“If you leave them behind, though, you might get another letter,” Honor pointed out. “And once your boss realizes she’s been robbed, she’ll change the combination of this safe. You won’t be able to get back in.”
Vivian hesitated, then shook her head. “Guess that’s a risk I’m taking, then. But I think if they knew enough to ask for these, they would have already done it.” Deliberately, she took the two tins from Honor’s hands and shoved them back inside the safe, clicking the door shut and giving the dial a spin to lock it. The gentle buzz of the tumblers feltunbearably loud in the silent shop. Vivian hoped she wasn’t making a horrible mistake.
Before Honor could say anything else, the large clock leaning against the wall chimed the hour, and they both jumped. Vivian wound the dress into a bundle, then shoved it into a bag that she could sling over her shoulder and back. “Come on, we should get out of here.”
She glanced around the edge of the counter to make sure no one was visible outside, then motioned for Honor to put out her light and follow. To her relief, the Nightingale’s owner didn’t try to argue or make her second-guess herself, just followed her through the maze of shadows toward the cellar steps.
They had almost reached them when a beam of light darted through the window and swept across the shop.
“Hey,” a deep voice called out. “Is someone in there?”
NINETEEN
Honor grabbed Vivian by both arms and pushed her flat against the wall. They were right next to the clock, their bodies barely hidden in its shadow. The door to the cellar was only a step away, but neither of them moved as the beam of the flashlight swept past them.
A second light joined the first, making a slow path around the shop. “I don’t see anyone,” a gruff voice replied.
“Could have sworn I saw movement in there, though. Check the door?”
Vivian held her breath, glad they hadn’t come through the front. She was trembling as she peered over Honor’s shoulder, trying to make out what was happening outside without being seen herself. In the glow from the streetlight, she could see two men in uniform.
“Cops,” she breathed to Honor, who let out a short breath that might have been a laugh under any other circumstances.
“The one time they decide to stop some real criminals, we’re the ones they find.”
They could hear the two men outside still debating, though theirvoices were more muffled, until suddenly there was a loud banging on the front door. Vivian jumped, and Honor held her more firmly against the wall to keep her from giving away their hiding place. Another time, all of Vivian’s attention would have been focused on the feel of Honor’s body pressed against hers. But there was too much at stake.
“Hey!” the deep voice called. “If anyone’s in there, we’re ready for you. You ain’t getting out so easy!”
Vivian glanced at Honor, her face barely visible in the dim light, wondering what the hell they were going to do.
And then, suddenly, she heard singing. Horrible, off-key, drunken singing.
“‘Five foot two, eyes of blue, but oh, what those five foot could do,’” the voice yowled, loudly enough to make them wince even from inside the shop. “‘Has anybody seen my girl?’”
“It’s Leo,” Vivian whispered, holding back a terrible urge to laugh.
“Hey!” she heard one of the cops yelp. “What the hell? Where did he come from?”
“Now see here, fella, ain’t you heard of Prohibition?” the gruff voice said with a long-suffering sigh. “You can’t just wander the streets when you’re blotto.”
Leo’s serenade continued unabated. “‘Turned-up nose, turned-down hose, never had no other beaus. Has anybody seen my girl?’”
Vivian felt Honor shift slightly as she glanced around. “Come on,” she whispered, her lips against Vivian’s ear while Leo kept singing. “We can get to the door while he’s distracting them. We need to get out of here before they decide to bust in and check the place out.”
“Can they do that?” Vivian breathed.
“If they think they’re going to catch a robbery in progress? I’m guessing they’ll break first and ask questions later.”
“God, send him on his way already,” Deep Voice said impatiently. “He’s clearly got the money to manage just fine, and if someone takes itoff him before he makes it home, well, that’s what he gets for breaking the law.”
The moment the flashlight beams were pointed in another direction, Honor slid along the wall, keeping the clock and its heavy shadows between her and the front window. The door wasn’t far, and she slipped through without swinging it all the way open. Her voice whispered back from the shadows. “Come on, pet.”
Vivian took a deep breath, willing feet that were numb with fear to move. Copying Honor, she slid along the wall until she could squeeze through the open doorway.
“There!” the deep voice called out. “There, I saw something moving.”
“I didn’t see it.”
