Murder in the North End (Nell Sweeney Mysteries, Book 5) by P.B. Ryan

Author:P.B. Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: romantic suspense, mystery, historical fiction, gilded age, love story, amateur sleuth, boston, americana, historical novel, beach read, women sleuths, mystery series, historical mystery, governess, boston irish, nell sweeney, boston history

Chapter 10

Nell and Will stood in the doorway of Mother Nabby’s back room listening to Finn Cassidy, looming over her desk with his back to them, make his case for not renting out his late brother’s flat.

“Christ Amighty, Mother, it’s only been two days since Johnny got killed,” Finn said heatedly. “It ain’t right, lettin’ somebody else move in so soon.”

“He ain’t comin’ back, y’know,” Mother said around a mouthful of the roasted leg of lamb sitting on a platter in front of her.

“I know he ain’t—”

“And meantime, I got a business to run.” She washed down the lamb with a long swallow of beer, eyeing Nell and Will over the rim of the tankard. “Well?” she said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her bare arm. “D’you want the place or not?”

“I think so, but I have a few questions,” Will said as he ushered Nell into the room with a hand on her back. He kept it there, for which she was grateful. Mother Nabby made her nervous, and it was comforting, that physical contact.

“Johnny paid you through the end of the month,” Finn told Mother, “so you got no right to rent it out till August.”

Mother slammed the tankard down so hard that beer sloshed out onto her desk, but if she noticed, she didn’t seem to care. “You tellin’ me what I got a right to do in my own place, Finn Cassidy?” she demanded, a forbidding glint in those hard little raisin eyes.

He actually cringed, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s just...you already been paid, so—”

“I been paid the rent,” she said, “but I ain’t been paid the rest of what I’m due.”

“He always gave you your cut of what Mary took in,” Finn said.

“Not all of it, and don’t you try and deny it. Plus, he was skimmin’ part of the take from the other, always did.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I can’t prove it, but I know it. You spend enough years doin’ business with ragsters like him, you learn to tell when they’re dealin’ you dirty. Plus, half the time he was doin’ bouncer duty, he was so drunk, he the one pickin’ the fights. I needed a bouncer to bounce him.”

“Um, Miss Nabby?”

They turned to find Pru’s portly customer, now smartly turned out in a frock coat and silk cravat, standing in the doorway, top hat in one hand, gloves in the other.

“Evenin’, Mr. Jones,” Mother said. “You were with Pru, right? That’ll be eight dollars. You can pay Riley at the bar.”

“I, er...was wondering if you wouldn’t be so kind as to start an account for me,” he said.

“C’mon in, then.” Wiping her greasy hands on a napkin, Mother withdrew a small, leatherbound book from a pocket of her pinafore, dipped a steel pen into her inkwell, and made a notation in the ledger. From where Nell was standing, she could read it upside down.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.