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.Daisy was in the bath, cleaning, at the time.She didn’t hear everything, but she did catch Elwin Hastings’s name.”“What was said about him?”“Daisy only caught snatches of the conversation, but she said that it was obvious that Madam Phoenix and her lover were arguing about Hastings.Madam Phoenix wanted to wait a little longer to do something.Her lover told her she should do it immediately.”“Do what?”Roberta moved one hand in a frustrated gesture.“That’s just it, Daisy didn’t know.All she could tell me was that Madam Phoenix and her lover disagreed about when something should be done about Hastings.She said the quarrel was quite intense.”Louisa made another note and then sat back, pondering the possibilities.“Did she say who won the argument?”Roberta made a face.“Madam Phoenix, of course.Daisy says she’s very strong willed.No one goes against her, not even her lover.According to Daisy he does whatever Madam Phoenix tells him to do.”Louisa picked up the mug and drank some tea.“Did Daisy know the name of the lover?”“She said no one knows his name.He comes and goes through the kitchen door, not the main entrance, and he always uses the servant’s stairs.The staff is instructed to allow him into the house whenever he shows up.”“How often does he visit?”“That was one of the interesting things Daisy told me,” Roberta said quietly.“It seems that the lover often meets Madam Phoenix in her private rooms at the same time that Hastings is getting his treatment.”Louisa tapped the tip of the pencil against the table.“How did she describe him?”“Said he was handsome enough, if you liked the hard-eyed type.Daisy does not like that sort, by the way.Dark-haired.Always wears an overcoat when he comes to visit.”“That could describe a thousand men.Anything else?”“One more thing,” Roberta said.“Daisy said he wore a very fine ring.Onyx and gold.”Louisa caught her breath.Then she wrote the name very carefully in her notebook.Quinby.40She hurried back to Arden Square, trying to make sense of what she had learned.It might mean nothing aside from the obvious, of course.What did it signify if Quinby was having an affair with Madam Phoenix? According to Daisy he had started visiting Phoenix House a couple of months ago.The implication was that he had met Madam Phoenix before he had become one of Hastings’s guards.What was so odd about a liaison between Quinby and the brothel proprietor? Quinby was a handsome man, after all, if you didn’t mind those reptilian eyes.Madam Phoenix had every reason to be attracted to him and vice versa.They were probably two of a kind.The door of Number Twelve opened before she could dig out her key.“Welcome home, Mrs.Bryce.” Mrs.Galt stepped back.“There’s another message for you.It was delivered a few minutes ago.I put it on your desk.”“Thank you, Mrs.Galt.”Louisa untied the strings of her bonnet and hung it on a hook.She went down the hall to her study, stripping off her gloves.The white envelope sat on the blotter.She picked it up, tore it open, and read the brief note written in a neat hand.I have obtained the Milton at a reasonable price.However, another client is quite eager to purchase it and will likely pay more.I will give you until five o’clock this afternoon to come for the book.If I do not hear from you, I shall send word to the other customer.Yrs.DigbyDamn Digby.He would have to turn up the Milton this afternoon when she had other matters to deal with.She glanced at the tall clock in the corner.It was four-thirty.If she left immediately she could get to Digby’s Bookshop by five, pick up the book, and be home around five-thirty.There would be time enough to send word to Anthony about her recent discoveries after she returned from the shop.She went back out into the hall, tugging on her gloves.“Mrs.Galt?”The housekeeper appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.“What is it, ma’am?”“I must go out again.” Louisa went into the front hall and plucked the straw bonnet off the hook.“The message was from Digby.He has found a book that I am anxious to buy.I will be back by five-thirty at the latest.”“Very well, ma’am.Best take your cloak.You don’t want to catch a chill.”“You’re right.” Louisa took down the cloak and pulled it around her shoulders.“I’m expecting Mr.Stalbridge to call.If he shows up, please ask him to wait.”She snatched up her muff and flew out the door.41She opened the door of Digby’s Bookshop and walked into the gloomy interior.There were no customers.Digby was not at his desk behind the counter.“Mr.Digby?”There was no response.The door to the back room was closed.She waited a moment.When no one appeared, she went around behind the counter and knocked on the inner door.“Mr.Digby? Are you in there? I’ve come for the Milton.It is not yet five.If you have already sold the book to another client I will be most annoyed.”There was no sound from the other side of the door.She wrapped her gloved hand around the knob and twisted gently.The door swung inward, revealing a shadowy, unlit, very cluttered back room.Books were piled high on a workbench.Crates and boxes were stacked everywhere.There was a large roll of brown paper and a pair of scissors on a table.A faint, rather sweet odor made her wrinkle her nose.She was trying to identify it when she noticed the sturdy shoes sticking out from behind an open carton.The shoes extended from the ends of the legs of a pair of brown trousers.“Mr.Digby.What on earth?”She rushed into the room and around the carton.Digby lay sprawled face up on the floor.His eyes were closed.There was no sign of blood anywhere.Perhaps he had suffered a heart attack or stroke.She crouched beside him, took off a glove, and felt for the pulse at Digby’s throat
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