“Women don’t—” She sighed deep and long. “I’m not adorable,” Fiona said, groaning when her face heated for the hundredth time. I gotta learn to control this, she thought bitterly.
Margaret twisted, stared directly at her. Fiona saw Margaret in her peripheral and tried to block out the realization Margaret seemed more beautiful each time Fiona gazed at her. “You’re a conundrum, Finn. I’ll figure out your secret.”
At this remark, Fiona felt the beads of sweat from fear pepper her forehead. Hoping to keep her tone light, she said, “Nah, I’m an open book. And a boring book, much like a school primer.”
A warm hand touched Fiona’s sleeve. “I don’t want you uncomfortable around me, Finn. Please don’t take this conversation negatively.” Margaret took a deep breath. “What I mean to say is I enjoy our moments together. You make me feel comfortable—and able to be myself.”
Fiona pulled in front of Margaret’s home. She bit her bottom lip, not knowing how to respond. Was Margaret figuring out her secret? Was she letting her know she liked their time together?
As if reading her mind, Margaret closed the distance, pecked her on the cheek, warmer and gentler than Dorcas had, and said, “I don’t know what you’re hiding, Finn. Maybe I never will. Just let us enjoy our friendship, okay?” She nodded, and Margaret got out of the truck and walked into the house.
Fiona sat in the truck until Margaret closed the front door behind her. I’m so in trouble when it comes to her, Fiona groaned.
Chapter Seven
ALMOST RELUCTANTLY, FIONA made her way up to the second-floor office of Eldon’s main restaurant, worried tremendously, not knowing why Eldon had directed her here. With Jimmy’s involvement, it wouldn’t be good. She checked in with Eldon’s office assistant, Stan, only for him to direct her to the basement.
It wasn’t smart to keep Eldon waiting, she knew, but the thought didn’t make her feet move any faster to her destination. She’d delivered various foodstuffs to the main restaurant before, and Fiona remembered two storerooms and a large walk-in freezer at the far end of the basement. As she reached the bottom step, Fiona realized the freezer was to be her destination. Moaning and mumbling came from inside; the propped open door and the single light bulb suspended from the ceiling did little to brighten the area. Taking a deep breath, Fiona moved forward. Two of Eldon’s bodyguards flanked either side of the door.
Fiona had just reached the threshold when Eldon turned in her direction. “Ah, Finn, welcome to the party.”
“You needed me, sir?” she asked, hoping the tremor in her voice wasn’t obvious.
Eldon leaned back against the doorjamb, luckily for her, thus blocking her view of those within. “This is taking longer than I anticipated, and thought you might want to see some Graham justice when a heel doesn’t think through his actions.” The wet sound of flesh pounding flesh punctuated the comment, as Eldon straightened and moved into the room.
Instinctively, her gaze traveled to the center, and nausea roiled. Terry, tied to a chair in the center of the room with plastic all around, face swollen and bruised, cuts coated with blood, his breathing shallow, and his moans barely audible. A grinning Jimmy hovered over Terry, absently rubbing the flesh of fingers surrounding by the brass knuckles he wore. Before she could stop herself, Fiona asked, “What’d Terry do?”
Walking to stand behind the chair, Eldon placed his hands on Terry’s shoulders as if they were at some award dinner, and not watching the pulverizing of the man for some crime against Eldon. “I overlooked Terry’s abandonment of Margaret weeks ago because your involvement in the matter turned out so well.”
He squeezed Terry’s shoulders, and the man winced. “You had no way of knowing Finn’s involvement would have occurred, Terry, when you left her alone to get a message to me about the Detweiler boy. Margaret’s safe, however, so I didn’t reprimand you then.” Eldon’s gaze hardened, appearing manic in the dim lighting of the room. He stared directly at Finn. “However, it’s come to my attention Terry here hasn’t been entirely honest with his accountings of inventory at one of my restaurants.”
From the way Eldon emphasized the last word, Fiona understood. Terry stole profits from the liquor sales of Eldon’s speakeasies, possibly his legitimate profits too. Eldon shouldn’t be surprised. He was a man breaking the law so shouldn’t be shocked Terry, and maybe others, weren’t loyal employees— Jimmy came to mind as a possible culprit. Greed is…well, greedy.
Eldon walked to stand opposite Jimmy. “One last chance, Terry, because I’m bored with this. Don’t care why you did it. Tell me where my money is.”
Tears fell rapidly from Terry’s eyes, blending with the blood and making them indistinguishable. “I swear to you, Mr. Graham, I didn’t take money from you. If I made a mistake with the books, I’ll find it.” Terry’s breathing became more labored, desperation in his voice, even if barely above a murmur. “I used poor judgment with Miss Margaret, I admit it. But I swear to you I didn’t—I wouldn’t—steal from you. I swear on my life.”
Shaking his head, Eldon tisked. “That’s the problem, Terry. Your life does depend on your answer.”
“But I didn’t do it.” Terry whimpered.
Fiona shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. To her, Terry sounded sincere. In his condition, she doubted it behooved him to lie any longer. Although, she suspected Terry wasn’t going to make it out of this room alive, no matter what. Fiona prayed Eldon would dismiss her from the scene if that were to be the result. Please don’t let me have to witness his death, she silently pleaded, feeling sick at the prospect. When she realized her movement caught Eldon’s attention, Fiona stiffened and mumbled an apology.
“I want your opinion of the situation, Finn,” Eldon said.
Her first instinct was to play stupid, but Eldon wouldn’t tolerate such cowardice. As much as the situation disgusted her, Fiona didn’t intend to piss Eldon off—ever. She needed this job for just a while longer. Margaret’s image flashed in her mind’s eye. She couldn’t lose her growing friendship with Margaret just yet. Clearing her throat, Fiona shoved her hands deep into her pockets. She’d started the habit when noticing most of the rich men did it. Lately, it was the best way to hide her nervous trembling. “He sounds sincere. Is it possible to make the money up to you?” She shrugged. “What’s to keep him from doing it again? If it’s a mistake with the records, can’t keep him from making the same mistake in the future. Were me, Terry’s soles would be pounding the streets, not getting a chance to do it again.”
“You’re a smart kid, Finn. Gonna go places. You see the problem but, sorry to say, not the correct resolution.” Eldon edged away from Terry’s chair and gave a nod to Jimmy. He stopped in front of Finn, blocking her view of Terry. “Can’t have him telling folks I’m soft. And I can’t bet on the chance he might actually learn from this lesson.” He shook his head. “If I flip a coin to determine the outcome, the deciding factor against Terry will be that he left my sister alone in an alley with thugs.” Eldon paused, staring right at her. “Do it,” he said, voice calm.
Fiona started at the thundering report of the gunshot in the confines of the freezer. She was glad Eldon blocked her from the view but didn’t know why he still watched her. Why was it so important she be here, for this, for murder? Then a tightening in her gut as she realized the answer, Eldon’s next words confirming her suspicions. “Sorry you had to see that, kid, but welcome to the family.”
Oh, shit. Every instinct screamed to run as far away as she could. Fiona just stood there, not knowing what to do.
Jimmy sauntered over to them, a smirk on his face. “You look sick, runt.” Jimmy made a motion to the two guards at the door, and they began the cleaning process, starting with releasing Terry from the chair. Jimmy chuckled. “Maybe you should get some fresh air. Looks like you’re gonna be sick, and the guys have enough to clean up. Unless you can hit the plastic from here.”
Eldon clapped a hand on her shoulder, and Fiona flinched. “Go
on home, Finn, first time’s always the roughest.”
Fiona nodded sluggishly. First time? Eldon expects her presence for more lessons? Crap, hell, shit and damn. She was definitely going to be sick. As she trudged up the stairs, Fiona wondered just what in the hell she’d gotten into.
Moreover, how in the bloody hell was she going to get out of it?
Chapter Eight
IT WASN’T UNUSUAL, even after an urgent summons, for Fiona to cool her heels in the waiting room outside Eldon’s office. She’d rather be doing something constructive. Not surprised though when the restaurant manager of her last stop of the day told her to drop his foodstuffs inside the door and get over to Mr. Graham’s office immediately.
Immediately; yet Fiona still waited. Please, she silently prayed, don’t make me watch another killing.
“It shouldn’t be too much longer,” said Stan, Eldon’s office assistant. His expression showed genuine apology. She expected it wasn’t the first time this had occurred. Seriously doubted it would be the last. Time’s like this, as with Terry, Fiona wondered if she’d earn enough money to leave for the west—while she still breathed.
As if on cue, the main office door opened, and a man and woman exited. Eldon stood right behind them, holding the door nearly closed. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,” Eldon said. “Don’t spend it all in one place.” As the couple chuckled and left, Eldon turned his gaze on Fiona. “Just a moment more, Finn,” Eldon said, disappearing behind the closing the door.
Fiona thought she spotted movement, wondered who else was in there, as she shifted uncomfortably for what would apparently be another long wait.
More minutes passed, and Jimmy came into the waiting area. He gave a sneer in her direction, before asking Stan, “He in?” Jimmy didn’t wait for an answer, just burst into the room. From the corner of her vision, Fiona thought she saw a little girl leaning, unmoving, half on the top of Eldon’s desk. Right before the door slammed shut, Fiona thought she heard Jimmy mumble, “Playtime.”
Fear niggled at the edge of her conscious. No, it couldn’t be. No, no, no. But Fiona knew exactly what was happening, what happened all the time to poor kids. She had to stop them. Fear became panic. If she burst into that room, Fiona could end up dead. It was none of her business. Keep your nose clean and your eyes down. That’s one of the few lessons her father taught her; right after: I’m your father, take your licking quietly, or it’ll be worse for you. So Fiona learned not to scream, no matter how bad it hurt. She learned to mind her own affairs. Like with Margaret?
Yeah, but you know what’s happening to—
“Hey, Finn, stop,” Stan called after her.
Fiona couldn’t stop, not and live with herself for doing nothing. She flung the door open. And pretended she didn’t see Jimmy unfastening his pants, or Eldon casually sitting on the couch watching the empty eyes of a blonde-haired fourteen-year-old with her dress pulled up above her waist, and panties pulled down, bent over Eldon’s desk. “Mr. Graham—”
“What the fuck, Finn?” Jimmy cursed loudly, but at least he’d yanked the girls dress down to cover her somewhat. Stan closed the door behind her.
She ignored Jimmy—and the girl, although that task so much harder to do—and directed her attention to Eldon. “I know you’ve got some business going on, but you also have me cooling my heels while money is wilting in the truck from deliveries I ain’t making for you.”
This time, Jimmy snickered. “Little pervert wants to watch.” Said the black pot to the black kettle? she wanted to fling at him.
Eldon stood, walked to his desk as if a girl wasn’t draped across like a discarded rag, and pulled a cigar from a box resting close to the girls’ head. The girl never even flinched. “What do you see, Finn?” Eldon asked.
Squeezing her hands into tight fists, Fiona said, “I don’t see nothin’.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing much.” Fiona swallowed the bile rising in her throat. “Couple of men, entertaining company,” she said. The words were thick sludge on her tongue. What have I become? Her inner voice answered. You’re a survivalist. If they knew your secret, you’d be treated to the same—or worse.
Eldon nodded at her answer. In a voice, too calm for the circumstances, Eldon asked, “But you don’t like it, do you?”
Fiona bit her lip, trying not to let her gaze flick toward the girl. “No, sir, I certainly do not. She’s just a kid.” She blinked rapidly to stop the building tears from spilling. “But, like I said, ain’t my concern.”
“I see.” Eldon sat in his desk chair and slowly lit the cigar. “Since you mind your own, what did you call it, potatoes, you’re blind right now, correct?” Fiona nodded, unable to speak. She knew if she opened her mouth, she’d spew. “Would it help you deal with this if I told you her parents just sold her to me?”
“Help, as make me feel better? No, makes it worse, sir,” she said honestly. Fiona noticed Jimmy jerk the panties up and then grabbing the girl by the arm, her body unresponsive, tossed her onto the couch. When Jimmy plopped down beside the girl, Fiona had difficulty not moving to intervene, separate him from her. She squeezed her fists tighter, the blunt nails biting into her flesh. With the buzz of anger in her head, Fiona almost didn’t realize Eldon was addressing her again. When Fiona focused on Eldon, his nod let her know he perceived her true sentiments on this matter.
“Bet you’re sorry you burst in here, huh, runt?” Jimmy guffawed.
Fiona couldn’t hate Jimmy more than she did right now. Glaring at him, she asked, “Did you—” She inhaled deeply. “Did you finish?”
“Nah, you kinda put the kibosh on the party. Didn’t even get to start.” Jimmy’s tone held his honest disappointment.
The urge to slug Jimmy had her moving a step closer to him. Behind her, Eldon said, “Finn, stop.” She did, twisting to glare at him. “I see you’re upset, kid. Look, you know this is about business. Shit happens. But she’s no use to me in this condition, as you see. Most of ’em whimper and cry, not become catatonic.” Eldon dropped his cigar in the ashtray. “Take her to the house. I’ll deal with this matter later.” Deal with the matter, she thought with disdain. That’s all this child was—a matter to deal with? Had Eldon any humanity in him? Fiona knew Jimmy didn’t. Jimmy was scum, pure and simple.
“Take her to the kitchen entrance, though. Don’t let Margaret know you’re there. The housekeeper will take care of her. She sometimes handles my overnight visitors.”
Was this a common occurrence for Eldon? At least, Fiona thought with a little relief, he wants to keep this from his sister. Maybe Margaret wasn’t aware of this side of her brother’s business. Fiona was glad of that. “Did the parents at least tell you her name?”
Eldon chuckled. “Won’t knowing make dealing with her more personal for you? Keep your distance, Finn. It’s for the best.”
“Please, may I know her name?”
“Her name’s Thelma.”
This is the second instance where Eldon pulled her deeper into the dark drowning pool that was his business—and her life. “All right, Eldon. I’ll get her to your house.” Fiona, feet leaden in her dejection, went to the couch and bodily picked the slight form of Thelma up in her arms.
Chapter Nine
FIONA PARKED IN the rear of the house, close to the kitchen door. Jumping out of the car and moving to the passenger door, Fiona kept mumbling, “It’s all right. It’ll be all right.” She knew it wouldn’t be, not really. This particular atrocity wasn’t erasable. So who was she trying to convince, herself or Thelma? Thelma stiffened involuntarily when Fiona reached a hand to her, and then just sat, unmoving.
Tears of helplessness and rage ran down Fiona’s face. She reached into the truck and put an arm under Thelma’s legs and another around her back, lifting her from the seat. Quickly, but gently, Fiona carried Thelma into the kitchen. “Hello, is anyone here?” she called, hoping Margaret wasn’t home. How could she possibly explain this situation to her
? “Hello? Please, I need help here.”
Footsteps sounded from the back of a hall leading out of the kitchen. “Coming,” came a voice before a young woman slid to a stop near the stove. “Finn?” Squinting in shock, the woman whispered, “Oh, my God, Fiona.”
Staring back, Fiona recognized Brigid, a childhood friend who’d had an enormous crush on, which turned to an engagement to, her older brother, Fionn, the original Finn. She’d always been friendly and kind to Fiona. “Name’s Finn these days. I…uh…I’m supposed to bring her here,” she said, glancing quickly at the girl in her arms. “She’s…she’s been…” Fiona swallowed back more tears. “I didn’t know what else to do but as I was told. They want her here to...to…” Fiona took a shaky breath, “to break her in before sending her to a brothel. I didn’t want to obey, but—what else can I do?” The tears flowed again. “I’m babbling, sorry. Some boy I am, huh?” Fiona asked, “Can I rest her somewhere, please?”
“Yes, of course. This way,” Brigid said.
Following Brigid down the hall where she’d just come from, Fiona came to a set of doors at the end, probably the household staff quarters. Brigid opened one of the doors and pulled back the quilt on the small, four-poster bed. She glanced around and noted an open door leading to a small bathroom, and another bedroom beyond. Gently, Fiona placed Thelma on top, as Brigid pulled off her shoes.
“My room.” Brigid must have noticed her scrutiny. “Fiona, why in the hell are you dressed like a boy?”
“Please, Brigid, keep your voice down,” Fiona begged.
Changing to a loud whisper, Brigid said, “I thought you were your brother come back to life.”
Speakeasy, Speak Love Page 4
