Murder In Chinatown by Victoria Thompson

Author:Victoria Thompson [Thompson, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.

FRANK FOUND MRS. LEE AT HOME THE NEXT MORNING. She needed a moment to recognize him, and when she did, her face lit with hope.

He quashed it instantly. “I don’t have any news,” he said quickly. “I have to ask you a few more questions.”

The hope faded from her face, but she kept her composure. “Come in,” she said, stepping aside so he could enter. “But I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

“How’s your son doing?” he asked as he took a seat on the chair she indicated.

“Better,” she said without much enthusiasm. “He’s ashamed for what he did, scaring us like that. He didn’t mean to hurt himself. He said…” She drew a deep breath to ward off the tears. “He said he just wanted to forget what happened to Angel.”

“That’s easy to understand,” Frank said.

She nodded, pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, and dabbed at her eyes. She was dressed in black, mourning her daughter. In spite of her grief, Frank noted, she was still well turned out. Her dress looked fairly new and fit her as if it had been made for her. It probably had. He noticed again the high quality of the furnishings in the room. Not as fancy as Sarah’s family, of course. Sarah’s parents were Old Money and had nothing but the very best. The Lees had it pretty good, though. Nothing old or worn. Nothing cheap or shabby. Frank felt a pang of envy. Charlie Lee had done well for himself.

“What did you want to ask me about?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“I wanted to ask you about Angel’s friends,” he began. “In particular, the Chinese boys.”

“The boys?” she echoed in surprise. “Why just the boys?”

Frank made up a lie on the spot. “We think she must’ve been strangled by a male. A female wouldn’t have had the strength.”

“Why would you think it was a Chinese boy, though?” she asked indignantly. “Ain’t it more likely to be that boy she married or one of his brothers?”

“I questioned them, too,” Frank said. “Seems like they were all someplace else when she died, and I want to make sure we aren’t missing anybody.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then shuddered slightly and dabbed at her eyes again. “This is so hard.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lee,” he said quite truthfully. Her pain was difficult to witness. “Maybe I could ask your son instead. He’d know which boys Angel knew. Is he around?”

She looked up in surprise. “I…Yes, he is. He’s been in his room since…Well, since he came to himself again, after the opium.”

“Could I see him?”

She silently debated his request. She didn’t know whether to trust him or not, and Frank couldn’t blame her.

“I’m only going to ask him a few questions,” he promised. “It won’t take long.”

She considered another minute or two and then said, “I’ll get him.”

“I can go to him,” Frank said. “It might be better if we had some privacy anyway. He may not want you to hear what he tells me.

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