by Kat Ross
“Pray continue then,” I said.
He nodded. “First, I must tell you a bit about Robert. He’s always been impetuous and headstrong, a dreamer who imagined that he would strike it rich someday. Robert was orphaned at a young age. My family took him in, and we became like brothers. We were country boys, Miss Pell, and keen for adventure. When we were both eighteen, Robert talked me into enlisting and we joined the Army on the Frontier.” Brady rummaged through his pockets and produced a photograph, which he handed to me. It showed two federal soldiers, one of whom was clearly Brady, the other a darkly handsome young man with a mustache and thick black hair. They stood side by side against a dramatic backdrop of open prairie, with snow-capped mountains in the distance.
“This was taken three years ago in Wyoming. We had been called out to restore order in the town of Rock Springs after the rioting there.”
“You refer to the massacre of twenty-eight Chinese miners by their white counterparts,” I said.
The episode was one of the more shameful ones in the long history of simmering racial tensions in the Western states, where immigrant laborers—both Chinese and European—formed the backbone of the Union Pacific Railroad’s operations.
“Yes. Our orders were to escort the survivors from Evanston back to their homes.” Brady’s expression grew troubled. “We arrived a week after the violence. There were still bodies lying in the streets. Some had been burned. Others appeared to have been literally torn apart. Many of our fellow soldiers didn’t seem too bothered, but Robert was quite affected by it.”
“A decent man, then,” John said quietly, but with force. He despised bigots of all stripes.
“Yes, despite his failings, Robert was always kind-hearted. Which makes what occurred later even more inexplicable.” Brady took Elizabeth’s hand. An attractive woman with a strong jaw and piercing, intelligent hazel eyes, she nodded encouragingly. “Rock Springs soured us both on army life, and neither of us reenlisted when our tour was finished. We returned to Hastings, where I asked for Elizabeth’s hand and she happily obliged.”
They exchanged a quick smile. “Robert served as the best man at our wedding. Thanks to a family connection, I managed to secure a position with my current employer. The future appeared bright. Robert’s parents had left him a small but adequate sum with which to make his way in the world. As a single man with no pressing attachments, he decided to take lodgings in the city and seek his fortune here. I suppose it was inevitable that between the duties of domestic life and my new position, which entails long hours and frequent travel throughout Manhattan, we fell out of touch. A year or so passed, in which I scarcely heard a word from my old friend. Until two weeks ago, when he arrived unannounced at my office on Maiden Lane.
“I’ll be honest, Miss Pell, I was shocked at Robert’s appearance. He had lost a good deal of weight, and his clothes were ill-fitting and shabby. His cheeks had become as hollow and sunken as an old man’s. There was a pathetic tremor in his hands that spoke of heavy drinking. I didn’t wish to embarrass him by drawing attention to the fact that he had fallen on hard times, for Robert was prideful. But I insisted on taking him out to lunch, and he finally relented.
“At first we spoke of small, inconsequential matters, as old friends do. He inquired after Elizabeth, of whom he was always quite fond. But after a while, I steered the conversation around to what he had been up to since leaving Hastings. Robert was cagey, but I persisted in my questioning and eventually got it all out of him.”
Brady picked up the glass of iced tea, turning it round and round in his hands without taking a sip. “It seems that within just a few months of his arrival, Robert had managed to squander his modest inheritance on a series of failed business ventures. He was forced to abandon lodgings in a respectable part of town and move to a flat on Leonard Street in the Five Points, that squalid little patch of earth where it seems even the Almighty has turned away His face in shame.”
I looked over at John, who had a soft streak and was clearly moved by the story. Mr. Straker had indeed fallen far. It was no exaggeration to say that the Five Points, bounded by Anthony, Cross and Orange Streets on the Lower East Side, was the most notorious slum in America, and possibly the world. It had even managed to thoroughly shock Mr. Charles Dickens, that hardened chronicler of social ills, when he visited in 1842 accompanied by two policemen, and the place had scarcely improved since. It was claimed that a single tenement, the Old Brewery, saw a murder a night for fifteen years running.
“You might wonder why Robert didn’t simply concede that his gamble had fallen flat and return to his hometown, where my wife and I would have been more than happy to take him in until he got back on his feet,” Brady continued. “His was a story all too typical of this city, where vast fortunes are won and lost on an hourly basis. There was no shame in it.”
“New York is most effective at taking the conceit out of a man,” John agreed wryly.
“But as I mentioned before, Robert was prideful, excessively so. He couldn’t bear the thought of others knowing his defeat. And so he had clung on to what seemed barely a life, hoping for some miracle to occur that would provide his salvation.” Brady sighed.
“And did he find it?” I asked.
Brady gave me an even look. “He found something, but it was not salvation. Quite the opposite, Miss Pell.”
At this point, Brady turned his palms up beseechingly, looking in turn from John to me as though seeking absolution himself. “You must understand, all that I did, I did at Robert’s request. For it seems that his visit to my office that day had an ulterior motive. It is not my habit to drink spirits during working hours, but Robert ordered brandy after the meal and I could hardly refuse to join him. To be honest, I felt in need of a stiff jolt myself. When he asked for a favor, I assumed he wanted a loan. I told him I would be happy to give him as much as my modest income allowed. Robert appeared offended at this. He said he didn’t need my money, but rather my assistance with a delicate business matter. I must admit, I groaned inwardly at this, imagining that he wished me to invest in yet another hare-brained scheme, or worse, take advantage of my employer in some way. I expressed my reservations and Robert laughed long and hard, as though he found it terribly funny. It was quite irritating. I was on the verge of paying the check and leaving when his demeanor became quite serious again. There was a wild, desperate light in his eyes. He insisted that what he asked of me would in no way compromise my honor, nor would it strain my purse. I had only to meet him at a certain address the following evening at eleven o’clock. He said an opportunity had presented itself to turn his ill-fortune around.”
“The salvation he had been waiting for,” I murmured.
“Precisely. I could see he was extremely excited and attempting to suppress it. What could I do but agree? Of course, when he gave me the address, I almost changed my mind. It was near to Robert’s rooms, an infamous alley of brothels and disorderly houses.” Brady suddenly seized a chunk of his own hair in a paroxysm of guilt and regret. “Would that I had followed my own instincts and turned him down then! None of it might have happened!”
Elizabeth made a small noise and took her husband’s hand in her own delicate, small-boned ones. John and I waited awkwardly while Brady composed himself.
“I asked Robert what sort of legitimate business transaction he could possibly conduct in such a place, at such an hour. Why, we’d be lucky if we weren’t both murdered for the boots on our feet! Robert responded that he was aware of the dangers and that is why he did not wish to go alone, but he would if he had to. He was very composed and resolute as he told me that he understood perfectly if I declined and would not hold it against our friendship. Oh, he had me over a barrel, Miss Pell. As I said, I have no other siblings, and Robert occupied the place of a brother to me, despite our recent estrangement. As long as it would not impinge on my own honor, I could hardly see my way to refuse him anything. I told him I would be there, along with a pistol I often carried whe
n passing through less savory portions of the city.
“Once I acquiesced, he seemed to relax and his demeanor changed yet again. He became quite chatty, almost grandiose, and confessed that he had by chance made the acquaintance of a medium who hinted that she was privy to some occult ritual which would bring untold wealth to those who performed it to the letter. He pretended to find the whole thing amusing, but I could see he had fallen entirely under her spell. I reminded him that such women were famous for luring the unwary into traps whereby their confederates would first rob and then slit the throat of their victim, discarding the body in the nearest river. He responded that that was why he preferred not to go alone. I could see that it was hopeless to dissuade him, so we agreed to meet the following evening and parted ways. I must say, I felt my own good fortune most keenly that night,” Brady added, looking with quiet but profound adoration at his wife. “Seeing Robert penniless and alone…Well, it made me view my own circumstances with fresh eyes.”
Elizabeth spoke up for the first time. She had a pleasant contralto and firm, confident manner that I admired. “Leland confided in me what had occurred that day. Perhaps another woman would have begged her husband not to keep such a sordid appointment, but Robert is like a brother to me also.” Her eyes flashed. “And I have the utmost confidence in my husband’s abilities. I bade him to go, and to keep both of them safe.”
I sensed that we were approaching the crux of the matter and said nothing, waiting patiently for Brady to resume his narrative.
“At the appointed hour, I found my way to the address Robert gave me,” he said. “It was a grim dwelling, even by the low standards of the neighborhood. A gang of vile-looking youths lounged on the corner, but I gave them a glimpse of my pistol and they turned their attentions elsewhere. Robert was waiting for me in the doorway. He led me down a flight of narrow, pitch-black stairs to the lowest level of the tenement, a dungeon with only thin slits at street level to admit fresh air from the outside, if the air in that pestilential place could be called fresh.” Brady’s mouth twisted in distaste. “I’d heard tell of such hells, but to actually stand in one, amid the damp and the stench…It had rained heavily the night before, and there was a stagnant pool of water on the floor. It soaked right through my shoes. Well, I came close to turning tail and running, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Robert must have sensed me quail, for he laid a steadying hand on my sleeve. And then a candle flickered to life. It was the medium.”
“Did you catch her name?” I asked.
“Santi, she called herself. Madame Catarina Santi. A battered wooden table and three chairs had been placed in the center of the room. She told us to sit down. I just wanted to get the whole thing over with, so I obliged. I suppose I expected some knocking about of the table, moaning noises, the usual chicanery of her profession. The woman, Santi, took out a book and began reading from it. I can hardly remember a word now, but it seemed perfect nonsense at the time. I nearly laughed, for she was so drunk, she could hardly form a coherent sentence.” Brady swallowed. “My amusement soon turned to disgust when she suddenly produced a rooster, I know not from where, and proceeded to tear it apart with her bare hands. The table was awash with blood and feathers. I looked at Robert and saw that he was as shocked as I at this savage turn of events. I was rising from my chair to leave when a foul wind extinguished the candles.” Brady paused and gave John and me a level look. “You may decide for yourselves whether to believe the final part of my story. All I can say, and my wife will attest to it, is that I have never been a man of vivid imagination. I always thought the Spiritualist rage to be a load of bunkum.”
“And you’ve revised your opinion?” John asked eagerly.
Brady didn’t answer right away. Finally, he sighed. “I don’t know. I can only tell you what I saw and heard that night. Robert was to my right. He cried out once and then went still. I cannot explain the wind since as I said, the only air came through mere slits in the wall, but I would swear to it on my life. It had a faint smell of sulphur or creosote.” He stopped talking abruptly and placed the glass of iced tea back on the table.
“What happened next?” I asked.
“I felt a…presence in the room. A subtle displacement of the atmosphere. Santi screamed for us to close our eyes. She was quite hysterical.”
“I thought the room was dark,” I said.
“It was. I didn’t understand what she meant. But I did it anyway. Some small voice inside told me that as pointless as it seemed, it would be wise to listen.”
John was fairly falling off the edge of his seat at this point. He believed in everything, the more mystical and macabre, the better.
“What do you mean by a presence?” he asked.
“I mean that we were not alone in that room,” Brady snapped. “I don’t know who it was, what it was. But the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up, and every primal instinct screamed run, you fool, run.” He visibly collected himself. “It seemed to go on for hours, but I think it was only a few minutes. Finally, the wind died and I heard Santi fumbling around for the matches. I realized that I had my hands pressed tightly against my face and let them go. I had not even been aware of it. She relit the candles. All appeared to be the same. I won’t say normal, as she was stained with gore down the front of her dress, but I could detect no difference in the room. Please leave now, she told us, and I was more than happy to comply. Robert was staring into space with a vacant look on his face so I shook him until he came back to his senses. I put an arm around his shoulders and led him out of that loathsome place, up the stairs and onto the street. Oh, to see the stars again! It was like emerging from a tomb. I looked at my pocket watch and was surprised to see it was only just past midnight. Of course, it was too late to catch a train home to Westchester, so I escorted Robert to his flat and then I returned to Maiden Lane, where I spent the night on a couch in my office.”
“Did you discuss what had happened?” I asked.
“Not then. Robert barely spoke a word, except to thank me for accompanying him. He was quite subdued. My mind was still reeling from the strange things I had experienced, and I had no wish to speak of them either. I kept thinking that it must have been a hoax, albeit a rather frightening one. By the next day, as I ventured into the sunshine for a strong cup of coffee, the whole thing seemed like a bad dream. However, I feared for Robert’s state of mind. I knew he had put all his hopes in it, and those hopes would now be dashed. So I went back to call on him.”
“And found him gone?” John interjected.
“No, he was at home. But he was very agitated. Robert was normally a man of calm, level-headed disposition, except for his poor judgment in business matters. We had been through a good deal together, in the army and as young men with a thirst for adventure. He was just the sort of fellow you would wish to have at your side when the seas got rough. But that morning…I scarcely recognized him. All the blinds were drawn tight and there was an unpleasant, close odor to the room. When I tried to open a window, he stopped me, almost violently. He was ranting.”
“About something in particular?” I asked.
“Yes. He kept saying that ‘it is loosed’ and seemed to be under the delusion that something was stalking him. He blamed Santi. I tried to persuade him to come home with me, but he declined. He said he didn’t want to put Elizabeth in jeopardy. I could hardly make heads or tails of his tirade.”
“Are you certain he said it?” I said. “That he wasn’t referring to a person?”
“I’m certain. It struck me at the time as odd. He also said, ‘It comes through the eyes.’ He was looking at himself in a shaving mirror as he said this. I came forward and laid a hand on his shoulder but he shook it off. I asked him what he meant, but he refused to elaborate. I was anxious to get home and reassure my wife that I was fine, so when it became clear that Robert would not come with me, I left. That was the last time I saw him.” Brady put a hand to his forehead and rubbed it wearily. “I returned the following
day, determined to make him see reason. Clearly, he was unwell. I knocked, but he failed to answer. I have returned thrice more, to no avail.”
Brady trailed off, as though reluctant to continue. Elizabeth’s hands were clasped so tightly, the knuckles had turned white.
“John,” I said quietly. “Would you fetch Tuesday’s papers?”
He gave me a confused sort of look but complied. Brady and his wife sat on the sofa, stone-faced, while I picked the World off the pile and opened it to page four.
“I believe I know why you’re here,” I said. “Madame Santi’s real name was Becky Rickard, was it not?”
Brady didn’t respond, but the look he gave me was an answer in itself.
“It seems she was a well-known spiritualist who had suffered public humiliation when her tricks were revealed,” I said, scanning the brief article. “Her clientele abandoned her and she disappeared. This was about six months ago. We know where she ended up. She was like your friend, Mr. Straker. One may ascend to great heights in this city, but lose your grip on the rungs and the fall will be steep and swift.”
John tentatively raised a finger. “Pardon, but did you say was?”
I tossed the paper on the table so he could see the headline. “Yes. Someone stabbed her to death three days ago.”
2
John snatched up the paper and began devouring the gory details, at least, those few the reporter had managed to coax out of the police. The murder was described as “savage” and “brutal,” although the article glossed over the specifics. Most of it was devoted to breathlessly recalling Becky Rickard’s earlier career as a darling of New York Society and her plunge into destitute anonymity when two of the Fox sisters of Rochester in upstate New York—virtual founders of the Spiritualism movement—had admitted that the mysterious rapping sounds they had long claimed were messages from beyond the grave were actually Margaret cracking her toe joints. As their protégé, Becky, who then called herself Valentina von Linden, was equally tarred with the brush of fraud and disgrace.