Chapter 17 #2
A few other guests were mingling about but Cordell kept his focus on the broad shoulders of the viscount.
He reached out and grasped his arm, causing Lord Alton to spin around with a dark glance, prepared to defend himself.
When he recognized Cordell, he released the breath he must have been holding.
“Steele. Thank God.” He put a hand over his heart and then added, “I have lost sight of Miss Sims. Have you happened to see her?”
Every nerve ending in Cordell came to attention. “Why are you following her?” he demanded.
The viscount immediately put his hands in supplication. “It is not what you think. She asked that I pay a call at Spade’s this afternoon with a request that I join her this evening. I thought she was reaching out about the letter I have been inspecting.”
Some of Cordell’s suspicions relaxed slightly. “Why would she reach out to you, I wonder?”
“She claimed that she did want to put you in any further trouble, that you had enough to worry about without adding her list of grievances. Apparently, her mother approached her at the theatre and claimed she had information about the killer that Aislynn would want to know. She was attempting to extort fifty pounds as a generous donation.”
With a curse, Cordell asked harshly, “Why did you not tell me?”
“She promised me not to and I am a man of my word,” the viscount clenched his jaw. “But I did not leave without mentioning something to Mary. I am sure she wrote to you as soon as I left but if you did not receive it, then that must mean you have not been home to receive the notification.”
“No, I have not,” Cordell admitted harshly. “I had business with The Wolf.”
“The Wolf?” his companion snorted. “You do not keep very good company, Steele.”
“It is not as though I showed up for tea,” Cordell snapped in returned. “He had information that I needed. He claimed that word on the streets is that murderer would be here this evening so I came here with the hope that Aislynn would not be attending, but I can see my fears were not unwarranted.”
“You should know she is a strong woman,” the viscount murmured. “She is not like the rest of society. She chooses not to rely on a man’s protection when she feels she can take care of herself.”
I am no damsel in distress… Her words came back to haunt Cordell, and while he did not doubt she believed that was true, there were times when it was not wrong to ask for assistance when you are up against insurmountable odds.
The man who was targeting her fellow actresses did not have any other objective in mind other than murder.
While Cordell had not yet discerned the purpose behind the killings, they were done methodically and with careful consideration.
They were not random, nor were they committed by a sane individual.
Thus far, the Earl of Parkson and Lord Wrexville were his prime suspects, but they were almost too obvious to be guilty.
Besides, he wasn’t certain they would be able to stomach the sight of a body once the life was snuffed out of it.
Cordell was about to ask where the viscount had last seen Aislynn, but suddenly a definitive pop! split the temporary silence. “That was not part of the display,” the viscount muttered.
“No, it was not,” Cordell concurred. Together they two of them rushed in the direction of the discharged weapon.
* * *
She hadn’t wanted to use the only shot she had but Aislynn had no other option.
She did not like the scenario she had been thrust into, nor did she care for the man who appeared from the bushes along the Dark Walks and intercepted her and Imogen.
When she had withdrawn the weapon and pointed it in his direction and he did not seem fazed by it, she knew that she had to act.
She might very well be facing down the man who wanted her dead.
The smoke was still escaping the barrel as the man clenched his thigh in obvious pain. “Aislynn! What on earth—!” Imogen sputtered in obvious outrage.
She turned the derringer on her, and although the bullet had already been spent, the older woman’s face paled considerably. “It is time to end these games and tell me what I came here to learn.”
“How dare you threaten me!” Imogen wailed.
“I spent hours on the birthing bed and gave you the talent that you now showcase on that blasted stage! If it were not for me, you would have nothing! And this is how you would repay that generosity? All I wanted was some coin to make it through the winter! You have plenty of it, and I think it rather selfish of you not to share with your own flesh and blood!”
The almost maniacal way that her mother spoke made Aislynn wonder if she wasn’t the true murderer.
She certainly looked the part at the moment, her eyes wild and crazed as she moved to help the injured stranger rather than assure her daughter that this had been nothing more than another empty attempt to gain monetary funds.
But as Aislynn saw the woman fawn over the man, likely her latest paramour, the truth became clear.
She took a step back, stunned. “You lied to me. Again. I cannot believe I was so na?ve to trust you might have actually been in earnest and could care about someone’s welfare other than your own.
” She waved a dismissive hand. “Or your latest lover.” She shook her head.
“Goodbye, Mother. I hope you understand that should you wish to gain an audience with me after this, the door shall be barred to you.”
“Ungrateful brat! Worthless hussy!” The insults peppered Aislynn as she turned away from the bloody scene and began to stalk back toward the brighter lights of the Gardens.
She should have known that this had been a foolish endeavor to begin with, but she could not take the chance that it was all a lie.
It was time for this nightmare to end, but unfortunately, it was not to be so soon.
Caught up in her own distress, Aislynn did not notice the shadow that separated itself from the rest. One moment she was stalking down the path and the next, she was pressed up against the coarse hedge, a strong hand pressed over her mouth and a dark, concealing cloak surrounding her captor.
“Miss Sims. It is about time we were formally introduced.”
The soft, harsh way he spoke sent chills traveling up her spine. She did not have to speak to know that this was the one who had killed four women and was now pursuing her.
His face was close to hers, but a concealing mask covered his identity, all except for the piercing blue eyes that shone through.
They seemed to strip her bare of everything, straight to her very soul.
Terror that she had never known before shot through every limb and she started to tremble.
A wicked knife appeared, glinting in the soft lantern light.
“I shall savor my time with you, fileting your gullet until my knife glows red with your blood.” He ran his tongue along the silver blade. “I can already taste you.”
Aislynn did not want to show this scoundrel how his words terrified her, but she could not keep her eyes from widening slightly.
He ran the tip of the blade down the side of her cheek, and then down, past her jawline.
“I shall tie you up and then slice your perfect skin until it is reminiscent of how you have made me feel inside—torn to shreds and as hollow as your stomach shall be when I remove the contents and cook them for dinner.”
She was going to be sick. The images that he portrayed made her realize that she was completely out of her depth, that this man wasn’t just mad.
He was completely deranged and utterly insane.
It was all she could do to keep an even demeanor when she wanted to cry and scream.
She could only imagine the sort of fright that Mia and Geneva, and perhaps Avery and Charlotte had all suffered at the hands of this murderer.
He seemed to enjoy tormenting his victims and while he had not yet completed his threats with his previous victims, something told Aislynn that he would perform every sadistic act on her that he promised.
This was not just about control or hatred. This went far deeper than that.
“I shall ensure that your name is never forgotten. You will be immersed in time as my greatest achievement. We shall celebrate victory together. Forever.”
Calm abruptly descended over Aislynn. She was no longer frightened to the point she was frozen in place. She knew she had to do something, to ensure this man was never able to hurt her, or anyone else. She had to put an end to his demented reign.
Lifting her leg, she set her knee in the vicinity of his nether regions.
While it was apparent that she was not successful, the distraction was enough for her to slip free of his brutal hold.
Tears came to her eyes when he reached out and grasped a handful of her hair, but she kicked backward and was rewarded with a grunt that sent the strands tumbling about her shoulders while her feet took flight and carried her down the Dark Walk.
She was not going to die this night, nor give him the opportunity to enact his vengeance, or craft—whatever he wanted to call it--on her.
She turned a corner and found herself captured once again. This time she did not hesitate to strike out with everything that she had within her. “Blast it, Aislynn! Stop!”
It took a moment for the voice to penetrate her consciousness.
When it did, she gave a cry of relief and thrust herself into Cordell’s arms. “The killer… is here… back there…” She pointed behind her, not surprised that she was so completely out of breath.
She was starting to feel dizzy, as if she might faint, but she fought against it.
Cordell’s focus immediately flew behind her, and he handed her off to someone as he said, “Get her out of here.”
She wanted to call him back to her, but tears were starting to clog her throat, the shock of the killer’s words starting to make her realize how close she had come to death.
“Come with me.” She recognized the soft, soothing voice of Lord Alton and her knees nearly gave out beneath her.
She didn’t know how she had managed to find her way to the two allies she trusted most, but they had found each other and she was grateful that they had interceded.
It was true she was not a damsel in distress, but tonight, she was certainly feeling the strain of being an actress on the verge of trouble.