Page 50 of Murder on Harley Street
She frowned. “What connection?”
“Mrs. Kempsey recommended the doctor to your sister.”
“Nonsense.”
“Dr. Iverson wrote Isabel Kempsey’s name on Edith’s medical file.”
The frown deepened. “That’s not right. Edith first learned about the doctor when Duncan worked for the Medical Electrical Company. The company supplied that ridiculous revitalizing device to Dr. Iverson. Edith thought it was a marvelous invention that could cure her weak constitution. She didn’t realize she had cancer. She made an appointment at Iverson’s clinic specifically so she could try that infernal machine, but no one recommended the clinic to her. She went of her own accord.” She folded her arms and arched her brows, challenging.
Could we have misread the writing on Edith Hamlin’s file? It had been difficult to read, after all. But no, I’d read Isabel Kempsey’s name, as had Harry. Perhaps Edith had given her sister a different story, keeping Isabel’s name out of it altogether. But why?
“I can see what you’re thinking, Miss Fox,” Miss Bolton went on. “I can assure you, my sister wouldn’t have misled me. We were close. She told me everything.” She looked away, her lips pressed tightly together. After she composed herself, she turned back to me. “I suspect you won’t believe me, and nor should you. It’s your job to be suspicious of everyone and every piece of information. I suggest you speak to my brother-in-law and ask to see Edith’s personal effects. He’ll have kept it all, every scrap of paper and jotted note she left behind in her little notebook. If you can’t find Isabel Kempsey’s name in there, then you’ll know I’m telling the truth and they didn’t know each other.”
I removed the address book and notebook from my bag. “We’ve already looked. Please return these to Mr. Hamlin.”
“You stole them!”
“Borrowed,” I said. “We would appreciate it if you didn’t tell him. We don’t want to upset him.”
She snatched them off me. “You’ve got a nerve.”
“As do you,” Harry reminded her.
“Yes. Well. It seems we’re alike.” Miss Bolton stepped aside, inviting us to leave.
The moment I stepped out of the office, she intercepted Harry behind me.
“You believed me when I said I worked for my father,” she told him. “Admit it, Mr. Armitage, I’m a good detective.”
“You’re a good actress,” he conceded. “You had me fooled.”
She smiled at his praise. “I may have lied about a few things that day, but I didn’t lie about wanting to work for you. I can do whatever is required of me, from typing to accompanying you when you interrogate suspects.”
“I have all the help I need.”
Miss Bolton’s smile froze as her gaze flicked to me and back. “Of course.”
“You shouldn’t give up yet.” Harry indicated the office. “Your business may well take off.”
She sighed. “Not unless I get some more interesting and high-profile cases, and who’ll give a woman those?”
“Perhaps you could team up with a man,” I said. “One you trust, who sees you as an equal partner and won’t take all the credit when you solve a case.”
“And where will I find that unicorn?” she bit off.
“I found one at a hotel, but good men are everywhere.”
“Not in my experience. And anyway, Miss Fox, you seem to forget that you haven’t received any public recognition for solving cases. Mr. Armitage has, but not you. It seems to me you’re not a team of equals, after all.”
“My situation requires me to stay in the background.”
“And if it didn’t?” she scoffed.
“If it didn’t,” Harry said tightly, “I would sing her praises loudly.” He pushed past her and together we crossed the road.
Once we turned the corner, I took his arm. It was rigid with tension. “Don’t let her bitterness bother you, Harry. I am perfectly happy with our arrangement. We make an excellent team, and she’s simply envious of my good fortune.”
The tension melted from his muscles. One of the good things about Harry’s temper was that it rarely appeared and when it did, it faded quickly. “Wearean excellent team, Cleo, but there’s no denying you’ve been the one to solve most of our cases. Even if I can’t tell the journalists that, at least I can tell you.”
