The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (4)

Some time later, Riley went up to Lilly's room. There was a crack of light underneath the door, so Riley knocked. "Come in," Lilly said, in a tired voice. Riley opened the door to reveal Lilly sitting on the bed, reading through one of her library books.

"I just wanted to tell you that Kayla's staying here for the night," Riley said.

"What happened to her?" Lilly asked. "Did whoever it was...did they break in and hurt her?"

"No. She's not physically hurt, thank God," Riley said. "But it appears that her trespasser has sent her a message."

Lilly's eyes widened. "So that's what she brought to show you?"

Riley nodded. "I suppose I should tell you...Whoever it was decided to mutilate one of her favorite photographs with a knife, and they were brazen enough to leave it in the photo."

"Oh..." Lilly looked down at the book in her lap. "That's awful."

"She's calmed down now, but I don't want her to be alone right now, and I especially don't want her to go back to her place," Riley said. "So I'll be sleeping downstairs tonight. She'll be up in my room."

Lilly nodded. "Then...what will you two do tomorrow?"

"The noble knight shall take the fair lady back to her sanctum and attempt to face the dragon," Riley said.

"Just be careful she doesn't put you in the dungeon," Lilly said. "Night, Bro."

"Night, Lilly. Don't stay up too late." Riley walked away, closing the door behind him. Kayla was just coming up the stairs.

"Sorry I'm taking your bed," she said.

"It's no problem at all," Riley said. "The bathroom's in between my room and Lilly's, if you need it. I'll just get a pillow and blanket."

Kayla nodded. "All right. Thank you," she said. Her voice was somewhat hoarse from crying. Riley opened the door to his bedroom for her, and got a pillow and blanket from his closet as Kayla glanced around.

"I'm sorry for the mess," Riley said. "I...try to keep things clean, but you know how us bachelors are."

"It's...quite all right. I get up fairly early by the way, so I'll come down and get you when I'm awake," Kayla said. She put the glass of water she'd been drinking on Riley's bedside table and pulled down the blankets.

Riley quietly closed the door of his bedroom and went back downstairs to his father's office. The mutilated photo frame, rose, and knife that Kayla had brought was sitting in the center of the desk, laying on top of the fabric wrapping. He reached into a desk drawer and took out a pair of plain cotton gloves, then carefully removed the knife from its resting place in the rose and the photo frame. It was a fairly inexpensive steel-blade knife, with a faux mother-of-pearl handle. He'd have to spend some time tomorrow bringing it to various places to see if anyone had purchased that knife earlier. Carefully, Riley wrapped the knife up in a small scrap of velvet, then put it in a cardboard box that had held some pencils his father had purchased.

He looked at the red rose, which was limp and wilted from its ordeal. The stem had been torn off about three inches from the bloom, and there didn't appear to be any traces of thorns—so it had been purchased directly from a florist. He'd have to check out every florist in the city, so it was probably useless to even think that he could trace it. Riley sighed as he put it aside. He wondered if Kayla, after all this, would still like roses. Perhaps a lovely exotic orchid in a pot could put a smile on her face?

He looked down at the photograph of Kayla and her late fiance. The knife had been embedded directly into where the fiance's face was, so it was completely obliterated. I wonder what happened to him, Riley thought. I really shouldn't pry, but there's got to be a reason why this person did this...

The mantel clock in the sitting room chimed, and as Riley counted, he realized that it was midnight. I'd better get to sleep, he said, as he blew out the kerosene lamp and went to make himself comfortable on the sofa in the sitting room.

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"He's probably still asleep. Bro! Wake up!"

"Good morning!"

Riley muttered to himself and rubbed sleep from his eyes. It was seven o'clock, and the blurry faces of both Lilly and Kayla were looking down at him. "Ugh...good morning," he muttered.

"My clothing was dry, so I took everything down," Kayla said. "The nightgown you let me borrow is hanging on the bedpost in your room. I appreciate you lending it to me."

"Come on, Bro, we need breakfast," Lilly said.

Riley sighed. It had been very hard to fall asleep on the couch, even with his usual pillow and blanket. He got up rather stiffly and shuffled into the kitchen to boil the water for tea. "Cold cereal and fruit for you two...I don't feel like cooking," he muttered.

"Did you sleep well, Miss Shepherd?" Lilly asked as the two of them went into the kitchen.

"Yes. I feel a lot better," Kayla said. "Oh, Lilly, please call me Kayla. I don't really like being called Miss Shepherd...It sounds like my boss is yelling at me."

"I know how you feel," Lilly said. "When Miss Miller says our names like that, we KNOW we're in trouble."

Kayla chuckled. Riley smiled to himself as he broke off three bananas from the bunch that was nestled in a fruit basket on the counter. She seemed to be feeling a whole lot better. Hopefully, she'd be able to get back to her own apartment without incident.

"So what grade are you in at school?" Kayla asked.

"I'm in fourth grade," Lilly said.

The tea kettle whistled, and Riley poured the hot water into three mugs that were waiting with teabags. He set them down in front of his usual chair, then gave one to Kayla and one to Lilly. "How are you feeling this morning, Miss Shepherd?" Riley asked.

"A lot better than last night, thanks for asking," Kayla said as she poured milk in her cereal. "I'd like to get back to my apartment after breakfast, if that's all right with you."

"I don't have a problem with that," Riley said, "but a certain someone is going to be late for school if she doesn't finish her breakfast in a few minutes."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "I'm almost done! Don't worry!" she said.

Kayla chuckled. "So, you're both mother and father to Lilly now?" she asked.

Riley nodded. "Yes. My mother passed away when she was five, and then my father...it was only a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kayla said. "I just couldn't imagine anything happening to someone in my family."
"So what's your family like, if you don't mind me asking?" Riley asked. He sat down with his mug of tea.

"I'm the youngest of six," Kayla said. "I have a sister and four brothers."

"Wow, that's a big family," Lilly said. "And you're the youngest? By how much?"

"My oldest brother is fifteen years older than me. And then my sister is next. So I ended up with a lot of hand-me-downs growing up."

"But at least you always had someone to play with," Lilly added. She put her spoon down. "I'd better go. My friends are going to be wondering where I am. Miss Shepherd—I mean, Kayla—please, be careful when you get home."

Kayla nodded. "I will, Lilly. Have a good day at school now, all right?"

Lilly nodded and hopped down from the chair, to dash upstairs and get her school bag. "I will. Bye!" She ran upstairs and back down in a flash, probably intent on letting her brother and Kayla have some "alone time" together.

"So she wants to be a detective like you? I'm sure that's quite a dangerous profession," Kayla said.

Riley nodded. "You know...that reminds me. Earlier this week I told her that if she really wanted to take the exam and become a licensed detective, I'd give her three days to decide. And tonight's the deadline."

"So that's the reason for all the books, then? I see," Kayla said.

"And I've explained things to her...In fact, I used almost the same words my father did when he talked to me about becoming a detective. I was a bit older, though, and I wanted to help support the family, since my mother was gone."

"I've heard of your father. I think I may have written about him a few times in the Tribune. If I find them, I can bring you the clippings."

"Really? We never saved those sort of things. Father was always so modest..." For the first time in a few days, Riley was excited. "Please, if you find them, I'd like to see them."

"It's the least I can do for you, Mr. Rowley," Kayla said as she finished her cereal. "First you let me stay with you, and then you feed me...There's so much I owe you, and that's after I pay you for the detective work."

"It's nothing at all to me," Riley said. "Your safety is my priority. Now, are you ready to go back?"

Kayla swallowed and nodded. She was nervous, but this was something she had to do, and Riley being by her side would make it easier.

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As the two of them came closer to the apartment building, the familiar figure of Mrs. Ditch came stomping out of the apartment, brandishing her cane. "You AGAIN?" she shrieked as she noticed Riley. "And where HAVE you been, young lady?" she shrieked at Kayla.

Riley stood his ground. "Mrs. Ditch. Last night, did you or did you not hear any breaking glass in Kayla's apartment last night?" he asked.

Mrs. Ditch completely ignored him. "You little trollop! You were out fraternizing with this low-class lout last night, weren't you?" she yelled at Kayla, who flinched and shrank back against Riley. She shook her head vigorously.

"Mrs. Ditch, I will ask you again, did you or did you not hear any breaking glass in Kayla's apartment yesterday?" Riley asked, louder. As much as he secretly wished it would happen, he didn't want to cause Mrs. Ditch to have a heart attack.

"I heard nothing whatsoever upstairs yesterday," Mrs. Ditch said. "For your information, you uncouth little snoop, I was at the garden society meeting all morning and spent all afternoon at my sister's place."

Riley sighed. There goes that lead, he thought. "Right. Miss Shepherd...call me if you need me."

Kayla nodded, but her face was still frantic. Mrs. Ditch was obviously going to give her the third degree once Riley was out of earshot. Riley tipped his hat in the direction of the two women and walked off briskly.

Sure enough, he could hear the shrill voice of Mrs. Ditch carrying over the morning traffic. He pictured Kayla's face in embarrassed tears, and wished he could be there to hold her in his arms.