The Swindler

FOUR

Back home, I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. I turned to lock the door and when I faced front, I jumped in shock.

"T- Theodore, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to come home. You were at the Countess's for a long time."

"No, I had a meeting with another client afterwards. Why are you here?"

He stood up from the sofa and walked over to me, serious- ness in his eyes. I cringed away instinctively.

"When did you switch cars? You got into a Rolls Royce when you left Regent's Park, but now you have a Vauxhall Corsa, which in my opinion, is cheap for someone like you."

"I had a pro bono case over in Poplar. It's better sometimes to drive a cheaper car so I don't stand out as much in the poorer neighbourhoods, you know."

"Hmm..."

"What?" I asked, nervous.

"You're so complex. I can never read you."

I scoffed, "Oh, please, you're not Sherlock Holmes."

"No, I'm not," he agreed.

My bloody phone began to ring, and my eyelids fluttered in agitation. I pulled it from my purse and answered the call without checking the caller id.

"Jocelyn Pritchard."

"Josie, it's me."

I went still. "Oh, William, how can I help you?"

Theodore's face went dark. I ignored him.

"John said he spoke with you today."

"That's correct, yes."

"The House of Lords moved the voting up. You have seventy two hours, Josie, to figure this out. Good luck."

I closed my eyes and scrunched them together. My free hand came up, and I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Alright, thank you for letting me know."

"Of course. I hope you figure out who's behind this."

"Me too," I muttered before hanging up.

"What did my uncle want?" Theodore asked coldly.

"Just to let me know about the French ambassador. Nothing overly important, don't worry about it."

I headed into the kitchen, and he followed me.

"Is everything alright, Jocelyn?"

"Huh?" I asked as I spun around. "Oh, yes."

"You seem... off, not yourself."

"I just have a lot on my plate right now."

"Too many clients?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm overloaded."

"Ahh, well I guess I'll let you sort stuff out."

He turned to leave, and I didn't stop him. My boss's words were clear in my mind.

Stay away from Theodore Pemberton. He's trouble.

Once he was gone, I took a deep breath. Then, I made my way over to my office.

Before I sat down, I did a thorough check for any bugs or listening devices. When I didn't find any, I sat down at my desk. There was an extra key on my chain for the Corsa, and I fit it into the slot on the only locked drawer in my desk. The lock clicked, and I opened the drawer and pulled out a stack of manila envelopes. I set them down on the desk and sighed.