Murder In Chinatown Read Online Free PDF Page B

forget something?” Minnie Lee asked when she opened the door to find Sarah in the hallway outside Cora’s flat. She looked haggard and haunted.
    “No, I just happened to think of something, so I came back to tell you.”
    “Something about Cora?” Minnie asked, stepping aside to silently invite Sarah in. “Or the baby?”
    “No, about Angel.”
    “Have you seen her?” Minnie asked eagerly. Her hope was painful to witness.
    “No, no, nothing like that,” Sarah said quickly. She tried not to watch the hope dying in Minnie’s eyes. “But I was telling my daughter’s nursemaid about Angel, and she said…Well, maybe you’ve already thought of it, but she thought that Angel would have been too scared to run away all by herself, and—”
    “I know, we thought that, too,” Minnie said, her voice thick with unshed tears. “But nobody’s seen her. We already asked all her friends. That was the first thing we thought of.”
    “Mrs. Lee, I don’t know if you’ve considered this or not, but maybe Angel had another friend, one you didn’t know about.”
    “We know everybody she knows,” Minnie insisted.
    Sarah took a deep breath, knowing how defensive Minnie would be and how protective of her daughter. “You might not know if she had a friend who was a man.”
    Minnie’s eyes widened. “A man? She never…How could she? She doesn’t even know any men.”
    “She’d keep it a secret, wouldn’t she?” Sarah said. “She wouldn’t want you to know, because you wouldn’t approve.”
    Minnie reached up and rubbed her temple. “I don’t know…” Tears welled in her eyes, and she swayed slightly. Sarah caught her arm and led her over to sit on Cora’s comfortable sofa.
    “Have you eaten anything at all?” Sarah asked.
    Minnie waved away her question. “How could Angel have met a man? A man who would steal her away from her family?”
    “I don’t know that she did,” Sarah said. “But it would explain why none of her friends know where she is. It would explain why she was brave enough to run away. She’d believe he would take care of her. How else would she know where to go or how to hide from you?”
    Minnie knuckled tears from her eyes. “I almost hope you’re right,” she admitted. “As bad as that would be, it’s better than what I’ve been imagining.”
    “Minnie!” Cora called from the bedroom. “Who’s out there? Did they find Angel?”
    Minnie pushed herself off the sofa and hurried into the bedroom, with Sarah following closely behind. “It’s Mrs. Brandt,” she said. “She came to…She was asking about Angel.”
    “How are you doing, Cora?” Sarah asked.
    Cora smiled sadly. “I’d be fine if Angel was home safe. Little Danny, he’s the sweetest thing.” She nodded to where the baby slept peacefully in his cradle. “I’m so lucky.”
    “You are that,” Minnie said softly.
    “You didn’t come all the way back here just to ask me how I am, did you, Mrs. Brandt?” Cora asked.
    “No, I…” She glanced at Minnie, but she offered no objection. “I was telling Mrs. Lee that my daughter’s nurse-maid thought perhaps Angel had been lured away by a man.”
    “A man? How would Angel meet a man?” Cora asked, much as Minnie had. “She’s still a child. She never goes anyplace except to school and church. Minnie watches her real close.”
    “Harry looks after her, too,” Minnie added. “He don’t let nobody even speak to his sister unless he approves.”
    “He’s the best chaperone a girl ever had,” Cora agreed.
    “Maybe he let down his guard for someone he didn’t think was particularly threatening,” Sarah suggested. “Someone charming and kind.”
    “I don’t know,” Minnie said, rubbing her head again. “Why would he?”
    “I don’t know, either,” Cora said, “but it’s something to think about at least. It’s something you haven’t thought of before, too. Why don’t you ask Harry if he can think of anybody who maybe paid attention to