“The envelope. The one you were supposed to give to Houdini. I need you to give it to me.”
What?The room shifted. Her chest muscles cramped. Was she having a heart attack or losing her ability to hear? “What did you say?”
“The envelope Trudy gave you to give to Houdini—give it to me.”
Her stomach churned, and the sickness rose into her throat, but the problem wasn’t the hooch. She staggered toward the sink. His words had made her ill. Words she never thought would pass Ezekiel’s lips. She grabbed the porcelain sink and waited, and waited, and waited for the wretchedness in her belly to spill out of her mouth, but nothing happened.
Ezekiel placed his hand on her back, and his voice whispered next to her ear. “Calm yourself, my love. You’ll be okay. Just fine. I’m sorry to upset you, but I can’t leave until you give me the envelope.”
The envelope? He came for the envelope.Oh God.
Each morsel of food, drop of water, and the gin she had swallowed since the day before yesterday she vomited into the sink.
Ezekiel was at her side, holding her hair away from her face for what seemed like hours. Until finally, there was nothing left inside her. He turned on the faucet and cupped his hand beneath the cold, running water, and splashed her face gently.
Then she took over and rinsed her mouth, swallowing a handful of water to cleanse the unpleasant taste. “Did Trudy tell you I was at the Dreamland Cafe?”
“Trudy made a mistake. You never should’ve been involved. I’ll handle her.”
Sunlight landed on the windowsill, hard, bright rays of light, but the cold, dreary flat never changed. The sunshine never entered the kitchenette. Not once since she could remember.
“Honoree, I still need the envelope.”
Her purse sat on the kitchen table. She moved toward it, but a fresh wave of dizziness caught her. She rested a hand on the edge of the table to steady herself. “I gave the envelope to Houdini.”
The sadness in Ezekiel’s eyes startled her. She splayed her hand over her chest.
“Are you sure you don’t have it?”
“I gave it to Houdini.” God, she hoped the lie didn’t show.
“Did you look inside the envelope?”
“No, I just gave it to him. And if you don’t believe me, check with the morgue and ask them to look in his pockets. Or ask the man who killed him where it is.”
“I don’t believe you, Honoree.”
“I don’t need to lie.”
“I think that if Houdini had the envelope, he might not be dead. Did that cross your mind?”
She massaged the hard bone between her breasts. “Houdini’s death is not my fault. If anything, I was a messenger. You and Trudy are to blame. Not me.”
He scrubbed a hand over his chin. “When I came into Miss Hattie’s last night, there was a part of me, always a part of me, that wanted to tell you anything about the past three years, because—” He shut his eyes and cursed. “Damn it, Honoree. What happened at the Dreamland Cafe is my business. And your involvement is a stupid mistake. Now I have to keep you safe, and to do that you need to leave town.”
“I’m not leaving. Your man was playing the piano in the balcony, right? But he couldn’t have seen me in the main hall, either.”
Ezekiel snatched his coat from the chair and unbolted the lock on the door. When he spoke, his back was to her. “Don’t mention that you had the envelope to anyone. If the man who killed Houdini finds out you had it—trouble will be on your doorstep in a heartbeat.”
She folded her arms over her stomach and pushed in hard. “Do you know who killed him?”
He faced her. “Whoever it was, if they find out you were there, they’ll kill you, too. And then I’d have to hunt them down and kill them, or die trying.”
Ezekiel held her gaze. “If you don’t leave town, if you need anything, you find me, and I will help you, but you’ve got to promise me, Honoree. Promise, you’ll come to me and only me.”
CHAPTER 14
SAWYER
