The Case of the Missing Cross Read online

  So he tried again to rouse her. “Now that we’ve caught Tyrrel, his home will be searched and they will find Lady Sybil’s cross.”

  Her lips fell.

  Exasperated, he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s wrong now?”

  “First of all, Hesper is too clingy, and second, Tyrrel said we would never find it. Something about the cross being everywhere and nowhere.”

  Hesper? What? “What does that mean?”

  “Do you think I wouldn’t tell you if I knew?”

  The cheekiness of her response and the phrase about Hesper weren’t lost on him, but they would have to be analyzed after the case was complete. His brain cells felt sufficiently taxed as it was. “Perhaps Tyrrel was merely trying to confuse you.”

  “You may be right, but his statement will be easy enough to confirm.”

  “I will visit him in the hold tomorrow and ask to interrogate him.”

  She touched his hand and heat wafted along his arm. Good heat. Welcome heat. “Don’t. Let the constable conduct the interview. If you’re implicated in his arrest, then your father will know of your hobby.”

  Distracting heat, and he needed to concentrate. He shrugged. “True. But perhaps it’s time I told him.”

  “Perhaps, but if my father discovers my part, I will no longer be allowed in your company.” Sorrow tinged her tone.

  Justin cringed. How had their act of fun become so complicated?

  The carriage shuddered to a halt. The footman helped Magnolia down the step and she waited until Justin wrapped her arm in his. Moonlight gilded her head and highlighted the reddish strands of her gorgeous hair. He wished he could run his hands through the silken lengths, but he refrained and kept his hands to himself as he escorted Magnolia to her door.

  “So what now?” She stared at his chest.

  Not at him. For some reason, that hurt. “Tomorrow I’ll meet with the constable and discuss his findings.”

  She lifted her chin and the directness of her gaze warmed him further. “I presume you will inform me of his discoveries.”

  “Yes.”

  With a graceful gesture, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He wished he had the right to kiss her again.

  “Until tomorrow.” He held out his hand for a shake.

  She ignored it, turned on her heel, and made her way inside.

  The door closed, and he placed his palm to the panel, near where she’d stood. The wood felt as cold as his heart. Would he ever feel confident enough to tell Magnolia his true feelings? Would he ever walk through the same doorway as her; would they ever share a home together?

  He sighed, feeling his shoulders droop. He should hurry home. Tomorrow would be another busy day as they unraveled the last of the missing cross’s secrets. And he needed to keep Magnolia’s assistance a secret so they could continue to work together. It was the only way to keep her close.

  Chapter Ten: Revelation

  “But I don’t understand,” said Lady Sybil for the tenth time.

  Magnolia kept a firm hand on her countenance, refusing to permit the scowl she yearned to release. Each time Lady Sybil had expressed her confusion, Justin had explained the circumstances. But each time, Lady Sybil had remained confused.

  Earlier that morning, Justin had questioned the constable at length, but had learned nothing more. Tyrrel had turned tight-lipped about his operations. A thorough search of his home had revealed very few stolen objects, the most notable being Hesper’s brooch — barely enough to justify the cost of a court case.

  Now Justin, Magnolia, and Lady Sybil sat in the elderly lady’s library and hashed out the details. Or at least, they tried to.

  A goodly part of Magnolia’s exasperation came from her exhaustion. She had been up most of the night, with Tyrrel’s riddle racing through her mind. By the time Justin had arrived, she had been wide awake and pacing the foyer, but wide awake did not equal well-rested and ready for another day.

  “We don't understand either, Lady Sybil, but we haven’t given up,” said Justin.

  “What does the constable plan to do?”

  “Tyrrel will be put on trial.”

  “And I’ll probably never recover the cross. I should have found a museum after my husband passed, but having the cross close felt as if I still had a piece of him.” A tear slipped down Lady Sybil’s cheek and stained her gown.

  Enough. While Justin comforted Lady Sybil, Magnolia strolled around the room. Sunlight streamed through parted draperies and caught small golden trinkets aligned on the mantelpiece and tables, some molded as wild animals, others as flowers. Magnolia stared at them as she wandered. Out of deference to her father and his collection, she refused to admit that Lady Sybil’s was more interesting… even if it was.

  In one corner, with windows on either side, sat a triangular table holding a chess board made from red and black squares of wood inlaid into an ivory frame. She blinked. Gold flecks winked within the crystal playing pieces. She lifted one and angled it toward the light.

  “Lady Sybil, is this new?”

  “What?” Lady Sybil lifted her head.

  “This chess set, is it new?”

  “Why, yes. It arrived in the post yester eve.”

  “From whom?”

  “Well, I don’t know. The package wasn’t signed.”

  A slow smile spread across her face. “Justin, call the constable.”

  ****

  He hounded Magnolia to explain, but she refused, saying she wanted to share her story only once. It hurt, in a way. When they’d been children, they’d shared everything without pause. But that was a silly comparison, he decided, and sealed his lips.

  When the constable arrived, he appeared irritated. The man’s temper didn’t seem to improve when Magnolia thrust a crystal knight into his hand.

  “What is this?” He studied the piece.

  “That,” she pointed, “is the cross.”

  “What?” The constable knit his brows.

  “Please take a seat and I’ll explain.”

  Justin settled on the settee beside Lady Sybil, and the constable sat opposite them. Magnolia paced, punctuating her words with her animated hands.

  “By his own admission, we know Tyrrel stole the cross. We also know it is not hidden within his home, due to the constable’s thorough search.”

  The constable thrust out his chest.

  Magnolia continued. “Tyrrel fancies himself as a modern-day Robin Hood, taking from the rich and distributing to the poor, correct?”

  “We know all this, Miss Quinn. Will you please get to the point.”

  Magnolia sent the constable a malevolent look, and Justin choked off a laugh at the man’s shocked expression. If Justice and Miss Quinn carry on, the constable will lose all his good opinion of Magnolia… and me, too.

  “The point is, dear constable, that Tyrrel melted down the cross and disseminated it. Hence his words, You’ll never find the cross because it is everywhere — but nowhere.”

  “That means—” Lady Sybil pointed a trembling finger at the chess set.

  “Yes, I believe so. Perhaps he felt a moment of guilt for taking the cross and he added golden flakes to the crystal chess pieces, so you would at least have a part of it.”

  The constable blinked. “And how are we going to confirm your theory?”

  “Why, quite simply. Check all the households with stolen items and see if they have also received anonymous gifts, and whether those gifts contain flecks of gold.”

  The constable looked flabbergasted. Justin’s heart soared and pride swelled his chest at Magnolia’s wit. He jumped to his feet and patted her on the back, a smile tilting his lips. And that is why Miss Quinn is my partner.

  ****

  Over the following week all of Magnolia’s theories were confirmed. Proud beyond words, Justin had to force himself not to boast of her involvement. Against his judgment, he’d agreed to keep her part in the discovery a secret, but it rankled. Magnolia insiste
d when her father returned from his business abroad, he would be furious if he knew she’d flitted about the ton pretending to be a couple and investigating crimes, and Justin couldn’t argue with that logic.

  Tonight he would attend a celebration held in Hesper’s honor. According to the gossip, she had invited only a few of her closest friends to rejoice at the return of her brooch and to play up her role in catching Tyrrel in his folly.

  He read the invitation one more time. Magnolia’s name was not listed as an intended guest. Had Hesper made an error in not inviting Magnolia, or had she been left out on purpose?

  He laid the invitation on his desk and glanced in the mirror. Greatcoat tugged into place, he grabbed his hat and cane and made his way to the waiting carriage. Inside its confines, he continued to bristle over the slight to Magnolia. Others had been left in the dark, but Hesper had known of Magnolia’s central role in the operation to find her brooch. He frowned. Had Magnolia been left out because Hesper was jealous?

  The carriage shuddered to a halt, and Justin climbed down and made haste to the open door. Hesper met him and escorted him to the dining hall.

  “Father, look who I found.”

  Heads turned and looks of admiration raced around the room.

  The constable lifted a glass. “I propose a toast to Mr. Justin Blakemoor, for believing in me when no one else did. Otherwise I would never have discovered Tyrrel’s plot and he would still be enacting his devilish schemes.”

  Glasses clanked together and polite applause ensued. Justin said, “I did nothing. It was all the constable and—” he stopped and swallowed as he prepared to speak the lie “—Miss Rotherham.”

  Hesper curtseyed. The constable bowed and gave a rousing speech about those who believed they were untouchable in regard to the law.

  Justin eased away and hid behind a large fan-like fern. If he ate dinner after that lie, he fully expected it to curdle in his stomach.

  “Hero worship.”

  The voice dripped with disdain, and Justin glanced aside, surprised. Fortescue Cunning, Baron of Eure, sipped at a glass of wine, his gaze riveted to the ladies and gentlemen patting the constable’s broad back.

  “Do you believe it undeserved?”

  “Of course not. Tyrrel was a menace.”

  Justin sensed Baron Eure withheld a sterner opinion.

  “However, I do find it curious that the constable discovered or even accepted the truth behind the cross’s mystery.”

  “Why?” Justin narrowed his eyes.

  Cunning laughed under his breath. “Because the constable is little more than a puppet whose strings are pulled by the highest bidder.”

  It couldn’t be true. For a moment, Justin couldn’t hear for the roar between his ears.

  “No, someone must have given the information to him in such a way that he was forced to act upon it. Someone of great influence, it must have been, a greater influence than Mr. Rotherham.”

  Justin studied the constable as he accepted congratulations. When he looked back, Cunning had moved away.

  Could the constable be crooked? Perhaps it was another case for Justice and Miss Quinn. Justin admitted he didn’t require much prodding; he was even more addicted to being with Magnolia. The constable could provide the perfect excuse for extending their investigations. His lips twitched as he took a mouthful of the sherry.

  ****

  Fortescue moved to the corner and sipped at his drink. Hesper continued to accept congratulations for her part in the discovery. The constable bowed over and over, puffing out his chest.

  “Do you think Mr. Blakemoor took the bait?” asked Eudora, a fake smile gracing her beautiful face.

  He smirked. “Oh, yes. Most definitely.”

  Author’s Note

  I fear that Magnolia and Justin have only cut the arm off of the proverbial monster. In order to stop the madness, they must reach the head.

  I hope you will join me for book two, The Case of the Puppet Constable.

  Other works by Felicia Rogers:

  The Renaissance Hearts Series

  Book One: There Your Heart Will Be Also

  Book Two: By God’s Grace

  Book Three: Labor of Love

  Book Four: Beyond a Doubt

  Book Five: Letters in the Grove

  Standalone works:

  Love Octagon

  The Painted Lady

  The Perfect Rose

  The Holiday Truce

  A Month in Cologne

  Andrews Brothers

  The Ruse

  The Rescue

  Southern Hearts Series:

  Millicent

  Amelia

  Cora

  Wounded Solider Series:

  Diamond Mine

  Pearl Valley

  Emerald Street

  “Justice” and Miss Quinn Mysteries

  The Case of the Missing Cross

  The Case of the Puppet Constable

  The Case of the Secret Love

  The Case of the Chinese Boxes (Oct 2016)

  The Case of the Hidden Treasure (Nov 2016)

  The Case of the Lost Island (Dec 2016)

  The Board Series by F. A. Rogers

  (novellas are listed in order)

  Maralie

  Reuben

  Vanessa

  Simon

  Darla

  Daniel

  Irving

  Levi

  Francesca

  Benjamin

  James

  The Return to Eden’s Hollow