"Followed?!" Jedidiah whispered fiercely as he wanted to turn, but the lady gripped his hand suddenly and tightly, fixing him a fiery look.
"Can you kindly display even a little bit of the tact that makes you a renowned detective in these parts?"
Jedidiah nursed his injured pride as he flashed her a smile, moving over to her side as he tipped his hat and took her hand in his palm.
Her hands were silky soft, and even though he was acting as though he was wooing her, of course to throw off whoever had followed him, he could not deny that kissing her hands was a heavenly pleasure.
"You're enjoying yourself a tad too much, detective."
He suddenly came back to earth and noticed he had been kissing those fingers a little longer than was normal.
Standing up, he moved to the seat beside hers and sat down.
Saying anything more would add to the embarrassment that was evident on his flustered face.
"No surprise there. I have this effect on men, and no matter how popular the great Jedidiah might be, he is still a man anyway," she said, flashing him a saucy smile.
"Great job there," he said, smiling tightly. "Can we start from who the heck you are and how you know me?"
She didn't seem in the least offended; instead she just smiled and flipped the pages of the book she was holding.
"Identities are nothing but what I want them to be at the moment. I don't want to, er, insult you by giving you a false one, so I ask that we leave the matter of my identity for another time..."
Jedidiah could do little to hide his irritation. "You..."
"..but if you're so persistent, which you are," she said, continuing as though he did not interrupt her. "You can call me your informant. Let's just say I have some interests in this case that may or may not be sponsored. While you have a murder case on your hands, I on the other hand have the issue of the Eye of the Sky. What I'm seeking here is a..."
"Cooperation, ain't it?"
"A lot of pride, an imposing character, an annoying habit of cutting people off and then this manner of speaking. You're ticking all the boxes in my bad books, Jedidiah," she said, her smile now steely. "But I guess that's the man that you are, and the job I'm here for bears more importance than my personal interests. If putting up for that is ok it takes to get back that diamond, then I..."
"You won't have to put up with me, 'cause I sure as hell ain't working with you. Later, Gator," Jedidiah said, walking out of the library at that moment.
He turned back briefly to make sure she - or anyone else at that - was not following him before walking on, shaking his head as he manoeuvred his way through a crowd until he arrived at a bar, assured that he had not been followed.
This case just keeps on getting better and better, he thought as he asked for some brandy. He needed to keep his spirits high and his eyes wide open as he went back to the train to Corndale.
Where anything could be waiting for him.
From his dark corner in the room, he observed two men who entered the bar.
One wore a huge coat and kept his hat topped over his head.
The other wore a dirty long sleeved shirt and a waistcoat on that. His trousers were faded, and he looked quite in place here as opposed to...
The library where Jedidiah had spotted him subconsciously earlier.
He hated it that the woman was right, especially not now that the man's eyes had taken on him. Recognition flashed in Mister Dirty Clothes' eyes as he brought out a gun from his pocket.
"You were warned to stay off this case. It'd have been wise to forget about justice and leave this place, but y'all don't listen, huh?"
The whole place was thrown into chaos and Jedidiah tried to duck as people ran out of the place. But then a shotbrang out and the man dropped to the ground.
It was the second man who entered - the one in the coat - that shot.
But it wasn't a man.
As the mystery figure unbuttoned and threw away the coat, Jedidiah saw the familiar burgundy gown.
"As you can see," the lady said, standing majestically with a hand upon her hip and the other on the hat, "you need me."
******
Sorry for not updating in... A month, is it?
I've been busy with a lot of school stuff recently, and I'm just borrowing some time from my studies (which now own my time) to update my story, so I hope y'all understand.
hahahahah