The Iscariot Sanction Read Online Free

was right. She’d been waiting a long time for her father to send her on a more taxing assignment, but this one was ill thought-out. The prostitutes of the Ratcliff Highway would not freely speak with those in authority, and certainly not in the open, beneath the watchful gaze of their cash-carriers, who loitered in the shaded alleyways nearby.
    ‘We’re no better at interviewing these wretches than the police.’ Lillian nodded towards the two constables sent to escort them through the arterial narrows that branched from the notorious highway.
    ‘This investigation is out of the hands of the police now, and into ours. Where the police have failed to find this mysterious killer, Apollo Lycea hope a Majestic will succeed.’
    ‘I do not wish to cast aspersions upon your psychical prowess, Arthur, but this is the last resort. You’ve dragged me to every place of ill repute for miles about, and for what? A fine way to spend a birthday.’
    ‘Birthday? Oh, damn it, Lillian, I forgot—’
    ‘I was not trying to make you feel guilty. I just meant that… well, suddenly tea in the company of gentlefolk doesn’t seem so terrible.’
    Arthur turned away, trying not to smirk at that. He could imagine that for Lillian Hardwick even trawling these low alleys was preferable to ‘tea with gentlefolk’. Nonetheless, he resolved to send Jenkins out later to buy Lillian a present.
    He looked up at the sky. They had seen the worst of London’s gin-palaces and bawdy-houses that afternoon, from the notorious White Swan to the doss-houses of Shadwell, and now it was getting late—these days it was never truly dark in London, which was not as reassuring as it sounded, especially to a Majestic. One could only tell that night was falling when the sun’s wan light slowly transformed into the crimson glow that permeated the darkness, and the devilish fire that licked at the clouds became more prominent. Arthur felt the fearful gnawing at the back of his mind growing more insistent as the hour drew later and the burning sky grew hotter. Other thoughts and other voices fought to enter his mind. He kept those doors locked.
    ‘There are other means of finding what we need,’ he said, keeping his esoteric worries to himself. ‘But without some physical link to the missing girl, I’m afraid my skills are limited.’
    They had spent hours trawling the pubs known to have been frequented by one Molly Goodheart. The unfortunate had gone missing almost two months before, but no one had seen fit to report it until a spate of similar disappearances had made the newspapers. Why these acts—not uncommon in the East End—had drawn the attention of Apollo Lycea was anyone’s guess. Arthur had learned not to question the leaders of the Order on such matters. On the streets, however, uncertainty over the culprits’ identity brought fear of reprisals for common folk, and no one would admit to even knowing the girl.
    Lillian looked thoughtful. Arthur frowned—with that look usually came trouble.
    She turned abruptly, staring into the nearest alley where a group of four men spoke in hushed tones, spitting plugs of tobacco onto the already filthy pavement. Then she was off, striding purposefully towards the men, who saw her coming and looked around skittishly. Arthur hurried after her.
    ‘’Allo, missy,’ said one of the men, a grin of bravado on his flat features.
    ‘Lookin’ for a change o’ career, are ye?’ said another. ‘Know just the fella who can ’elp you with that.’ A round of guffaws rippled through the group.
    Lillian hadn’t broken stride. Arthur had hoped Lillian would keep a cool head in such environs. He should have known better.
    ‘That’s not all I can help you with, love,’ sneered another man, his grin revealing an uneven row of sparse yellow-and-black teeth.
    The fourth man had said nothing. He stood further back, tall hat shading his features, quick eyes shining in the light from the reddening sky. He had menace