Murder Will Speak

by Penny Richards

  “Ah . . .”

  “Well, you’re younger than Seamus.”

  “That I am. And speaking of Seamus, I saw him earlier, and he said there was shepherd’s pie for supper.” He plastered a pitiful look on his face. “Since I’m so hungry I could eat the back door buttered, I thought I’d avail myself of a good home-cooked meal. Besides, you know I never pass up shepherd’s pie.”

  “Shepherd’s pie, stew, potatoes, doesn’t matter. You never pass up the chance for food, is what you never pass up,” Meagan said. “Now away with ya.”

  She gave him a push toward the living area and turned to Lilly with a bright smile and an extended hand. “Something tells me you’re Miss Long.”

  Lilly was somewhat surprised by the woman’s friendliness. “Yes. I hope my coming along isn’t too much of an imposition.”

  “Not at all. We’ve plenty. I never know who Seamus might bring in from the streets. It’s nothing for him to come dragging in some homeless person or another.” She gestured toward the parlor area. “Please have a seat. Would you care for something to drink?”

  “Nothing for me, thank you,” Lilly said, settling into a corner of the worn sofa.

  Cade asked for a glass of water and took a seat in a rocker with a woven rush seat, while Lilly looked around the combination living and kitchen area with interest.

  The camelback sofa was a faded green stripe; lace curtains hung at the windows. Coveted Irish lace, Lilly was certain. A painting of a lush green countryside, cottages with thatched roofs, stone fences, and grazing sheep hung above the fireplace, whose ashes had been swept out for the summer. An intricate Celtic cross of bronze hung next to the rock fireplace. On the other side hung a framed, embroidered piece with an Irish blessing and a border of shamrocks. The home was small, but scrupulously clean.

  They had just gotten settled when a child’s voice squealed, “Uncle Cade!”

  The McShane daughters had just come through a door that no doubt led to one of the handkerchief-size yards that some of the ground-floor apartments possessed. The two ginger-haired girls, clad in flower-sack dresses, raced across the room to their uncle in a flash of bare legs and wide smiles. Their small bodies hit him so hard that the rocker threatened to topple over under their combined weight and speed.

  “Easy there, lassies!” Cade cautioned, somehow wrapping an arm around each one and drawing them onto his lap. He planted loud, smacking kisses on their heat-flushed cheeks.

  “Goodness, Isibeal,” he said to the youngest. “You’ve grown a foot since I saw you last.” He turned to the older child, somewhere around five or six. “And you, Keely, get prettier every day.”

  “I’m pretty, too,” Isibeal said, her little mouth puckering in a pout.

  Cade flashed Lilly a look that seemed to hold a plea.

  “Of course you are.” The comment drew their attention from their uncle to the strange woman sitting on their sofa.

  Isibeal pulled the two middle fingers she was sucking on from her mouth and asked, “Who are you?”

  “Yes,” Keely asked. “Who are you? You’re very pretty.”

  “I’m a friend of your uncle’s, and thank you.”

  “You’re very pretty.” Isibeal repeated.

  “Your hair is redder than ours,” Keely noted.

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  “All right, girls, give your uncle a hug and go back outside to play until your da gets home,” their mother said.

  “We want to see Uncle Cade.”

  “He’ll be stayin’ fer supper. Robbie will be here soon enough. He said something about bringing you a peppermint if you’re good.”

  “We’re always good,” Keely said. Meagan, who was checking the oven, cast her gaze toward the ceiling, as if she expected a lightning bolt to head their way. “Outside. See if you can find a fairy house.”

  Heaving matching sighs, the girls hugged their uncle, who told them he loved them, and the tiny sprites headed back down the hallway, that no doubt led to the bedrooms and a back door.

  “They’re adorable,” Lilly told her hostess as she tried to subdue the sudden ache in her heart.

  “Aye, they’re that all right. They’re also a handful. I’m not sure what I’ll do with another, but I keep tellin’ myself that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. And Robbie’s a huge help.”

  “I’m glad for that,” Lilly said.

  Satisfied that the meal was coming along as it should, Meagan joined them, taking a seat next to Lilly. “Sooo,” she said, drawing out the word and looking directly at Cade. “I know you well enough to realize something’s going on.”

  He smiled. “You’re right. We needed a place to talk over a case.” He wasted no time in telling his sister-in-law the situation in Texas with Nora. Meagan offered sympathetic murmurs throughout the tale. “I wanted to get some input from Seamus and Erin. I figure she can give us a lot of important information.”

  “That’s true.” A cloud seemed to dim the brightness in Meagan’s eyes. “We’ve not seen her in weeks, so I assume she’s doing well. We never know.”

  “I’ve not set eyes on her in more than a year,” Cade confessed. “Do you have some way of getting in touch with her?”

  “We can send Robbie to her flat when he gets back. Assuming she’s still living there.”

  “Where is Robbie?” Lilly interjected, glad to have an opportunity to change the subject since this topic was obviously painful for both McShanes.

  “He’s supposed to be helping Mrs. Malone with some chores. He says he needs to earn some money.”

  Cade chuckled. “So, he’s really turned over a new leaf, has he? I guess between me and Seamus, he’s afraid to step too far out of line.”

  “Partly,” Meagan said, nodding. “Robbie’s coming along nicely. I think he’s starting to understand that we care where he is and what he’s doing. And he’s beginning to understand that the rules are as much for his own good as our peace of mind.”

  There was a commotion at the door, and a burly man who stood a good half head taller than Cade stepped inside. Like his brother, Seamus McShane also had a mustache and a shock of untidy hair. His hair was a deep auburn, and his eyes were so dark they looked black. His face was broader and more lined, and he was a few stone heavier, but the shape of the brothers’ mouths, chins, and noses was the same. That they were blood relations was obvious.

  Smiling, Meagan rose and hurried to the door. Seamus pulled her into a loose embrace and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. Only twice had Lilly witnessed such a tender moment between two people who so obviously cherished each other: Pierce and Rose and Rollo and Neecie in New Orleans. An almost painful longing to experience that for herself filled her heart. She blinked back the tears of self-pity.

  “Supper will be ready in a tick,” Meagan told her husband, and, with a graceful whirl, went into the kitchen area.

  Seamus, wearing a somber expression, neared Lilly’s chair and held out his hand. “Miss Long, I presume.”

  “Yes,” Lilly said, placing her hand in his.

  “I’m very pleased to meet you and would like to offer my condolences.”

  “Condolences?”

  “I understand you’re stuck working with my younger brother.” The comment was spoken only partly in jest.

  “Yes, well, we have butted heads a time or two, but I’m learning a lot,” she said, shooting a teasing look at her partner.

  “I believe that,” Seamus said, releasing her hand. With a sigh, he took the spot on the sofa his wife had vacated. “He’s very good at his job.”

  “He’s also in the room and can hear every word the two of you are saying about him,” Cade reminded them.

  “I just thought your memory could use some jogging,” Seamus told him. “What brings you here? I didn’t expect to see you after we spoke this morning.”

  “Besides the shepherd’s pie, you mean?” Cade countered.

  “Well, yes.”

  “Lilly and I h
ave a new case, and we needed somewhere to discuss some ideas. We wanted input from you, and I really need to pick Erin’s brain.”

  “If there’s anything to pick,” Seamus said in total disgust. Like the other two, he seemed unable to accept his sister’s behavior.

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, I’ve offered to get her a job at the meatpacking plant, and she refuses. She’d rather . . .” His voice trailed away, and he shot a look of apology in Lilly’s direction. “I’m sorry, Miss Long. I’m certain ye’ve no desire to hear about our sister’s shenanigans.”

  “Lilly knows what Erin does for a living. Actually, we’re sort of depending on her to help us out.”

  Cade explained the situation and their idea for infiltrating the dark world of corruption that made up Hell’s Half Acre.

  “We thought of using Lilly’s friend Pierce again, but he has responsibilities. Then I thought of Erin. Who better to play a madam than someone who knows the business?”

  “True,” Seamus said, rubbing a finger over his heavy eyebrow. “She can certainly bring authenticity to the role.”

  “Do you think she’ll be interested in going to Texas?” Lilly asked, speaking up for the first time since Cade had explained their assignment to his brother.

  “If she’s smart, she’ll do anything to get away from her life for a while. But I’ve no notion what she’ll say. One of the things I assigned Robbie to do is keep an eye on her. She might be a proper mess, but she’s still my sister, and I, at least, need to know she’s all right from time to time.” The last was offered along with a sharp look at Cade.

  He ignored the jab. “Is she working for anyone?” he asked in a neutral tone.

  “Not the last time we spoke. She says the money’s better on her own, and she’s tough enough to handle it.”

  “No doubt.”

  “She’s your sister, Cadence,” Meagan reminded from across the room. “We’re not to judge, just love.”

  “I’m not judging,” he countered. “I just think she’s daft, living the way she does. It makes me furious with her.”

  “I know, brother, but until she’s ready to change, there’s nothing we can do.”

  There was a sound at the door, and young Robert Jenkins burst into the room with all the might of a small whirlwind. “Meagan, you should see . . .” His voice trailed away, and he stopped just inside the open portal. “Holy mother of pearl, McShane! What are you doing here?”

  Lilly tried not to let the disappointment she felt show on her face. She and the child who had taken up with Cade during a bad patch in his life were not on the best of terms, but for him not to acknowledge her was a bit of a blow. After all, Robbie was the one responsible for helping to save her life not so long ago in New Orleans. She’d walked away from that assignment feeling they were on better terms. Her mistake.

  “Is that any way to make a man feel welcome, Robbie?” Cade said, rising, as if he thought the child might run to him.

  Lilly knew that the tough little boy might want to be hugged by the man he’d grown so fond of, but she also knew him well enough to know that letting a weakness of any kind show was forbidden. Robert Jenkins would sooner die than let anyone know he had a soft spot for his Irish hero.

  “You might say hello to Lilly,” Cade suggested.

  “I might.” Then, wearing a deliberately pompous expression that looked absurd with his faded denims and the smear of dirt across his face, he made a formal bow. “Miss Long. I trust the world is treating you well.”

  Despite her irritation and hurt feelings, it was all Lilly could do to keep a straight face. She never knew what to expect from him. She had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. When she gained control of her amusement, she said, “The world is treating me quite well, Robbie. And you?”

  “Can’t complain,” he quipped. Then, dropping the veneer of manners, he turned toward the kitchen. “What smells so good, Aunt Meg?”

  “Shepherd’s pie and brown bread.”

  “Sounds good enough to eat.”

  “That’s lovely, then, isn’t it?” she said. “You can eat, and then Cade has something he needs you to do for him.”

  A gleam of excitement leapt into Robbie’s eyes. “Need help with an assignment, McShane?”

  “In a way,” Cade hedged. “I need you to find Erin and bring her back here.”

  The boy’s head drooped, and his shoulders slumped, and then he shot a pointed glance at Seamus. “You’re not gonna arrest your own sister for bein’ a workin’ girl, are you, Uncle Seamus?”

  “No, Robbie,” the policeman said with a heavy sigh. “Cade just needs to talk to her about an assignment he and Miss Long will be leaving for soon.”

  “Do you know where she is?” Cade asked.

  “She’s still at that little flat,” Robbie said. “Saw her taking a swell inside no more’n two days past.”

  “A swell?” Cade asked.

  “And why not? Yer sister don’t deal with no riffraff. This gent came across as right respectable.” Robbie gave Cade a look that seemed to ask if he was blind. Or stupid. “She’s very pretty, is Erin, and she don’t look for her men in the dives. Her place is right nice, too, so I figure she’s doin’ okay for herself.”

  The fact that Robbie understood the workings of such worldly, adult topics, much less could speak about them in such an offhanded manner made Lilly more than a little uncomfortable.

  Cade’s eyes narrowed. “And how would you know what her place is like inside?”

  Robbie’s reply was to cock an eyebrow at his mentor.

  Lilly had heard how the boy had climbed through an open window and pilfered through a bedroom when he and Cade had driven Dr. Ducharme to a tryst in the country. The child was quite adept at getting into and out of places he shouldn’t think of going. Usually without anyone being the wiser.

  “She came out the next morning, so I guess she’s okay,” Robbie said, ignoring Cade’s question. “She’s been seein’ this one a lot lately.”

  “No more talk,” Meagan said. “Robbie, wash your hands and face. Supper’s ready.”

  Lilly was anxious to get the meal under way. Not only was she starving, but the sooner they ate, the sooner she would meet Erin McShane, Cade’s hooker sister.

  CHAPTER 3

  After the meal, Lilly helped Meagan clean up the kitchen while they waited for Robbie to return with Erin. Lilly didn’t know what she expected. Some poor, downtrodden, used-up shell of a woman whose face bore the ravages of the life she’d lived, perhaps. Or someone like Colleen, the woman from MacGregor’s tavern that Timothy had taken to bed. Painted up, cheap, and coarse.

  The woman who followed Robbie into the flat was neither.

  Erin McShane blew through the door like a breath of fresh air. Framed in the aperture, she looked over the room’s occupants with both hands on her slim hips and her head held high. She was dressed simply in a navy-blue skirt and gingham shirtwaist. Raven-black hair was pulled away from a perfectly oval face and caught at the nape of her neck with a length of yellow ribbon.

  Her complexion was what one expected to see in the Irish, smooth and creamy white. No attempt had been made to hide the abundance of freckles scattered across her face. In fact, Lilly would have bet a month’s pay that Cade’s sister wore no cosmetics, even though her eyebrows were a perfect arch above her violet-hued eyes, eyes so large they looked as if they belonged on china doll. Even from where Lilly sat, it was obvious that the newcomer’s eyelashes were enviably long and thick.

  A rather strong nose, full lips, and a too-wide mouth—a mouth that seemed designed to entice—delivered her from mere prettiness. As one might expect, her chin was set at an angle that dared anyone to criticize her. She did not look jaded and exploited or tired and used up. She looked fresh and unspoiled and, though no one would consider her beautiful in the traditional sense of the word, she was arguably the most striking woman Lilly had ever seen.

  “Well, well, if this isn�
��t like old home week . . . minus a few,” she said.

  “Hullo, Erin,” Seamus said, smiling. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Is it now?” she countered, answering with a question as the Irish were wont to do. “I’m wonderin’ if Cadence feels the same way.”

  “Erin, come meet Cade’s partner, Lilly Long,” Meagan urged, forestalling any comment Cade might have made.

  Lilly stood to meet the McShane sister and found that she was a full head taller than the other woman, who extended a hand in cordial greeting. “Miss Long.”

  She was aware of Erin McShane’s scrutiny. She saw curiosity in her amethyst eyes. Curiosity coupled with a sharp intelligence and a considering expression. Was Erin wondering why her brother was working with a woman, or if there was more between them than work?

  “I’m very pleased to meet you,” Lilly said. “Please call me Lilly.”

  “I’m Erin.”

  “I just made some fresh coffee, Erin,” Meagan said. “Would you care for a cup?”

  “I would, thank you.”

  “Who else wants coffee?” Meagan asked, her pleasant gaze moving from one guest to the other. The conversation, or confrontation, whichever it turned out to be, was set aside while their hostess sent Robbie and the two little ones back outside so the adults could talk, Robbie complaining all the way.

  After everyone was seated and coffee was served, Erin crossed one knee over the other in a most unladylike action and turned to Cade, foot swinging. “Well, daor deartháir, what on earth have you gotten yourself into that you’d ask your dreadful sister for help?”

  “No trouble, Erin,” Cade assured her, his tone one degree above arctic. “Lilly received a letter from a friend who’s in a bit of trouble. I wanted to get your input on how best to go about solving things.”

  Rather than trying to explain Nora’s situation to Erin, Lilly passed her the envelope, and the group sat in silence while Erin read the letter. The expression on the other woman’s face changed from borderline indifference to outright anger. Her dark eyebrows drew together in a frown, and her lips thinned.