Chapter 35 - Thirty Five
The air in the study hung heavy with an unsettling silence. Davis, his face etched with concern, stood before Ryan, the weight of the news hanging heavy in the room.
"Dead?" Ryan echoed, the single word laced with disbelief. "But how?"
Davis shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. "We don’t know yet, Your Grace. A messenger arrived just moments ago, bearing the grim news."
Ryan’s hand tightened around the ledger he’d been examining moments ago. The carefully arranged notes Suzy had compiled, the discrepancies she had unearthed, all felt meaningless now. Their prime suspect is dead. This is a dead end. Frustration gnawed at him, a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Did you at least deliver the message I sent?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Yes, Your Grace," Davis replied, his voice barely a whisper. "A formal request was sent to the Viscount’s residence, requesting his immediate presence here. This... unfortunate news... arrived shortly thereafter."
Ryan ran a hand through his hair, the carefully styled strands falling into disarray. Conrad’s sudden demise threw a wrench into his carefully planned investigation. He had hoped to confront the Viscount, to pry out the secrets he so desperately guarded. Now, those secrets lay buried with him, taking a crucial piece of the puzzle to the grave.
Ryan slammed his fist on the desk, the heavy ledger bouncing precariously. The frustration was palpable. "Did they elaborate on the cause of his... death?"
Davis shuffled his feet nervously. "No, Your Grace. The messenger was... vague. He mentioned an investigation being conducted at the Viscount’s residence, but offered no further details."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration gnawing at his insides. "Where’s Thorne?" he snapped, his patience wearing thin.
"He and the scouts are on their way there, Your Grace, as we speak," Davis reassured him.