Page 67 of Inventing Vivian

“And this is Devon, my lord. My father’s carriage driver.” She gave Mr. Barnaby a questioning look.

“Needed a partner, Miss Kirby,” the eccentric man said, explaining Devon’s presence. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“No, of course not,” she said. “Devon is an excellent choice.”

Miss Kirby introduced the men to the others, and Mr. Thomas brought them chairs from the far side of the room.

Once they were all seated, Benedict sat forward on the sofa. “Now that we are all present”—he looked to Miss Kirby for confirmation, and seeing her nod, he continued—“I thank you for coming. Mr. Li is very important to me, and I am exceedingly grateful to you for your help in exonerating him. Will you share with us your plan, Miss Kirby?”

“Of course,” Miss Kirby said. She glanced around at the others, as if unsure where to begin. “Well, then. Yesterday, after leaving the police station, Sophie and I paid a visit to Mr. Barnaby. He has located the jade horses.”

Inspector Graham sat upright. “You know where they are?”

“Don’ know exactly,” Mr. Barnaby said. “But I made contact with the man who has them. Told him I’ve a buyer who’s interested, see?”

“That is excellent work, sir,” Inspector Graham said. “When and where can we apprehend this man?”

Mr. Barnaby shook a finger as if he were a school mistress scolding a dis-obedient child. “Like I tol’ Miss Kirby and Her Ladyship, he’ll know. No police. If he finds out I’m working with the lot o’ ye, I’m done for, sure as anythin’.”

“We do not intend to apprehend the culprit,” Miss Kirby said. “Only to photograph him with the horses.” She stood and walked toward the box on the floor, speaking as she went. “That evidence should be enough to absolve Mr. Li. And then the police can do whatever they wish about the true murderer once our friend is free.” She lifted the box and brought it to the center of their circle, hesitating for a moment as she glanced at the tea table, as if uncertain whether she should place the old crate upon it.

“Allow me.” Benedict hurried from the room and returned with a lap blanket. He spread it over the table to protect the glass and the carvings, and Miss Kirby set the crate down.

“You see, here”—she indicated a small break in the crate—“the camera’s lens looks through this gap.”

She must have used a tool to widen a crack in the boards and somehow fastened the camera inside the box so it didn’t move out of place.

“It is hardly noticeable,” Lady Sophronia said.

“And here”—Miss Kirby pointed to a thin opening on another side of the crate—“the camera is operated through here.”

Hearing this, Benedict felt a twinge of unease.

“You plan to set the box where the suspect will not notice and hope he happens to stand in front of it?” Inspector Graham asked.

Lady Sophronia slapped his shoulder. “The plan is much better organized than that, Jonathan.”

“I arranged the time and place o’ the meeting,” Mr. Barnaby said. “Told him my buyer asked me to verify whether the items are genuine.”

“And you believe he’ll come himself?” Benedict asked.

“Aye, Yer Lordship. He’ll not let those ponies out o’ his sight. Not with their value and what it took to get them in the first place.” He drew a large roll of paper from an inner pocket of his coat. “Here. I’ve a drawing of the warehouse.”

Miss Kirby moved the crate to the floor so he could unroll the paper on the table.

Using the drawing and Mr. Barnaby’s knowledge of the warehouse, they determined where the camera should be set and where the men examining the horses would stand in order to capture the best image.

“If the thief is as smart as you claim, he’ll send people ahead to scout out the place for any sign of a trap,” Inspector Graham said.

“Aye.” Mr. Barnaby touched the side of his nose and winked. “Now yer thinking like a thief, Inspector.”

“Sophie and I will take the crate in earlier and set it in the arranged location,” Miss Kirby said.

The back of Benedict’s neck prickled, and unease moved through him. Surely the women weren’t actually going to be at the location.

“Wearing dockworker disguises, of course,” Lady Sophronia said, grinning.

Inspector Graham frowned, and Benedict’s unease grew like an itch over his skin.

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