Heart of Lies

by Jill Marie Landis

  He wanted to wait to explain until Peter joined them. He didn’t relish repeating the story. Thankfully, Peter Perkins entered almost on his wife’s heels. He extended a hand in greeting, pumped Tom’s with a wide smile of welcome.

  “It’s good to see you. I can tell by the confusion on your face that you haven’t received my letter yet,” Perkins said. “I had a servant take it to New Orleans just this morning.”

  “Letter?” Tom feared he sounded as dumbfounded as he felt. No doubt Perkins had fired him, but that didn’t account for all the smiles.

  “Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Whiskey?” Perkins indicated a nearby wing chair. “Have a seat, Abbott. Have a seat.”

  “Sir, I want you to know that I am, along with the entire New Orleans Metropolitan Police, still doing my best to find your daughter.”

  Peter quickly looked at his wife poised near the wide doorway with her hands demurely folded. They were still pale against her black mourning gown, but her cheeks were bright, her smile undimmed.

  “So you don’t know yet?” Perkins held out his arm. His wife crossed the room and slipped into his embrace.

  “Know what, sir?”

  “Our prayers have been answered. Our daughter is home. Returned to us filthy, but other than that, she seems to be just fine.”

  “She’s … here?”

  “She is indeed, and telling wild tales of traveling with a troupe of actors as she tried to make her way to Kentucky on her own. Under other circumstances I’d be in shock, but to tell you the truth, Abbott, we’re just so happy to have her home safe and unharmed that I wouldn’t care if she told me she’d ridden an elephant across Louisiana.”

  “She’s here?” Tom repeated. He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not a drinking man, Mr. Perkins, but if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take you up on the offer of whiskey. Just a shot.”

  Peter walked over to a small butler’s table covered with crystal decanters and poured Tom a liberal dose. Tom took a drink, winced, and set it down.

  “What did she tell you about the kidnapping?”

  “She said two men abducted her and that she was frightened to death at first. Then she was able to escape them and met up with the acting troupe. She begged them to take her to her Aunt Gail’s in Kentucky — the poor little thing had taken it into her head that she was a burden to us.”

  “Did she say who else was involved?”

  Perkins nodded. “No. Just the two men. Twins, she said.”

  Tom’s mind was spinning. Had Penelope implicated Maddie at all?

  Just then Mary Perkins said, “Here she is now. Darling, say hello to Mr. Abbott. I’m afraid you gave him a merry chase.”

  Tom turned and there was Penelope in the doorway. Dressed in a navy gown with a starched white collar, fresh white stockings, and ankle-high shoes, she had a huge white bow pinned atop her head. She looked the picture of angelic innocence as she obediently stepped into the room.

  She was smiling until she recognized him. Then she froze. “What’s he doing here?”

  Her mother reached for her hand and drew her close. “Why, this is Mr. Abbott, dear. He’s the detective we hired to find you.”

  Penelope shook her head. “He’s a bad man. Worse than those twins who kidnapped me.”

  Peter Perkins’s smiled finally dimmed. He turned on Tom. “What’s she talking about?”

  Penelope spoke up before Tom could answer.

  “He said he was going to bring me home but he lied. He really wasn’t going to do anything of the sort.”

  Mary led Penelope to the settee and sat down. The girl remained standing. Mary took both of the girl’s hands in hers and looked up into her daughter’s eyes.

  “How do you know Mr. Abbott, dear?” Mary asked softly.

  Penelope threw a dark glance at Tom.

  “He found me in Baton Rouge and made us get on a steamboat.” She turned to her father. “You always say how dangerous steamboats are, Papa. He made us … I mean me, get on one.”

  “You found her in Baton Rouge?” Perkins demanded. “Then how did she wind up asking a stranger to bring her home yesterday? How was it she ended up alone again?”

  Tom explained as precisely as he could exactly how he found the Grande twins, which led him to the cabin on the bayou and Maddie Grande. He pulled the silver comb out of his pocket and handed it to Perkins.

  “I found it in the Grande’s cabin, but when I returned after you identified it for me, your daughter had somehow escaped. Maddie Grande was on her trail. I caught up with both of them in Baton Rouge — “

  “Where I was the star of the Phoenix Rising Theater Troupe,” Penelope added proudly. “ ‘Out of the ashes of the South comes live theater!’”

  “She was indeed performing with a troupe of traveling actors,” Tom said.

  “They were kind enough to take me along to Kentucky,” the child added.

  “After I recovered her—”

  “Stole me from them, he means.”

  “After I recovered her and had Maddie Grande in custody, I felt a steamboat was the fastest way back to New Orleans. Not only that, but I could keep them both confined aboard. I’m sure you’ve noticed your daughter is very resourceful for her age, Mr. Perkins.”

  “You were never bringing me home,” Penelope argued. “Maddie said so.”

  “Maddie Grande is a liar,” Tom said softly.

  “She is not,” Penelope shouted.

  Peter Perkins anchored his hands on his hips. “Just who is this Maddie Grande?”

  “The kidnappers’ sister. They left the girl in her care, but Penelope gave her the slip. Which led to the chase. I was intent on delivering both of them directly to the precinct station in the French Quarter, but as soon as we disembarked, Miss Grande managed to escape and took your daughter with her. The police have been scouring the city for two days. I came out here this morning to tell you that I had found Penelope and that she was fine the last time I saw her, but that she was missing again.”

  Tom stared at Penelope. “Do you know where Maddie is now?”

  “No.” Penelope walked over to her father’s side. “Papa, I learned how to beg for money. I was quite good at it.”

  “Oh, Peter,” Mary sighed, but she was fighting back a smile. “Can you imagine?”

  Peter Perkins laughed. “Actually, I can. I wouldn’t put anything past our Penelope.”

  “How did you get home? Did you run away from Maddie?” Tom asked.

  “I didn’t have to run away. She brought me home,” Penelope said.

  Mary Perkins gasped. Penelope glanced warily at her mother.

  “Penelope, was Maddie Grande the woman with you yesterday?” Mary asked.

  “Yes.”

  Tom gaped at Mary Perkins. “You saw Miss Grande?”

  “Why, I even spoke to her,” Mary admitted. “I tried to convince her to come to the house and wait for Peter to return. I told her she deserved the reward.”

  “She didn’t take it?” Tom was stunned.

  “She refused,” Mary confirmed.

  Peter Perkins explained, “Penelope showed up yesterday afternoon with a woman and convinced Mary they had just met.”

  Perkins paused to smile lovingly at his wife. “I’d finally talked Mary into getting out in the fresh air, and her carriage was on the way back up the drive when the driver saw Penelope and the woman standing there.”

  He hunkered down in front of his daughter. “Do you know where this Maddie Grande is, dear? Do you know where she was going?”

  Penelope tapped her toe impatiently and glanced over at Tom before she turned to her father again. “Why?

  “Because Mr. Abbott needs to find her.”

  “I’m not telling if he’s going to put her in jail.”

  “Where did you stay in New Orleans?” Tom took a step closer.

  “A smelly old place with bats and mice and rats.” She tried to turn the topic. “Do you know how easy it is to get money from
perfect strangers, Papa?”

  Her mother reached up and straightened Penelope’s bow. “Darling, please. Fooling people out of their money isn’t something to be proud of. You are a very lucky girl to have always had more than you need.”

  “You say you hid in a big empty building?” Tom persisted.

  Penelope turned on him, her face pinched into an angry frown. “You pretended to be sweet on Maddie when all the time you only wanted to turn her over to the police. You are not a nice man.”

  “I never pretended to be sweet on her.” Tom’s collar suddenly felt too tight.

  “Do you know what she’s talking about, Abbott?” Peter Perkins was watching him speculatively.

  “I have no idea where they might have been holed up in the city, but we’ll find the place and I’ll find Maddie Grande,” Tom promised. “If it’s the last thing I do.”

  Suddenly Penelope grabbed hold of her father’s coat. “Papa, don’t let him take Maddie to jail. She’s my friend. She took good care of me and brought me home. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “She may have been coerced into hiding Penelope, but she failed to tell me where the girl was when she had the chance.”

  “She didn’t kidnap me. They did. Maddie was nice to me from the start. I never saw those men but once,” Penelope cried.

  “One of the twins is dead. The other is in jail for other crimes, but he’s finally confessed to the kidnapping,” Tom told Perkins. “According to her brother, Maddie Grande was forced to shelter the girl.”

  “Please, Papa. Tell him to leave Maddie alone.” Penelope tugged on Perkins’s jacket. He hunkered down on one knee. She cupped her father’s cheek and smiled into his eyes. “Do it for me, Papa?”

  “The woman did bring Penelope home,” Mary reminded him. “She seemed jittery yesterday and now I know why. Surely she took a terrible risk bringing our daughter back and she refused the reward. Isn’t that all we wanted, dear? To have Penelope home safe and sound?”

  “She led Abbott on a merry chase across Louisiana. As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t deserve to get off without consequences,” Perkins said.

  “Perhaps not, but she doesn’t deserve to go to prison.”

  “Please, please, Papa?”

  Perkins finally nodded reassuringly to his child and got to his feet. He sighed, all seriousness when he turned to Tom.

  “Do you think this woman poses a threat to other children?”

  “A mother’s heart can’t bear losing a child.”

  “Maddie brought me home.”

  “Did she tell you she can make a child forget its own name?”

  “Abbott?”

  “No, sir. I don’t believe she is.”

  Perkins looked to Mary, who nodded in agreement. She urged Penelope to join her on the settee. Penelope watched Tom, for once quiet but wide-eyed with hope.

  “Mr. Abbott, Maddie Grande did bring my daughter home safely. She did not try to con us out of the reward money, nor did she demand a ransom, though I would have paid any amount, even if I had to beg, borrow, or steal it.”

  Penelope huffed. “If I’m not allowed to beg, Papa, is that just a figure of speech? I’m really good at begging, if you ever need money.”

  Perkins crossed the room and stood before Tom.

  “I won’t press charges against Maddie Grande, Mr. Abbott, now or in the future. I’d like you to pass that along to the New Orleans police. Call off the dogs. I’ll see the twin who has confessed prosecuted, mark my words.” A muscle twitched in Perkins’s jaw. “You be sure to tell the authorities that I’ll make certain that man does the time for the kidnapping, no matter what it costs me.”

  “I will, sir.”

  “I’ll be contacting Pinkerton personally to let him know that you helped put Penelope’s kidnapper behind bars and escorted her safely back to New Orleans.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Tom was just relieved that Penelope was safe and that the case hadn’t ended in tragedy. He felt Perkins was giving him far more praise than he deserved, but he couldn’t waste time protesting.

  Right now monetary reward was not in his mind. He was still trying to accept the notion that Maddie had somehow redeemed herself enough to win her own freedom.

  He bowed to Mary Perkins and Penelope and bid Peter Perkins good-bye. Perkins shook his hand and thanked Tom again. Tom was letting himself out when Penelope tugged on his coat sleeve.

  “You’ll keep your promise, won’t you? Or do you still want her arrested?”

  “I never wanted her arrested, but I had to follow the law.”

  “Will you let her know I didn’t tell on her? I kept our secret as long as I could?”

  He nodded. “I will if I ever see her again.”

  As long as Maddie thought she was still wanted, she was perfectly capable of staying hidden.

  “Oh, you’ll see her again,” Penelope assured him. “You’re sweet on her, no matter what you say. I think she’s sweet on you too.”

  He took his leave convinced that in a few years, Miss Penelope Perkins would have a lot more men than just her father dancing to her tune.

  Tom turned his thoughts to New Orleans and explaining the situation to Morgan. The official hunt for Maddie would be suspended. If it wasn’t for the case that had led him to the Grandes in the first place — his search for Megan Lane — he could move on and forget all about her. But something Terrance said had haunted him since yesterday.

  “She tell you what she’s good at? She tell you how she can make a child forget its own name?”

  She may have not only known Megan Lane, but she may have had a hand in turning her into a loyal tribe member.

  Outside, Tom mounted up for a last ride down the alley of oaks. The kidnapping case was closed, but his heart was wide open. He saw Maddie’s dark hair in the color of the rich southern soil. He heard her voice in the breeze rustling through the trees. The sunlight on her face reminded him of the warmth of her smile.

  He hated to think about her running scared, but she was used to dodging the law to survive. She needed to know she was free, that Terrance had confessed. No matter what she’d done, he didn’t want her on the run for the rest of her life.

  It wouldn’t take long to return to her cabin to give her the news. Then perhaps he could find out what she knew about the children taken in by Dexter Grande. With any luck, there might be a record of the children’s former identities.

  He could only hope she had returned to the bayou.

  If she hadn’t, he had no idea where to look next.

  CHAPTER 24

  Frank Morgan was both surprised and relieved to hear Penelope was home. He promised to call off the search for Maddie and the girl and would contact Peter Perkins about pressing charges. There was nothing more for Tom to do but wire a report to Alan Pinkerton and await payment for services rendered.

  He paid his rent, bathed, and changed into respectable clothing, and quickly read his mail. There was nothing of any urgency. He’d received a cordial letter from Laura Foster in Texas informing him that she had recently married and was now Mrs. Brand McCormick. She hoped every day brought him closer to a clue that might lead him to her sister.

  He wasn’t about to give Laura false hope, not until he found Maddie again and settled things with her. Only then could he pick up the thread that had led him to Maddie in the first place. She had nothing to lose. If Maddie knew where to find Megan Lane, why wouldn’t she tell him? If she was Megan Lane, why not admit it? Seated at his secretary desk, he took pen in hand and replied.

  Dear Mrs. McCormick,

  Congratulations on your recent nuptials. Searching for your sister may have inadvertently helped me solve a kidnapping case. I remain hopeful that eventually I will prove successful, though after so many decades, the trail is quite cold. If and when I have something new to report, I will contact you again.

  Until then, I remain your humble servant,

  Tom Abbott

  He folded the letter an
d carefully impressed a brass stamp with his initial in the warm sealing wax. He packed a clean shirt in his saddlebag, donned his concealed weapons, grabbed a hat, and made his way to the livery near the wharf. There, he found his horse and the one he’d bought to replace the mare comfortably stabled after their trip downriver.

  After paying the livery owner, he had but one final errand before he left town. As he rode through the streets leading the spare horse, his gut told him Maddie was no longer there. He had nothing to go on but a hunch that she would return to the bayou before she moved on. If there was anything he’d learned during his years as a detective, it was to follow his hunches.

  Tom reined in before a small shop off of Jackson Square. The windows were lined with furnishings and items women were fond of. He found what he was looking for, and within twenty minutes was on his way.

  Maddie paced the interior of Anita’s cabin while the older woman scalded a mixture of pickling to pour over a ham. The scent of molasses and allspice flavored the air but did nothing to whet Maddie’s appetite.

  “I’m not runnin',” the older woman insisted. “You do what you have to do, but I’m not guilty of nothing and I’m too old to up and move again.”

  “I can’t leave you here on your own, Anita. It’s ‘cause of me that you’re in this fix. I’ll do what it takes to get us set up.”

  Maddie paused at Anita’s shoulder, absently watched her stir the boiling ingredients. She’d skirted New Orleans on her return from Langetree and headed straight here.

  “I owe you for the mare,” Maddie added. “When I get some money together —”

  Anita cut her off. “That old nag wasn’t worth anything. Don’t fret yourself over it. If Terrance gets out and comes asking for you, what should I tell him?”

  “The truth. I don’t know where I’m going.”

  Anita knew her well enough to know what she wasn’t saying.

  “I’ve known that boy since he was child. I believe it’s high time you were shed of him anyway,” Anita said.

  “He’s a man, Anita. Not a boy.”