Page 16 of The Lady Has a Past

Amusement gleamed briefly in Luther’s dark eyes. “I can see why Raina says you have a talent for investigation work.”

Lyra’s spirits soared. “Did she tell you that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s... very nice to hear.” Lyra cleared her throat. “As I was saying, there is nothing on her calendar that indicates today was going to be anything other than normal here at Kirk Investigations, and so far I have found no notes indicating recent phone calls to any of the businesses or people in her file of contacts.”

Luther gave her a thoughtful look. “Kirk Investigations is a two-person agency, and of those two people, you are the only one who has had an unusual experience recently.”

“Yes, and last night Raina did her best to take my mind off what happened at the Adlington residence, but aside from her concern for me—she was very understanding—I detected nothing unusual in her behavior.”

“Neither did I.”

And you know her ever so much better than I do,Lyra thought.

“I assume you took her home after you put me in a limo with one of your drivers?” she ventured.

“Yes, I took Raina home,” Luther said.

“I don’t mean to intrude on your privacy, but did anything take place that might have... upset her?”

“You mean, did we quarrel?” Luther’s jaw tightened. He walked to the window and looked out at the street. “No.”

“May I ask if you, uh, shared a nightcap?”

“I left her at three this morning,” Luther said. He turned around. “That’s what you want to know, isn’t it?”

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, thank you. I don’t mean to pry, but I’m trying to establish a timeline.”

“A timeline?”

“Raina says that’s the first thing to do in a case. It makes sense. I grew up in the shipping and freight business. Timing is everything in that world, too.”

Luther was clearly intrigued now. “Go on. Tell me about your timeline.”

“Given our own personal recollections of the evening, I think we should assume that whatever disturbed Raina and sent her away from Burning Cove happened sometime between approximately six o’clock this morning and, at the latest, eight.”

Luther studied her for a moment, curiosity replacing the cold steel in his eyes. “What makes you think you can narrow the time window to a couple of hours?”

“Raina stopped in here at nine. She was on her way out of town. That means her suitcases must have been in the trunk of her car. She wasn’t sure exactly how long she would be gone, but she estimated three or four days. It takes time for a woman to pack for a trip of that duration. She was dressed for a long drive—trousers, comfortable shoes, a scarf for her hair. She seemed in a great hurry, but when I offered her coffee she said she had already had some with breakfast. Also, I know she took the time to read the morning paper.”

“How did you figure that out?”

Lyra glanced at the copy of theBurning Cove Heraldon her desk. “She mentioned that the Adlington case was in the headlines and said something about how fortunate it was that theHerald’s crime reporter, Irene Ward, covered the story, because she got the details right and she even managed to insert Kirk Investigations into the piece. Good publicity for the firm.”

“Your point is that Raina breakfasted, had coffee, and read at least the front page of the paper, but something happened soon after that which caused her to pack a bag, dress for a long drive, and rush here to leave a note for me.”

“Yes,” Lyra said. She tapped one polished fingernail on the desktop and focused very intently on Luther. “Raina mentioned that you operate a rather exclusive investigation business of your own and that you did intelligence work during the Great War and for a few years afterward. You’ve obviously had a lot more experience in this sort of thing than I have, but I can think of only a couple of things that could have turned Raina’s world upside down between breakfast and approximately eight a.m.”

“A telephone call or a telegram.”

“Precisely.”

“Damn. Raina’s right. You do have the instincts for this work.”

The remark, coming from a man who knew a lot about investigating, infused Lyra with a dose of self-confidence.

“Thank you,” she said. “I think we should take a look around Raina’s house. Perhaps we will find something that will reassure us or give us some idea of where she went. I don’t suppose you have—?”

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