“We can worry about what happens to him after we trap him.” Lydia stopped her pacing and faced the group with a determined lift to her chin. “This can’t go any further. He has the means to determine his next victim.”
“The means, yes, but not the name.” Sly delight colored Flossie’s response. “You always change the villains’ names. He’ll have to read enough of the story to determine which crime it matches before he can do anything.”
“Even if some of the pages burned, I fear he still has enough of the story to figure it out.”
“Then we need to beat him to his next victim.” Lawson positioned himself directly in front of Lydia. “The time for you to keep your secrets has passed. Who were you writing about?”
Lydia glanced at Abraham, silently begging with her eyes for him to disagree.
But he couldn’t. “‘To every thing there is a season … a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.’”
She closed her eyes on his last word and dipped her head. “Uriah Ingram. He was released for good behavior a few months ago, having only served eleven years of his twenty-year sentence for brutally murdering his employer.”
The same man who’d escaped the noose while his partner had swung, all because Ingram had connections the other did not. It made sense why Lydia had chosen him, given the criteria for her stories.
Giving up on reading the note for now, Abraham slid it into his pocket.
“Ingram will take some time to track down.” Lawson frowned as he stared off in the distance. “Bringing Clemens and Monroe into the station will slow their hunt while we get Ingram to safety.”
“Agreed.” Abraham faced Lydia, who stood with defeat etched on her face. “You must stay inside. Don’t leave this house for any reason.”
“She’s not staying here.” Flossie stepped forward and linked arms with her. Immediately the other two linked with them, forming a line of solidarity.
“Poe already tried to burn down my carriage house.” The blaze in Miss Plane’s eyes warned she’d not obey any plan but whatever she and her friends had concocted. “What else might he try if he discovers he can’t get to Mr. Ingram?”
“She needs to go somewhere neither Mr. Clemens nor Mr. Monroe knows about.” Flossie smiled at the redhead. “Nora?”
The quiet woman nodded. “Father is away for the next day or so. The four of us can booby-trap the house. There is nowhere safer for her to be.”
“I am not leaving you girls alone.” Dr. Pelton scowled. “That is asking for trouble.”
“Only the best kind, Papa.” Lydia clapped as best she could with linked arms, a plan clearly forming in her head. “Have any of you read my romance novelThe Switching of Ladies?”
He hadn’t, but he could already tell he wasn’t going to like whatever she had to say.
CHAPTER31
“IDON’T LIKE IT. DISGUISINGsomeone else as yourself is a common enough ploy that Poe will expect it.” Abraham looked just as displeased as Papa with the plan.
“Exactly. We will use his expectations to our advantage.” How could Lydia explain it where they would finally understand how brilliant this plan was? “I did it as an author. The trick is to twist those expectations in unexpected directions.”
“Three decoys before actually removing you from the house is going to take more time than we have.” Detective Lawson argued from his position on a nearby chair, where he elevated his burned hands. “Hall and I need to apprehend Monroe and Clemens before going after Ingram. Poe knows where you are, so he’s not likely to come after you first. We’re wasting time by staying here any longer.”
“Then we can do this without you. Papa will go with Madelyn, Theresa with Momma, and then Flossie, Nora, and I will slip out afterward. It’s not four rounds, but three should suffice to outwit him.”
“It isn’t safe for any of you women to travel alone.” Papa’s vexation seeped into his tone.
“We will be fine. Flossie, Theresa, Nora, and I have been traipsing all over Cincinnati without an escort for years. Any time we’ve encountered trouble, we’ve managed to escape with nary a scrape.” Usually.
He shook his head. “Your plan is too convoluted. It might work in a piece of fiction, but I will not allow you to risk the safety of your mother and friends just so you can test the viability of a plot.”
“There is safety in numbers. Poe can’t successfully try anything if you are together.” Abraham flexed his hand and winced.
No doubt he was thinking about how quickly he would have gone up in flames had he been alone instead of there being so many people around to toss water on him. The horror of watching the flames spread over his clothes would probably live in her nightmares for years.
“We’ll not argue further about this, Lydia.” Papa unrolled his shirtsleeves in preparation to leave. “We will travel as a group. An officer has already secured the house, so there is no need for these dramatics.”
What was wrong with everyone? Didn’t they see the danger of a location Billy Poe knew?
