She recognized it.
It was a signet ring, set with onyx.
This was the same man who had threatened Harriet about money at the restaurant.
He disappeared into the night just as a fresh group of revelers turned the corner.
There was a beat of stunned silence.
Then Frannie collapsed on the ground in sobs, her gown spilling around her as she clasped where the jewels used to be around her neck.
“Give me your tie,” Lillie ordered Earnest.
He ripped it off without hesitation and she wrapped it around Copper’s hand to staunch the flowing blood.
Earnest tried to chase after the thief, but by the time he reached the gardens’ exit, the man was gone.
Later that night, Grace pulled the heaviest furniture she could drag in front of the studio’s door. She lit candles and kept the lights blazing and stayed up all night writing.
She composed a draft by hand first, then typed up a second, cleaner draft on the typewriter. Even though they had spoken to the police about the robbery and the officers had promised to look into it, she couldn’t stop shaking.
She finally fell asleep at dawn and woke several hours later to sunlight streaming in through the slats of the windows.
She washed, dressed, and resolutely marched to Sam Whitcomb’s office with the freshly typed pages in her hands.
The clock on the wall said it was eleven o’clock in the morning.
“I was threatened as a result of looking into this. Twice,” she said, thrusting the new article toward him.
Sam Whitcomb looked surprised. He took the article from her and moved his glasses from his forehead to his nose.
“Why threaten me if the right person is in jail?” she asked.
“That’s a very good question,” he said slowly, sitting down to read the article at his desk.
“There is more to this story,” Grace insisted. He nodded, making fewer marks with his red pen this time.
Then he stood and paid her in cash for the article.
“It will run tomorrow,” he said.
“Not to be rude,” she said, counting the money, “but is this it? I’m risking my life for this.”
“You can take your article elsewhere, if you like,” he said, arching an eyebrow. But they both knew he was calling her bluff. TheFair’s Farewas her best chance to get this information out and start to change public opinion.
She glared at him, undeterred.
“Fine,” he said, sighing. “I can’t offer you more money. I have to turn a profit, you know. But as a favor, I’ll show you something else that just came in.”
He hesitated, and her hackles instantly rose when his smarmy nature turned to something almost apologetic. What did he know that she didn’t? Something that made him feel sorry for her?
“There’s a lot of attention on this case,” he said. “It’s sensational. A beautiful young actress murdered at the beginning of the World’s Fair. The powers that be need to show they’re in control. That this was some domestic issue gone wrong, not a serial killer stalking the fair. For once, this goes much higher even than a wealthy family can pay off. You can’t imagine the amount of money invested in this exposition.If it flops, if people are scared of a murderer on the loose and public opinion turns against the fair, the entire city could collapse.”
She suddenly felt ill.
He flipped over the typecast for tomorrow’s news.
TRIAL DATE FOR ACCUSED MURDERER SET
