“So it was a game to you.”
“In a manner, I suppose. In a town like this, I am forced to craft my own amusements. I never opposed you or raised an obstacle. The information I gave you depended upon your interest. You are remarkably lacking in curiosity, even when it would behoove you to have a better understanding.”
“I know enough,” she said. “I knowhim.”
“Yes, well, informing you that Miss Chen left the hotel specifically to work for the Shepards had no relevance to you. I don’t know why you’re troubled by it now.”
“I am not at all troubled by it. I was not prepared to find her there. It would have been better if I’d known.”
“Better for whom? You or her?”
Victorine sighed, exasperated. “Oh, do shut up.”
He went on. “Did you strike her?” Martin gave her full marks for not flinching. She was going to brazen it out. His fingers curled into loose fists that he used to smooth his trousers over his thighs.
“You asked me that when you came in here. What are you going on about?”
“Did you strike her?”
“Are you saying I did?”
“It’s a question, Miss Headley. Not an accusation.”
“I don’t understand why you’re asking me.”
“You stepped into the house. Pushed your way in, I thought. I did not have the best vantage point, so I could be mistaken there.”
Victorine offered no information that would have cleared that up. “And?”
“And you came out minutes later. I followed you back to the hotel to make sure you arrived safely and then I went to the drugstore to buy a paper. I read it while I waited for the hotel’s dining room to open for—”
Victorine waved a hand dismissively, although she was careful not to splash him. “I’m sure you find your comings and goings to be of significance, but I assure you, they are not.”
Once again, Martin continued as if her words were merely noise in the background, like the ticking of a clock that no one noticed until it struck the hour. “—to open for dinner. I had a superior steak, done rare, and mashed turnips and candied carrots. I drank a beer with dinner and another after at my leisure, then I returned to Mrs. Brady’s. Sometimes I observe Miss Chen leaving the Shepard home. I like to make certain she arrives safely. There have been threats, you know, against her person.”
“I didn’t know, but it stands to reason that people would object to her presence.”
“Why?” he asked. “Why does it stand to reason?”
“She’s different,” said Victorine. “And not in a way that makes her superior to others.”
“As you are.”
“If I must say so, then yes, as I am. You read the papers. You must know about the yellow peril. Even I know that such a thing exists. We invited them to this county and now they present a danger.”
“That is a gross distortion, but I will not ask you to elucidate on what you think you know about it. It will make my head hurt, and frankly, it is throbbing already.”
“Poor man,” she said without sympathy. “There are headache tablets in my reticule. It’s in the other room. You may take as many as you like, only you will have to get them.”
Martin shook his head, but he did it carefully. He was not lying about the throbbing. He felt it all over and the worst was behind his eyes. “I did not observe Miss Chen’s walk home this evening. I surmised I was too late to do that. The second beer was a mistake, I thought, but then my path crossed with hers as I was making the turn to Mrs. Brady’s. Roen Shepard was Miss Chen’s escort this evening. That is a change. Usually she is accompanied by the deputy.”
“I know who you mean. Loose-limbed sort of young man. I’ve seen him here.”
“Yes. Hitchcock Springer.”
“That’s all very well but immaterial. You said Roen was with her.”
“Not only with her. He was protectiveofher.”
