The Mysterious Lady Law Read Online Free PDF

guarantee like that? The most famous private detective in the world offering her services unsolicited…and gratis ? This had to be some sort of publicity stunt. Georgy had never mentioned that she cleant Lady Law’s house…or maybe she had. Georgy’s keyhole tales had featured a veritable rogue’s gallery of famous acquaintances over the years, everyone from Phileas Fogg to Rudyard Kipling. Julia couldn’t remember half of them.
    “Perhaps Miss Bairstow needs a little time to consider your offer,” Grant interrupted.
    Lady Law didn’t hesitate. “I apologize for pressing, I really do, but the longer we wait, the more convoluted the investigation may become. You see, the killer now has a weeklong head start and hindsight is a criminal’s best weapon. It affords him the opportunity to muddy his tracks, to revise his habits and to think omnisciently. Perhaps he will even procure false alibis or emergency funds to flee London, etcetera. The ideal time to start an investigation is within forty-eight hours of the crime. While my untarnished record suggests such constraints are of no import, I can safely say they are indeed vital—if not to the end result, then most assuredly to my own efficiency—for the quicker I can solve each crime, the more crimes I am able to solve. And that, my friends, is where you come in.”
    Julia was about to shake her hand and give a gracious nod when Grant, dry-eyed, hands clasped behind his back, stepped forward. “Thank you, ma’am. Miss Bairstow will give you her answer shortly. Now if you don’t mind, we were about to take a ride on an airship.”
    “We were?” Julia butted in.
    He blinked at her. “Yes, don’t you remember? The Dover flyover I was telling you about. Professor McEwan begins his descent today.”
    “Oh, the iron mole!” Julia enthused, cottoning on to his little escape plan. “I’m such a flibbertigibbet today.” She turned to Lady Law. “Yes, he was just about to buy me lunch on the Pegasus while we watch Professor McEwan’s burrowing machine. Apparently they are aiming to reach the earth’s core. I wonder where he will pop up when he reaches the far side?”
    “Timbuktu,” scoffed Grant, offering Julia his arm. “Good day, Lady Law.” He turned his back before she had a chance to reply. What was it about her that he disliked so much? Where had they met before? Might they have been lovers?
    “Actually, the Pegasus does not depart until eleven-fifteen.” Lady Law swept ahead of them onto the staircase and without turning her head, continued, “Miss Bairstow and I have almost two hours to chat before then. Am I right in assuming she wishes to accept my offer?” She was unbearably arrogant, but it was still an invitation Julia was not about to decline, not if it meant catching Georgy’s killer.
    “Yes, I would be extremely grateful.”
    Just before the next flight of steps, Lady Law turned and flashed Julia a narrow yet bonnie smile that made her look like a shy teenager posing for a class photograph. “I am glad. And what I have to ask will not take long, I assure you. Do you attend church, Miss Bairstow?”
    “At Easter and at Christmas, otherwise only occasionally.” What on earth does church have to do with anything? “Georgy and I always go—went—to the carol service at St. Paul’s.”
    “I only ask because I prefer to interview my clients in church. It may sound unorthodox but there is nowhere more conducive to trust and forthrightness. One need not think of it as a confessional, but even the farthermost pew in a church holds that same spiritual ease, that confidence where two people can talk softly and withhold nothing.”
    “In which holy place will this interrogation take place?” Grant mocked, his entire demeanour now ice-cold.
    “Wherever Miss Bairstow likes. The church was only a suggestion. If it is better to go someplace—”
    “No, no, church is fine,” replied Julia. “I would feel more comfortable in a