Another black mark against Elizabeth Harper.The woman was clearly a judgmental busybody.It was a damn shame.She had been so lush and responsive in his arms.He hadn’t been so seduced by a woman in a long time.Matthew ran a hand down over his jaw as he tried to sift through all the information he’d just learned.
Seaton stood.“Well, let me know when you want to take care of Rutledge.I’ve a job that’s going to take me out of town for a fortnight, at least.But let Zeke know if you need any extra eyes on the club.See ya fellas.”
Matthew turned to Ben.“Send Barnes in with the books.And find out what day the burial will be for Mary Beth Kelley.I’m sure the other girls will want to go pay their respects.”
“Yes, boss.”Ben stepped forward.“The lady you was with left this behind.”He set down the red mask on the corner of the desk and left.
Matthew took a deep gulp of his now lukewarm coffee.He stared at the mask.It was covered in red silk and embroidered with black thread.Bold, but delicate.Who was the real woman underneath the mask?Certainly not just some pretty partygoer.And not some merry widow.How long had she been raising her child all alone?How long had she been running the paper?
He reached out for the mask and ran a finger along the edge, remembering the feel of her silky skin, the sharp green of her eyes, her full soft lips, and even softer curves.He groaned at his runaway libido.Damn it, she had fucking maligned his club and splashed that poor girl’s death all over the front page of her newspaper.Was nothing sacred to these people?He picked up the mask and shoved it into the drawer of his desk.Time to get back to work.
Chapter Five
The rain hadnot stopped for the past two days, and the churchyard was muddy, with the trees dripping water on the people arriving to pay their respects to Mary Beth Kelley.Matthew, Ben, Mrs.Langley, and a half dozen other dancers from the Blue Angel quietly entered the church and shuffled into a pew near the back.Across the aisle and down in front, Elizabeth Harper stood next to the skinny man with whom she had arrived at the club.In their pew were four other young women.He watched Miss Harper lean forward and lay a hand on Mrs.Kelley’s shoulder.The older woman sniffed and patted her hand.
Matthew’s temper rose.She’d plastered the woman’s pain across the pages of the newspaper, and yet she still remained in Mrs.Kelley’s good graces.He shifted restlessly in his seat.He hadn’t been in a church since he was a boy.Even when he snuck into his own mother’s funeral ten years ago, he had stayed in the churchyard.Spoken to her grave after the family had all left.A sinner like him didn’t belong inside a church.
He glanced left at the Kelleys.The family took up the entire front pew.If the mother needed to blame him, fine by him.He knew from speaking with Mrs.Langley that Mary Beth’s family had thrown her out of the house when she told them she wanted to pursue a career in the theater.Their guilt was probably eating them alive.
Dammit, so was his.Fuck, what the hell had Mary Beth been doing out in the back alley right before the show?Logically, he knew it wasn’t his fault.But if one of his enemies had used that poor girl as a message to him…well, he would find out who it was.No one came to his house and harmed his people without suffering consequences.
Thankfully, the clergyman was brief, and the service was over quickly.Outside, the rain had receded to a light drizzle.He waited with the others politely for the family to exit the church.Mr.and Mrs.Kelley paused in front of him.
“Mr.Reeves, thank you for the fine coffin.We appreciate your gift,” Mr.Kelley said.
Matthew nodded.
Mrs.Kelley spat on the ground at his feet.“She’s dead because of you.If she had been at home or gone to work for Miss Harper, like I told her, she would still be alive.”Her wave of grief hit him square in the chest.
Nothing she said was untrue, so he simply nodded again.
Mr.Kelley tugged on his wife’s arm.“That’s not fair, dear.She would have been home if I hadn’t been so harsh with her.”
A sob erupted from Mrs.Kelley’s throat, and she pushed past her husband.Mr.Kelley followed her more slowly over to the freshly dug hole at the edge of the graveyard.
Matthew spied Elizabeth Harper across the grass, staring over at him from under her umbrella.He turned to the others.“I’ll just be a minute.”Then, following his temper, he strode across the churchyard to Miss Harper.
“Mr.Reeves.I heard you paid for the coffin.That was very generous.”
But he didn’t need her acknowledgment of his gift.He leaned into her space.“I don’t appreciate having my club linked to a murder in the paper.How could you sensationalize that poor girl’s death?”
Instead of stepping back, Miss Harper took a step forward, her umbrella tipping back as her gaze turned sharp.“Sensational sells.”
“You made my place sound like a goddamn brothel.Are you trying to ruin my business?”
“This has nothing to do with your business.Nobody cares about the deaths of these working women.You said so yourself.I want to show that their lives matter.They are worth writing about, their lives worth mourning.”She waved her hand toward where the Kelley family stood, watching their daughter’s coffin being lowered into the muddy ground.“Your club was incidental.Besides, you peddle in vice; why are you worried about your reputation?”
“I run a gaming hell and a theater.I do not peddle in flesh.”And he never would.He had seen firsthand how it could hollow out a woman, body and soul.
She scoffed.“A theater?”
“Yes.A theater.Every night at midnight, there is a show in the theater.Mary Beth was in the chorus line of dancers.Come see it some night.My blue angel has a voice to rival any operatic diva.”
“So, Mary Beth was dancing and singing in a real theater production?”
Her incredulity stung.He should be used to everyone assuming the worst of him by now.It’s not like he hadn’t chosen this life.He’d purposefully left behind his respectable name and his old life when his uncle died.Seaton’s voice echoed in his head.Why do you care what people think?He usually didn’t.But hell, if this woman didn’t make him want to preen like a damn peacock.
She looked just as lovely today with her hair pulled back into a neat bun at her nape as she had looked with it loose and falling around her bare shoulders at the masquerade.There was a sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose that he hadn’t noticed that night in the candlelight.Her sharp cheekbones and small, pointed chin gave her a delicate look that belied her obvious strength of character.She stood toe to toe with him, her shoulders squared, her brow furrowed as she decided whether to believe him.Then her gaze swept down, and dark lashes fluttered as she looked away.
