“What could have happened this time? Honestly, I think this castle is cursed. Murder, fire, and the theft last month.”
Justin stopped the speaker. “Theft?” The gentleman eyed him warily and Justin retook his hand.
“Sir Kennaway’s father lost several valuable artifacts.”
“Do you know what they were?”
“No.” The gent moved away.
Justin drew his brows together at the dismissal but followed the fleeing crowd. Black smoke floated across the ceiling as if a ghost haunting. People flowed from the house like ants leaving their colony after a rainstorm.
They gathered on the front lawn under a light drizzle.
Where was Magnolia?
Reddish brown hair caught his attention. She weaved through the crowd with a sense of urgency. Had she been harmed?
He raced toward her, moving aside everyone in his way. “Pardon, pardon,” left his lips innumerable times. He turned to her. “Are you all right?”
“Tell me, who do you not see?”
“Magnolia, not now. Have you been harmed?”
Her eyes widened. “Justin, do not patronize me. Do as I ask. Who is not amongst the guests?”
He did as she bid and scanned the crowd. He would not expect Evander to be in attendance, but there he was, the cloak barely concealing his identity as he cowered behind a buxom woman arrayed in a flowing nightgown. He also noticed Dalton, D’Amore, Thornton, Blake, Miss Mayne, and several others.
He frowned. “I don’t see Roskin or Sir Kennaway.”
She released a long hiss. “I knew it. Although I receive no satisfaction from the knowledge. Why would Kenelm do such a thing…”
Flames shot from an open window. Black smoke drifted into the air. He grimaced. Hadn’t that been the side of the castle where Magnolia was housed? He clasped her hands. “You didn’t start the fire, did you?”
She tensed. “I saw a rider leaving the estate and I thought—”
He placed his finger across her lips. “Shh. It was an accident. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but—”
“What if the castle burns down?” He flipped her around and she gasped.
The rocks charred. Would the mortar hold up?
She turned, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face against his chest. It would have been the single most wonderful event in his life if not for the uncertainty of the future.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?”
“Kennaway.” Magnolia hissed.
Where had he come from?
“The fire will be doused shortly. Once my guards have it under control the constable requests that everyone return to your rooms and open your windows. If you are unable to return to your room, then we’ll find other suitable accommodations.”
More grumbles abounded. He didn’t blame them. The night air had brought just as many chills as fears.
Once the blaze was under control he locked arms with Magnolia. “Stay close.”
She nodded.
Inside Kenelm directed those displaced to new rooms.
He looked directly at Magnolia. Worry lines formed around his mouth and eyes. “There you are. I’m afraid your room was ruined. My head footman is searching for a replacement now.” He turned to others entering.
Magnolia leaned her back against his chest. Her voice was low. “Do you think they suspect my involvement?”
Roskin stood on the second step of the vast staircase, his eyes bulged as he scanned the crowd.
He couldn’t let her face interrogation without a logical explanation. “Perhaps we could say you did start the fire to warm your room but the escalation was an accident.”
Her pulse throbbed at her neck. If only he could take away her fear. He should have been there to help her. If she hadn’t been forced to plan on her own—
“Madam, sir, may we speak? Privately.” Roskin walked away and they followed him into the library. “I know you threw something in the fire. Were you hoping to hide your involvement in Mr. Hudson’s demise?”
“I-I—” Magnolia stared at Justin. Hopelessness filled his breast.
“Or was there something else? Perhaps a note from your lover? A tryst beneath a host roof is uncivilized but not unheard of.”
Justin’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
“You may speak freely. No one, other than local authorities and myself, need to know about your involvement. Of course the papers will pick up the story and I will be touted as a hero once again, but I will try to keep that to a minimum. However, that shouldn’t affect your decision to tell the truth.”
Magnolia slapped the top of the desk. “I helped you make a name for yourself or have you forgotten?”
“Of course I haven’t but a past good deed doesn’t negate current criminal activities.” He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Puppet master.” The word came out like a whisper, but it was enough.
Roskin stiffened. “What did you say?”
“You were a sideshow act in a traveling carnival troupe, a puppet master. Then you were approached by someone with a better offer. Prestige, power, importance were within your grasp. You could leave the heckling behind. But instead of becoming your own master, you became the puppet.”
Roskin’s fat chin shook. “H-How did you know that?”
Good question. Had Magnolia been investigating without him?
“Reasoning.” Now Magnolia looked smug, her lip curled upward. “What I can’t decipher is why you didn’t pursue the perpetrator of the thefts. It was the perfect way to prove your ability as constable—to make a true name for yourself as a man of the people. Why it could have led to a higher office.”
Blustery, he said, “There wasn’t enough evidence.”
Finally, Justin’s tongue released. Couldn’t let Magnolia have all the fun. “You mean that there was no one to pay your expenses?”
“W-Well…” Sweat beaded upon Roskin’s upper lip.
“We know you’re not a free agent.”
“You do?” He looked between them.
Magnolia nodded. “We do.”
“What we don’t know is who pulls your strings.”
Justin fought a measure of pride. Magnolia had torn into Roskin like a hyena tearing into a piece of raw meat.
Roskin grimaced and ran his hand through his thinning hair. “It’s not like that.”
“Do you mean no one is controlling your inactions?” Justin bit his lip. Had they made a mistake? Could he really be this incompetent? The wooden puppet and Cunning’s statement might merely have been just to cast doubt on the man and lead them down the wrong path.
Magnolia rocked on her heels, making a black streak on the tile floor. “We received a puppet in the post. We know it referred to you.”
Color drained from Roskin’s face and he fell into the nearest chair. “So I’ve been given up then.”
Magnolia squatted beside his chair. A look of innocence and genuine concern flitted across her face. “If you don’t help us find who is truly behind the thefts, then more bad things will continue to happen. You are our only hope.”
He lifted his double chin, eyes twinkling with restrained tears. “Then you are without hope. Because I don’t know who is controlling me.”
****
Magnolia’s heart raced as she paced the length of the parlor and massaged her aching temple. They’d left Roskin hours ago and Kenelm had escorted her here to an unused parlor, her new accommodations for the remainder of her stay.
“Do stop pacing, my dear.”
She stopped and faced the sofa. Justin lounged with his legs stretched before him as if a lion on the pride waiting for the lionesses to bring him his next meal. She nudged his feet and he peeked through a narrowed eyelid.
“How can you be so calm?”
He sat upright. “Because I know there is little we can do, and because Kenelm didn’t decide to string you up and roast you for destroying hi
s castle.”
“Humph.” She dropped beside him. Why did he always see the positive side of things?
“Besides, if Roskin doesn’t know who he works for, when he does work, then what are we to do but believe him?”
“I have a few ideas.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the sofa. The cushions were flat from years of use and the seat hard.
“Magnolia, perhaps bringing you here, on this adventure, was a mistake.”
She sat upright. “What? No. I want to be here. I can help.”
He smiled in that crooked way and her heart leaped into her throat. Yes, she definitely wanted to be here. She couldn’t possibly leave him with Hesper so close by.
“I’m beginning to believe that Roskin, the puppet, the note, was all another one of Tyrrel’s tricks to throw us off the trail of the real culprit.” He sank back into the couch.
She poked him in the ribs. “But what about what Roskin said? He said that he meets with a deep-voiced man in an alley outside a certain pub. The man always gives him instructions. We just need to go to the pub until the man appears and then we’ll question him.”
Justin patted her hand. “There will be no jumping of strange men.”
“That is not exactly what I had planned.” No physical jumping at least.
He massaged her knuckles with his thumb. His fingertips were rough against her smooth palm. “Nor I. But we are here and we do know several things. Such as, Roskin doesn’t know who is controlling him and Kennaway also suffered a theft.”
She sat straighter. “What?”
“One of the men leaving the fire commented that the castle had been robbed as recently as last month.”
She tapped her finger to her chin. “What does it mean? Does that exonerate Kenelm or make him more suspect? Is he stealing from others as well as himself? I’m more confused than ever.”
He laid his arm along the back of the sofa. “And since everyone seemed to be in attendance outside during the fire, that means we still don’t know who left the castle in the wagon.”
She bit her lip. His eyes darkened and she looked away. More and more his interest in her seemed to grow. Perhaps she should be honest with him and share her feelings. It was a small matter that they were in the middle of an investigation. They could take a few moments to share their feelings.
“Justin—”
The door opened and smacked the wall. Light surrounded Hesper’s unkempt dark brown hair. “Oh, Mr. Blackmoor, I need your help.”
Justin didn’t have time to move before she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.
“I’ve received a message from home and I must leave posthaste, but Constable Roskin is refusing me. He says I must stay until the business with the murder and the fire is resolved. Can’t you do something?”
He retrieved his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “Like what?”
“Like tell him you’ll escort me home. We are courting now.”
Magnolia’s heart fell. Courting? How was that possible? He’d not even seen Hesper, except…except, for that night in her room. Tears welled in her eyes, but she swiped them away. She would not let Hesper Rotherham see her cry.
“Miss Rotherham, this is not the time or place to discuss such matters.”
“It is the perfect time and place. I need your help. Father wants me home and I aim to return. So either you help me or—”
“We had a deal. You’ve yet to uphold your end of the bargain so why should I uphold mine.”
Hesper fisted her hands to her sides and stomped her foot as if a wayward child. “I told you plainly not to share that secret. How could you?”
She turned on her heel and fled from the room.
“I think we have a problem.”
Magnolia didn’t see one. Hesper was gone and she sensed Justin had thrown her over. No, no problems at all.
“Miss Rotherman had agreed to help us in catching the constable’s master, but I don’t think she’s going to fulfill that promise now.”
Magnolia fought a smile. “I don’t think it matters. We needed a new plan anyway.”
“No, I-I must secure her assistance.”
Magnolia felt nauseated as Justin quit the room.
Chapter Ten: Suspect Revealed?
His attempt to reacquire Hesper’s help had fallen on deaf ears. Now Sir Kennaway huddled with her, the two of them as thick as thieves.
Hesper giggled. Kenelm flashed him a look of success. A slight twinge of jealousy raced through his bones. Hesper was enjoying the knight’s company. It seemed most women did so.
The dining room had emptied in the last hour. The buffet had been put away and only the three of them remained. He stepped into a corner, unnoticed.
Hesper gathered her skirts and skipped from the room. What was she so happy about? Kenelm joined him and he tried to relax, but he felt coiled as if a snake poised to strike.
“I think I’ve salvaged the damage.”
“And how did you do that?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“I told her that you would be glad to be her fake love interest just as you agreed.”
His arms dropped to his sides. “And why would you do such a thing?”
“Because it is what you agreed to so that she would help us catch Constable Roskin’s master.”
He couldn’t take it. “And what about the stolen items in your room? I know you have the painting and the urn. Explain that.”
Kenelm’s hazel eyes darkened and his voice lowered. “I do have those items. I purchased them legally and they will be returned to the original owners as soon as our little adventure here is over.”
His throat tightened. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because I only just acquired them from a traveling salesman. He left just yesterday before the fire commenced.”
Now it made sense. “Did you check out the salesman?”
“Indeed I did. He has quite a reputation for exotic and rare merchandise; however, he only receives it through honest means.”
“Then how did he acquire the stolen goods?”
“He claims they were sold at auction in the home of Polidor Tyrrel.”
Justin threw up his hands. “That’s impossible! The house was searched backward and forward. The items were not within.”
“Then they must have been stowed with his other belongings, because that is where they were purchased.”
Justin paced alongside the lengthy table. Had Tyrrel’s words been stated simply to implicate someone else in his plot while he’d been in charge the entire time? Magnolia wouldn’t believe such a thing.
“I can see that you still believe there is another master of Roskin.”
“I do.”
“I’ve played this charade thus far so I see no reason not to play it out, and for that we will need Hesper’s assistance. So it is just as well that I offered a continuation in the game.”
“Hmm.” He didn’t appreciate Kenelm making decisions for him.
“So here is what we’re going to do.”
****
Keeping Magnolia in the dark didn’t sit well with him, but the more people who were surprised the better. Not to mention that she was already in trouble for setting the fire. There was no reason to implicate her in more mishaps.
“I’d like to make a toast to our kind host. To Sir Kenelm Kennaway for inviting us to stay in his lovely castle for a fortnight and providing unlimited amounts of entertainment.” The crowd erupted at his statement, but he lifted his hands until they calmed. “I believe that Constable Roskin has a few words to add.”
The portly fellow waddled up beside him. The script had been prepared and all he had to do was remember the words. He’d been unconvinced that the plan would find his benefactor, but the thought of freedom had spurred him onward. He’d not questioned their reasons for wanting to find his master and Justin had given up no accord. The man would be put behind bars and suffer for his role in making him pretend t
o love Hesper.
“Thank you, Mr. Blakemoor.” He faced the crowd. “I would like to say that I’m pleased to be in the home of a fine upstanding fellow. One who attempts to right the ills of the world. Today, in large part to Sir Kennaway, I have discovered the true leader behind Tyrrel’s thefts.”
The crowd seemed to lean forward all at once. Magnolia’s eyelid twitched and she flashed him a heated look. She was not pleased. Something more that he would pay for in the future.
“Well who is it?” Usher Blake sipped at a glass of port. He obviously wasn’t the one. He was too relaxed.
The constable continued to hold his tongue. Magnolia skirted the crowd, heading for him. He wished the earth would open and swallow him.
“Quite right. Who could it be?” Hugh Mason batted his lengthy lashes. The inventor did so continuously. He wasn’t the puppet’s master.
Cicely Dryden placed a fluttering hand over her heart. “You don’t mean it is someone in this room?”
Lydia Mayne and Joanna Edmonds swooned and Liam and Randall caught them. Not the ladies or the gents then.
Few men remained. He and Kenelm had agreed the master was a male. The husky voice and the ability to control the constable could only come from a forceful figure, and a woman would have a harder time of it.
Basil Thornton tapped his foot and crossed and uncrossed his arms. He appeared nervous. Why? Was he the one? Had he stolen his own painting? It made no sense.
Magnolia touched Justin’s arm. “What are you doing?”
He whispered from the side of his mouth, “Watching the crowd.”
“For what?”
“Nervousness.”
“Ner-vous-ness.” She paused. “Please tell me this was not your new plan.”
“What of it?”
“You’re watching the crowd to see who looks guilty. How will that stand up in court?”
“Doesn’t need to. As soon as the master is found he will leave Roskin to do his job and then the fellow will find other evidence for which to convict.”
“I see.”
But he could tell that she didn’t. He had to have a plan that didn’t involve Hesper and this had been it. Even though Sir Kennaway had promised Justin would help her if their plan failed and she was called in to assist.
The Case of the Puppet Constable (A Justice and Miss Quinn Mystery Book 2) Page 7
