The Detective (Johannes Cabal #2)

by Jonathan L. Howard

and smiled, broadly and not without some malevolence. ‘What,’ said Cabal, somewhat testily, ‘is going on? What was all that about?’ ‘Did she ask you about what happened last night?’ ‘Yes, but she’s hardly the first one to do that.’ ‘Ah, but did she ask any questions, or just listen very closely?’ ‘She just listened. What are you getting at?’ ‘Did she congratulate you on how you handled things?’ Cabal nodded, still confused. ‘Did she lean forward a lot? Like this?’ She demonstrated, and Cabal had to admit that it was a good impersonation. ‘Did she touch you lightly on the knee at any point? No? Well, she was certainly working up to it.’ Cabal looked at her, his bafflement lifting. ‘A witch?’ he said, lowering his voice. It wasn’t too surprising, now he stopped to consider it. The upper classes were the embodiment of discretion, and he had certainly heard of members of the nobility who dabbled in practices that would get a commoner drowned in the village pond by her neighbours. ‘She’s a witch? She needed some sort of direct contact to cast a spell? But, why me? What was she after?’ He noticed Miss Barrow’s shoulders were shuddering with the effort of holding in her laughter. This did nothing to improve his mood. When she managed to damp down her hilarity a little, she said, ‘For a clever man, you can be such an idiot. She’s no witch. Not the way you mean it, anyway.’ She leaned forward and gestured him closer. ‘She was seducing you, you blockhead,’ she whispered, then sat ba...