Felipe replayed the moment when the bullet traveled through Jed’s chest as he stood over Oliver with the bowie knife. He hadn’t hesitated to end it, then. But how many other times had he covered up his partner’s sloppiness or negligence by going above and beyond?
“Not like that. I’d like to believe we’re better than that.”
“We’ll see if I make it through this,” Joe replied, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “If I disappear, I would appreciate it if you would investigate it, instead of assuming I ran off or had it coming.”
“Do you really think they would kill you?” Oliver asked.
“I know they would. They killed Herman, even though they had him completely under their thumb. I’m nothing to them, and I have done nothing to win their favor. There have been others too. People who were regulars who suddenly stopped coming. I can’t prove anything, but I thought it strange at the time. Now though...” A smoky breeze rushed through the room with a low howl as Joe paced to the darkened window and back. “One day, I was painting the hallway on the women’s floor, and there was a woman who I swear came in for treatment but never left. I saw her go into one of the treatment rooms, and she never came back to the elevator. She could have stayed on one of the wards, but I never saw her again after. Then, there was a nurse, Nancy Rogers. She came down for breakfast one day, like Herman, and then, I never saw her at the women’s table or on the wards ever again. One of the other nurses asked the matron about her and was quickly told no one with that name worked there. It was like she never existed.”
“She could have quit,” Ansley said.
“Sure, or she could have gone out of the building through the chimney stack. I keep thinking about all the times I worked the incinerator and didn’t look closely at whatever else was already inside. I assumed it was bundles of bedding or bloody rags, not this.”
Guilt knotted Felipe’s gut at what he needed Joe to do, but it was the only way they could get evidence. Ansley had mentioned the Federal Branch’s contacts going missing. If they had been caught and killed before they could fully defect, it would explain their sudden disappearances and why the society could never gain a foothold.
“Joe, could you get us inside the next night you work the incinerator?” Felipe asked.
Joe’s face went ashen. “I— I don’t know.”
“Maybe you can tell us more about the rotations of the matrons and doctors, and we can figure out how feasible it is.” Felipe hated that they needed Joe to risk so much. It was a dangerous gamble, but it would be worth it if they could collect enough evidence. It might be the only chance they got. “If you agree, we will make sure to get you out and set you up somewhere safe. I promise, wewillprotect you if you help us get inside, though I think you might need to stop coming here for the time being.”
“You do realizeIam the lead on the case against the institute, not you?” Ansley said sardonically behind them.
A heavy knock rattled the door. Putting a finger to his lips, Joe ushered them out of eyeshot and stepped into the hall. “Sorry, sugar, Tommy got it wrong. I’m booked up for the night. You can tell him, I said that. He’ll find you better company.”
The moment Joe shut and locked the door behind him, he straightened and turned his flinty gaze to Ansley. “All right, Mr. Moneybags, if I agree to this, I wantat leasttwo hundred dollars, a train ticket to wherever I choose, a room at the society to hide out in for a while, and an extra fifty for clothes. If my information and help is as valuable as you say it is, you will need to pay for it accordingly.AndI want out the night I let you in. I’m taking a huge risk by staying there longer than I have to, and I’m not sticking around after I let you in. Plan accordingly.”
Ansley’s lip curled. “Fine, but if you can’t do it or your information is false, you will get nothing beyond what we gave you tonight.”
“Deal. I’m a thief, not a liar,” Joe said shaking Ansley’s hand. “If we’re going to discuss business, I need to get dressed. I can’t do it in these clothes.”
With a huff, Joe threw off his robe and reached back to untie his stays. Shucking the girdle into the vanity’s drawer, he pulled on a rumpled shirt and dark trousers and wiped away the make-up with something from a pot on the dresser. When he turned back to them in his serviceable but worn three piece suit, he looked far closer to the man Felipe had seen behind the institute. Dragging over the vanity chair for Oliver and the chair in the corner for Felipe, Joe nodded to them and sat on the edge of the bed as he lit another cigarette.
“Now that we have the next two hours to ourselves, we may as well get comfortable. Where would you like me to start?”
Chapter Twelve
