The Fall Of White City (Gilded Age Mysteries Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

happy. She would disappear in the evenings sometimes. When I would ask where she had been, she would just smile—a secret smile— geheimnisvoll . And so, I began to worry.
    “I thought she must be seeing a man—someone she would not be proud to have me know about. One evening when she was out I searched through her room to see if I could find letters, anything. Instead, I found jewelry, a fine linen handkerchief—expensive things—things I knew she could never afford. I was afraid she was throwing herself away on some rich man who would afterward sweep her from him like so much trash swept into the gutter.”
    Franz had worked himself up to quite a pitch by now. His face had become more feverish with each sentence. Evangeline was about to say something to quiet him. He seemed to guess her intention and waved his hand in irritation. “No, no, Fräulein . You must let me finish!”
    She sat back down silently and waited.
    He continued, “And then her happy moods became less and less. She sighed to herself when she thought no one was looking. When I would ask her what was wrong, she would shake her head and start to cry. I did not know what to do! Finally, I could stand this waiting and watching no longer. I decided to follow her and come face to face with this man, whoever he was.
    “Last Saturday she left quietly in the evening. She did not think I was in the house when she let herself out. It must have been almost nine o’clock. When she left she was carrying a small valise. I thought she must be planning to stay away for the night. I followed her. She walked north for many blocks until she was near downtown and then she found a cab. I kept up on foot and saw the driver let her out by one of the fancy hotels on State Street—the one that is called the Templar House. I saw her go in by a side door.”
    “You mean the Ladies’ Entrance?” Evangeline referred to the side entrance off of Monroe Street, where unaccompanied ladies could check in without being accosted by men in the front lobby.
    “Yes, that was where she went. I walked up and down on the street. I wanted to wait until she was in her room, and I could catch her there with the man she came to meet. The more I walked, around and around the hotel, the angrier I came to be. How could she do this? How could she throw herself away like this? Who did this man think he was? Was he so rich that he could treat my sister like a... like a... s traßenmädchen! ”Franz seemed to be reliving the rage of that moment. Evangeline saw his face twisted by fury. Again she felt the strange sensation of seeing Elsa’s face distorted into a grotesque mask. She would never have believed Franz capable of such violent emotion. But she had never seen him provoked by such a set of circumstances either.
    He paced back and forth, scarcely aware of her presence as he resumed his story. “So after some time I decided to go in. I walked up to the desk clerk and demanded he should tell me what room my sister was in. He looked at me like I was vermin— ungeziefer . Something that had crawled across his lobby floor. He was so polite but with so much disgust. ‘I am very sorry, sir. We are not in the habit of disclosing information about our guests to unidentified strangers.’
    “‘Strangers! I am no stranger!’ I was furious. He had such contempt for me. ‘I am her brother. Tell me where she is at once!’
    “The desk clerk said ‘Sir, please lower your voice. There are ladies here. They do not wish to be disturbed by the likes of you!’ This made me more and more angry. I wanted most of all to smash his face in. Instead, I pounded on the desk with my fists and demanded again to see her. But the desk clerk then refused to speak to me at all. Instead he rang the bell and had the bellboys throw me out into the street. I tried to come back in, but each time they pushed me back out. Finally, they said they would call the police unless I left for good.
    “There was no hope. I