“No. I only thought that Ben might ask.”
“If he does, it will be about me, not you. Victorine was drowned, Lily. She was held under the water in the tub until she had to take a breath and then she drowned.”
Lily’s frown vanished; her face paled. “Oh,” she said on a thread of sound. “That would have required considerable strength.”
“Yes. There is also other evidence that suggests a man did this.” He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. She would want to know, not because she was ghoulish, but because curiosity came as natural to her as breathing. He could hardly fault her for that since he possessed the same inclination. “There were bruises on her shoulder that more closely match a man’s hands than a woman’s.”
Lily reached up and touched one of her shoulders and drew her fingers across the collarbone to her neck. “I know about bruises like that. So does Ridley. She’s seen them on me.”
Roen took the hand at her neck and drew it toward him. “I wish you had never known that suffering. Not just the bruises. All of it.”
She nodded. “I draw comfort from knowing that in some way it’s led me to you. Or you to me. I don’t excuse Jeremiah for what he did. I don’t have forgiveness for him in that tender heart you think I have, but the pain he inflicted fades when I am with you. I can’t imagine that I would be with you if I hadn’t been with him first.”
“And I like to think we would have found each other regardless.”
The corners of Lily’s mouth turned up. “Yes, well, you keep thinking that.” She stepped into him and raised her lips to his. The kiss was as sweet as it was brief. A knock at the door put an end to it.
The back of Roen’s head thumped softly against the door as he expelled an audible, put-upon sigh. “What is it?”
“The sheriff is downstairs,” said Fedora. “He’s asking to see you and Mrs. Shepard. Clay, Hannah, and Ham all left for school. I’m almost done cleaning up in the kitchen.”
Roen squeezed Lily’s hand. “Leave it for now. Stay with Lizzie and we’ll be right down. Thank you, Fedora.” He regarded Lily below raised eyebrows. “Are you ready?” When she nodded, he released her hand and turned to open the door. He let her go first and followed her to the parlor, where Ben was sitting on the floor engaged in doll play with Lizzie. It was a sight.
Ben shrugged a trifle helplessly as he got to his feet. “She’s the only one who will play dolls with me.”
“Growing up with a sister or two would have cured you of that,” said Roen. “Shall we go in the kitchen?”
Nodding, Ben brushed himself off and let them lead the way. Lily offered him something to drink but he declined. She sat without fussing with the kettle for either Roen or herself. “Does Fedora know?” he asked when Roen took his usual seat at the table.
“No. That is, I haven’t told her. I was just speaking to Lily about it. Why do you ask?”
“I need to question her. I couldn’t ask Hitch to do it. He’s already beside himself that I want to talk with her.”
“You don’t think...” He didn’t finish the sentence as Ben was already shaking his head.
“Just being thorough,” said Ben. He looked at Lily. “You understand?” When she nodded, he asked, “So where were you last night?”
She pointed above her. “I went to bed not long after Roen returned from escorting Fedora to the boardinghouse. I was there all night, as was Roen. Lizzie was there for the better part of it, but I swear, Ben, if you ask her about it, I’ll—”
“Let’s leave it there. You really oughtn’t to threaten the law, Lily.” Ben merely chuckled when she muttered the remainder of her threat under her breath. “So we’re done with alibis. Roen, have you notified Miss Headley’s father?”
“There hasn’t been time. I was going to do that after I spoke to Lily. Is it that urgent? I thought you’d still be at the hotel.”
“I gave Hitch the task of interviewing the guests. It will keep him busy and out of trouble. Ridley finished her preliminary work. There was water in Victorine’s lungs. No question that she drowned.”
Both men looked at Lily when she sucked in a breath. Ben said, “Forgive me. I thought Roen would have told you.”
She indicated she was all right. “He did. More reluctantly than you, as it happens. It’s only that it is as difficult to hear the second time as it was the first.”
Roen asked, “Did Abe or your mother know anything that would improve your ability to find Victorine’s killer?”
“No. They retired after the dining room was cleared and the kitchen was cleaned. Mrs. Vandergrift left before they went upstairs. Every room was occupied so there were no rooms to let. There’s a bell on the front desk for an unexpected arrival to use, but they can only hear it if they’re on the main floor, say, in Abe’s office, and sometimes if they’re in the hallway on the second. To the best of their knowledge, no one rang the bell.”
Lily said, “Don’t you think it’s unlikely the murderer would have announced himself?”
Ben shrugged. “He might have if he didn’t go to the hotel with the intention of harming Miss Headley. Something may have occurred while he was there that provoked him.”
“He found her room,” said Roen. “Doesn’t that suggest that he knew her well enough to know where she was staying?”
