Chapter Nineteen
Drake hadn’t even hadbreakfast the next morning before Constable Graham arrived at his front door to inform him that Jacob Lindon had finally been apprehended. Some of Ness’s men had found him at one of the pubs they’d been watching, and although he’d apparently put up quite a fight, they’d taken him into custody.
He shrugged into his jacket, donned his hat, and ordered his coach to be brought around. He’d planned to speak to the family doctor, a man he’d known his entire life and trusted implicitly, about getting Danbury committed this morning, but all that could wait. He wanted to look into the eyes of the bastard who’d disrupted his life so completely.
The tables would be turned this time. Lindon would no longer be able to hide behind his mask and henchmen. Drake would be in complete control of the situation, and he felt he needed that after the chaos of the last few days.
Half an hour later, he arrived at J Division and found Ness waiting for him in his office.
“I thought you’d come as soon as you heard,” Ness said with a grim smile. “I held off on questioning him. I knew you’d want to be here when I did.”
“Are you certain it’s him?” Drake asked as they headed to the room where Lindon was being held.
Ness shrugged, his blue eyes twinkling. “I think so, but perhaps we should have Heather come down here and identify him, hmm?”
Heat scalded Drake’s face at his friend’s gentle ribbing. He hated that his feelings for her were still so easy to read. He cleared his throat. “I think we should. Perhaps if he sees that she’s here, that she intends to testify against him, he’ll just make it easy on us and confess.”
Ness scoffed, knowing as well as Drake did that Lindon wouldn’t confess to anything. “I’ll send for her if you want. We do need her to make an official statement about her part in the Citizens Committee and what Lindon forced her to do, especially the threats he made toward her if she didn’t comply.”
For the first time since she’d tearfully admitted that she was part of the Citizens Committee, Drake allowed himself the fleeting thought that perhaps Heather really had been in danger. Maybe that bastard really had threatened to kill her if she didn’t get as much information from Drake as she could.
But she’d never asked him anything.
“Get her down here,” Drake said, ignoring the way his heart leapt at the thought of seeing her again. “It’s time I listened to her story myself.”
Ness grinned and instructed a passing constable to go and personally escort Heather down to the station.
With that matter finally settled, Drake focused on the matter at hand. Time to finally meet his nemesis.
He pulled open the door to the interrogation room and finally found himself face-to-face with the leader of the Citizens Committee.
Jacob Lindon looked up as Drake entered the room, his face shuttering as he recognized him. He was a handsome, dapper man, with dark hair and bright green eyes. Even before he said a word, Drake could see how Heather had been drawn in by him, a thought that enraged him even more.
Had she loved this bastard? Did she love him still? Was that why she’d refused Drake’s proposal?
Drake took the chair on the other side of the table, dimly aware of Ness behind him. That was good. He might need his friend there to stop him from killing Lindon once he opened his mouth.
“Jacob Lindon, I presume?” Drake growled. “We’ve met, but the last time I saw you, you were wearing a mask.”
Lindon smiled, showing no hint of nerves. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
Drake clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay calm. He wouldn’t give Lindon the satisfaction of knowing how angry he was. “Let’s dispense with all the lies, shall we? We have at least three witnesses who are willing to identify you as the man who organized the warehouse bombing that caused two deaths. Not to mention that I recognize both your voice and your vest as belonging to the man who held me prisoner in the cellar of the Citizens Committee headquarters for two days earlier this week.”