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Thinking aboutthe real culprit hurt Benedict’s brain They had to find evidence—legitiuilt—not base their opinions on supposition Either that, or they had to press the suspects for a confession Things rooan

As they moved closer to the Serpentine, Cassandra stopped abruptly “There’s soe shadow No, a man”

She had focused her attention on the vagabond sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk The man was buried beneath a mound of moth-eaten coats, his eyes hidden by the bri, unke

The terrier sprawled at his side jumped to its feet as they approached The snappy creature barked—a high-pitched and highly irritating noise—as it had done on the night Benedict ca with his wife

Cassandra tugged Benedict’s ar was all bark, no bite

“The aniestured to the cloth sack on the ground, whichsnarl and snap all the more

Cassandra winced at the sound “That bark …” She shook her head and screwed her eyes shut “It seems familiar”

The vagabond raised the bri He drew the dog to heel and then they both settled back to resuht slumber

“Do you reht you were kidnapped?” If she could reht return

“Yes” Confusionafterwards that I woke to a dawn mist”

“What are you saying?” Benedict engaged his logical brain “That the perpetrator carried you to the Serpentine while you aking fro-induced state? That he had not left you alone in the park all night?”

Cassandra shrugged “I’m not sure My memory is so hazy”

It had always struck him as odd that a man would play hazard with a woman’s life when the intention was simply to ruin her reputation A vulnerable woet for those disreputable men who prowled the park So the villain had kept Cassandra safe until the appointed time The time when Benedict arrived to play his part

“Perhaps this fellow ht on the event” With Cassandra still clinging to his arhed and cleared his throat “Forgivefor a witness to a tragic event that occurred here alo”

The terrier barked though the sound lacked conviction