My Favorite Thief by Karyn Monk Read Free Book Online

the shoulder. I’m not really sure which.”
    â€œLeft or right arm or shoulder?”
    â€œI believe it was the left.”
    â€œWas he bleeding badly?”
    â€œI’m not sure.”
    â€œAnd were you also injured?”
    â€œNo, I was not.”
    â€œAnd so I take it, Miss Kent, that the blood on your gown is his?”
    Charlotte glanced uneasily down at her gown. She had forgotten entirely about the bloodstains she had acquired while helping the Dark Shadow into her house. “Yes.” Her mouth suddenly felt dry. “That is his blood.”
    â€œIf you don’t mind my asking, Miss Kent, how is it that you got so much of his blood upon you?”
    â€œI suppose it happened as he was holding me—or maybe in the carriage—he must have been thrown against me at some point as we raced away.”
    He regarded her thoughtfully a moment, evaluating everything she had told him. “With your permission, Miss Kent, Constable Wilkins and I would like to make an inspection of your carriage, to see if there is any more blood there, or any other evidence which might help us to solve the mystery of the Shadow’s identity.”
    â€œOf course. Oliver will be pleased to show it to you.”
    â€œAnd so after the Shadow leapt from your carriage, your coachman drove you home,” he continued, picking up the thread of her story. “Approximately what time was it when you arrived?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œWell, then, how long would you estimate you have been home?”
    â€œI’m not sure—an hour, perhaps.”
    â€œAnd how far a distance would you say it is from your home to Waterloo Bridge?”
    â€œI don’t know—I suppose it is approximately a fifteen- or twenty-minute drive.”
    â€œIt is a fifteen- or twenty-minute drive if one is traveling in no great hurry, but you have indicated that you told your coachman to drive as fast as he could. How long do you recall it taking before you arrived home?”
    â€œI really don’t recall, Inspector Turner,” she told him, feeling slightly agitated. “As you can imagine, I was greatly distressed by what I had just been through. Are you almost finished with your questions?”
    â€œI apologize for having to take you through what certainly must have been a terrible ordeal for you, Miss Kent. Now that the Dark Shadow has killed Lord Haywood, the pressure for the police to find this criminal and see him tried for murder will be enormous. Any piece of information, however slight or insignificant it may seem to you, can only help us to solve this case.”
    â€œI’m afraid I cannot think of anything else.”
    â€œIf I may, Miss Kent, I would like to speak with your coachman a moment, to ask him what he recalls about the incident.”
    â€œCertainly.”
    â€œBut first, Constable Wilkins and I would like to make an inspection of your house and the surrounding grounds.”
    Panic streaked up her spine. “Search my house? Why?”
    â€œIt’s just a formality, really,” he assured her. “It’s just that one of your neighbors claims to have watched as you arrived home. She said she saw three people disembark from the carriage—which is perplexing, given that you have indicated that the Shadow left your carriage near Waterloo Bridge. I just want to be certain he did indeed leave your carriage, and did not merely get out and then perhaps travel here hanging onto the back of it—without your knowledge, of course.”
    â€œI’m so sorry, Inspector,” Charlotte apologized, thinking quickly. “In all the excitement, I forgot to mention that Flynn was with us.”
    â€œWho is Flynn?”
    â€œHe is a young boy who is staying with me. As you may be aware, this is a refuge house for unfortunate women and children who are trying to escape the harshness of their past and make a better life for themselves.