Quick, Amanda - Slightly Shady.txt Read Online Free Page A

stoop to any means to secure money. Blackmail had very likely been only one of a number of unpleasant financial schemes Felix had concocted in his career as a gamester. But evidently it had been a losing stratagem. She looked at the desk near the window and decided to start there, although she suspected the killer had already gone through the drawers. It was certainly what she would have done in his place. She circled Felix's body cautiously, keeping as far away from it as possible, and hurried toward her goal. The surface of the desk was littered with the usual paraphernalia, including a penknife and an inkstand. There was also sand for blotting and a small metal dish for melting sealing wax. She bent down to open the first of the three drawers on the right side of the desk. And froze when a shiver of premonition stirred the fine hairs on the nape of her neck. The soft but unmistakable scrape of a boot sounded on the wooden floor behind her. Fear crashed through her, stealing her breath. Her heart raced so swiftly she wondered if she was about to faint for the first time in her life. The killer was still here in these rooms. One thing was certain. She could not afford the luxury of a swoon. She stared at the items on the desk for a horrified instant, searching for a weapon with which to defend herself. She put out a hand. Her fingers tightened convulsively around the handle of the small penknife. It looked so tiny and fragile. But it was all that was available. Clutching the tiny blade, she whirled around to face the murderer. She saw him at once, looming in the darkened doorway that opened onto the bedchamber. She could see the outline of his greatcoat, but his face was concealed by the shadows.
    He made no move to close the short distance between them, however. Instead he lounged there, one shoulder propped negligently against the frame of the door, arms folded across his chest. "Do you know, Mrs. Lake," Tobias March said, "I had a feeling that you and I would meet up again one day But who could have guessed that it would be under such interesting circumstances?" She had to swallow twice before she could speak. When she did eventually manage to utter a few coherent words, her voice sounded thin and it easily cracked. "Did you murder that man?" Tobias glanced at the body. "No. I got here after the killer, just as you did. From what I can determine, Felix was killed on his front step. The murderer must have dragged him back into this room." The news did little to reassure her. "What are you doing here?" "I was about to ask you the same question." He contemplated her with a considering air. "But I have a hunch I already know the answer. You are obviously one of Felix's blackmail victims, are you not?" Outrage temporarily overcame fear. "The horrid creature sent me two notes this week. The first arrived on Monday. It was delivered to the kitchen door. I could not believe my eyes when I read his ridiculous demands. He wanted a hundred pounds. Can you imagine? One hundred pounds to ensure his silence. Of all the unmitigated gall." "On what point did he promise to maintain silence?" Tobias watched her intently. "Have you been into more mischief since we last met?" "How dare you, sir? This is entirely your fault and yours alone." "My fault?" "Yes, Mr. March. I blame the entire affair on you." She gestured toward the body with the tip of the penknife. "That wretched man attempted to blackmail me over that business in Rome. He threatened to reveal everything." "Did he indeed?" Tobias straightened with an oddly stiff movement. "Now, that is most interesting. What, precisely, did he know?" "I just told you, he knew it all. He threatened to make it known that I had operated a shop in Rome frequented by a band of villains. He implied that I was an accomplice to their schemes and had allowed the cutthroats to use my establishment as a communications post. He even went so far as to infer that I had very likely been the mistress of the