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“That’s around the same time we received the letter telling us about this place. What do you know about her?”
“It cannot be Sally,” Jacqueline told him, shaking her head. “She came here seeking refuge after being beaten nearly to death by her stepfather. Her mother had died shortly before the incident.”
“Are you certain she was telling the truth?”
Irritation made her response sharp. “Her body was covered with bruises—she had marks around her neck from where he’d tried to choke her to death. She survived only because he passed out from drink. I hardly think her a spy for Boucher.”
“I don’t doubt her condition—but the marks might have been put there by anyone. Money is certainly not the only means of bending someone’s will.”
“I will not accuse her of duplicity,” she insisted. “Nor will I question the motives of any other member of my staff.”
“I’m not saying you should interrogate her—or anyone else—but under the circumstances you should at least question anyone whose behavior has deviated from their customary conduct.”
Though it rankled, she knew he was right. “I cannot fault such logic—but I will not undermine the trust that has been given to me.”
“I’m not asking you to. There are many ways of gleaning information without being obvious. For instance, does Sally go out into the city at all?”
Reluctantly, she answered, “Agnes sends her to the market on occasion, yes.”
“Did the girl request this task or was it assigned?”
“I don’t know,” she said tightly. The look he gave her made her squirm inside. He means well. “I suppose I could ask Agnes.”
“Do so in confidence, and make sure you’re not overheard,” he advised. “I’ll be interested to hear the answer. If someone has been getting information from within, we need to know how.”
The wobbly feeling in her belly solidified into a lump of dread. “And if your suspicion is confirme
d, what should I do?”
“Nothing. If you send her away, you risk your enemy knowing you’ve become aware of her plan. Instead, we’ll feed the spy misinformation, and then we’ll set a trap.”
“The Archangel has tried to capture Boucher many times to no avail,” she warned. “She’s devious and has many underlings to do her bidding. What makes you think you can draw her out?”
“Until now, your Archangel has been working alone. Not anymore.”
Dread transformed into panic. “You cannot tell Westminster, not without exposing everyone—”
“Gonson need only know that we were deliberately led astray. I’ll say it was because we were getting too close to the real Covent Garden killer. I’m going to venture a guess and say the Archangel did not commit those murders.”
“No, he did not.” She decided to reveal what she knew. “But we know who was behind them—Boucher.”
Twilight-blue eyes pierced her. “Tell me everything and leave out no detail, I don’t care how small.”
She nodded. “Emma and Rose were brought to me shortly after those bodies were found. All of the dead women were from the brothel their mother had worked for—one of Boucher’s. When their mother died, Boucher tried to force Emma to take her place. Emma fled that night with her sister, but Rose was recaptured. When Emma went back the following morning to try to bargain for her sister’s freedom, Rose and Boucher were gone. No one knew where. Another girl from a neighboring brothel told Emma to go to the Archangel for help.”
“It’s as I thought,” he said, his eyes lighting. “The night birds have been helping him.”
Acknowledging the assertion with another nod, she went on. “After weeks of searching, he almost gave up. Then he learned the identity of a man who had purchased a little girl matching Rose’s description. On confronting him, the man confessed he had procured her from the woman who owned the Temple of Aurora. He did not know her name, but Emma and Rose both described her to us. It was Boucher.”
“The owner of the Aurora is a woman?”
“Yes.”
The stream of invective that poured from his mouth following the revelation was impressive. “We’ve been trying to close down that place for years,” he rasped, running hands through his hair and mussing it. “Every time we thought we’d succeeded, a few months later we learned otherwise. And now I learn it’s owned by a woman. You’re certain Boucher is the owner and not just an underling?”
“Yes. And I was recently informed she has gone into deep hiding. As far as my friend can tell, she has not reopened any of her brothels, including the Aurora, since Rose’s rescue. If she has, it is a most carefully guarded secret.”
“She’s frightened.”
