Chapter 45 – The Arrest

Edward was sitting in the drawing room, perusing the evening edition of the newspaper. As he folded it to get access to a different article, he caught sight of Eleanor standing in the doorway.

“Ellie! Good news for your wedding! The groom has escaped police custody.” The baron clicked his tongue. “That didn’t take long. Honestly, I feel bad for Haley—”

The inspector came to stand beside Eleanor in the doorway.

“Oh, Haley, I was saying to Eleanor—that was a rough bit with Penn escaping. Were you there for the transfer?”

“No,” Haley said. “I was busy elsewhere.”

“Ha! That’s probably why he got away. But don’t worry! The chase goes on. I’m sure you’ll get him again.”

It dawned on the baron that his encouragement had done nothing to lighten the dark mood of his observers. He put the paper down on the table beside him. “Come on. It’s not the end of the world, is it?”

Eleanor came into the room. “Eddie, I have to talk to you.”

The baron opened both his arms. “I’m at your disposal. At least for a few hours. I do have plans after…”

His sentence trailed away when he saw her shake her head.

“I’m the one who took your jacket.”

There was a brief silence, then Edward said in a quiet voice, “I’ll have to apologize to Mrs. Park. I must say, I never figured you would be the kind to pull a prank.”

“Your pocket.” Eleanor took a deep breath. “You forgot to clean the inside of the pocket.”

The baron’s eyes went from her, to Haley, then back again. “The pocket?”

“You put the egg in your pocket. It still had blood on it. You remembered to clean everything else…but not that.”

“I see.”

Haley stepped forward. “Edward Archibald Comtess, I have a warrant for your arrest.”

Edward laughed. It sounded rough and hopeless. “That damn diamond mine.” He turned to his cousin. “Eleanor, someday you’re going to be a rich woman. Let me warn you now—no speculative investing.”

“How much did you lose?” she asked.

“I got carried away by Massey’s enthusiasm. I took out loans. It was almost as much as my entire fortune. When the project sank, Ryder went to his father—”

“But you had Mr. Altis buy up your debt.”

“He was happy to do it,” Edward muttered. “He even deferred the payments since I was expecting to inherit the second half of my parent’s estate.” Edward couldn’t bring himself to look at Eleanor, but he brought his eyes to the floor in front of her feet. “You know that you inherit Mother’s money if you’re not married before she dies?”

“Eddie…”

Comtess stood up and took her gently by the shoulders. “No. Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I knew, Eleanor. I knew the terms of the will. I wasn’t worried.” His voice choked up. “Look at you! You’re wonderful! I knew it was only a matter of time before some lucky fellow claimed you. I could wait.”

“And then you couldn’t.”

“Mama told you?”

“Two days ago.”

“We wanted to tell you earlier, but with everything else going on, she decided you had enough to worry about.”

“Why did you kill Dominic?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

All the levity the baron had been using as a shield for the past week dissolved. He let go of Eleanor’s shoulders and, instead, took her hand.

“I’m the one that talked him into sending the invitations.”

“I know, Eddie.” Eleanor’s voice was strong, in spite of the tears. “It was a stupid joke. It was a stupid joke, you stupid little boy.” With her free hand, she pulled his head down until his forehead met hers. “Of course it was you. You talked Dominic into it, but you needed him to pay for them. How did you even learn about the idea?”

“Dominic told me about it when it first came up. When I heard that Mama only had a few months to live, I thought it was worth a try.”

“Which of you thought of using Penn?”

“I did.”

“That was clever.”

“I never meant for this to happen, Eleanor. I knew that Penn’s name would be enough to scare Uncle Erravold—I never thought he would write back!”

“But why did you kill Dominic?”

Edward pulled his head away, but he kept her hand. “The day you were kidnapped, Dominic called around until he found me at the club. He was upset, but he agreed to let me come and talk to him. I couldn’t calm him down. I tried to explain to him that Haley didn’t think Penn had done it—that Haley didn’t even think we were connected to Penn!—but he didn’t believe me. He insisted on going to the police and telling them what we’d done.”

“Why didn’t you go, Edward?”