"Ah, at least the man had the guts to do the right thing," the man said as he looked up from the paper to the small woman who sat opposite to him.
The woman looked up at the man who had spoken. She glanced at his broad face and the thick walrus moustache that dominated his face. She sighed softly knowing that he would soon give her his view on what had happened which he did.
"Seems that his wife was cuckolding him with an old friend and he killed them both. Well done I say, a man should protect his property and not let a wrong go unpunished. Man probably wasn't a good lover if you ask me," he boomed with the unspoken statement that his love-making was of a superior quality.
The man who talked was of medium height and had dull brown hair. He pushed back his glasses as he read and patted his wide waistline. This man was a man of goodly proportions and not a physical worker.
"Well they should slap him across the wrist, congratulate him for being a real man and then let him go," he finished.
As the man spoke the woman who could be considered attractive brushed a blonde lock behind her hair and spoke in a low unsure voice.
"But isn't it wrong to take life?"
"Nonsense for some things such as adultery there is no forgiveness. Someone who acceps that is a fool and lacks backbone in my opinion. Not that you would ever do that with me since you know your place," the man said smugly, then continuing he remarked," I will be late home tonight. There is a lot to do at work so make sure cook leaves me a dinner that can be heated when I get in."
Then he put aside his paper and gulping down the last of his tea called for his coat and hat before leaving for the city. A maid brought it to him and as he took it he muttered a few words that seemed to shock her and brought a flush to her cheeks before she dropped her eyes to the floor. Laughing loudly he wished the woman a good day before leaving the house. As the door closed it seemed that a marked tension left the house.
Leaving instructions with the maids to look after a dinner the wife left the house and caught a horse-drawn cab and said an address to the driver. Soon they had left the well-heeled middle-class houses of her suburbs to the houses of the destitute and their small shops. The cab stopped outside one of these shops and the woman grimaced as she smelt the scent of open sewers. Paying the cab she made her way up rickety stairs next to the tenement until she came to a grim office. Hesitating at first she gave a sharp rap on the door.
The door swung open and a swarthy man in a dishevelled suit ushered her into the so-called office.
"Ah, Mrs Rathbone, so good to see you," the man said ingratiatingly as he rubbed his hands together.
Seating her at the small desk across from him the man sat down. Once settled the woman handed to the man an envelope that he opened and counted the money into a strongbox. Smiling with the money secured he now looked at the woman.
It amazed him that such an attractive woman had come to his office and had offered him work. He had also checked her credentials and had discovered that she was a firm church goer and there was no hint of immorality about her. He hid a grin as he considered how she would be paying him to keep his mouth shut about her husband. These women hated to be excluded from society.
"You were right Mrs Rathbone. Your husband has a lover and he sees her every second night," he said bluntly.
"There is an address?" she asked quietly.
"Yes of course but I warn you it may be best for you that you do not continue with finding out these things," the woman looked up at this and wondered why he had warned her.
"I want to know Mr Smith. I am paying you for that knowledge," the woman said with quiet determination.
"Very well Mrs Rathbone. The woman your husband is having an affair with is your sister," the man said flatly as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
As he spoke these words Julia Rathbone's world ended, then she realised that the private detective opposite her was speaking.
