Sarah was trying to decide if she should take Aggie and Maeve with her to visit the mission when someone rang her front doorbell. Her heart quickened when she saw Malloy’s silhouette through the door, and she smiled as she pulled it open.
“Malloy,” she said in greeting, but her smile faded when she saw his expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.
“Let me in, and I’ll tell you,” he replied sourly.
Aggie and Maeve had heard the bell and now came running to greet him. He put on a good show for them, teasing and grinning, until Sarah sent them upstairs and took Malloy into the kitchen. She poured coffee without asking and set it in front of him.
“I saw the story about the riot in the newspaper. Did something happen to the Ruoccos? To the baby?”
“No, we managed to keep the rioters out of the restaurant until the police came.”
“You were there?” she asked in amazement.
“Donatelli and I were there questioning the family when it started.”
“How is Maria? And the baby? She must be terrified!”
“Everybody was fine, or at least nobody got hurt. They sent Maria and the baby and the daughter to a neighbor’s house.”
“Did you find out anything when you were questioning them? About who might have killed Nainsi?”
“Nobody confessed, if that’s what you mean,” he said grimly.
She could see the discouragement in his eyes. “I wish I could help. I’ve been trying to figure out if anything I learned when I was there was important.”
“What did you learn?” he asked, surprising her.
“Maria is determined to be a good mother to the baby. She doesn’t think she’ll ever have any of her own because . . .”
“Because what?” he prodded when she hesitated.
“Because Joe doesn’t do his husbandly duty anymore,”
she told him with just a touch of glee, knowing he’d be embarrassed. He didn’t like discussing such things with her.
He reached up and rubbed his eyes, probably to keep from having to look at her. “All right,” he said with more than a touch of discomfort. “So Maria is claiming the baby for herself because she can’t have one of her own.”
“I didn’t really expect the rest of the family would be too happy about it, but even Mrs. Ruocco has come around.”
“The old woman?” he asked in surprise.
“Yes, she’s very fond of Maria and wants her to be happy.
She must know that Joe isn’t much of a husband and Maria doesn’t have any other joy in her life. This is her one chance to have a child.”
“I can’t believe Joe went along with it.”
“I can’t either, but maybe he has a guilty conscience. He’ll let her have her way so she’s too busy to bother him anymore.”
“Valentina doesn’t seem very pleased to have the baby there,” Malloy remarked. “She wanted to give it to the mob last night so they’d go away and leave them alone.”
“Oh, my! I know she’s a spoiled brat, but I never would have thought her capable of such a thing. Do you think she was serious?”
“Yes, I do,” he confirmed gravely. “She hates that baby.
I wouldn’t leave her alone with it for a second.”
Sarah considered this information. “Do you think she could have hated Nainsi that much, too?”
“I thought you said she was the one who discovered the body.”
“She was, but . . . She was screaming like a banshee. I thought she was genuinely terrified.”
“Maybe she didn’t realize she’d killed Nainsi. Maybe she just put the pillow over her face to shut her up or something. Then she went in the next morning and found her dead. She’d be pretty upset.”
“It’s possible, I guess. I’d hate to think someone so young could do such a thing, though.”
“You’d be surprised what kids can do,” Malloy said.
“Sometimes they’re worse than adults because they aren’t smart enough yet to even think about the consequences of the things they do.”
Sarah shuddered at the thought.
“So we’ve got Mama Ruocco, Maria and Joe in favor of keeping the baby. Valentina is very much against it.”
“I don’t know how Antonio feels,” Sarah said. “I haven’t heard him say anything on the subject.”
“He wanted to give the baby to Mrs. O’Hara last night when the mob was trying to break down their front door.”
“That seems logical,” Sarah mused. “He wouldn’t feel any connection to the baby, and he wouldn’t be overly concerned about Maria’s happiness. Lorenzo was, though,”
she remembered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that when Ugo wanted Maria to give up the baby, he stood up for her.”
“When did this happen?” he asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.
She sighed in resignation. “Yesterday. Ugo came to the restaurant in the afternoon. I’m sure he thought all he had to do was tell them to give the baby to Mrs. O’Hara and they’d obey. Maria refused him to his face, though.”
“And Lorenzo defended her?”
“Yes, he and Joe and Mrs. Ruocco, all of them. Lorenzo took the lead, though. He actually shamed Joe into joining him.”
Malloy took a long swig of the cooled coffee and set the cup down with a clunk. “If they didn’t listen to Ugo, they probably won’t listen to anybody else, either.”
“Listen to them about what?”
Malloy gave her a long, level look, as if judging her in some way.
“Malloy, what are you talking about?” she prodded, letting her annoyance show.
“I’m talking about getting them to give the baby to Mrs.
O’Hara to make peace.”
“Mrs. O’Hara can’t take care of an infant,” she protested.
“She couldn’t even support herself and Nainsi.”
“Tammany is going to give her a pension so she can,” he reported.
“Tammany Hall? What do they have to do with this?”
“It’s an Irish baby. They say it was kidnapped by Italians who killed its mother.”
“Nobody kidnapped him!”
“Somebody killed his mother, though.”
“Maria certainly didn’t!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!”
“Who did, then?”
“How should I know?”
Malloy scowled at her. “Then why are you so sure it wasn’t Maria? It could’ve been her just as easy as anyone else.”
Now Sarah rubbed her eyes. “This is crazy, Malloy. First Valentina and now Maria. Next you’ll be accusing the baby!”
“He didn’t have a motive,” Malloy pointed out dryly.
“Neither did anybody else,” she snapped back. “Not enough of one to kill her, at any rate. Antonio was the only one who had a reason to be angry enough. She’d made a fool of him and ruined his life.”
“He was too drunk,” Malloy said.
“How do you know that?”
“Don’t you remember how hungover he and Joe were that morning? Besides, I questioned them both.”
“Then tell me everything you found out. Let’s compare notes and see what we know about the night Nainsi was killed. Maybe we’re missing something.”
Frank glared at her, but after a few seconds, he gave in.
“We both know what happened up until you left that night.”
“That’s right. Maria was with Nainsi, helping her with the baby.”
“According to the ones I questioned, Maria went downstairs with everybody else to help serve dinner to the customers that night. Nainsi was fine then. After the crowd left, Joe and Antonio went to see Ugo, while the rest of the family cleaned up. Then the family went up to the second floor. There’s a parlor there, where they usually sit.”
“Did someone check on Nainsi after they came upstairs?”
Sarah asked.
�
��Maria said Mrs. Ruocco wouldn’t let them. Valentina had taken some supper up to her earlier, but no one saw her again until Maria went up to bed.”
“But Maria saw her then?”
“She said she looked in and saw the baby was sleeping in his cradle. The room was dark, and she thought Nainsi was asleep, too, so she didn’t say anything to her.”
“Then she could have been dead already,” Sarah said.
“Not according to Maria. She said that when Joe came in later, after she’d gone to sleep, he made some noise and woke her and Nainsi up. Nainsi called out for him to be quiet.”
“That means she was still alive when Joe and Antonio came home. Do we know what time it was?”
“No one paid any attention.”
“Of course they didn’t,” Sarah sighed. “But now we know everyone was at home when she died. What else do we know about Joe and Antonio? You said they went to see Ugo. Do you know why?”
“Joe said he and Antonio went to tell Ugo what had happened and ask him how they could keep the baby for Maria.”
“That doesn’t sound right!” Sarah exclaimed.
“I know. I think Joe’s lying about that. Probably, they went to ask Ugo how to get rid of Nainsi and her baby, but he didn’t want to say that to a cop.”
“We’ll probably never find out for sure what they talked about. Ugo certainly isn’t going to tell you that.”
“No, he won’t. None of them will. They do admit that Antonio drank a lot that night and passed out when he got home. He says he slept on the sofa in the second floor parlor, so he wasn’t anywhere near Nainsi. Maria claims Joe got into bed after Nainsi called out for him to be quiet, and nei-ther of them got up again.”
“Then that’s it. Don’t you see? Joe and Antonio went to Ugo to ask him to get rid of her, and he sent someone over to kill her. You said yourself how easy it would be to sneak up the back staircase.”
“It’s a good theory,” Frank agreed. “The problem is proving it. Ugo isn’t going to tell us who he sent over, and nobody is going to confess. Meanwhile, the Irish will continue thinking the Ruoccos killed the girl and kidnapped her baby, and they’ll keep going down to Little Italy and causing trouble until they get the baby back.”
“That’s ridiculous! They’ll get tired or forget all about it.”
“Not if Tammany Hall keeps them stirred up. It’s politics, Sarah. Tammany wants to put the Italians in their place. They’re going to keep organizing riots—”
“Organizing?” Sarah cried in outrage.
“Yes, the Ward Heelers got that group together last night. And they’ll keep doing it until Roosevelt helps them get what they want.”
“Roosevelt? He’ll never go along with this.” Sarah had known him all her life, and she knew he could never be coerced.
“He can’t stand by and watch people riot in the streets.
He doesn’t have a choice, Sarah. He has to keep the peace, and the Ruoccos don’t have any right to that baby.”
“But the law—”
“Morally, they have no right to it,” he insisted. “Especially if somebody in their family killed Nainsi . . . or ordered it done.”
Sarah felt tears stinging her eyes as fury flooded her. “You can’t just pass a baby around like it’s a . . . a loaf of bread!”
“We’re going to give him to his grandmother, his only known relative,” he pointed out reasonably.
“You’ll never convince Maria to give him up,” she warned him furiously.
“I know,” he said. “That’s why you have to do it.”
9
Frank hadn’t expected Sarah to give in so easily, which made him really suspicious. “You do understand what you need to do, don’t you?” he asked her as they rode downtown toward Little Italy in a Hansom cab.
“Of course I do. You made it very clear. I’ll have a few sharp words to say to Commissioner Roosevelt when next we meet, though.”
Frank was sure she would. “He’s got to do what’s best for the city,” Frank tried. “Innocent people are getting hurt in the riots. It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets killed. It could even be one of the Ruoccos. Or maybe they’ll burn the restaurant and half the street down.”
“You can stop explaining. I understand, Malloy,” she said tartly. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”
She didn’t have to add that she didn’t like it. That was obvious. They rode the rest of the way through the city in uneasy silence. Frank hoped she was thinking about what she would say to the Ruoccos, and he hoped it would be convincing.
The cab dropped them off at the corner.
“What if they aren’t home?” Sarah asked uneasily.
“They’ll be getting ready for the lunch customers,” he pointed out.
She looked around, noticing the signs of last night’s riot.
He could see her shock and was glad for it. Maybe that would soften her up a bit.
“Come on,” he urged. “Let’s get this over with.”
The front door was locked and the shades drawn, so he knocked. He saw Sarah eyeing the patch on the door frame where it had been ripped out last night. The edge of the window shade moved a bit, as if someone was peering out to see who was there, and then the door opened.
“Mrs. Brandt,” Lorenzo said in surprise. Then his gaze cut to Frank, and his eyes darkened with suspicion. “What are you doing here?” he asked Frank.
“We need to speak with you, Lorenzo,” Sarah said before Frank could answer. “We need to speak with your whole family, all together.”
“Mama said not to let the police in,” he protested.
“Mr. Malloy is escorting me today, to make sure I’m safe because of the trouble last night. I have something to explain to you, something that could end all this trouble and get your lives back to the way they were before. Please, Lorenzo. It’s very important.”
Lorenzo looked unconvinced, but he said, “Come in. I’ll ask Mama.”
He locked the door behind them and then went to the kitchen, leaving Sarah and Frank standing in the empty dining room.
“They did a good job getting the place cleaned up,”
Frank observed. The patch job on the front door would do for now, and all the debris was gone.
“I can’t believe the mob actually broke down the door,”
she said.
“They only broke it in, not down. Next time they’ll probably smash the windows and loot the place.”
She gave him a murderous glare, but luckily, Mrs. Ruocco came out of the kitchen like a small whirlwind, with Lorenzo and Joe right behind her.
“What you want?” she demanded of Frank. “I tell you go home, not bother us!”
“Mrs. Brandt is the one who wants to talk to you,” Frank defended himself, taking a step backward to show he was no part of it.
“How is the baby doing?” Sarah asked, skillfully divert-ing her attention.
Mrs. Ruocco forced herself to be polite to Sarah. “The goat milk is good for him. He sleep now.”
“That’s wonderful,” Sarah said with genuine relief. “And Maria? Is she getting enough rest?”
Mrs. Ruocco shrugged one shoulder.
“She’s doing better now that the baby is sleeping,”
Lorenzo reported, earning a disapproving look from his mother.
“Is she here?” Sarah asked with the kind of confidence that had to have been bred into her for generations. “I’d like for her to hear what I have to say, too.”
“Is about baby?” Mrs. Ruocco asked suspiciously.
“It’s about the trouble you’ve been having,” Sarah said.
“I think we can put an end to it, but Maria should be here before I explain.”
Mrs. Ruocco studied her for a long moment, probably trying to judge her sincerity. Apparently satisfied, she gave Joe a nod, and he went hurrying away up the stairs to find his wife.
“We are busy cooking for customer,” Mrs. Ruocco warned while they w
aited. “We must earn living.”
“Of course,” Sarah agreed. “I won’t take up very much of your time, but I know you’re anxious to stop these riots.”
No one spoke, and in the silence, they could all hear Joe’s footsteps as he climbed the stairs and then came back down again. A second set of footsteps followed. Joe emerged from the stairway, and he seemed a bit shocked to see everyone still standing exactly as he’d left them all staring at him. He turned and made sure Maria negotiated the final steps. She carried the baby, who was wide awake, taking in everything around him with the watchful somberness of the newly born.
“Mrs. Brandt, what’s wrong?” Maria asked, looking around uncertainly.
“You look much better today, Maria,” Sarah said with a small smile.
“He only woke up once last night,” Maria reported.
“Why are you here? Did something happen?”
“Nothing new,” Sarah assured her. “I just . . . I wanted to speak with you about this situation you’re in. You may not know it, but the politicians from Tammany Hall are the ones organizing the rioters. They are buying them drinks and getting them stirred up until they’re brave enough to come down here and attack the place.”
“Why would the politicians do that?” Joe challenged.
“Why would they care about us?”
“Mr. Malloy explained to me that Tammany Hall wants to show its power over the Italians.”
Joe and Lorenzo made outraged noises.
“Silenzio,” Mrs. Ruocco snapped. “Why they come here?”
“Because Nainsi’s death put your names in the newspapers, and everybody knows you now. Because they’ve told lies about you and made the Irish angry. They’re saying you murdered Nainsi so you could have her baby.”
Maria made an anguished sound and covered her eyes with one hand, holding the baby tightly with her other arm.
Mrs. Ruocco said something in Italian that Frank was glad nobody translated, and Joe and Lorenzo muttered ominously.
“How can we stop them?” Joe demanded.
“Commissioner Roosevelt has suggested that in order to satisfy the Irish and take away their reason for attacking you, you give the baby to Nainsi’s mother,” Sarah said as gently as if she’d been suggesting a walk in the park.
This time Maria was the one who cried out. “No!” she shrieked, startling the baby. “She cannot have him! She can’t buy the milk for him! She can’t keep the bottles clean! She lives like a pig! He will die!”
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