“Pardon?” Mary asked out the side of her mouth. A mouth he wanted to nibble on again.
“Bobby of the exceptional fruit pies who has a cart on Thimble Street?”
“I should have guessed you had frequented it.”
“I’m a growing lad.”
She snuffled but said nothing further.
“Good evening.” Plunge bowed perilously close to the end of the stage. He then started to wax on about a great deal of nothing.
“Get on with it, man,” Zach yelled.
“Exactly. We do not have all night,” Gabe added. Dimity elbowed him in the ribs, as Mary did the same to him.
“You have pointy elbows, madam.”
She shot him a dark look as Plunge began talking.
Zach sat there listening as one after the other, people read him terrible poetry and thought he’d never enjoyed a night more. Mary sat beside him, and unlike before, he did not feel like a cat with his fur rubbed the wrong way. No, now he felt like he wanted to sit next to her for the rest of his life.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Newgate Prison was what it was supposed to be. Hell for anyone bad enough to reside inside its stone walls. Zach was currently in a small sheriff’s office with his brothers. They’d all come as a show of strength, not that they thought anything would intimidate Falcon if they got to see him.
“Can you tell me the names of those that visited the prisoner known as the Falcon,” Gabe said.
“Well now, that’s not something we normally share with visitors.”
Gabe pulled out some notes and handed them to him. The man took them, and stuffed them into his pockets. He then pulled a ledger from the row of them stacked on his desk.
“We keep him isolated, but he’s a canny devil and can manipulate those who come in contact with him.” He flipped through the book, looking at dates, Zach presumed. He then jabbed a large meaty finger at an entry.
“These two always come together,” he said, turning the book.
Zach and the others leaned in to look.
“Hard to read,” Gabe said.
“Is that an F?” Zach said. “And an E on the end?”
“I’m sure that says Francine,” Nathan said.
Zach felt a shiver of unease traverse his spine. Mary said Francine was the girl who had given them the information about Leander Lane and those who had once resided there. Why would she be visiting Falcon?
“Perhaps Francine is not what we think she is,” Gabe said softly.
“I need to tell Mary,” Zach said.
“You will go there as soon as we leave here,” Gabe added. “She will be safe until then.”
The delay chafed at him, but Zach knew Gabe was right. Mary would be safe until he called to see her.
“The name of the man I cannot read,” Michael said. “It’s illegible scrawl.”
“Will we be permitted to speak with Falcon?” Gabe asked.
The man looked down at his desk, nervous now.
