Page 30 of Death of a Courtesan
‘You ask him if you dare.’
‘Poor Stout. I suppose you have sent him out this evening to delve into the demimonde.’
Riley smiled. ‘He didn’t raise too many objections.’
‘I keep telling you. The man holds you in considerable respect and will do anything you ask of him.’
‘Stout is not a sociable creature and it suits him to work in a house that isn’t teeming with servants and their strict hierarchy.’
‘Hmm.’ Amelia plucked at her lower lip with her forefinger. ‘Anyway, if Mrs Sinclair found out that Adelaide planned to leave her employ and set up in competition, she would have been desperate to hold on to her. I cannot imagine her being foolish enough to murder her most profitable asset.’ Amelia tilted her head as she thought the matter through. ‘I suspect she would be more likely to try and talk her out of it by…oh I don’t know, offering her a greater cut of the profits, or something of that nature.’
‘Stout tells me Mrs Sinclair has a deadly rival just around the corner in Half Moon Street. I shall have a word with her tomorrow.’
‘Goodness, you have more suspects than you will know what to do with.’
‘Precisely. For instance, what if Grant discovered that she had only accepted his proposal to give her a legitimate reason to leave Mrs Sinclair?’ Riley took a sip of his drink as he permitted the question to hang between them. ‘And planned to take half of Mrs Sinclair’s clients with her when she left Maiden Lane. But Grant wouldn’t have been any happier about it than Mrs Sinclair would. He told her that her time would be her own but I am absolutely sure he didn’t mean for her to occupy it in such a manner, and in his house too. He expected that by marrying her he would have exclusive rights to her services.’
‘Then he must be added to the list of suspects, although how you will prove your theory, even assuming it’s correct, is beyond me.’
Riley went on to explain about Tennyson, his criminal record and the possibility of him allowing customers into the house without Mrs Sinclair’s knowledge.
‘Risky,’ Amelia said pensively. ‘Unless said customers held information on Tennyson that would see him gaoled again if he didn’t cooperate with them. But even if they did, why would one of those customers kill the poor girl?’
‘Why indeed? But his name stays on the list, as do all of the other five men whom Adelaide entertained last night.’
Amelia shuddered. ‘The poor girl. But still, if she had to choose between that and living with her horrible-sounding aunt…’
Riley chuckled.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘I have saved the best until last.’
Amelia’s mouth fell open when Riley told her that Danforth had been one of Adelaide’s best customers.
‘Good lord! I can scarce believe it.’
‘If it helps, I can assure you that he was having difficulty sitting down this morning.’
‘Danforth?’ She shook her head, a wide smile breaking across her face. ‘But he has always been so judgemental of you, and seemed so above reproach.’
Riley shrugged. ‘Apparently not.’
‘He must be feeling mortified.’
‘So he should, the damned idiot.’ Riley shook his head. ‘He exploited his position by accepting Adelaide’s services free of charge in return for protecting the establishment from police raids. He could not have afforded her otherwise, but he doesn’t seem to realise that he’s laid himself open to blackmail, or worse. His integrity, such as it was, has been compromised but all he seems to care about is making sure no one knows his unpleasant little secret. He seemed to think that I would enjoy spreading the word just to humiliate him.’
‘Which goes to show just how little credit he gives to your gentlemanly instincts. You would never stoop to his level.’
‘Perhaps not, but I will not be able to keep his involvement a secret indefinitely. It will leak out eventually and then he will have to face derision from all those he has attempted to bully during his tenure as chief inspector. I can’t do anything about that and suspect that his position will prove untenable, even if the superintendent decides not to relieve him of his duties on a permanent basis.’
‘You will have to treat him as a suspect, I suppose.’
‘Yes, but he didn’t do it. He left well before the end of the evening, when Adelaide was still alive. I can’t see him creeping back in to kill her and risking the very exposure he’s now…well, exposed to.’
‘She might have been demanding payment from him to keep their liaisons secret.’
Riley nodded. ‘That thought had occurred to me, but somehow I doubt whether she would do that. Girls don’t rise to the top of her profession if they are indiscreet. Anyway, Danforth is nobody’s fool and could have made her life a living hell if she threatened him. And he could have done it without resorting to murder.’
