Now she turned to look at him, and she saw that Robert Buxton had already gotten up and was walking away down the hall.
She smiled slightly at that, and she waited for Reggie to awaken.
34
Lois took the roundabout above Regents Park. She was in her own car now, not a rental. But she still had Siger as a passenger.
The expectation—hers anyway—was to drop him at the corner and then go to her office.
“Where are you headed?” asked Siger.
“To Baker Street Chambers, of course,” said Lois. “To hold down the fort until Reggie recovers. Or Nigel returns. Or … whatever.”
“I’ll go along with you.” Siger nodded.
Lois wasn’t sure what he meant.
“You … aren’t part of chambers,” she said as nicely as possible.
He looked hurt.
“Unless you’re going to tell me now that you used to be a barrister.”
“No. I wasn’t.”
“Or a solicitor.”
“No. Not that, either.”
“Or a law chambers clerk—but that’s my job, you know.”
“No, I haven’t been any of those things.”
“Oh,” said Lois. She laughed. “You’ve been in almost every line of work we’ve encountered. I’m a little surprised.”
She hoped he couldn’t tell that she was also just a little disappointed.
“No, I’m afraid I’ve not been any of those things.”
He paused, and they took the turn onto Baker Street in silence.
“I was a detective once, though.”
They had reached the Marylebone car park now. They both got out of the car and walked up the two hundred block of Baker Street. They paused at the doorway of Baker Street House.
“Well…” began Lois.
“I’ll just come in, too, if you don’t mind. There’s someone on the top floor I need to have a word with.”
“There’s no one on the top floor except Mr. Rafferty. And the board of directors.”
“Yes,” said Siger as he held the door for Lois. “That is correct.”
As they entered the lobby, the lift had just now descended; the lift doors opened, and Rafferty stepped out.
“Ah, here he is now,” said Siger.
Lois got into the lift. She looked back at Siger, saw that he was remaining in the lobby with Rafferty, and gave him a wave.
“Cheers,” said Siger, waving back as the lift doors closed.
Rafferty had been on his way out, but Siger detained him in the lobby.
“You know,” said Siger, “you might throw some money in my violin case now and then.”
“As if you really need it,” said Rafferty slyly, but then Siger gave him a look.
“Sorry,” said Rafferty. “I’m always in such a rush in the morning, you know.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Well. Do you want me to convene the committee? I know the Heaths have had some difficulty managing lately.”
“No,” said Siger. “That’s what I dropped by to tell you. We will keep the Baker Street lease in place. I’ve looked into it, and I have confidence in our current occupant.”
“Excellent. Well then. Good day, Mr. Sigerson.”
“Good day, Mr. Rafferty.”
ALSO BY MICHAEL ROBERTSON
The Baker Street Translation
The Brothers of Baker Street
The Baker Street Letters
Moriarty Returns a Letter
The Baker Street Jurors
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MICHAEL ROBERTSON studied literature at Purdue University, attended law school in Southern California, and worked in educational publishing and software technology for many years. He spends his spare time surfing, clumsily, a few hundred yards north of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Also by Michael Robertson
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press
A BAKER STREET WEDDING. Copyright © 2018 by Michael Robertson. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photographs: shop © Maurice Savage / Alamy Stock Photos; telephone booth © Nerthuz / Shutterstock.com; man © Realstock / Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-06007-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-6528-0 (ebook)
eISBN 9781466865280
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First Edition: December 2018