Bending down to access the area where Miss Flynn’s body had been found, Cordell narrowed his gaze and tried to return to that gruesome scene. She had been killed in the same manner as the ones who followed, left backstage and just beyond the curtain. Cordell had long decided that held a specific meaning for the killer as well. Perhaps he was not pleased with the actresses’ performances and was trying to send a message that they should remain behind the scenes.
He looked for quite some time, attempting to replay the woman’s last moments in his mind, but try as he might to recreate any possible motive that he might have missed after viewing the subsequent murders, he was at a loss to add any further insight.
He withdrew a heavy sigh and straightened to check on Aislynn’s progress. He found her in the dressing room, standing on a stepladder and prodding at the wainscotting around the interior.
“Dare I ask what you are doing?”
She glanced over her shoulder and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Looking for clues. That is why we are here, is it not?”
He couldn’t very well argue with such logic. “You are absolutely correct. I rather hope you are having better luck than I did.”
“That productive?”
“Precisely so,” he murmured. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling as though a headache was beginning to brew.
“Ah. Here we go.”
He heard a slight noise and glanced up to see Aislynn pulling away a section of the wainscotting. Behind it was an opening and something stuck inside. “What the devil?”
“Most performers have secrets that need to be kept carefully hidden, whether it is coin from an admirer or something a bit more damning in case infatuations get out of hand. Since residences change at a moment’s notice, most secrets are generally kept close at hand where they spend the most time and carefully concealed away from prying eyes.”
He lifted a brow as she climbed down and presented a small wooden box to him. “Yet you knew exactly where to find this.”
“It is only because loose wainscotting is quite common in any theatre and is actually quite expected among the backstage performers.” She set her hands on her hips. “At the Royale, I would have searched for the same, but Mia did not have her own dressing room and Geneva preferred to keep her personal effects at our shared flat. It did not take long to discover that there was nothing of interest to find there.”
“Indeed.” Cordell was impressed by her foresight and immediately thought of what she might keep hidden in her personal dressing room at the Theatre Royal.
She laughed. “I can almost see the wheels turning in your mind and you can forget that notion right now. I will not reveal all of my secrets, Mr. Steele.”
He stilled, because it wasn’t so much the nature of what she said, but the pointed way she said it that made him wonder if there wasn’t a deeper meaning behind it.
Just what the hell had The Wolf said to her?
He forced his attention to the box she held out to him. “Let’s see what Miss Flynn was hiding, shall we?” He opened the contents to reveal several guineas layering the lower part of the small chest, but it was the folded slip of paper on top that gave him pause. He removed it and set the box of coins aside and read aloud.
“My Dearest Avery,
I must confess that I can wait no longer for your attentions to be showered upon me. I have waited as long as my patience will allow, and I regret that things must come to this point. You will have to stop tormenting me in this manner and choose my suit, or my hand will be forced to offer a reluctant alternative. I take no pleasure in saying that if I cannot have you then no one will, but you refuse to acknowledge my devotion any longer.
Make your choice.
It is time.”
Cordell folded the letter.
“Did it not say who it was from?” Aislynn asked, her green eyes wide with alarm.
“No. It is merely signed the letter ‘C.’”
Her mouth parted slightly and the image of those pink sweet lips wrapped around his cock flashed into view. He turned away sharply and scrubbed a hand down his face. This obsession was quickly spiraling out of control, especially when she was making it clear that her interest had waned.
“Do you recognize the handwriting?”
“No. But I have a colleague that might be able to assist with that.” He started to head for the door.
Aislynn was quick to follow. “Where are you going?”
“No time like the present. It is folly to delay any longer than necessary. The more we wait, the easier it will be for the killer to strike again.”
