Unseemly Ambition by K.B. Owen

letter, Sophia looking over his
shoulder.
    “ I wish I’d seen
this before I was
off the case,” Capshaw said, glaring at Concordia. “I would have
been able to investigate the unscrupulous
people she mentions here, and that aborted
attack in the alley.”
    “ I’m sorry,” Concordia
said. “I brought it over as soon as I found it.”
    Sophia gave her husband a sharp eye
before turning back to Concordia. “Don’t mind Aaron. He’s upset
about Eli.”
    Capshaw grimaced in
apology.
    “ Isn’t an investigation
into Florence’s background a reasonable step, Lieutenant?”
Concordia asked. “Why would your chief object to that?”
    Capshaw shook his head. “I don’t
know.”
    “ Perhaps the family has
complained about your inquiries,” Sophia offered.
    “ If so, they care more for
their privacy than catching their daughter’s killer,” Capshaw
retorted.
    Sophia stopped pacing and sat down.
“And what about Eli?”
    “ I asked the chief about
that,” Capshaw said. “He said the boy is clearly an unstable street
arab, and has probably moved on. The chief sees no connection to
Florence’s murder, even though she was the boy’s mother, and his
disappearance coincided with her death. Apparently,” he added
bitterly, “sentiment is clouding my judgment in the
matter.”
    “ But Eli’s cat was found in
the room, with the body,” Concordia said.
    “ Yes, I reminded him of
that. It’s absurd to believe that Eli is not involved,” Capshaw
said.
    “ Has Chief Stiles ever
interfered with an investigation of yours before?” Sophia
asked.
    Capshaw shook his head. “This bothers
me in many ways. He has replaced me with an officer who is new and
relatively inexperienced, and put me in charge of a minor case—over
at your school, in fact,” he added, looking at
Concordia.
    Concordia started. “My
school?”
    “ It seems there have been
reports of a strange man slipping past the gatekeeper and onto the
college grounds at odd hours. He hasn’t been caught yet; no one
knows who he is or what his purpose might be.”
    That was fast, Concordia thought.
She’d only spoken with Clyde last night. Unless they were talking
about…. “Which one?” she asked.
    Capshaw raised an eyebrow. “There are
more than one?”
    Concordia nodded. “A youth, and an
older man.” She started with the youth, describing the times she
had seen him on the school grounds, including last
night.
    “ But I was too far away for
a good look,” she said.
    Capshaw scribbled in his oft-folded
wad of notes. “That doesn’t sound like the man I was instructed to
investigate, but I’ll check on him. What about the other
one?”
    “ He was a large, burly man,
quite disagreeable. Unfortunately, I had closer contact with
him.”
    Capshaw pursed his lips thoughtfully.
“The burly one sounds like the stranger the school has complained
about. He’s been seen on two occasions.”
    Concordia shifted uneasily. “I didn’t
realize he’d returned. I only met him once.”
    “ But you spoke to this
man?” Capshaw asked. “What did he say?”
    “ He was obviously
intoxicated. He asked for Ruby, who wasn’t there. He held a
newspaper clipping and said he wanted to see the famous Mrs. Hitchcock . I had him
escorted off the grounds.”
    Capshaw looked up with interest. “He
asked specifically for Ruby?”
    Concordia nodded. “I spoke with her
later about it; she doesn’t have a clue who he might be. We think
the newspaper article is to blame. But surely, this is a simple
security matter that a less experienced policeman can
handle?”
    “ That’s exactly my point!”
Capshaw exploded. “I cannot help but think the chief is under
orders to take me off the case.”
    “ Orders from whom... and
why?” Sophia asked.
    “ Perhaps you’re getting
close to learning something that someone else doesn’t want known,”
Concordia mused aloud. “The Willoughbys?”
    “ It’s possible.” Capshaw
picked up Florence’s letter. “They may