The Experimental Murders (Elysium #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

 Trinket gave the woman one of her dresses and tossed her old, wet clothes over the sink in the washroom. The woman was about the same height as her but a little more bosomy, so the dress was a tad tight in the chest.

"You must be exhausted from everything that's happened," Trinket said as the woman adjusted the skirt of the dress.

The woman looked up and gave a smile and a shrug.

"Would you care for some tea?"

She nodded, and Trinket led her out of the washroom and down to the parlour. Motioning to the settee, Trinket said, "Please, take a seat here. I'll be back shortly."

She hurried off to the kitchen to put together a tray of bread and cheese to go along with the tea and then quickly brought it to the parlour. She found the woman sitting on the settee, gazing about at the finery surrounding her. It made Trinket remember when she herself had awoken in that same room to a strange doctor mending her leg.

Placing the tray on the table, she offered some tea to the woman, which she accepted with a grateful smile. Trinket sat beside her and watched as she tried to figure out how to drink the tea. It was clear her tongue's condition was new as she tentatively sipped the tea and sat there for a moment with the liquid in her mouth. Slowly, she tipped her head back and swallowed, though it looked like a struggle. She coughed a bit, but when Trinket moved to help her, she shook her head and gave a strained smile.

Settling into her seat, Trinket picked up her own cup and eyed the woman. "Are you from around here?"

The woman shook her head.

"A local town then?"

She tipped her hand back and forth and made a face.

Hesitating, Trinket cleared her throat before asking her next question. "Please don't take offense to this, but are you a night flower?"

The woman laughed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to insinuate anything. It's just that there have been some incidents here in the city involving bodies of women with additions much like your own, and there's a theory that they may have been involved in something like trafficking."

The woman gave a smile to reassure her that she had taken no offense.

"So how did you end up on this madman's operating table?"

Sighing, the woman placed her cup on the tray and drummed her fingers against her lips in thought. Finally, she turned back to Trinket and patted her chest, right where her heart was. Then she raised her hand up, her fingers positioned to resemble a gun.

Trinket squinted at her, trying to deduce what she was saying. "You were shot in the heart?"

The woman shook her head.

"You shot someone else in the heart?"

She waggled her head back and forth before dropping her hand and waving dismissively, returning her attention to her tea.

"No, that's fine. We all have our secrets. Pasts we'd like to leave behind. Honestly, we're mostly interested in what you can tell us about the man who performed this surgery on you. Do you know where you were when it happened?"

She shook her head and offered an apologetic smile.

Trinket sighed. "Well, that would have been too easy, anyway. Mr. Larkin doesn't like it when things are too easy."

The woman grinned and took a slice of bread. She examined it nervously, as if she wasn't sure how she was going to eat it. After a moment's contemplation, she pulled off a small piece and pushed it into her mouth. She chewed it for a good, long while before attempting to swallow. This time she did so without coughing, but it still seemed like a bit of a struggle. Clearing her throat, she turned to Trinket and shrugged.