Kimble said unconcernedly. “I had a man following him.”
“You ought to have led with that part, Kimble.” The major’s tone was terse.
“But my man lost sight of him for a moment on the way to the station,” Kimble continued. “Came around a corner a moment later and found him bleeding out in an alley. Throat slit.”
Despite myself, I gasped. I hadn’t expected such a violent turn in a story told in such a bland voice.
The major’s eyes flickered momentarily to me before going back to Kimble. “Did your man get anything out of him before he died?”
Kimble shook his head. “Too far gone by that point. And he didn’t see who might have done it either. It was quick work.”
Major Ramsey sat back in his chair with a bitter curse, and this time he did not apologize.
“I thought you ought to know,” Kimble said. “That lead’s dead … so to speak.”
The major appeared to think for a moment and then nodded. “Thank you, Kimble,” he said. “I think that will do for now.”
Kimble nodded and rose unhurriedly from his chair. “I’ll drop by again this evening if I have any more news.” He turned to me. “Good day, Miss McDonnell.”
“Mr. Kimble,” I said vaguely, still shaken by what I had heard.
He turned then and left without further remark. I looked at the major, my brows rising almost of their own volition.
“He’s an interesting fellow,” Major Ramsey said. “I’ve never met a person less inclined to emotion of any sort.”
Coming from Major Ramsey, that was saying something.
“Who … who’s died now?” I asked.
He sighed. “I had Kimble watching a different man, someone I suspect has been running messages between our key players. He was working as one of the waiters at the lecture last night. I suspect he was the one who slipped Winthrop that note.”
“And now someone’s killed that man to silence him.”
“It would seem so.”
I felt a little sick, but I fancy I managed to keep my composure.
“Is the meeting between Winthrop and the contact still going to happen?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “That’s what I was going to tell you before Kimble came barging in here. I would like you to accompany me to the tearoom to watch for their arrival. If we’re together, I’m hoping Winthrop and the killer will merely think it a coincidence that we’re there.”
“And when Mr. Winthrop takes possession of the papers?”
“Then we can perhaps make one more attempt at stealing them.”
If I hadn’t realized how high the stakes were before, I certainly realized it now. Two men had been killed so far. This was a dangerous business.
“I could get Kimble or one of his men to do it, of course,” he said, almost as though we were having the same thought. “But you’ve seen firsthand how his men operate.”
“Are those the brutes that accosted me that first night?”
“Yes. They don’t go in much for subtlety.”
“I can see why you might not want them crashing around a tearoom.”
He gave me one of those faint smiles. “Precisely. Additionally, since you’re invested in this operation, I thought it was fitting for you to see it through.”
“I’m glad,” I said.
His eyes came up to mine. I had meant what I said, but it seemed I had surprised him a bit with my sincerity. I supposed sincerity wasn’t something I often projected. It came from a lifetime of concealing my feelings, concealing myself. I had grown up learning to be guarded around people who weren’t my family, and the fact that I had been comfortable enough with the major to let my guard slip for a moment was telling.
As it usually went with Major Ramsey, my good feelings were short-lived.
“You will, of course, have to stop seeing your friend until the job is done. Not the job tomorrow, but the whole thing.”
“My … friend?”
“Mr. Lacey.”
My reply was automatic. “I won’t do that.”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Miss McDonnell.” Something in his tone told me that it would do no good to argue, but that wasn’t going to stop me.
“Why should I stop seeing him?”
“He’s only going to complicate things, and we don’t need that at the moment. If he is free to come and go at your flat at all hours of the day and night—” He held up a hand to ward off my protests and continued. “He may be difficult to work around.”
Despite my strong desire to argue, I couldn’t deny the logic of this. It would be rather hard to have Felix around while I