“I…don’t have that figured out just quite yet. But…do you have any better ideas? We’re all out of a job. This might be our best option, our only option.”
“Silas is right,” Belloc said. “As much as I hate to leave this place, we have to make a living somehow. I’ve always played with the idea of going into private consulting, just never really thought I’d do it.”
“There you go.” Silas looked over some notes.
“So, what exactly do we do?” Posy said.
“Well, we…um, we, well, let’s see,” Silas said, pondering on the matter without really knowing what to say.
“We offer up our services like you said,” Belloc chimed in. “I actually know of a few right off the top of my head. There’s a family up north from here that’s having trouble with some of their heirlooms going missing. Also, I know of a family further down south that just lost their patriarch, they believe to foul play from other competing families. The more I think about it, the more interesting it gets.”
“That’s the spirit!” Silas tapped the desk.
“And Silas?” Belloc remarked.
“Yes?”
“You’re sitting at my desk.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Silas hastily stood up and moved away.
“So let it be known then that Belloc and Associates is now open for service.” Belloc sat down on his chair behind the desk.
“Great,” Silas said, “so what’s the first order of business?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Belloc replied. “Fix the sign.”
Silas’s smile waned. “Oh, right.” He sighed.
“What?” Belloc said. “Not exciting enough for you?”
“No, no, if you insist.” Silas walked up to the sign.
“Now I just have to figure out how to make this venture of ours legal,” Belloc said.
“I can take care of that once I pack up,” Posy replied. “I can go to an accountant friend of mine who can help.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dalton said as he stepped out of Posy’s new room.
“Yes, of course you will,” Belloc added.
“Silas could come as well,” Posy said. “Why don’t we all go together?”
Belloc smiled while Dalton frowned.
“Well…” Silas said before he was interrupted by a knocking at the door.
“Yes, come in,” Belloc said.
It was Officer Graham. He had a message for Silas. He stepped up to him. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Silas, but I forgot to tell you before you left the station. I have the research you requested.”
“I almost forgot about that. What did you happen to find?”
“Not much. We had a number of gals scour through thousands of files.”
“So you weren’t able to find anything?”
“Oh, no. Well, for the most part there was nothing, but there were a few things that seemed interesting.”
“What’s he talking about, Silas?” Belloc asked.
“I had Graham here process and cross-reference the name Mr. Factory through a whole pile of boxes we had, including schools, hotels, shelters, soup kitchens—the works. It seems he found something.” Silas looked through a guest list at a hotel. “Here we have Klaus staying at a few hotels sometime late last year.” Then he grabbed an ocean liner’s passenger list. “Here we have Klaus getting off a large ship coming from…Canada.”
“Canada?” Posy echoed.
“Yes, looks like,” Silas replied.
“Keep on,” Graham urged. “That’s not what caught my attention.”
“Oh?” Silas grabbed a couple of papers that Graham handed to him.
“I had some friends process some of the files up where the ship set sail from, and they found this manifesto,” Graham said.
Silas held it up and read the fine print. “What does this say? Is that…Mr. Factory Charleston?”
“That’s what I think,” Graham said. “And there’s one more.”
Silas skimmed down the page. “Oh, and here we have a Mr. Factory…London.”
“So you’re thinking these are different types of Mr. Factory, like the one that attacked us at the hospital?” Belloc asked.
“Could be,” Silas replied. “It’s certainly worth investigating.” Silas stared at Belloc like a mischievous kid up to no good.
“What are you thinking, Silas?” Belloc said warily.
“Fancy a trip?”
“Where to?” Posy said.
“Somewhere warmer this time,” Silas said. He gave the papers back to Graham and put his hat back on while walking towards the window.
“Where are you going?” Belloc said.
“To get things ready,” Silas replied with a huge grin.
“Do you need any help?” Posy asked.
“Not this time, Posy. I’ll be back soon.” And in a flash, he was out the window.
“I’ll never get used to that,” Belloc remarked. He walked up to the window and poked his head out. “Where the heck did he go?” He sighed and turned to Posy, who was sulking in a bit of sadness. Those last few days Silas had been distant with her, and it made her feel hopeless about the feelings she had for him.
“Come on, Posy,” Dalton said. “Let’s go find that accountant before it gets dark.”
Posy said nothing; her thoughts were still with Silas. She knew he was hurting inside, and she wanted so much to take care of him. But just then it dawned on her that he might not even really care about her or her feelings. He barely noticed her when he came in.
There was another knock at the door.
Wanting to get away from the group and be by herself for a few seconds, she scurried over to the door and opened it. There was a delivery man waiting for her.
“Hello,” he said. “I have a delivery for a Miss...Posy Chapman?”
“Um, that’s me.”
“Oh, good. You just have to sign here, and it’s all yours. I’m sorry we were late with it. I do apologize. Our carriages were frozen for a few days.”
“That’s fine, I guess.” She took the package and unboxed it. Inside was a large bouquet of white and purple roses. Posy’s eyes bloomed with surprise. Is this for me? But who?
At first she thought it might be Horace who sent them, so she was wary to read the card, but then she grabbed it anyway, the suspense killing her. She looked up at Dalton, who grinned like a wily cat. Oh, God, Dalton, you certainly are getting more persistent, aren’t you? But roses? Really?
She opened up the card and read it:
Hey Posy,
I’m sorry for acting like a jerk earlier. I wish I hadn’t, and I’d love to make it up to you. I care about you dearly. Please forgive me.
With love, Silas.
Posy took the card and pressed it against her chest as the sun in the horizon broke through the winter gray clouds. Her heart smiled.
I love roses.
*
A LARGE HOUND SPRINTED ACROSS A VAST PLAIN of mountainous hills. It dashed through the wet grass, cutting the misty fog apart with its comet-like speed. It ran as fast as it could up a number of sloping hills, passing waterfalls and rocky mounds, until it finally caught up with its owner.
Reaching a large, ornate wooden temple, it flew inside to meet its master. The room was dimly lit by a few candles. The hound held something in its mouth.
A note.
The faceless man reached out and took it. Another man came forward from the shadows and sat down next to him, grabbing the note in order to read it. They spoke in Japanese.
“What is the success of the mission?” said the first man, the chief of the order.
The second man shook his head.
“I see,” the chief said. “That is troublesome news.” He took a sip of his sake. “And what of the Society, and of Klaus?”
“They have all been taken and are in captivity.”
“Very well. We have no choice but to accelerate our plan.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Kill them all.” The chief sipped his sake. “Including the psychopath. Leave no traces. Make the countess suffer.”
“Yes, master.” The man bowed to him.
“You must go yourself and bring him back.” The chief placed his cup down.
“You mean Shi?”
“Yes, him. And what is the word on young Shi?”
“He’s regained some of his memories, mostly of his training.”
“Yes, but whose training did he remember? That is what is most important.” The chief clenched his jaws. “He cannot go back to being part of that order. He must not remember his days as the raven, nor can he remember his former master. He must only remember that he was a knight of the Order of the Beast, nothing more. Everything else is a lie. Do you understand?”
“Yes, master.”
“You must go and seek him in order to help him discover this darkness. He cannot be privy to his former days before joining us. That would be perilous for our survival. The Order of the Three-Legged Raven must be without its chief. Do you understand?”
“Of course, master.”
“Go now, and bring our brother back to us,” the chief said as he stood up.
“I will leave immediately,” the man replied, still bowing.
A moment passed in silence. The chief stepped up to his soldier and placed his hands on his shoulders. “I believe you can do this. If you need help, take Taka and Komi.”
“Komi?” the man said. “Is that wise? You know how she feels about Shi.”
“Are you questioning my wisdom? Do as I ask.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Another moment lingered as the silence between the shadowy men was broken up by a faint breathing.
“And what of her?” the man asked. “Should he know of her?”
The two men turned to a young ten-year-old girl with bindings on her ankles and wrists, hiding in a corner, her eyes bulging out, afraid and weary.
“He should not know of her, not just yet. Go now.”
“Yes, my lord.” The man turned around and ran out of the temple.
The chief took his sake cup and walked over to the girl hiding in the corner. He bent down and offered her a sip. “Here you go. Drink from it.”
He held the cup to her lips, and she did her best to take a sip, spilling most of it out as the hot sake placed a bad taste in her mouth. The chief immediately slapped her across the face.
“It is a dishonorable gesture to spill good sake.” He placed the cup down. He grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to his. “You have his eyes. But don’t worry. He’ll never know who you really are. Never.” He forced her to breathe a powder up her nose which made her cough and sneeze. “That’s a good girl.”
He stood up, snuffed the flame out from the last remaining candles, and left the temple. The large hound stood in attention, guarding the chief’s precious bargaining chip. The young girl’s eyes hazed over in sadness, finally closing and drifting off into a deep sleep.
*
End of The Valentine Circle
(A Silas de San Michel Mystery)
Stay tuned for the next book in the series:
The Charleston Rose
(A Silas de San Michel Mystery)
Coming out in 2015
AFTERWORD
Thank you for purchasing The Valentine Circle (A Silas de San Michel Mystery). I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did, I would appreciate a review on Amazon.com. Self-published authors rely almost exclusively on your reviews and recommendations to friends and family, so any way in which you can help spread the word would be greatly appreciated!
I have started working on The Charleston Rose, which is the next installment in the mystery series. You can check up on the status of the next book at: www.reinaldo-delvalle.com.
Also, if you wish to contact me directly regarding your thoughts about the book or have suggestions or requests, please let me know at: [email protected]. Praise and criticism are always welcomed!
Thanks again for your support!
Reinaldo DelValle
Table of Contents
Prologue
Duty Calls
The First One
Return to Sender
Follow the Lead
Miss Darcy Reilly
The Wandering Man
Smiley Ollie
Warning
Hunting Mr. F.
Lady of the Manor
The Three-legged Raven
To Kill and Kill Again
Farewell, My Love
Shinju
The Circle is Complete
Reckoning
Brotherhood
The Factory Breeds the Harvest
Epilogue
The Valentine Circle Page 40