Jenny shrugged and pushed a wayward strand of hair off her forehead. "She didn't come back from the market when she was supposed to. My aunt told me to come by myself and Martha could pick me up when it's over."

  Silence fell again like a leaden blanket. At the moment, Dinah would have welcomed even Martha's sniping. Keeping her smile in place, she said, "Let's look at that verse again. Listen to me read it, and then we'll talk about what it means." She held her Bible aloft and read from Paul's second epistle to Timothy: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

  Still no response.

  Why couldn't she get through to them? There seemed to be a wall around them—one she couldn't breach. Much as she cared about the girls, much as she prayed for them and longed to share the truths of the Bible with them, that wasn't going to happen until they and their families trusted her.

  Until then, she was doing little more than marking time, no matter what Seth might say. There had to be a way to reach the families of these girls, to win their confidence so the girls would feel free to respond to her. But what?

  A glance at the watch pinned to her dress confirmed the hour. "It's time to dismiss, girls. Be careful walking home. I look forward to seeing you next time."

  If there is a next time. She tried to chase the gloomy thought away, but the dwindling attendance told the tale. If she didn't do something to turn the situation around—and soon—she wouldn't have a class left to teach.

  "Jenny, I want to be sure Martha is here before you leave." Gathering up her reticule, she followed the little girl out into the hallway. No Martha awaited them. "I don't understand. Didn't you say she would be here to meet you?"

  Jenny twisted a strand of hair around one finger and nodded, her little face pinched and taut. Then she pointed to a woman walking toward them. "That's my Aunt Alice." Jenny scampered toward the woman while Dinah followed along at a more sedate pace.

  "Hello, I'm Dinah Mayhew. Is everything all right? I expected Martha here to see Jenny home."

  "Don't ask me where that girl's gone off to." The thin-faced woman pushed her hand through her hair. "Off lollygagging instead of doing the marketing, if you ask me, and leaving the rest of us to carry her load as well as our own."

  "You mean she's not back yet?" Jenny's face twisted into a mask of worry. "But she never stays that long."

  "Do you think she's all right?" Dinah asked.

  "She won't be when I get hold of her." Jenny's aunt spat out the words, but Dinah could see the concern that shadowed her eyes. "I've got too many things to handle to be coming all the way down here just because this one wants to listen to stories." She gave Jenny a light cuff on the shoulder. "Come along now. I've wasted all the time here I'm going to." Without so much as a goodbye, she turned on her heel, taking Jenny with her.

  Dinah watched the outer door close behind them. She should have offered to pray with them, she thought belatedly. Seth would have done it without a second thought.

  Her earlier dejection returned full force. Another opportunity to win their trust, and she had missed it.

  * * *

  He watched while McGinty counted the bills into his hand. The tingle he felt at the sight of his hard-earned cash almost equaled the thrill he experienced while the game was in progress.

  Almost, but not quite. Nothing could match the exhilaration of enticing his victims into the high-stakes game of wits where success and failure hung in an exquisitely delicate balance.

  He smoothed the bills and tucked them inside his wallet, resisting the urge to wipe his hands along the side seams of his trousers. He could cleanse himself of McGinty's touch once he returned home.

  "Got that last load together pretty quickly, didn't you?" McGinty knocked an inch of ash off his cigar, then leaned back in the shabby wooden chair and eyed him with an expression that made the skin tighten across his shoulders.

  He nodded, watching the Irishman through narrowed eyes, the way he would watch a snake. "Things went very smoothly."

  McGinty pursed his lips and rolled the cigar from one corner of his mouth to the other. "We won't be ready to send out another shipment for several weeks."

  "That isn't a problem. I'll wait until I hear from you."

  McGinty's eyes seemed to bore a hole into his soul. "You don't seem very concerned about the delay." He stubbed out the cigar without shifting his gaze. "You wouldn't be having another source of income, would you? A connection with my competition maybe, or plans to strike out on your own?"

  The air squeezed out of his lungs. He steeled himself not to look away and kept his voice level. "Not at all. I've learned to live within my means, that's all. I wouldn't think about double-crossing you."

  "See that you don't." McGinty dropped his voice to a thin whisper. "I'd hate to find out later on that you lied to me."

  "Not a bit. Just let me know when you're ready for me to start collecting again." No point in letting McGinty know he'd already begun. He hadn't planned on starting in again quite so soon, but this last one had practically fallen into his lap, and who was he to argue with fate?

  One of McGinty's henchmen glanced at his hands. "Those are some pretty bad scratches you've got there. You been tangling with a cat?"

  He smiled. "My hat blew off and rolled into a rose bush. I had a devil of a time getting it out." He pocketed his wallet and got to his feet. "If that's all then..."

  "I'll send word when we're ready to start again. And one more thing." McGinty's voice pinned him just as he reached the door. "Don't cross me. Don't ever, ever cross me."

  He stepped outdoors, anxious to distance himself from the ramshackle building in the warehouse district. He stroked his hand over his pocket, running his fingers along the bulge his wallet made. Who would have thought a few short months ago that a chance encounter in Muldoon's pub could have opened the door to such a lucrative—and enjoyable—enterprise?

  Enjoyable in most respects. His most recent acquisition, simple as she was to lure in, had fought like a wildcat before he managed to close the cubicle door. He tugged his cuffs down to cover the red marks on his wrists. He had learned a valuable lesson, though. Next time, he would give the powder plenty of time to work and not be tempted to rush the process.

  But overcoming these little challenges was part of what made the game so pleasurable. That and the ample remuneration he received. Clever of McGinty to come up with the idea of shipping the girls back east instead of selling them to one of the brothels down in the Levee. Less likelihood, as McGinty explained it to him, of the girls escaping and being able to find their way back home.

  Between McGinty's connections and his own ability to draw girls from the better classes into their web, they were able to command a higher price, a most satisfactory business arrangement all around. And the time between shipments left him free to pursue his own, even more profitable endeavors.

  And what would McGinty think if he ever learned of those? He grinned, knowing that would never happen. He knew quite well how to keep the two parts of his life separate. It was a skill that had served him well over the years, the thing that made him so successful at what he did.

  13

  Dinah stood in front of the squalid brick building and pressed her handkerchief to her nose to lessen the stench of a dead dog lying in a nearby alleyway. She checked the address against the list she pulled from her skirt pocket. This had to be the right place.

  It wasn't any better than the other places she had visited that day. At least it was the last stop she planned to make. Soon she would be out of that neighborhood and on her way back home.

  Home. The word would have evoked a far warmer picture in her mind a few days ago, before the reappearance of Gladys in her life. Now, instead of having a cozy chat with Mrs. Purvis after returning from work or Bible class, she slipped up the stairs like a ghost, often as not skipping the evening meal.

  At least Gladys hadn't decided to trail after her to the girls' meetings, as she had feared at first. Her cousin made it clear she wanted nothing to do with Dinah's charity work, as she called it.

  "If you're vying for sainthood, have at it," she sneered. "That isn't the reason I came to Chicago, no matter what my mother might think."

  Dinah scanned the street and took note of two men slouching on the top step of the stoop of the building next door. She tried to ignore their stares as she mounted the rickety steps. The sooner this visit was over, the better. Already the sun dropped farther toward the horizon. She wouldn't want to be out on these streets alone in another hour.

  She didn't want to be out here now, for that matter. But it would be worth it if her self-imposed task had the results she hoped for.

  This was the last stop, she reminded herself. She could do this. Pushing down her jitters, she knocked on the door.

  The woman who picked Jenny up at the last meeting answered. She raked Dinah up and down with a look full of suspicion. "What do you want?"

  Dinah forced a smile. "I'm Dinah Mayhew. We met the other night after Jenny's Bible class, remember?"

  "I remember. I figured it wouldn't be too long before you wanted something from us. Well, you're wasting your time. We don't have money for Bibles, if that's what you're selling." She started to swing the door closed.

  After getting the same response throughout the long, weary afternoon, Dinah was prepared. She held up her hand to block the door. "Wait. That isn't my intent at all. I was hoping to speak to Martha, or perhaps Jenny's father, if he's home."

  "Her father's still at work. As for Martha, we still haven't seen her."

  Dinah caught her breath. "She hasn't come home yet?"

  Jenny's aunt leaned against the door. "Why else would I be here taking care of my brother's kids when I've got plenty of my own work to do?"

  "I guess you're the one I need to talk to, then." Dinah tried to inject a pleasant tone in her voice.

  The woman sighed. "And you won't give me a moment's peace until you get what you want, will you? I guess you may as well come in." She pulled the door open to admit Dinah into a dark, stuffy room smelling of boiled cabbage and unwashed bodies.

  * * *

  Seth rapped on the front door of Mrs. Purvis's boarding house. "Is Dinah home?" he asked when the door swung open. "Mr. Moody is speaking at a special meeting tonight, and I thought she might like to go with me to hear him."

  The landlady's eyes rounded. "Isn't she with you? She said she was going to see her girls after work."

  The air left his lungs in a whoosh. "She was going to see her girls? You're sure?"

  Mrs. Purvis nodded. "I assumed that meant she had a Bible class tonight." She tilted her head and looked up at Seth, a hint of worry in her eyes. "If she didn't go with you, what could she be doing?"

  "I don't know." He tightened his lips. "But I'm going to find out."

  * * *

  "So what is it you want? Speak your piece and be done with it."

  Realizing there would be no time for small talk or social amenities, Dinah plunged into her explanation. "I'm inviting Jenny and the other girls in my group to tour the fairgrounds with me this Saturday. It would be a wonderful opportunity for them to see exhibits from all over the world."

  Before she could finish, the half-closed door to the kitchen swung open and Jenny burst into the room. "Really, Miss Mayhew? That would be so exciting! Can I go, Aunt Alice? I'd really like to."

  Her aunt sniffed. "And where do you think we'd get the money? We can't afford no tickets."

  "That isn't a problem." Dinah spoke quickly, wanting to erase the crestfallen expression from Jenny's face. "A donor provided passes for all the girls." Silently, she blessed Mr. Thorndyke for his generosity.

  The thin woman still looked skeptical. "We've already had her sister run off. What good will it do to fill her head with fancy notions? After seeing all that grand folderol, she'll never be satisfied with anything we can give her."

  Jenny clasped her hands and ran over to her aunt. "Please, Aunt Alice. I'll do extra chores to make up for Martha being gone. I promise."

  At the reminder, Dinah furrowed her brow. "Is anybody searching for Martha?"

  Alice huffed out a sigh. "If I'd had the chance to get out of this rat hole for a while when I was fifteen, I would have jumped at it. She's probably staying with a friend somewhere. I can't blame her, I guess, but her pa's going to tan her hide when she decides to come home, I can tell you that."

  A lanky boy a couple of years Dinah's junior sauntered into the room, leaving the door standing open behind him. "I checked with some more of Martha's friends, Ma. No one's seen her."

  "Or they aren't admitting it if they have." Alice scrubbed a work-worn hand across her face. "You'd think the girl would at least let us know she's all right, wouldn't you?"

  The boy suddenly took note of Dinah's presence. He ducked his head in a quick nod and kept on staring, his gaze dragging down the length of her body and back up again. Dinah felt her cheeks flame under his scrutiny. He noticed her discomfort and grinned.

  Through the open door, she could see the way the shadows were lengthening. She turned back to Jenny's aunt. "I really must be going. Will you allow Jenny to go to the fair with me?"

  Alice shot a look at the little girl's pleading face. She lifted one shoulder. "Might as well. She won't give me a minute's peace until I give in."

  Jenny squealed and clapped her hands.

  Dinah felt like doing the same thing. "That's fine. I'll come by to collect her at nine in the morning, and I'll bring her back here myself." She smiled at Jenny. "See you then."

  She turned to leave, glad to find Alice's son had filtered out of the room while they were talking. He might be only a youth, but it had been a long time since she met anyone whose mere gaze made her feel so uncomfortable.

  Dinah descended the steps and checked the sun's position. Talking to each of her girls' families had taken far longer than she expected. It would be getting dark before long.

  She passed the building next door, where the two men still lounged on the stoop. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them stand when she passed. Her pulse fluttered in her throat, and she picked up her pace while trying not to let her sudden fear show.

  At the corner, she cast a furtive glance behind her. The two men were now ambling her way. Dinah's breath caught in her throat. It took all her effort to keep from breaking into a headlong run. Wanting nothing more than to put this frightening neighborhood and its dangers behind her, she turned back just in time to see Alice's son step into view.

  He straddled the walk, blocking her path. His lips twisted into a brash grin. "Hello there, pretty lady."

  * * *

  Seth strode along at a rapid clip, wishing for the first time that he had the means that would allow him to keep a carriage at his disposal. He reached the corner and broke into a jog, concern for Dinah outweighing his reluctance to draw attention to himself.

  What did she think she was doing, haring off on her own like that? If he hadn't talked to Mrs. Purvis directly and heard the news with his own ears, he wouldn't have believed her capable of such foolishness.

  Had he planted the seed for this scatterbrained idea with his comment about visiting the girls' families? Guilt vied with his irritation. It was one thing for him to make the rounds here, knowing the area and its people as he did. Quite another for a lone woman to go traipsing around that neighborhood, especially without an escort. What had she been thinking?

  When he reached the area where the girls lived, he kept a close watch on the street ahead of him and peered down each alley he passed, praying he wouldn't miss her. Surely she was all right.

  She had to be all right.

  Lord, let me find her before it gets dark. Enough problems could arise in that area in broad daylight. Once night fell...

  Seth rounded the next corner and spotted a knot of men at the far end of the block. Nothing unusual about that, but something about the way they stood arranged in a circle, shuffling ahead to tighten the space between them, reminded him of a pack of feral dogs closing in, ready to chew a cat to pieces.

  He couldn't see into the middle of their little circle, but something told him he had found what he was looking for. Seth put on a burst of speed.

  14

  "What've you got there, Billy?"

  Dinah whirled away from the taunting face of Alice's son to find the men from the porch steps closing in behind her.

  "Yeah," called the second man. "We don't get many of her kind in this neighborhood."

  Dinah backed away and collided with the building behind her. She pressed closer against the rough brick wall, as if by some miracle she could disappear right into it.

  Billy moved a step nearer. "She came to visit my little cousin, but she doesn't seem too friendly towards me."

  Dinah dug her fingers into the brick and felt her breath tear in and out of her lungs in ragged gasps. She darted her gaze between the faces of the three men, feeling like a doe surrounded by wolves. How had she gotten herself into this mess? Why had she ever though she could do anything to help people who so obviously didn't want to be helped?

  "Look at them fine clothes. Pretty hair, too." The nearest man reached out to finger a curl next to her right ear. Dinah jerked away, and a whimper gurgled in her throat.

  "She smells good, too," he went on. "Why, I'll bet—"

  He broke off, a look of astonishment on his face. Dinah watched him slam against the brick wall and bounce off it onto the ground.

  Seth stood over him, breathing heavily and flexing his fingers as if longing to wrap them around the throats of the other two.

  They jumped back and gaped at him. The sight would have been comical had the situation not been so dire.

 

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