Page 122 of A Whisper in the Shadows

Tilda exhaled and smoothed her hand down her hip. “Yes. Show him in.”

The butler departed and a moment later, Teague strode in. In his middle thirties, he had dark red hair and sharply assessing brown eyes. He looked toward Hadrian. “I thought I recognized your coach outside.”

“Afternoon, Teague,” Hadrian said. “I trust you are well.”

“Well enough.” The inspector moved his attention to Tilda. “I hear you conducted a successful investigation in the City. And you.” He glanced at Hadrian.

“We did indeed.” Tilda clasped her hands in front of her waist. “Have you come to hire me for an investigation?”

Teague’s features darkened. “I have not. But I wanted to alert you about something that will be of interest. I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t keep it from you. Not after all we’ve been through together.”

“That sounds almost ominous,” Tilda said with curiosity.

“It’s not good,” Teague replied with a frown. “Inspector Padgett was found dead last night.”

Tilda sucked in a breath. Padgett worked for the Metropolitan Police and had been the inspector assigned to Hadrian’s attack several months earlier. Padgett had buried evidence in Hadrian’s case, as well as in another regarding the man who was murdered by the brigand who’d attacked Hadrian.Padgett had left the police, but his behavior hadn’t been investigated.

“Dead or murdered?” Hadrian asked, his tone carrying a rough edge.

“The inquest is tomorrow, but the coroner will no doubt say it’s murder,” Teague said. “I came here because Padgett was found with a piece of paper in his pocket that is most confounding.”

The hair on Tilda’s neck stood up. “Why?”

“Because it bears your father’s name.”