Sweet Things Dying - Chapter XIV

In which Cole makes terrible discoveries about Tommy Thorne...

XIV

Candlelight wavered behind thin muslin curtains. Somebody was home at the Thorne place.

Despite the stretched-out hour of the evening, Cole approached the door. It rattled under his knuckles. The curtains drew back and subdued eyes regarded him curiously. Cole smiled and nodded and stepped back a comfortable distance. The lock clanged and the door inched open. Mrs. Thorne’s round face and frizzled brown hair peeked at him through the gap. Even in the poor light, Cole could make out the dark splotches on her face. What alarmed him were the fresher marks and fattened lip that had not been there the day before.

He removed his hat and kept it in both hands so she would see they were occupied. He smiled and the door creaked open another inch.

“Good evening, Mrs. Thorne,” he said. “I wonder if your man might be home?”

“He ain’t.”

Just as he hoped. He said, “Then I wonder if I might have a moment of your time?”

“You are?”

“Cole – Adam Cole.”

“A friend of my husband’s?” she asked, wary.

“No. A private enquiry agent.” He gestured toward the Bloom house. “I’m looking into the matter of Heather Bloom. I trust you’ve heard the news?”

The door opened wider. Despite her pale and battered face, Mrs. Thorne was plump and pretty and under better conditions might even be beautiful.

“I’ve heard, sir,” she said. “Whole street has. And now you mention it, I saw you leave the reverend’s place just yesterday, round the time the police were at his door.”

Cole smiled. He appreciated sharp eyes. “I was just speaking with the family when the bad news came,” he replied. “To say the least, it has added a bit more steam to my researches. Which is why I’m here.”

“You want to speak with Tommy? But I’m telling the truth – he ain’t here. He’s gone, has been since yesterday.”

“Oh? Has business taken him off?”

“What business? Not his business. He’s abandoned that – abandoned me. If there’s a business what’s scared him off, it’s – ” She nodded past Cole, toward the Bloom house.