Heart of Lies

by Jill Marie Landis

  “It’s time for bed,” Maddie said.

  “I have to say my prayers first.” Penelope knelt down beside her bunk, folded her hands, and closed her eyes. “God bless Mama and Papa and my baby brother who’s with the angels now. Please keep us safe here on this riverboat so we don’t blow up in the night. Amen.”

  “Do you pray every night?” Maddie helped her fold back the bedspread and pull down the sheet.

  Penelope paused and looked at her. “Don’t you?”

  “Not really.”

  “Why not? Mama says God will always take care of me. That’s why I wasn’t scared to head for Kentucky all by myself. I have a garden angel too.”

  “A what?”

  “A garden angel to protect me everywhere I go. You have one too. Everybody does.”

  Maddie was certain God couldn’t spare any angels to watch over the likes of her.

  As soon as Penelope was asleep, she planned on locking the child in the cabin and wandering around on her own. It would do no harm to explore. To be ready for tomorrow. Escape hinged on being prepared for unexpected opportunity.

  Tom Abbott might think he had the upper hand, but she had never been one to give up. He was going to discover that the hard way.

  “Maddie?”

  “Yes, Penelope?”

  “Will you tuck me in and tell me a story?”

  Maddie’s back was to the child’s cot. Her knees nearly buckled when she heard the words that were seared on her heart.

  “Mama, will you tell me a story?”

  She closed her eyes, clutched her hands, and fought to collect herself. It seemed only yesterday her son, Rene, had asked the same thing of her.

  She owed Penelope’s mother this one little thing for all the suffering the woman endured. It was something she would have wanted if the situation were reversed.

  Folding away the hurt, she took a deep breath and lowered herself to the side of the bed. Tucking the covers around Penelope, Maddie smoothed them gently and managed a slight smile.

  “Once upon a time,” she began, “there was a well-spoken man with long, curly white hair who dreamed of collecting a tribe of children.”

  Penelope was sound asleep when Maddie slipped out of the cabin. With a child so close, the walls were closing in on her. Anything would be better than to be closeted with memories — even facing the wrath of Tom Abbott.

  Lamps lined the decks below, casting the world outside her cabin door in a golden glow. Sounds from the gambling hall on the first deck—the tinkle of glass, the lively music of a bass and fiddle player—were offset by the peaceful lull of the river as the steamboat slowly floated downstream. The sound of mingled voices drifted up to her from the salons below, the words indistinguishable. She had noted the ladies and gents dressed in their finest on the way in. She saw them staring at her black skirt and white blouse — a servant’s clothing — and at Abbott’s worn clothes and Penelope’s absurd costume. She’d raised her chin a notch and stared back. Dared them to whisper among themselves.

  She knew who she was, what she was. What she didn’t know was where she was going.

  Walking to the rail, she leaned against it and watched the water slide past. If only she was on the bayou. If only she could go back to the night the twins had kidnapped Penelope. If only she had taken the girl home immediately she wouldn’t be headed to jail.

  Too late now. Too late. Life flowed on like the river, never stopping, never turning back.

  A sound behind her caused her to freeze. She turned slowly and watched Tom Abbott step out of the alcove in front of his cabin door.

  “You’ve been watching me.” She hadn’t heard the door open and close. He had been there all time.

  “You’re unpredictable, Madeline, but I’m fairly certain I know what you’re thinking right now.”

  He walked up to the rail beside her. Stood so close their shoulders touched. Like her, he stared down into the water. She studied his profile, his strong jaw, his furrowed brow.

  “And what’s that?”

  “Run.”

  “Penelope is asleep,” she said, unwilling to agree.

  “And you?” He turned to face her, making her even more aware of how close he was. “Why aren’t you asleep? Nightmares again?”

  She shook her head. “She snores.”

  The truth was she could not sleep with her mind sorting ways to escape and Penelope’s presence stirring up long-buried memories.

  “What about you?” She tried to turn the conversation. It was too much to hope that he’d go inside and leave her in peace.

  “I have nightmares of my own,” he said.

  “You?”

  “Having a child around brings them back.”

  Maddie frowned. Was he making fun of her? Using her story to hurt her?

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was involved with another kidnapping once. A wealthy man’s child, much like Penelope, only a bit younger. A boy. The kidnappers panicked. The child died needlessly.”

  She could see his pain as he studied her in the glow of the lamplight. They were standing too close. She was vulnerable to his nearness and knew she should go inside, but she couldn’t move.

  “You know since the moment I laid eyes on you, you’ve been a mystery to me. Who are you, Maddie Grande?”

  “I’m not a kidnapper.” She didn’t like the speculative way he was looking at her. “I’m not that woman you are looking for either.”

  “You expect me to believe anything you say now?”

  She had no notion how to walk away. His eyes were deep, dark, and open, drawing her in. Just now he looked as if his mind was filled with confusion as great as her own.

  Was there one drop of goodness in him? Would he believe her if she told him she’d always meant to let Penelope go?

  “I expected someone harsh,” he said, “someone crude and cutthroat like the twins. Instead you can be charming when you want to be. You have a strength that’s not merely physical, but one of spirit. It’s your spirit that has kept you going despite all the tragedies life has doled out.”

  She was so intent upon his softly spoken words that she didn’t realize he had drawn nearer until she felt his warm breath on her cheek.

  The magic of the river, the soothing rocking motion beneath her feet, the smell of the fertile muddy land along the riverbank mingled with the scent of the man standing so close.

  She was completely lost in the nearness of the kind of man she had always been attracted to — a man as deep and unfathomable as the river. But unfortunately, this one was on the right side of the law.

  He reached out a hand. She thought for a moment he was going to kiss her.

  Instead, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and whispered, “Was it worth it, Maddie? Was hiding the girl for the twins and chasing after her without me worth the years you’ll spend in prison?”

  She thought of all the things the twins had done. Of Terrance’s mean streak and Lawrence’s blind obedience to his twin. Poor Lawrence. He’d never stood a chance against Terrance.

  “I was going to take her back,” she whispered, almost too shaken to speak.

  “Ah, Maddie. I’m sure you wish I believed that.”

  “Let me have her,” she said. “Let me take her home and collect the reward. I’ll take the money and disappear. I promise. You can say I gave you the slip. Her parents will have her back safe and sound. Isn’t that what’s important?”

  “I can’t let you take Penelope back, Maddie. I can’t let you claim that reward money.”

  He sounded so matter of fact, so sure of himself. Whatever had just happened between them, the magic of it, was shattered into countless pieces.

  “Because you don’t trust me,” she said, resigned.

  “Because I’m a Pinkerton agent. Not only am I working with the police on this case, but the Perkinses have hired me to bring their daughter home. That’s my job and I’ll see it through.”

  “So you’re
determined to see me in jail?”

  He stared back so intently she dared to hope he was about to say no.

  “You willingly hid the girl.” He reached for her shoulders, stared into her eyes. “You were willing, weren’t you? Or did Terrance force you to do his bidding?”

  When hadn’t she done Terrance’s bidding? She considered herself resourceful and independent enough to stand up to anyone, even Terrance, but with his temper, she had never defied him. She remembered the look in his eyes the night he’d kidnapped Penelope, the way he twisted her arm. She may have agreed, but she had planned to right the wrong. At least she’d planned to take Penelope home and collect the reward in the bargain.

  She could see Abbott thought her as guilty as the twins.

  Finally she stepped back.

  “I’m sorry, Maddie.”

  She laughed, a brittle burst of sound.

  “Sorry for what? You’re just doing your job.”

  The sadness in his eyes unbalanced her.

  “What will happen now?” she asked.

  “When we get to New Orleans, Penelope will be returned to her parents.” He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to.

  “And I’ll be arrested.” She reached out, touched his sleeve, hoping to appeal to whatever inspired him to be near her. “Let me go. I’ll disappear into the bayou.”

  “I wish I could.”

  “Who would know?”

  “Penelope, for one. She can implicate you and the Russo woman, as well as your brother. And I would know. I have to sleep at night, Maddie.”

  “Anita?” Anita would be in as much trouble as the rest of them. “Anita is old. Can’t you leave her in peace? I pushed the child on her … I …”

  “She could have turned the girl over to the authorities. She didn’t.”

  Maddie began to panic. She heard it in her own voice and struggled to keep her hands from shaking.

  “Right after I left Penelope in her care, the storm hit and Penelope ran off. Anita didn’t have time to do the right thing—”

  She was unraveling. He reached for her, tried to pull her close.

  “Don’t.” She tried struggling out of his hold. “Don’t touch me.”

  He fell silent, gave up trying to comfort her. There was nothing more she could say. Nothing he could say that would repair the hurt he’d inflicted.

  “It will be easier on you if you go with me willingly and don’t cause any trouble tomorrow,” he warned.

  She drew a deep breath, straightened her spine, and gave him what she hoped was a long, detached once over. “Don’t worry, Mr. Abbott. I won’t be any trouble at all.”

  Maddie held herself together until she was back inside her cabin. She crawled onto the bed and pressed her back against the wall. Penelope was still snoring softly. Maddie covered her ears with her hands, pulled up her knees, and propped her elbows on them. She thought about facing the rest of her life in prison.

  There was no way she could free Terrance now. As soon as she was arrested, the police could use Penelope’s testimony to convict her and Terrance.

  If Terrance still hadn’t confessed, then Penelope was the only one except for Abbott who could accuse them. Anita would never talk.

  She stared at the sleeping child. If the girl disappeared along with her, then there would be no way to prove anything. There was only Tom Abbott’s word. Terrance would serve time for resisting arrest, shooting a policeman, and maybe even for killing Lawrence. But he might never confess to the kidnapping.

  “Was it worth it, Maddie?”

  Truth be told, her brothers had never done anything of worth, never owned anything they came by honestly, never thought of anyone but themselves. She was just as bad as they were.

  As the steamboat continued on toward New Orleans, Maddie sat shrouded in darkness trying to see into the future. She thought about Terrance and Penelope. Mostly she thought about Tom Abbott, a man she didn’t really know at all.

  Tom paced the upper deck, counting steps as he walked. Easier to count how many steps it took to circumnavigate the deck than to think or to feel. Tonight he had nearly stepped over a line of his own making, a line that had always helped him keep his life on course.

  He almost kissed Maddie. If he had, he couldn’t have taken it.

  He would give anything to take her back to the bayou and concoct a story that would appease the police — something that would explain how and where he’d found Penelope Perkins — but that would require turning his back on everything he believed in. Everything he stood for.

  There was no way to erase what she had done. No way to hide the evidence.

  He kept on walking. Two hundred paces. Three hundred.

  No matter what he decided to do, Penelope knew the truth and she could identify Maddie. She would be asked over and over what had happened, and a child as precocious as Miss Penelope Perkins would be happy to bask in the light of notoriety and tell all.

  “Kidnapped Child Rescued: Recounts Tale of Danger and Woe.”

  The desperate millionaire, the grief-stricken mother.

  The newspapers fed on emotion and drama. What was better than a good kidnapping?

  Maddie would be at the center of it all too. Public opinion didn’t favor villains who preyed upon defenseless children.

  Nor did he.

  Maddie’s only recourse was escape. He knew she would try to make a run for it. She had no choice. She might be able to hide out in the bayou forever if she made it back, but once they docked in New Orleans, it wasn’t very far from there to the precinct station. He’d be turning her over to Frank Morgan before noon tomorrow.

  She may have just promised not to give him any trouble, but he would still have to be extra vigilant in the morning. He’d deliver her to Morgan. His conscience demanded it of him, no matter what his heart desired.

  CHAPTER 19

  The wharf was crowded even before the Memphis Palace docked. There was less commerce since the war, fewer steamboat passengers disembarking, but the riverfront still teamed with life. Laborers bent under backbreaking loads, pushing hogsheads filled with cotton bales, bags of rice, and sugar. Sailors dodged ferrymen and barge pilots. Horses, carriages, piles of baggage, harried travelers, and determined merchants all vied for space on the docks.

  Maddie waited while Tom indulged Penelope. The child had demanded he tie her possessions in her cape before they stepped onto the gangway. It took all of the calm Maddie could muster for her to pretend not to care that he was about to turn her over to the police. She stood silently, watching, listening, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

  There was no question she’d be taking Penelope with her. The girl knew too much for her own good. That morning while they were alone together in the cabin, Maddie had combed and styled Penelope’s hair.

  “What’s a Pinkerton?” the girl asked.

  “A detective. He hunts people down and puts them in jail like a policeman,” Maddie told her. “He’s a very bad man.”

  “Worse than those twins?”

  “About the same.”

  “So he’s not really taking me home?”

  “If you want to get home, you’ll have to come with me.” She refused to give in and be led like a lamb to the slaughter. “It will be crowded on the dock. Our only hope is to slip away when he doesn’t expect it.”

  She knew every inch of the streets of New Orleans. There was no one more adept at hiding in a crowd, no one better at disappearing in plain sight than a Grande. Once she got away, it would take a miracle for Abbott to find her.

  “You’ll have to do exactly as I say if we’re going to escape,” Maddie warned. Running with a child wouldn’t be as easy.

  “Then what?” Penelope wanted to know. “Then where are we going? Home?”

  Maddie paused. “Do you want to go home?”

  She shrugged. “You said they miss me.”

  “Yes, they do.” Maddie’s mind raced in circles and finally straightened out. “But do you really want
this adventure to end so soon?”

  “Will I get to act again?”

  “There is every possibility.”

  “Then I’ll stay with you. For a while, anyway.” Penelope frowned up at Maddie. “Do you promise you’ll take me back whenever I say?”

  “Of course.”

  So easy to lie, Maddie thought. So easy to let lies slip from my tongue.

  There came a knock at the door, and Maddie held her finger to her lips, warning the child to be silent. “We’re ready.” She opened the door. The Pinkerton looked haggard. Deep lines framed his full mouth. His usually intense eyes were shadowed.

  Good, she thought. He didn’t sleep any more than I.

  Was he really haunted by the memory of a kidnapped child who died? Or had he kept himself awake, expecting her to try to escape when her only option was to jump overboard? Did he think she’d risk death rather than face jail?

  He stayed close behind her as they walked down the gangway. She reached back for Penelope’s arm. The girl was clutching her bundle with one hand. Tom held the other. He motioned for a carriage and immediately a hack pulled up. The driver leaned down to discuss the fare. Tom let go of Penelope long enough to dig his money pouch out of his waistband.

  A second was all Maddie needed. She tugged on Penelope’s arm, turned, and ran back toward the gangway. She made a sudden left, which put them behind a wagon full of sorghum barrels. There was no way Abbott would be able to see through the vehicle.

  She crouched down and together they ran along beside it as it rolled slowly down the dock. If anyone noticed the two of them skulking along, they didn’t care enough to say anything. The wagon made a slow circle away from the river. Maddie stayed behind it until they came to the corner of Toulouse Street, and then she broke into a run, tugging the child behind her. They darted between two buildings. Brick walls gave off the damp scent of mildew that thrived in the shade.

  For a half second she wasn’t certain if she was running through her nightmare or if this was reality as she clutched the girl’s hand and they careened down the street.