“That doesn’t mean you should. It only means I want you to.” David didn’t understand why he was so determined to warn her; he only knew he had to do it. He somehow felt he owed her that m
uch honesty. She didn’t know him the way he knew himself. He was a liar, he’d been a spy during the war, and he had been accused of seducing an innocent girl. His past was full of half-truths and scandal. He didn’t deserve her trust. He wasn’t the trustworthy type. He was her lawyer, for God’s sake. Didn’t she know better than to trust a man like him? David studied her face, searching for a clue to what she felt.
He found it in the steadfast gaze of her china-blue eyes.
“I do trust you,” Tessa said softly. “Please open the envelope. I want you to know everything.”
David opened the envelope. Inside there were three photographs. He recognized the people in two of them. “Where did you get these?”
‘Two of them were in my brother’s coat pocket when he died.” Tessa leaned over his shoulder. “Those two.” She pointed out the pictures of Liam Kincaid and Arnie Mason.
David studied the photograph of Lee Kincaid. A frown creased his forehead as he thought about his last conversation with Lee. Tessa’s brother had asked for the picture. Lee neglected to mention the fact that he’d obliged him.
“Why didn’t you show me these before?”
“I know Liam Kincaid is your friend.”
David arched an eyebrow, questioning. He and Lee had been so careful. But she had known all along. And Tessa suspected Lee.
“I saw you talking to him at the bar in the Satin Slipper. The night I sneaked back to get these pictures. I was hiding beneath the stairwell.”
“You little idiot, you risked being caught twice.” David couldn’t keep the note of pride out of his voice.
“It was worth it,” Tessa said triumphantly. “I got the pictures and my mother’s rosary.”
“I got the rosary,” David reminded her.
Tessa ignored him. She preferred not to think about how he had gotten her rosary. She had it back in her possession and that was all that mattered. “I recognized Liam from this picture. I know he followed me to Peaceable, but I think he was after Arnie Mason, too. I think he wanted both of us.” She paused, looking at David, gauging his reaction to the news. “I know he’s a friend of yours, but I think maybe he killed Arnie Mason.”
Interesting. Tessa had been afraid of Lee, but not of Arnie Mason. David was silent.
Tessa continued, “I don’t understand why Eamon had these pictures in his pocket.” She took the envelope and pulled out the picture of Arnie Mason. “It’s not a very good picture, but I recognized him when I saw him at the Satin Slipper.”
“Did he know you?”
“I told him who I was,” Tessa replied. “I told him I was Eamon Roarke’s sister and that I’d come to Peaceable to take Eamon’s place at the Satin Slipper.”
Good God, David thought, no wonder Arnie Mason had gone to her room! David had read the Pinkerton dossier on Arnie Mason. He knew what the man was capable of doing, what he’d done in the past. Arnie Mason had probably gone to see how much Tessa knew about her brother’s business. If he was right about Mason, Tessa had walked blindly into a den of thieves.
“Did you tell Mason you’d come to take Eamon’s room or his place?” David realized the wording of her statement was very important. It could have made the difference between Arnie Mason killing her or letting her live. “Think, Tessa,” he urged. “It’s very important.”
Tessa closed her eyes, concentrating on her first meeting with Arnie Mason. “I said I’d come to take Eamon’s place.”
David grinned. “That’s it!” He stood up and swung Tessa around. “That’s it!”
“What?”
“Tessa,” David explained, “this is a police photo. A picture taken of criminals. Arnie Mason was in prison.” He pointed out the numbers painted across the front of Arnie Mason’s shirt. “That’s what the numbers mean. If I’m right, he didn’t go to your room just to…” David paused, wondering how to tell her. Then, deciding there was no easy way, he told her straight out. “He went to your room to silence you.” Seeing her blank expression, he added, “To kill you.”
“Oh.” Tessa’s knees nearly buckled. She was quiet for a moment or two before her anger began to build. “I thought he was a friend at first, but then I realized Eamon would never make friends with someone like that. He was mean and brutish. Coalie was afraid of Arnie. He’d heard some bad things about him and warned me to stay away, but it was too late. I’d already been friendly to him and he thought…”
David clenched his fists. It was a good thing the son of a bitch was already dead. “That’s why he went to your room that night.”
“Yes,” Tessa admitted. “He wanted to…you know… He tried to force me.”
“What happened?”
“I fought him off.” Tessa paused, remembering. “Then I saw a shadow moving behind him. The next thing I knew, Arnie was dead. Lying across me. Bleeding all over me.”