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Lily was not at home when Edward got there. He peeked in through each of her windows, saw nothing, and thought perhaps it was a good sign. There was no sign of a struggle or anything of that nature. Surely, if Ray had shown up here, she would have put up a fight.
He knocked on Mrs. Ruthers' door. The woman opened it with sleepy eyes.
"Oh, it's you." The corners of her mouth curved up and for a brief moment, he could see the beauty she must have been in her youth.
"I'm looking for Lily," he said, getting straight to the point.
Mrs. Ruthers shrugged. "I haven't seen her. At least not since she and that other one got into their little spat."
Edward blanched. "Spat? With who? Was it a man? Was it her husband?"
"Ray?" the woman asked, her eyes widening. She started to laugh. "No, no. Don't you go worrying about that, now. If it had been Ray, I'd have gotten my pistol and taken care of him myself. That man is no good. I know all about him. The whole town does." She coughed slightly before continuing. "As for some other man, there's no need for you to be jealous. I'm quite certain Mrs. Dickinson only has eyes for you. Besides, it was a woman she was arguing with."
"A woman? Who? Did you know her?"
"She looked rather familiar to me, but I can't say as I could place her. I thought perhaps they were sisters or cousins. You know how sisters sometimes like to argue with each other. Anyway, they had the same red hair, though Lily's was quite a bit darker."
Edward's eyes bulged. "The other woman had light red hair?" She nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Ruthers," he said and hurried away.
She called after him. "I never did get that money for my frying pan. You might mention it to Mrs. Dickinson if you see her."
Bridget.
Edward was certain of it. Who else in Blisspeak had red hair aside from Lily?
Edward wondered if he ought to go by the Shannons’ and see if Detective Stone was still there, then thought better of it. There wasn't time. He knew where Bridget lived—he had all the addresses of his employees in files at his office. He'd looked hers up long ago and had even gone by once after their very public argument, just to check things out.
He was almost to her house when he realized he was being followed. A shadowy figure kept darting around him, hiding behind trees, behind buildings, behind carriages. He attempted not to let on that he was aware of them and continued on his way, keeping his eyes open.
When he got to Bridget's home, which was not so very far from Lily's, he went around the back where he couldn't be seen from the street and hid behind a pile of rubbish, crouching down so whoever was following him would have to look hard just to see the top of his head. The light was especially dark back here, where the early evening sun did not seem to want to stretch.
A moment later, Bridget came around the corner. She peered through one of the back windows, pressing her face close to the glass. Edward moved quietly out of his hiding place and ran to her, wrapping one hand around her mouth and the other tightly around her waist.
She attempted to scream and squirmed under his grip, but he refused to let her go.
"Stop struggling!" he yelled. "I'm not letting you get away again."
She bit his hand, and he jumped up with a yowl, his holding on her slipping. She got away from him, but rather than running off as he'd feared she would, she stood her ground.
"I'm here to warn you, you fool," she said, panting from their struggle.
He looked at her quizzically, examining the bite mark on his hand. There was a tiny indentation of teeth where her mouth had clamped down on him.
"Warn me? About what?" he growled, not trusting anything she said.
She squared her shoulders. "Ray has Lily." She had an oddly determined look he hadn't seen on her before.
Edward's jaw tightened. "Where?"
She paused now, her eyes scrunching together. "They're at the factory." She held something out to him. He took it and opened the paper, his eyes moving rapidly over the words that had been written on it.
"Is this your hand?" he demanded.
She shook her head. "Ray wrote it." She laughed. "It's funny, really. Until he handed that paper to me and told me to deliver it to Lily, I hadn't even been sure that he could write."
Edward saw nothing funny about it.
Bridget stopped laughing. Her voice cracked as she continued,
"He told me not to open the letter. That it was just a demand for money, but he lied to me. This is not just a demand for money. It sounds... it sounds as if he means to get Lily alone and do her harm."
Edward's collar burned. He reread the note and had to agree with Bridget. It stated that Ray had Edward in the basement of the Saunders Factory and Lily was to come alone if she wanted to see him again. There was no mention of money, and Edward could think of only one reason he would lure Lily to such a place alone.
Bridget bit her lip. "He knows she's carrying his child. I think... I think he aims to take her. Or maybe to ransom her off to you. I can't be sure."
Edward paused, thinking. His first instinct was to rush to the factory, but if he reacted without a clear head he might make things worse.
"Is he armed?" Edward asked.
She nodded. "When last I saw him, he had a gun." She drew in a deep breath. "I swear to you, I thought he was only out to get more money. If I'd known he meant her harm, I never would have delivered the note for him."
Edward didn't have time to listen to Bridget's guilty conscience. She could apologize later, once Lily was safe and Ray was behind bars. If he had it his way, Bridget would be right there with him. Still, there was guilt in her eyes. That it was there at all made him think she meant what she said—she was sorry for her part in all this.
"Go and find Detective Stone and my father. Tell them what's going on and ask them to meet me at the factory."
"Where shall I look for them?" she asked.
"Start at Dr. Shannon's. If they're not there, get the doctor to help you search, if you must. But find them."
She nodded, resolute in her conviction. Edward headed for the factory, hoping that he was not too late.
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