Page 23 of A Story of Love

“Surely Jensen would never tell anyone?”

“Maybe he is hoping to extort money from the man behind your brother’s murder?”

After a long moment Fast grudgingly said, “That is an excellent point. However—and perhaps this makes me a fool—I believe Jensen’s dealings with me have been both honest and honorable.”

Gregg nodded. “My gut tells me the same.”

“I am relieved we concur. As to the other names on your list; I don’t believe any of them would have betrayed me. They have all of them have been with me since my first voyage on the Vixen. I cannot accept that I have been so wrong in judging their characters after all these years.”

“I happen to agree.”

“So that means somebody else on the ship overheard my conversation with Jensen.” Fast scowled. “Lord knows it would have been easy enough for anyone to press an ear to the wall of the wardroom and eavesdrop. The crew of The Vixen is between sixty and seventy men at any given time.”

“Of that number between forty and fifty have been with you for at least five years. I feel certain your traitor is not among their number. Not just because they are loyal, but because they’d need to have rats in their garrets to jeopardize their jobs. Those men are well aware that you butter their bread, my lord, and they are extremely fond of how thick the butter is.”

Fast snorted at the other man’s terminology, but Gregg was right: he was generous with the prize money the Vixen took in and gave bigger shares than any other captain he knew. His actions weren’t entirely altruistic, he also paid well because it helped him retain his employees.

“Assuming your reasoning is sound, that still leaves at least fifteen or twenty men who—”

“Remember those men we hired in Gran Canaria?” Gregg interrupted, his gaze intense.

Fast squinted as he trolled his memory. “I vaguely remember. Three men, wasn’t it? But they were only with us for that leg of the journey.”

“Two of them returned home but one came back with us—Emilio Garcia.”

“Your memory is terrifying,” Fast said.

“It is,” Gregg admitted with a faint smile. “But in Garcia’s case it isn’t so surprising as he rather stands out. He wears two earrings in his right ear, gold rings joined by a short chain. It’s distinctive.”

“I recall him, now,” Fast said. “I don’t suppose you know whether Garcia signed on with James and left with the Vixen?” James White was Fast’s erstwhile second mate and the current captain of The Vixen now that Fast and Gregg had left the privateering life behind them.

“I don’t know, but I’ll make it my business to find out right away. I’ll draw up a list of the others who might be probable suspects as well.”

“Then I shall leave the matter in your hands.”

Gregg opened his mouth, but then closed it and began to stand.

“What is it?” Fast demanded.

“It’s just—well, I’m losing hope that we will ever find Ellie Jensen. I’m not sure we’ll even learn what happened to her.”

They had discovered early in their search that Jensen’s mother and older sister had both perished in a workhouse more than a decade ago. But the youngest girl seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

“Keep looking,” Fast said grimly.

“What are you going to do if Jensen refuses to keep his part of the bargain, my lord? Will you just let him go as you agreed to do?”

“I don’t know how far I’m willing to go,” Fast admitted. “That thought keeps me awake at night. I just hope that Jensen wants to see the killer punished badly enough that he’ll tell me regardless.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

He smiled grimly. “Then I suppose I will discover to what lengths I’m prepared to go to find my brother’s killer.”

Chapter 7

Several Evenings Later…

Lori waited until Freddie had a spare moment—not easy when her friend had her hands full with the beautiful, mischievous Conroy twins she was launching—before sidling up to her and saying, “Thank you so much for getting me into this ball.”