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She had learned little. If she was to accomplish anything she must take more risk. “You must be losing money,” she stated boldly.
Something in him changed. It was so subtle she could not have described it, but it was as if some hidden fear had clamped a tighter hold on him. Her heart sank. She must be in the wrong place. Squeaky Robinson had not the nerve or the intelligence to plan something as bold or complicated as the scheme Alice had described. It would take planning with long-term profit in view, a steady mind and a cool head to carry out such a thing. Squeaky Robinson did not impress her as having any of those qualities. The panic in him was too close beneath the surface now as they sat staring at each other.
But it could not be she whom he feared. She had posed no threat at all, open or implicit. She had no power to hurt him, and had not suggested that she wished to.
Was it his partner he was afraid of? The man who had set this up, and relied on him to run it profitably and without attracting the law? Was that it?
“Perhaps you should consult your partner before you reach any decision?” she said aloud.
Squeaky stiffened so violently he poked himself with the paper knife and gave a sharp yelp. He started to say something, then abruptly changed his mind. “I don’t have a partner!” He glared at the red mark on his hand, then resentfully at her, as if it were her fault he had hurt himself.
She smiled disbelievingly.
“You looking for other premises?” he said guardedly.
“I could be,” she replied. “But I would want very good rates, and no chopping and changing them when it suited you—a proper business arrangement. If you have no one else to consult, then consider what I have said and see if you can be of assistance. It is in your interest.”
Squeaky chewed his lip. He was only too obviously in a quandary, and the pressure of a decision was taking him ever closer to panic.
Hester leaned forward a little. “It is going to get worse, Mr. Robinson. The longer the police are here, the more likely it is that your clients will be obliged to find other places in which to entertain themselves, and then . . .”
“What can I do?” he burst out, and now his voice was high and sharp enough to have given him his nickname. “I don’t know who killed him, do I?”
“I don’t know,” she answered. “Perhaps you do. I’m sure a man with the skill to run a house like this must have his ear to the ground. You could not succeed if you did not—” She stopped. He looked so acutely uncomfortable she was afraid he was actually in physical pain. There was a sheen of sweat over his skin and his knuckles were white.
“. . . if you did not have an excellent knowledge of the area and everything that goes on in it,” she finished. There was such a tension in the man a few feet from her that suddenly she wanted to escape. The emotion in his face, the desperation, had a physical presence almost at odds with the sly knowledge of his mind. It was as if he had been robbed of a safety he had known for so long he was still only half aware of his new nakedness and had had no time to shield himself or deal with it.
“Yes!” he said sharply. “Of course I have!” He was defensive now, as if he needed to assure her. “I’ll think about it, Mrs. Monk. We need to get back to business as usual. If I hear from anyone what happened to this Baltimore I’ll see if we can’t . . . arrange something.” He spread his hands, indicating the piles of paper. “Now I’ve got things to see to. I can’t spare any more time to . . . to talk . . . when there’s nothing to say.”
She rose to her feet. “Thank you, Mr. Robinson. And you will not forget to mention to your partner the matter of a property to rent . . . very reasonably, seeing as it is in all our interests?”
He jerked up again. “I don’t have . . .” he began, then his face ironed out and he smiled. It was a ghastly gesture, all teeth and rigid muscles. “I’ll tell him. Ha, ha!” He laughed violently. “See what he says!”
She left, conducted out through the corridors again by the man in the dark suit too big for him, and found herself in the alley leading back to Portpool Lane. It was now swirling with fog and she could see the solitary lamp on the wall through a shifting haze. For several moments she stood still, becoming accustomed to the chill air and the smell of the brewery massive against the sky, shedding its denser shadow till it obliterated all other outlines, just as the Coldbath Prison did on the house in the square. Then she set out walking, keeping close to the walls to avoid being noticed, and hoping she did not trip on anyone sleeping on the stones of the path or huddled in an unseen doorway.
After speaking with him and seeing his reactions, she was almost certain that Squeaky Robinson ran the brothel where young women like Fanny and Alice were put to work in order to pay off their debts to the usurer. But Squeaky was panicking over something! Was it just the lack of business at the moment? If he were the usurer, surely he could afford to wait until the police either found out who killed Baltimore or were forced to give up.
But what if he was not? What if he was only a partner, and the usurer was pressing him as well? Then who was the usurer, and why was Squeaky so frightened at the mere mention of his existence?
She crossed Portpool Lane and turned left toward Coldbath Square, still walking briskly. There were a few other people about. The lights of a public house shone out across the pavement as someone opened a door. There was a peddler on one corner, a constable on another, looking bored and cold, probably because he was standing still. He was getting in everyone’s way, and he had long since given up hope of discovering anything useful.
Was Squeaky Robinson so frightened because he had somehow lost his partner, the intelligence and driving force behind the enterprise? How? To prison, illness—even death? Was he panicking because he was suddenly alone and he had not the skill to carry on without help? She was convinced, after talking to him, that he was not the usurer. He had not the polish, the confidence, to have ensnared the sort of young women he used. If he were, she could not have rattled him as she had.
What had happened to the usurer? A warm rush of hope surged up inside her, and she quickened her step. It hardly mattered why he
had gone, or where, if it left Squeaky unable to continue. His fear might be why he had turned violent and either half killed Fanny and Alice himself, or more probably had someone like the would-be butler do it. But his rule would be short-lived. No more women would be ensnared, and if the usurer was gone then he could not enforce repayment, not in law, surely? Oliver Rathbone might be able to help after all!
She got back to Coldbath Square to find Margaret pacing the floor waiting for her. Her face lit the moment Hester was in through the door.
“I’m so relieved to see you!” she said, rushing forward. “Are you all right?”
Hester smiled with a pleasure that surprised her. She really did like Margaret very much. “Yes, thank you. Only cold,” she answered frankly. “But I would love a cup of tea, to get the taste of that place out of my mouth.” She took off her shawl and hung it up on one of the pegs as Margaret went to the stove.
“What did you learn?” Margaret asked even while she was checking that the kettle was full and moving it onto the hob. She kept glancing at Hester, and her face was eager, her eyes wide and bright.
“I think the woman at Abel Smith’s told me correctly,” Hester answered, fetching two mugs from the cupboard. “That is the place where they cater to more individual interests.” She said it with heavy distaste at the euphemism, and saw her own feelings reflected in Margaret’s expression. “I met Squeaky Robinson. . . .”
“What was he like?” Margaret stopped even pretending to watch the kettle. Her voice was sharp with anticipation.
