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Although William shouldn’t have been surprised. The man was good at his job. “You think so because one of those gentlemen was killed in the pleasure house?”
“Listen,” Gunning shrugged, “it may not be the owner himself, but—”
“Him…self?” William mumbled under his breath.
“—one of his cronies.”
“His cronies?”
“Either way, our priority is to find him. And determine his involvement.”
“Huh.” William nodded thoughtfully. So, Gunning wasn’t as well-informed as William had thought. He should have realized that Grace was hiding in plain sight as the owner of the brothel. He should have also realized that aside from Hades and his people, nobody had a reason to suspect who the owner was. Grace dressed and acted just like one of the harlots unless she chose otherwise. “And in the meantime, the establishment is ransacked, dozens of people are out on the streets, with no roofs over their heads and no jobs.”
“You want me to feel pity for whores?” Gunning’s nose twitched in disgust.
William curled his fingers into fists by his side. “Their profession of choice is out of necessity, not desire.”
“Maybe for most places that would be true. Not for the House of Pain and Pleasure. Not for the Hades’ Hell.”
William relaxed and threw up his hands as if in self-defense. “Fine. I am not here to argue about the labor shortage for underprivileged masses. I am here to ask for… a favor.”
“A favor?” Gunning’s frown turned grimmer.
“Do not worry, it is not for myself. It’s for your brother-in-law, Hades himself. And by extension, for your sister.”
Gunning’s facial features twisted as if in pain. He loathed being reminded about his sordid connection to the king of the underworld. But William always enjoyed bringing it up. Especially since he was the one who’d aided the connection between the thief-taker’s sister and the most dangerous man in London. “What can you possibly know about the favors my sister would want?”
William shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I know that she grew quite attached to some of her husband’s friends. And some of them are now in trouble due to the situation that we’ve just discussed.”
The thief-taker let out a weary sigh before putting his tumbler onto the desk and shoving his fingers in his hair. “What do you want?”
“Don’t be so brash. This can actually help you, as well.”
Gunning spread his hands in question.
“There is this one woman, from the house—”
“A harlot.”
William pursed his lips in thought and then nodded. “Yes, let’s call her a harlot if you please. Well, she believes that the owner of the House of Pain and Pleasure is innocent…” He paused. “As far as the murders are concerned anyway. And she wants to prove h… um… the owner’s innocence.”
“How is she planning to do that?”
“Likely, by finding the person or persons responsible. But it’s more complicated than that. The constables, and the king’s guard are now all looking into the scattered people of the house. They are all being tormented and harassed. This woman is no exception.”
Gunning grunted. “She needs protection.”
“Yes,” William conceded.
“And in return, she is willing to help with the investigation?”
William shrugged. “She might be in possession of information nobody else has access to.”
“And what do you have to gain from this?”
William smiled. “I get to clear my name.”
“I should have known you weren’t doing it for magnanimous purposes.”
