It Takes a Spy...: A Secrets and Seduction book (12 page)

Evangeline blushed. “I saw you approach the room, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Mr. Kenning wasn’t watching me, and when I glanced back, you were gone and the door to the room was closing. You must have gone in there. That’s the only explanation.”

“Mr. Kenning was with you?” LeCompte asked, cocking his head to one side.

“Does that worry you? That someone else may have seen you there as well?”

“Can you answer my question?” LeCompte asked. “It’s important.”

Evangeline frowned at him. “I passed Kenning in the corridor. I think he was leaving the ball early because he was wearing his top hat and overcoat. I glanced back at him to make sure he wasn’t watching me, and when I looked back, you were gone.”

“
Sacré bleu
,” LeCompte said. “Kenning.”

Cecilia could suddenly see the situation with clarity, and she stood up a bit straighter. “Now
that
makes sense. Kenning’s the real thief, isn’t he?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“No. I-I don’t believe it,” Evangeline stammered.

“But it makes complete sense,” Cecilia said. “I told you I could never see LeCompte as a thief, but Kenning is another matter altogether.”

Evangeline glared at her. “Cecilia, how could you? I thought you were here to help us. How could you side with LeCompte?”

Cecilia glared right back. “If you’d bother to open your eyes and ears, you’d see that this isn’t some petty argument about whose side I’m on. I’m on the side of truth.”

“Truth?” Evangeline let out a bark of laughter. “You wouldn’t know truth if it hit you over the head.” Evangeline’s look of scorn scalded Cecilia’s skin. “You walk around with your head in the clouds, letting people lie to you and trick you. You should be embarrassed.”

“It isn’t an embarrassment to have faith in people. And it isn’t an embarrassment to help those less fortunate than I am.”

“But you let them
lie
to you. You listen to their stories about sick husbands and lost jobs and evil employers, and then you dig into your purse. You’re a fool.”

Face hot, she lifted her chin. “Why? Because I give coins to beggars? Because I volunteer to help those less fortunate?”

“They see you as a mark. A soft touch.”

Her face softened. “And you think you’re better off than I am because you’ve hardened your heart to them?” She reached out to her sister. “Evangeline, I’m not a fool, I’m compassionate. There’s a difference.”

“No,” Evangeline said, stepping back to avoid her touch. “There isn’t.”

“Do you think we could postpone this discussion?” Devin interrupted. “We need to stay focused on the matter at hand.”

“Kenning,” LeCompte said.

Cecilia blushed as she nodded, but she noticed that Evangeline continued to glare at her.

“Miss Paring is right. I went into the room,” LeCompte said.

“Ha!” Evangeline said.

“But I didn’t attack the guard. I found him lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He had a wound near his temple. Judging by the blood on the edge of the table, it looked as though he’d hit his head on it as he fell. I think the thief must have knocked him into it.”

“Do you think it was an accident?” Cecilia asked.

“The jewels were gone, so whether he meant to knock out the guard or not, he did it while committing a crime,” LeCompte said. “I’m not inclined to give a thief the benefit of the doubt.”

“Then why didn’t you raise the alarm?” Evangeline demanded.

“What makes you think I didn’t?”

Evangeline’s mouth snapped shut.

“But you were in the ballroom when the police arrived,” Devin said.

“I thought the thief might have been a guest from the ball.” He glanced at Evangeline. “I saw someone leaving the room as I arrived, but he was wearing a top hat and coat, and I couldn’t see his face. And you just identified him as Kenning.” He tipped his head. “Thank you.”

Evangeline looked mutinous. “You’re hiding something. I can tell.” She put her hands on her hips and took a step closer to LeCompte. “That wasn’t the first time I caught you snooping around. I saw you leaving the servants’ staircase yesterday, then two weeks ago when we were at the Landons’ country house, I saw you skulking about as well.”

“Skulking about?” LeCompte asked, a faint gleam of amusement shining in his eyes. “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?”

Cecilia grinned, and Evangeline shot her a glare before turning her attention back to LeCompte. “I’m a bored young girl who isn’t allowed to attend balls. What’s your excuse?”

“Touché.” LeCompte looked at her steadily and then let out a puff of a sigh. “I can’t give you details, but I hope it will suffice to say that I’m working in conjunction with the British government.”

“Don’t try to pretend you aren’t really French,” Cecilia said, “because I don’t believe it.”

“So you aren’t a complete dupe,” Evangeline mumbled.

Cecilia chose to ignore her and continued to stare at LeCompte.

“Of course I’m French. Haven’t you been paying attention to the world? The French and the British are allies. Queen Victoria supports our president, Louis-Napoleon, and they have a cordial relationship.”

“How cordial?” Devin asked. He and LeCompte exchanged a look that Cecilia couldn’t decipher, but they seemed to reach some sort of understanding.

“Does this have anything to do with the work Devin did for you?” Cecilia asked.

LeCompte shot Devin a frown.

Devin cleared his throat. “They wanted to know how I knew where you lived,” Devin said, answering LeCompte’s unspoken question. “Nothing more.”

“Does that mean you believe him?” Cecilia asked.

Devin nodded. “You were right all along. I should have trusted your intuition.”

“But if we hadn’t come here, we never would have spoken to M LeCompte, and he wouldn’t have discovered the identity of the man in the top hat. We can thank Evangeline for that,” Cecilia said, deciding to toss her sister the credit she deserved.

“It seems you were served well by mixing together both logic and intuition,” LeCompte mused. “I’ve found it to be a winning combination.”

Devin and Cecilia exchanged looks. “So have I,” Devin said.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“I think we should take what we know to the police,” Devin said.

“Maybe,” LeCompte said, “but only if we’re certain they’ll believe us.” He gazed solemnly at Devin. “After all, they’re already convinced that
you’re
the real criminal.”

Devin frowned. “I detest being in this position. As a barrister, I’m supposed to be an agent of the law, not a traitor to it.”

“I wish I could help you,” LeCompte said, “but I don’t have any connections with the police force. I work more on the international level. This isn’t Kenning’s first jewel theft, nor is it his first assault. He’s committed murder.”

Kenning was a murderer? Yes, she could see him as one. The man had both envy and avarice as his companions. She’d noticed this about him when he’d gazed at her necklace tonight, but she’d put it out of her mind. “Have you suspected him for long?” Cecilia asked.

“A while now. He’s been sending the stolen jewels on to France. That’s why I’m involved. I was able to trace the items back to a particular fence here in London, but I wasn’t certain who the thief was. I had identified three different men who might have been the culprit, but until I heard what Miss Paring had to say about seeing Kenning in the corridor, I wasn’t able to pinpoint the exact man.”

Cecilia noticed that he hadn’t elaborated as to why a Frenchman would be working with the British government, but she decided not to comment on it. Had Evangeline noticed his evasion as well? She glanced at her sister and noted the faintly smug expression she wore. Apparently LeCompte’s praise had distracted her. Interesting.

“What is a fence?” Evangeline asked.

“A man who buys stolen items to resell,” Devin explained. “It’s his job to find customers who don’t ask too many probing questions. For his work, he gets a share of the proceeds.”

“How do you know that?” Cecilia asked.

“I’m a barrister,” Devin said with a nonchalant shrug. “I meet all sorts of dubious characters.”

“Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain that those jewels won’t remain on British soil for long,” LeCompte said. “Savel likes to send them to France as quickly as possible. I already checked. There’s a ship leaving this morning that would suit his needs perfectly.”

“Who is Savel?” Cecilia asked.

“The fence,” LeCompte said.

“Do you think he already has the jewels?” Devin asked.

“Maybe,” LeCompte said, tilting his head from side to side as though considering the question, “but probably not.” He gazed toward the empty fireplace, narrowing his eyes in thought. “No, I think it’s more likely that Kenning will take them to Savel as soon as the pawn shop opens. He often goes there in the morning to sell small items he won gambling the night before. He’s a cautious man. I doubt he’d risk going there during the night.”

“What time does Savel’s shop open?” Evangeline asked.

“He’s always open by eight to take advantage of all the gambling that took place the previous night. He tends to pay top dollar, so people prefer to sell to him.”

“Savel,” Evangeline said. “He sounds French.”

“His grandparents emigrated here during the French Revolution, but I don’t consider him to be a Frenchman.” LeCompte lifted his hand in a dismissive gesture. “The man is a Londoner, through and through. But he’s a Londoner who is comfortable living in the shadows.”

“That ship you mentioned. When does it leave?” Evangeline asked.

“The
Principia
leaves at ten o’clock. If Kenning takes the jewels to the shop as soon as it opens, that will give Savel just enough time to transport them.”

Cecilia bit the corner of her thumbnail. “That means that we’d need to convince the police we were telling the truth by no later than seven o’clock for them to be able to devise a plan to catch him.” She glanced around the room but didn’t see a clock anywhere. “What time is it?”

Devin pulled a pocket watch from his jacket and LeCompte glanced at the clock on the mantel. “Quarter to seven,” Devin said. LeCompte nodded.

“Then there isn’t enough time to call in the police,” Evangeline said.

“We’ll have to confront Savel ourselves,” Cecilia said.

“Let’s not do anything rash,” Devin said, holding up his hands as though trying to slow things down.

Cecilia glanced pointedly at his palms. “Did you think I was going to dart for the door?”

“I just meant that we need a plan,” Devin said, dropping his hands and tucking them into his pockets.

“And that’s what we’re doing,” she replied. “Planning.” She glanced at LeCompte. “What kind of man is Savel? Would you describe him as violent? Cunning?”

“Definitely not violent,” LeCompte said. “He’s a bit on the small side, which is probably why he’s more likely to want to make a deal than to stab you in the back. But he’s sly. Or perhaps devious is a better word. No matter what, his primary goal will be to escape unscathed.”

“Does he have any loyalty toward Kenning?”

“His only loyalty is to himself.” A whisper of emotion crossed LeCompte’s face. Was that disgust? It was gone so quickly that Cecilia wasn’t even certain she’d seen it.

“A devious, self-serving man. We should be able to work with that,” Cecilia mused. “Does he know you, and would he recognize any of us?”

“He might know me, but I’ve tried to remain anonymous, so my guess is that he doesn’t. I doubt he’d recognize your faces, but your names are another matter. He tends to know about London happenings that affect his business, so I’m certain he’s aware of the auction that was supposed to take place today. It’s likely he already knows about the jewel theft and that Montlake here is the main suspect.”

Devin lifted his chin, as though suddenly alert to danger. “Do you think he’d recognize me on sight?” Devin said.

“I doubt it,” LeCompte said. “Not unless you’ve been pawning things in his shop.”

“Definitely not,” Devin said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

LeCompte rubbed his chin. “Savel lives above his shop. We could go there and confront him before Kenning arrives to give him the jewels.”

“So, you think Savel expects Kenning to come this morning?” Devin asked.

LeCompte gave a sharp nod. “
Très certainement
. They undoubtedly reached an agreement prior to the theft. After all, the ball and auction have had much public notoriety over the past few weeks.”

Devin let out a heavy sigh. “It doesn’t sound as though we have much of a choice. We have to confront Savel.” He moved closer to Cecilia. “You and your sister should stay here,” he said, placing the palm of his hand on her back. “It isn’t safe for you to come with us. This man is a criminal.”