Page 2 of Her Tempting Traitor
“They died,” Bull explained grimly. “They were deep undercover with the Irish nationalists, and had set up a hand off that would...” He shook his head. “I can tell ye more if ye accept the case. But they were passing faulty explosives in exchange for a shite-ton—in exchange for a lot of money…and something went wrong. All three of his men were killed, the exchange compromised.”
He’d killed his own men out of greed? Or had he, at some point, begun to believe in the ideals of the I.P.B., and sabotaged his team on purpose?
Neither option bore thinking about.
“Dear Lord,” Gabby whispered, gripping her fingers together, her throat dry. The thought of him ordering his own men to their deaths was sickening. “And he got away unscathed with the money? Where is he now? I assume you know.”
Interestingly, Bull hesitated. “I didnae say he was unscathed. He…” Abruptly, he sat forward and began to riffle through the stack of papers on his desk. “Aye, here it is. He lost his left leg below the knee. His foot was badly damaged in what appeared to be an explosion, and the doctors amputated.”
Gabby swallowed. Uncle Rourke still limped because of a firebombing. “That seems…extensive. His superiors believe he blew his own leg off to abscond with the money?”
Bull shrugged and tapped the paper. “They suspect the plan went awry. The money is gone. So is the man. And to answer your other question, he’s been recuperating at Inverlochy Castle, up near Fort William.”
“He has acastle?” Despite her earlier disgust at the details of the case, Gabby was beginning to question the logic. “Why would he kill his own men for money if he has acastle?”
Bull was shaking his head. “His uncle by marriage has a castle. Sir Richard Biggenpans, eccentric landowner, world-traveler, and menagerie-builder.”
Menagerie. “Ah. I suspect we are fast approaching my reason for being here.”
“Bright indeed,” Bull teased, leaning back once more and beaming fondly. “Aye, Sir Richard and his wife housed—perhaps cared for, I dinnae ken—Cassian Grey’s son while he was on assignment, since his wife’s death. Grey has retired there, supposedly to spend time with his son and come to terms with his sudden forced retirement?—”
“And unplanned and traitorous leg removal, presumably,” Gabby interrupted dryly. After all, it wasn’t as if the man had diabolically cut off his own foot. Had he?
“However,”Bull continued as if she hadn’t interjected, “there’s been some rumors of him planning a move to America.”
Oh. Thatwasrather suspicious. Blackrose, the bastard who’d made Uncle Rourke’s life hell, had fled to Boston for this same reason, before they were able to tempt him back.
“Packing up his son and his ill-gotten gains and beginning again in a new country.” This time Gabbydidgrowl, and she didn’t care how unladylike it sounded. “We have to stop him.”
Bull nodded firmly. “Good lass. Aye, that is where ye come in.”
“Sir Richard’s menagerie?”
“He has an extremely large and sick elephant.”
Gabby blinked at that particular combination of words. “I would question if that was a euphemism, but?—”
“The man literally has an elephant. A big one. She is with calf, and the pregnancy is no’ going well.”
“Bull,” Gabby huffed, tipping to one side enough to plant a hand on her hip, even as her pulse quickened. “There is a vast difference between beingsickand being pregnant.”
Her uncle-turned-friend waved airily. “I treasure my ignorance when it comes to pachyderm reproduction. The point is, he acquired a pregnant elephant, his elephant is no’ thriving, and before he ends up with two dead elephants, he’s put out a call for help.”
“And you justhappento monitor the personal ads for desperate calls for aid for pregnant land mammals?”
Bull likely hoped that picking up his papers and shifting them around would hide his broad smile, but he was unsuccessful. “My contact at the London Zoo?—”
Gabby suddenly lunged forward to grab the edge of the desk. “You have a contact at the London Zoo? And you never mentioned him?”
“Of course.” Bull winked, displaying the same charm that won him friends from all walks of life—Princesses to zookeepers to dockworkers. “Who do ye think got ye in to see that ocelot autopsy for yer birthday?Especiallyafter ye were blackballed over the whole hippo incident.”
Huffing, she pointed a stern finger at Bull. “It would not have been anincidentif they had only accepted my insight. The poor thing was clearly unwell, and if they had not refused my help, I would not have been relegated to hiding in that wheelbarrow of cabbages to sneak in.”
Her uncle rolled his eyes. “I’m no’ denying that, Gabs, I’m just saying it took a bit of finesse to convince my contact to let ye back in for yer birthday autopsy—which is a phrase I never thought I’d have cause to say.”
Sighing, Gabby slumped back in the chair.
The old-fashioned sticks-in-the-mud who ran the zoo had refused to believe afemalemight have the same—no,better—veterinary skills as a man. Wasn’t that just the story of her life? Was she going to spend the rest of her years overlooked and insulted, surrounded by men who refused to respect her intellect?
