Fair Game, page 23
part #2 of A Fair to Remember Series
"But he knows where I live. What if he comes back and tries to hurt me or Mrs. Purvis? You haven't seen him when he's angry, Seth. He's a madman."
Seth's fingers stroked the side of her face, tracing over her bruised jaw with a feather touch. "The police will be looking for him now. His game depended on his staying unseen and unknown, working in the dark. Once the light shines on him, he'll be so bent on staying out of sight he won't have time to think about coming after you."
Dinah leaned her forehead into his chest, wishing she never had to leave the safety of his arms. "I don't think I'll ever be able to draw an easy breath again as long as I know he's out there."
"The police will handle it. Trust God to take care of things. Look what He did today—if Alan hadn't just been coming up those stairs when we came in, we never would have known where to look for you." He ran his hands up and down her arms. "Even the cot breaking worked into His plan. It gave you that piece of wood you used to bang on the door. That was a clever idea, by the way. It was the tapping that led me straight to you. How long had you been keeping that up?"
"Only since I knew there was someone else in the house. I wouldn't have dared to do it if I thought Alan was here alone. I wasn't sure anyone would be able to hear me." A shudder ran through her, and Seth began the soothing strokes on her arms again. "It was so awful down there in that horrid little room, with just a cot over in the corner and not a speck of light. I couldn't even hear anything except something tapping inside the wall. It was like being shut up in a dungeon."
Dinah jerked back and stared up at Seth. "Why would he have a room set up like that? It's as if he planned to keep someone imprisoned." Her stomach curdled. "Seth, there are three other doors down there. That tapping..."
She gathered her skirts and hurried down the stairs as quickly as she could. This time it was Seth's turn to follow. "Where are the keys?" she called over her shoulder.
She spotted the ring hanging from the lock of her former prison. Yanking them loose, she moved to the next door. Her fingers refused to cooperate when she tried to sort through the keys. She thrust them at Seth. "Here, you do it."
The second key turned in the lock with a satisfying click. Seth pushed the door open. A skinny, bedraggled girl sat on the edge of a cot identical to Dinah's, blinking in the sudden light.
She stared at them as if unable to believe what she saw. Even from the doorway, Dinah could see her lips tremble. "Miss Mayhew? You found me."
If not for Seth's support, Dinah knew she would have fallen to the floor. She looked at the pitiful creature and held out her arms. "Martha!"
* * *
Dinah put her arms around Martha and held her close on the serpentine-back sofa. The girl shivered as though she would never be warm again.
Dinah brushed the matted hair away from Martha's forehead. "You've been missing for nearly three weeks. Have you been down there all this time?"
Martha sniffed back tears and nodded. "I was on my way home from the market. I was going to put things away and then take Jenny to class. This man came up and started talking to me there on the street. He said I looked about the same size as his sister, and she had a lot of nice clothes she wanted to give away. He wondered if maybe I could use them.
"I told him I had to get back home. Then he told me he had a carriage around the corner and he could take me to his sister's house to pick up the clothes." Her voice wobbled, then broke. "He said he'd have me back home in no time."
Dinah held her until the sobs subsided. Her own ordeal had lasted less than one day. What untold horrors had Martha experienced in the time she'd been locked away in the basement?
Martha scrubbed at her cheeks with the heels of her hands. "I guess it wasn't very smart of me. Somewhere deep inside, I felt like something wasn't right. But I just kept thinking about those clothes. He made them sound so pretty, like the kind you wear, and I thought maybe I'd look like I amounted to something if I could dress like that."
Dinah's heart melted, and her tears mingled with Martha's. "Oh, my dear."
"It was pretty stupid, wasn't it? I know I'll never look as elegant as you do."
Dinah turned the girl so she faced her squarely. "Listen to me, Martha. A person's value isn't based on outward appearances. What God treasures is the person you are inside, where it counts."
Martha sniffed again. "Maybe He really does care about me. Down there in the dark, I kept thinking about that story you told us. The one about the giant. Remember?"
Dinah nodded slowly. "David and Goliath."
"You said it meant we could take our problems to God and expect Him to answer. I kept thinking that maybe this was something too big for even God to take care of." She gave Dinah a watery smile. "But it wasn't, was it?"
Tears threatened to spill over again. "No," Dinah said. "It wasn't at all. He was busy protecting us both."
"How long have I been gone?" Martha's forehead crinkled. "I've been asleep a lot of the time. It seemed like every time he fed me, I couldn't stay awake, so the last couple of times, I shoved the food under my cot. The room was so dark he never even noticed. Then I'd pretend to be asleep when he came in."
Dinah looked over Martha's shoulder at Seth and mouthed, "Laudanum." He nodded, grim-faced.
"That's how I knew when he brought you in. I heard a little noise and listened at the door. I thought maybe he'd put someone in the next room, so I started tapping on the wall."
Dinah's heart swelled. "I'm so glad you did."
"Is there anybody else down there?"
Seth knelt in front of them. "No, we checked the other rooms." He exchanged glances with Dinah and lowered his voice to a whisper. "They're empty, save for the same sparse furnishings the two of you had. But both of them show signs of being recently occupied."
Dinah didn't want to imagine what had become of the their unfortunate occupants. "What kind of monster is he?" she breathed.
Martha nodded vigorously. "Monster, that's a good name for him. He used to talk to me when he thought I was asleep. He'd tell me how he hoped I wasn't too impatient to leave, that as soon as he had enough girls ready for another shipment, he was going to send us all on a trip to New York where we'd meet a lot of men. He kept talking about how my life was going to change, but he said I'd get used to it."
Her face crumpled, and she buried her face in Dinah's shoulder. "But I didn't want to get used to anything like that, Miss Mayhew. I just wanted to go home."
The front door scraped open, and Fred entered, followed by a man in uniform. Dinah drew her first confident breath of the evening and hugged Martha tight. "As soon as you tell the policeman everything you've told me, we'll see that you get there."
* * *
Alan Saunders ducked into an alley and tried to work out his next move. It had been simple enough to evade the big oaf who followed him out the back door. A few quick twists and turns, and he had been free.
But now what? He couldn't go back to the house, not with that preacher and his friends on the lookout for him. No doubt by now, Dinah had given them all the details of what he had done and planned to do, enough to lock him away for a good long while.
Had they found the other girl? A metallic taste filled his mouth. He should have gotten rid of her days ago. Never leave a loose end. That had always been his rule, and it had served him well. He had never broken it until today, and look what had happened. Instead of walking boldly down the street, he was reduced to darting down alleys and back streets.
He moved to the mouth of the alley and took a quick look down the adjacent street. In the next breath, he pulled back, cursing his luck. Another policeman. It seemed he saw one every time he turned a corner. So far, he had managed to avoid them, but how long could that last?
He had to do something. His nerves were on a raw edge. Even the common people on the street made him jittery. Every time one of them looked at him twice, he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin.
This was wrong, all wrong. He was supposed to be the hunter, not the prey.
Chicago was no place for him now. That much was clear. But where could he go? The only money he had available was what he carried in his pockets, enough for a couple of meals but no more.
Think. Think! He needed to find someplace where he could take shelter.
The answer struck him like a thunderbolt. McGinty's. That would be just the place! He had done good work for the man. McGinty was in his debt. Surely he would protect him, give him a place to lie low for a day or two. When the pressure was off, he could go to his bank and withdraw the money on deposit under the name of Edward Stephens. Once he had those funds in hand, he would be free to travel anywhere he wished, and McGinty and the city of Chicago would never see him again.
But he couldn't go to McGinty's just yet. Too many people still roamed the streets, not to mention the police. He needed someplace to hide until dark. A safe location where he could stay out of the public view.
There it was, just the place. He trotted down the alley, careful to keep close against the fences, and darted into a broad, open doorway.
29
Dinah looked up at the turrets of the Café de Marine.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Concern colored Seth's voice.
"I have to. I gave him my word. And I need to have this over with."
She looked down at her blue-checked dress and adjusted the bow at the front. The heliotrope skirt and jacket hung in her wardrobe, still unironed. A momentary pang of regret assailed her, remembering her plans to look especially nice for Seth.
No matter. In her state of near exhaustion, extraneous things like wearing a particular dress didn't seem to be important anymore. She was alive. She was with Seth. Those were the things that mattered.
Dinah put her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn. Between recounting her ordeal to the policeman—which he assured them would set off a citywide manhunt—and seeing Martha's glad reunion with her family, she'd hardly had a moment to draw a breath. More than anything, she would love to fall into her cozy bed at Mrs. Purvis's and sleep for a week. But that wasn't likely to happen.
"Ah, here you are!" Her father strode toward them, jaunty as ever. "I was afraid you weren't going to make it."
Dinah summoned up a smile. "No, Papa, I told you we'd be here."
"Come on. Abby and Hannah are waiting for us over by the door."
Seth put out his hand. "Mr. Mayhew, before this goes any further, there are some things you ought to know."
Her father jingled the coins in his pocket and darted quick glances toward the restaurant. "Can't we talk about it over dinner?"
"I don't think so." Seth's voice held a note of resolve. "This may cover some things we wouldn't want to discuss in front of a little girl."
"What kind of things? What's going on, Dinah?"
Dinah's hand rose of its own accord, and her fingers brushed the tender spot on her jaw. Surely he couldn't fail to notice the blossoming bruise, even in the waning light.
You're looking at me, Papa, but do you really see me?
Seth slipped his arm around her waist, and she leaned against him, grateful for his support. "Sir, a lot has happened since we saw you this morning. In that time, your daughter has been abducted and held captive by a villain of the worst sort. If not for the grace of God, she would still be in his clutches."
He continued, his voice firm. "I don't believe that sitting in a roomful of people and trying to behave as though everything is normal would be the best thing for her tonight. Frankly, I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted on coming."
"That's my girl." Her father chuckled. "Always a woman of her word."
The way Seth's jaw tightened told Dinah his patience was wearing thin. She cleared her throat. "Why don't we find a quiet place where we can all sit down and talk?"
Her father started to sputter out a reply, then he stopped and looked at Dinah. "You're okay, aren't you, honey?"
Would she ever be all right again? "I will be, but Seth is right. I don't think I'm up to being around a lot of people."
Her father patted her on the shoulder. "We can ask for a table in a quiet corner. You still have to eat, after all, and I've made a reservation. What do you say? You'll feel better for having a good meal inside you."
"I really don't think—"
"Come on, Dinah." He used the smooth, persuasive tone she knew so well. "You promised you'd talk to Abby, and I'm counting on you."
"And I will. It's just that..." Her voice cracked, and she fought to keep it under control. "Don't you understand, Papa? I have been so afraid today. That man was talking about killing me!"
Her father placed his hands on her shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead, like he used to do when she was a little girl. "It must have been awful, honey. I'm sorry you had to go through all that." He let out a long sigh. "Okay, okay. Let's go find some benches over by the lagoon and sit there. This isn't the way I planned things, but I've got to have you talk to Abby. She needs to hear what you have to say so she can make up her mind."
"I've already made up my mind." Abby stepped forward from the shadows. "This is your daughter, Ernie, your own flesh and blood. You heard what she's been through today. What's wrong with you? She needs to know you love her, but all you can think about is what you want."
Dinah's father gawked at her. "Abby, I do love her. That's why I suggested we skip the restaurant and find someplace quieter to talk. She knows I care about her, don't you, Dinah?" He stretched out his hand toward Abby. "Go get Hannah and bring her back here. We'll all go sit down and talk this out, the five of us."
"After what I heard, I wouldn't take a chance on you, even if it was just myself and I didn't have a little girl to think about. I have to admit you can be a real charmer when you put your mind to it. Too bad it doesn't go all the way to your heart." Abby tapped her chest with her fingers. "If you treat your own daughter like this, how would you treat me in a few years?"
She shook her head slowly. "Goodbye, Ernie. I'm heading back to Minneapolis." She walked back toward the café, calling for her daughter.
Dinah's father stared after her, his mouth working soundlessly.
Dinah felt the prick of tears behind her eyes. She stepped forward and laid her hand on her father's arm. "I'm sorry, Papa."
"Sorry?" Her father found his voice. "It's a little late for that, don't you think? I brought you here, thinking you could help me out, and all you've done is think about yourself." He turned and watched Abby's and Hannah's retreating figures with a look of longing. Abby never looked back.
"If I've learned one thing over the past few weeks, it's that God can take the very things that cause us the most pain and turn them around for our good." Dinah reached out to him again, but he shook her hand off and fixed her with a look of disdain.
"I wish I'd never sent you that letter. I thought you could help, but you've ruined everything."
* * *
Alan Saunders crawled out from under the pile of straw in the back of the livery stable and dusted himself off. Horses whinnied and stomped in the nearby stalls. He slipped down the broad center aisle and out into the alley before the hostler came to see what was causing the disturbance.
His nose crinkled at the stable's acrid smell, even after spending two miserable hours burrowed in that dusty straw waiting for night to fall. He ran his hand through his hair. Bits of straw sifted their way past his collar. He cursed and scratched the back of his neck, then set out into the welcoming dark.
It was almost midnight by the time he gave the coded knock on McGinty's door. One of the ever-present henchmen opened it and gazed at him with a flat-eyed stare.
"I need to see McGinty. Now."
McGinty looked up when they entered his office. Alan was not surprised to see him awake and still at his desk. Among those who knew him, the man's ability to go without sleep was legendary. Alan found this capacity to function better in the wee hours a fitting attribute for one of the denizens of the night.
McGinty studied him a long moment before speaking. "What brings you here at such an hour?"
He had worked out his pitch during his hours beneath the straw, knowing it would have to strike just the right note. "I need a place to stay for a couple of days—disappear from the public eye, as it were. I was hoping I could count on you to help me out."
"Were you now?" McGinty tapped his fingertips on the desktop. "And I wonder who might be hiding from. It wouldn't be the law would it?"
Alan attempted a light laugh. "It's nothing urgent, just a little misunderstanding. But it's important I stay out of their reach for the next day or two."
McGinty patted his fingers together. "So the police are after you. And you led them here."
The glint in his eyes jolted Alan like an electric shock. He hastened to add, "It has nothing to do with our business arrangement. I swear it."
McGinty picked up his cigar from the ashtray and drew on it. He tipped his head back and blew a series of smoke rings toward the ceiling. "I believe you, Alan. This has to do with the girl you snatched today, the one you planned to force to marry you, am I right?"
Alan felt the foundations of his world begin to crumble.
McGinty gave a gentle chuckle. "Did you think I managed to stay clear of trouble the way I do without getting inside information from the police from time to time? I have quite a network of information."
He planted his palms on the desk and stood. "They don't mind looking the other way when it comes to the brothel trade. I pay them well enough for that. But here, dear boy, you're talking outright murder." He clicked his tongue. "You've become troublesome, my lad. I would have been content just letting you hang out to dry if you'd stayed out there on your own. But now you've gone and brought your troubles to my doorstep."
