The Vaudeville Star

She could see the darkened room in her mind’s eye and Ford pressing her against the wall with his hot mouth moving over hers.

“I sang for the assembly.”

“Anything else of note?” he asked.

She remembered Ford lifting her skirts and their combined sighs as he sank into her.

“No.”

“Then after the ball?”

“After the ball?” she repeated, looking at Bessie and then the sergeant.

A knock fell on the door, and Archie Moore entered. “Bess! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said, his eyes taking in the two strangers and Ruby.

“Inspector, Sergeant. My brother, Archie Moore,” Bessie introduced them quickly.

“Is there anything wrong?” Archie asked as his sister walked toward him.

“Nothing is wrong.” Bessie took her brother’s arm, and they left the room.

When the door closed behind them, Thompson resumed the questioning.

“After the ball, Miss Sutton?”

“After the ball, I went to visit Mr. Parker at his town house in Mayfair,” Ruby said, repeating the lie King had demanded of her.

“How long did your visit last?” he asked, his pen held at the ready to record her answer.

“I—that is to say . . .”

“Yes?”

“I-I stayed the night.”

“Hmmm.” He recorded her answer. “To read Shakespeare over sherry, no doubt.”

“If there’s nothing else?” Ruby stood, suddenly flushed.

Thompson placed his notebook and pen inside his coat jacket and smiled.

“Nothing more, Miss Sutton. Mr. Parker is quite lucky to have such beautiful women by his side. Oh, did I say women? I meant woman,” he said cryptically.

The inspector moved forward, leaving the sergeant to trail behind.

“I did enjoy your performance, Miss Sutton. Very much so,” he said, smiling at her.

“Thank you, Sergeant,” she said sincerely. “I’m glad you did. Sergeant. A moment. This questioning about where I was. What is it all about?”

The sergeant looked over at the inspector, who was speaking to the front desk clerk, before he turned once more to Ruby.

“There was a lady who was killed. She was strangled. We don’t know much about her. She’s apparently a foreigner. There was someone who linked her to Mr. Parker, but he was very firm when we spoke to him that he was with you last night. So now that you’ve cleared that up, he’s in the clear as well.” The sergeant smiled at her.

“Barton!” came the inspector’s loud voice.

The sergeant began to move away, but Ruby caught up with him again. “Sergeant. The name. Do you know the name of the woman who was killed?”

“Yes.” He pulled his own notebook out and scanned it quickly. “Here it is. Lourdes. Lourdes Banegas.”