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“Most of Flannery’s men have a checkered history” Mr Wycliff watched his wife as she crossed the roolass of sherry “Most have had sos with the criminal fraternity”

“I assuentle persuasion”

Mr Wycliff gave a wicked s like that It seems Mr Cribb had a few friends Men who visited at odd tiht Men who visited on the sah he regularly purchased new clothes and was never in arrears with his rent”

“It’s obvious how he earned an income,” Lucius said

“The shopkeeper said Cribb was an educated ht himself above his peers He professed to have a foolproof plan, said he would soon be living in a house in Mayfair, not lodging in Saffron Hill”

“Logic suggests the plan involved one of two things,” Sybil said, before sipping her sherry “Mr Cribb was going to blackentleoing to become a rich man’s companion”

The room fell silent while they contemplated the information

It did not take a genius to put the puzzle pieces together Sir Melrose liked entle the possibility that Mr Cribb was murdered And Sir Melrose was desperate to purchase the journals

Sybil repeated her account aloud “But all we have is gossip Nothing substantial Nothing to suggest Sir Melrose killed ine a ht to commit such an evil deed

“We have various leads now,” Lucius reassured her “We have the sketch of the et’s Garrett Have Flannery’s men question all the witnesses from Smithfield Market”

They continued to debate variousevidence

It struck Sybil that while she wanted to punish the person who had caused her father’s death, the longer the investigation took, the longer she could rearth with Lucius Daventry

How e her desires?

A thousand would not be enough

Howbreakfast? To see him smile? To ease the ache in his heart? To let him know that someone loved him?