She fought against the crashing wave of disappointment that threatened to overtake her.
“Do we know someone named Penny?” Grace whispered. Theo met her eyes and want surged through her.
“Harriet’s sister at the funeral,” Theodore said. Without the tell-tale hammering of his heart, he seemed largely unaffected, and she almost wondered if she had imagined it. “Wasn’t her name Penelope?”
Grace nodded. “But why would she need to meet her own sister in the Tunnels?” she asked.
“I think that’s something only Penelope could answer,” Theo said. His pinkie grazed hers with a touch as gentle as a whisper, raising every nerve ending she had.
“Well,” she said hoarsely, “then let’s find out what Penelope knows.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“WHY WOULD YOUneed to meet your own sister in secret?” Grace mused aloud. It seemed an odd place to meet, unless one really didn’t want to be spotted. Could she really have been talking to her about money?
“It’s strange,” Theo agreed, directing his carriage driver toward Lillie’s house.
“Harriet’s theater needed money or it was going to close,” Grace said. Was it possible that the man who had threatened Harriet at the restaurant was part of her theater somehow?
People did unimaginable things when their dreams, livelihoods, or families were at stake. Perhaps, if it involved all three, it could even drive someone to murder.
But why would you kill your own star?
Lillie had changed out of her funeral clothes and seemed in good spirits when she accepted Theodore’s hand and climbed into the carriage.
“Earnest got us tickets to the orchestra at Festival Hall tonight,” she said to Grace. “He thought we could use some cheering.”
“That was kind of him,” Grace said. She turned to Theodore. “Are you going?”
“I hadn’t planned on it,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I think they’re sold out,” Lillie said apolo-getically.
“I could use a quiet night at home anyway,” Theo said. “Between the fair and a murder investigation, I’ve been rather inattentive to Sesame.”
“Sesame?” Grace asked.
“A small black puppy I recently acquired. Destroyer of slippers and Persian rugs.”
“Perhaps while you and Sesame are having a raucous night at home together, you could look into contacting Penelope Forbes,” Grace said.
She filled Lillie in on what they had found in Harriet’s apartment, and Lillie reciprocated by showing Grace a small, handwritten piece of paper tucked into her handbag.
“I decided not to confront my mother about the woman she hired to follow Harriet until I did a little snooping of my own,” she said. “The woman’s name is Vera Lackey and this is her address. I’d rather catch her off-guard and get the truth from her lips before she can be tipped off by my mother.”
Grace touched the page with a slight thrill. “Can we call on her now?” she said.
Theo rapped twice on the carriage ceiling, directing the driver to the new address.
“Shall I come in with you?” Theo asked as the carriage pulled to a stop.
Grace examined the small, tidy home. It was a gray, timber-framed hall-and-parlor house in a slightly better neighborhood than Harriet’s had been and was situated next to a church.
“No need,” Grace said. “And if we don’t come back out, you’ll know we found the murderer.”
“Your humor is disturbing,” he said. “But, Grace,” he said, reaching out for her. “You’re taking a lot of risks right now.”
She quieted. “I’ll be careful,” she promised.
