Chapter 5
Elijah couldn’t wipe the stupid grin from his face.
He had to get hold of himself before he arrived at the O’Briens.
Maggie or Nora would know with a glance that something was amiss.
He’d seen them observe Harry, Sampson, then Clayton, each time declaring the men had met someone.
But he wanted to keep Miss Clara Alberts with the ruby red hair a secret for a little while.
Keep her all to himself until he knew just where to place her in the puzzle of his life.
But she would fit somewhere, he had no doubt.
He entered the O’Briens’ home, never knocking from years of habit.
The entryway was lit with an oil lamp, and the house was oddly quiet.
In front of him to the left was a stairway leading up to a drawing room and the bedchambers on the first and second floor.
To his right was the parlor where they gathered informally and occasionally met with clients interested in the O’Brien Investigative Service.
Arooooo. Arooo.
Aonarach, their Irish wolfhound howled from the kitchen.
Elijah shook his head, wondering who was teasing him as he walked the length of the hall to the kitchen.
Sitting at the large oak table in the center of the kitchen was his sister, Honora, the youngest of their original clan.
Her bright red hair gleamed in the flames dancing in the hearth as she held a tidbit up for the dog.
“Shake on it,” said Nora, holding out her hand. The wolfhound lifted a giant paw.
“Good boy,” she said enthusiastically, rubbing his grayish-white wiry coat. “Again. Shake on it.”
This time, Aonarach only howled plaintively again and looked to Eli for help. “He’s not a circus animal you can teach to perform. Give the poor beast the bread.”
Nora looked over her shoulder, green eyes narrowed at her brother. “I may take him on stage with me. This is between me and Aonarach.” She turned back to the dog, who was again holding up his paw.
Nora wiped her hands on a towel and stood to kiss Eli’s cheek. “How are you, Brother? Haven’t seen you for at least a week.”
“Catching criminals is a never-ending toil,” he said, laughing when she rolled her eyes. “Is Paddy about?”
She shook her head. “He took Maggie out for a meal and a show. She was dressed in her Sunday best and Paddy looked like a smitten schoolboy.”
“Love brings a man to his knees,” said Gus from the doorway, giving Nora a forlorn look. He gave Eli a slap on the back and put one leg up on a chair, raised his face to the ceiling and let out a long howl. Aonarach soon joined him.
Nora clapped her hands on her ears. “Fine, fine.” She tossed a hunk of bread to the dog, then stuffed one in Gus’s mouth.
“Well, I think Paddy and Maggie are a fine example of how to keep love alive.” Eli said as he sat down at the table, reaching for a round of bread Nora had been picking from. He tore off a hunk and popped it in his mouth. “Do you think we’ll find someone like they did?”
Nora scrunched her mouth as she thought. “We have three brothers who have, so the odds are against us.”
“If they’ve been successful, wouldn’t that put the odds in our favor?
” asked Gus, waggling his thick, dark brows at Honora.
It was common knowledge that Gus had been smitten with Nora since she entered the house wrapped in swaddling.
He used to watch her in her cradle, worried she would die in her sleep like countless other babes.
Nora loved the huge monstrosity of a man like a brother and good-naturedly put up with his pining.
Yet when Gus had been shot during an investigation, Nora had been by his side for two days. She’d cared for him, cried for him, and ordered him not to die. Who knew what might happen in the future.
She shook her head. “Everyone can’t be that happy. Fate isn’t that kind. At least a couple of us will be miserable or alone.”
“Or both?” Elijah clicked his tongue. “Don’t tempt fate. She’ll always prove you wrong if you try to figure her out.”
“Why does fate have to be a woman?” Nora held up a hand. “Don’t say because she’s fickle.”
Eli laughed. “Because she’s unpredictable.”
“Touche!” Nora stood and took three glasses from a shelf. “Some ale?”
Both men nodded. “I’m on a case and need another brain to help me pick through it.”
Explaining the situation, Eli sat back and waited for his sister and brother to sift through the facts. “Have you checked the employee list to see if there was a man in common? Perhaps under a different name?” asked Nora.
“No, the employees have all been with the shops at least a year, and no one has left employment in the past year.” He rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble that had kept him from kissing Miss Alberts. “I checked the names against the register, but I hadn’t thought of an alias.”
“Are you done interviewing the present employees?” Gus asked, tossing another bit of bread to the dog.
“Yes. The owners seem sincere in their bafflement, so I don’t think it’s an insurance scheme. But I haven’t ruled it out.”
“With only the one set missing from each place, it does point to an employee not wanting to be caught, rather than a professional thief,” said Nora. “It might be easier to make sense of it when the next theft is discovered.”
“Yes, I was thinking there is probably more jewelry missing than we realize. I’m wondering if it’s a small gang. By choosing the older sets already put away, they could get rid of them easier. Less suspicion.”
“And if they’re family members of the employees, they are able to dress well enough not to cause too much suspicion,” added Gus. “Maybe see if there’s one who has a shifty past.”
As Elijah walked home, taking Lombard toward Poultry Street, he thought about what Gus had said about family members. Who else might be able to find out where the keys were kept? Then again, a trick drawer wasn’t something so unusual. His hand brushed against the tin of shortbread in his pocket.
An image of a heart-shaped face with hair the color of a fine port popped into his mind, and all thoughts of the investigation fled for the time being.
He didn’t like the idea of her walking home alone in the dark.
There were areas along her route where she could easily be robbed or worse.
Eli decided he would meet her again tomorrow night and be sure she arrived home safely.
He was surprised to find himself on Old Jury already.
He crossed Lothbury onto Coleman, stopping at the second building on the left.
He rented the ground floor, avoiding any kind of steps for his aging grandmother.
The area was decent enough, with small businesses and working people making their homes along the street.
There was a seamstress across from them and a tobacconist next to them.
His place had once been a small teashop.
One day, he would buy them a proper house. Something like the O’Briens’ place where he’d grown up. Filled with laughter and children, girls with dark-red hair—
How had that image popped into his brain?
Elijah shook his head, but it didn’t wipe away the smile.
Miss Alberts had certainly affected him.
He’d courted several girls since he’d turned sixteen, none of them creating such a stormy reaction.
When he thought of her, his heart pounded, he grew warm, and a pulse throbbed low in his belly.
Perhaps the odds Nora had mentioned would still be good for him.
“Is that you, Elijah?”
“Grandmama, you’re still up.” He hung his hat and coat on the pegs by the door. He kissed her cheek and sat beside her in front of the cheery fire. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you,” she said. “How were your interviews?”
“Everyone was cooperative, but no worthwhile clues.”
“Yet,” she said, beaming at him. “You’ll catch those rascals. My grandson is clever and determined. That’s what it takes to solve a mystery.”
“I hope you’re right. Hungry?” he asked, remembering the tin in his coat. He fetched it and sat back down.
“Remember the girl I told you about?” he asked as he opened the tin. The smell of the sweet tickled his nostrils.
“Miss Alberts? How can I forget the woman who put such a spark in your eye?”
He held out the tin. “She made me this as a thank you.”
They both took a piece of the crumbly dessert, holding it over a cupped hand to catch the crumbs.
“Oh, Elijah, she’s very good. This is almost as tasty as mine,” said his grandmother with a wink.
“High praise, indeed,” he agreed with a laugh.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said, beginning to rock once again, “about your request.”
His gaze snapped to her weathered face. “And?”
“It’s not fair to hold back information because of my bitterness. I shall tell you what I know concerning your father.” Her words were soft, but her face had gone hard, her mouth set in a firm, straight line.
“What changed your mind?”
“The truth? This illness has made me think about my age and the fragility of life. I could come down with a fever in the dead of night and never wake up.” She sighed, then held up her hand when he tried to interrupt.
“I’m not planning on leaving this earth so soon, but I don’t want you to resent me when I’m gone because I kept secrets.” She leaned forward and grasped his hand. “You are my last living family, and I need to do right by you. I don’t know much, but I’ll tell you what I remember.”
“I appreciate that, Grandmama.” Relief swept over Elijah.
He had wanted to know more about his father, whatever his grandmother might know.
Not only to satisfy his curiosity, but to bring him closure.
How did they meet? What did his mother say about him when she met him, when she fell in love with him. Why had the family disliked him so?
“The parish registry has their marriage listed, though I imagine he used a false name, if you ever want to look at it. But I’m sure your Peelers discovered that since they found me.” Her rocker increased momentum. “What I can’t figure out is how he got the certificate from another parish.”
“Forged it,” said Eli.
She shook her head. “He couldn’t read or write.”
“Then he paid someone, or received it in exchange for some other service.” This conversation was yesterday’s news. He wanted something positive to hold inside, to think back on when he remembered his father, not just the negative.
Then the image of his dying mother, that day in The Dog’s Bone, came rushing back.
She’d taken her last breath holding him, hoping to keep him warm and safe.
How many times had Ma told him how much she loved him during that last week, trying to compensate for the terrible scene with his father?
Assure him he was wanted and treasured. She could have sent him off with his father, fending for herself.
Anger curled up his middle as he thought of her, not much older than Miss Alberts when she died.
What if some cur tricked her in the same fashion?
He put out a hand to stop his grandmother’s furious rocking. “I want you to understand that if I ever discover my half siblings, and they are willing to come to know me, you must accept them.” If anything good came from the trauma of his mother’s marriage, it would be gaining a family.
“I am a firm believer in children not suffering the sins of their father,” Grandmama agreed, her hazel eyes bright with emotion. “You know he’s probably dead.”
Elijah lay in bed that night, images of his father flashing through his mind. His face was blurred by the years, but he remembered a large man with dark hair and eyes. He remembered being tossed in the air and caught, then being tickled until tears leaked from his eyes.
He also remembered the terrible argument, and the last time he would see the man who’d given him life.
Yet had not wanted to be a part of it. Why had his father gone through the ruse of marriage when he already had a family?
Had he loved his mother and been caught up with passion?
It was possible. Ma had been beautiful. The miniature on the mantle was proof of that.
Or had he been so weak, he couldn’t tell her the truth and didn’t want to break her heart?
There were two perspectives to every interaction between a couple. Perhaps…
Don’t be na?ve, he scolded himself. The man had lured Ma from her family, her safe and comfortable home.
The menacing look in his father’s eyes that night, when he’d glared at his mother with such rage, had frightened a five-year-old.
While Eli hadn’t understood it, he knew the expression meant danger, harm to one or both of them.
Instead, his father left without a backward glance, leaving them helpless in a cruel world.
Elijah wondered if desire could ever tempt him to do something he knew to be wrong.
His mind immediately went to Miss Alberts.
He would risk his life to keep her from harm.
Yet, he would do the same for anyone in harm’s way if he could.
What if she asked him to break the law? Pleaded with him to help her in some way that would break the trust with the people he respected the most?
Was he strong enough to give up love for integrity and honor? It was a subject Elijah wasn’t sure he wanted to explore too closely. What was it Maggie always said?
There’s not a wise man without fault.