, and Luke knew that neither Thomas nor Rosemary had eithe
r.

  Rosemary shook her head. ‘This is our home.’

  ‘But this is serious,’ Luke replied solemnly. ‘Someone out there is showing you how determined they are to damage you. They have risked everything to do this in the middle of the day. Witnesses could get them arrested, yet they have smashed the window anyway. Doesn’t that tell you how angry they are?’

  ‘If they are attacking us during the daytime it is because they know that people won’t report them, I agree,’ Rosemary whispered sadly. ‘The entire village knows that nobody is going to help us.’

  ‘Because they have all heard the gossip and have already condemned you for it,’ Luke sighed. ‘Leaving a dead badger is disturbing but not dangerous. It was undoubtedly intended to scare you and your father. It wasn’t physically damaging to either your lives or the property. The smashed window is a different matter entirely because your father could have been struck by the brick and property was damaged.’ Luke glared out of the window at the people who were openly listening. He didn’t care who could hear him, or how far the news of what he was saying spread. The warning had to be made. ‘How many attempts on your life are they going to make before they get what they want and kill you? What then? They cannot be arrogant enough to wage a campaign of hatred like this, which ultimately results in your death, and expect to escape justice for it, can they? Can anybody really expect judges and juries to simply ignore the malice and vileness of this heinous behaviour just because of what? That the vile creatures behind this kind of act can do it? There is nothing special about hateful people like that. Nothing.’

  ‘I know,’ Rosemary replied. ‘The problem is we cannot fight an entire village.’

  ‘Not alone, no. You need the help of authority to root out those who are simply watching and refusing to help the victim because they want to preserve their own lives. However, they are witnessing heinous crimes and not reporting them. That is no better than carrying out the crimes themselves. The witnesses have to face a judge for failing to report crimes,’ Luke spat. He glared outside, at the people who were starting to look decidedly uncomfortable now that they realised their silence was condemning them.