Dear Inspector Nigel Nivens,
Please report to my office at one o’clock today. I shall expect your letter of resignation as well as any property in your possession that belongs to the Metropolitan Police Force.
T. E. Barrows, chief superintendent of the Metropolitan Police Force
Nivens read it again, rose to his feet, and went to his study.
He stood there for a long moment, staring at the cheerful fire he’d had Mrs. Vickers light this morning.
He shook himself out of his stupor and went to his desk. Sitting down, he opened the top drawer, pulled out a sheet of stationery, and picked up his pen. It took less than two minutes to write the resignation letter.
Nivens folded the page properly, reached for an envelope, and then stopped, his fingers just brushing the wood of the cubbyhole. He looked at the folded paper and got up. He walked to the fireplace, where he stared at the flames for what seemed hours but was, in truth, only a few minutes. Then he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the flames.
Resign, humph, he thought—that’s not going to happen. I can weather this storm. I’ve weathered plenty of others.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Brightwell is the New York Times bestselling author of the Victorian Mysteries featuring Inspector Witherspoon and Mrs. Jeffries.
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Mrs. Jeffries Demands Justice Page 28
