Murder in Morningside Heights

by Victoria Thompson

  Frank pulled the sheet back over her. “Do you have her clothes? The ones she was wearing, I mean?”

  He did, but they told him nothing except that she’d lost control of her bladder as she died.

  “Did you find out anything?” the boy asked when he stepped away from the table.

  “Just that she might’ve been killed by a man or a woman and either somebody she knew or somebody she didn’t.”

  “That don’t seem like much help,” he said.

  Frank sighed. “It isn’t.”

  * * *

  “You should have put your office in our house,” Sarah told Malloy when Gino and Maeve joined them that evening in the parlor to discuss their findings from the day. Mrs. Malloy was putting the children to bed.

  “I didn’t want the business to interfere with our family,” he said with a sheepish smile. “So what did you learn today, Gino?”

  “Only that checking Luther’s alibi is going to be harder than we thought.” He explained the problem with tracking members and told them of his friend’s offer to help.

  “Do you think he can do any good?” Malloy asked.

  “He can do at least as well as I could, maybe better,” Gino said. “I can’t get into the club without a sponsor, and the members don’t know me, so they aren’t likely to answer my nosy questions even if I can manage to ask them. Vandy can do whatever he likes and nobody’ll think anything of it.”

  “That’s true, if he takes it seriously.”

  “I think he will. Did you have any luck with Raymond’s alibi?”

  Sarah thought Gino was smirking a bit, and when she looked at Malloy, she was sure he was blushing.

  “Not a bit.”

  “What was Raymond’s alibi?” she asked.

  When Malloy didn’t reply, Gino said, “He was visiting a brothel. Both times.”

  “That cad!” Maeve said. “And all the time he was begging poor Abigail to marry him!”

  “I’m liking Cory Raymond less and less as the days go by,” Sarah said. “And you say his alibi isn’t good?”

  “It may be,” Malloy said, “but I’m told that at the brothel they don’t pay much attention to when their customers come and go or even which days they show up.”

  “So his lady friend couldn’t vouch for him?” Gino said, still smirking.

  “His lady friend,” Malloy said with more than a trace of irony, “would be willing to say anything he wants her to, true or not.”

  “Oh,” Sarah said.

  “So you see the problem,” Malloy said.

  “That means both of them are still suspects,” Maeve said.

  “For at least one of the murders, yes,” Malloy said. “And maybe both. I also had a chance to see Hatch this afternoon. I asked him if Abigail had told him anything about a scandal. He said she hadn’t, and that he hadn’t even seen her the day she died.”

  “And you believed him?” Gino asked.

  “Not until I asked his secretary if Abigail had met with him that day. Turns out she tried to see him first thing that morning, but he wasn’t in, so she’d made an appointment for late afternoon.”

  “And by then she was dead,” Sarah said. “Did he have any idea what kind of scandal she might have discovered?”

  “No, and when I mentioned to him that we’ve discovered some things about Miss Wilson that people might consider scandalous, he told me a very interesting story.” Malloy told them about the two women in England who had sued for slander. He tried to be discreet, in deference to Maeve, but she was the one who asked the most questions, so by the time he was finished, they all felt a little uncomfortable.

  “So Hatch wouldn’t have cared even if the scandal Abigail was going to tell him about was Miss Wilson and Miss Billingsly’s affection for each other,” Maeve said.

  “I never could accept that anyway,” Sarah said. “It sounds to me as if Abigail had genuine affection for Miss Wilson herself. She was even wearing the ring Miss Wilson had given her. Why would she have wanted to hurt her in any way?”

  “Unfortunately, she’s not here to tell us,” Malloy said. “But I think you’re right. And if that wasn’t it, what else could it have been?”

  “We still have the letters,” Sarah said. “And the good news is that Mother found someone to read them for us.” She told them about their visit to Madame de Béthune.

  “How long do you think it will take her to read them?” Gino asked.

  “She asked for a few days. I didn’t want to rush her, since she’s doing us such a huge favor.”

  “Of course,” Malloy said. “Waiting is hard, though.”

  “Especially when we don’t have any idea why these women were killed and if anybody else is in danger,” Maeve said.

  No one spoke for a long moment as the truth of Maeve’s words sank in.

  “What else can we do while we’re waiting, though?” Sarah asked.

  “Oh, I forgot to mention that when I was at the college today, Tobias told me he saw Miss Wilson talking to Pelletier and she looked upset,” Malloy said. “I don’t know that it had anything to do with her death, but I figured I’d ask Pelletier about it. At least he can tell me what was on her mind that day.”

  “Did you see him?” Gino asked.

  “No. He wasn’t at the school, so I got his home address. He lives in one of those bachelor apartments, but he wasn’t home either. I’ll try to run him to ground tomorrow afternoon when his classes are finished.”

  “I can check with Vandy to see how he’s doing with Luther’s alibi, I guess,” Gino said.

  “And I’ll take Catherine for a walk,” Maeve said, making everyone laugh.

  “Sarah, it looks like you can attend to your own business for a change,” Malloy said with a smile.

  “Finally,” Sarah said.

  * * *

  “What are you planning to do today?” Maeve asked Sarah as they lingered over coffee in the breakfast room that morning. Malloy had gone to his office, Mrs. Malloy and Brian had left for school, and Catherine had wandered off to the kitchen to visit with their cook, Velvet.

  “I was thinking I could check with some more of the maternity homes today and see if any of them will take that poor girl at the Mission.”

  “When is her baby due again?”

  “I’m guessing three or four months. Most of the homes don’t have room to house the women longer than a month or two before the birth, and I can’t stand the idea of putting her out of the Mission until then.”

  “How do the other girls feel about having her there?”

  Sarah had been worried about that herself. “I haven’t had the courage to ask Mrs. Keller. I know if she was having difficulty, she’d send for me, but they must be wondering why we’ve suddenly decided to break our rules for her.”

  “She was very clever to keep her condition a secret until she’d wormed her way into Mrs. Keller’s affections,” Maeve observed slyly.

  “Maeve, that’s a terrible thing to say,” Sarah tried, but Maeve only grinned.

  “You know it’s true. Do-gooders are the easiest people in the world to fool because they always assume everybody is as good as they are.”

  Sarah sighed. “I think your background has ruined your innocence.”

  “Being raised by a grifter, you mean? Of course it did. But you know I’m right.”

  “Unfortunately, I do,” Sarah said. Had she ever been innocent enough to take everyone at face value? She supposed she had, but that was a very long time ago now. “I guess I do know Hannah deliberately misled everyone in order to have a safe place to live, but who can blame her?”

  “Not me. And if she’s that clever, she just might be able to take care of herself and her baby when the time comes.”

  “I hope so,” Sarah said. “This world isn’t very kind to unmarried girls and
their children.”

  “It isn’t kind to anyone unless you have a lot of money.”

  Sarah didn’t even flinch. “Which is why I feel obligated to do what I can to make it a little kinder.”

  The doorbell rang, echoing in the massive foyer. The sound of Catherine’s small feet running from the kitchen followed, along with the more sedate footsteps of their maid, Hattie.

  “Who could that be?” Maeve asked. “It’s early even for Mrs. Ellsworth.”

  “For an instant I thought it must be a birth,” Sarah said. “It’s hard to get used to not being summoned at all hours to bring a baby into the world.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “I don’t miss the sleepless nights, but I do miss the deliveries. There’s nothing more exciting than a new life.”

  “Too bad you can’t just do it now and then for fun or something.”

  “That would mean turning women away when it wasn’t convenient for me, though. I couldn’t do that.”

  “There must be something—” Maeve began but stopped when Hattie appeared in the doorway.

  “Mrs. Frank, there’s a telegram for you.” She had carried it in on a small silver tray, the way she’d been taught by a previous employer. She held the tray out for Sarah.

  “Who’s it from?” Maeve asked when Sarah had torn it open. Reading the message was short work.

  “It’s from Irene Raymond.”

  “Raymond? Isn’t she the lover’s sister?”

  Sarah smiled. “We don’t know he was Abigail’s lover.”

  “He wanted to be, though. What does she say?”

  “She wants to meet with me.”

  Maeve’s eyes widened with anticipation. “Does she say why?”

  “Of course not. You can’t say much in a telegram, but I’m sure it’s important.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Sarah gave it some thought. “Well, since I didn’t really have anything planned, I think I’ll take the train up to Tarrytown.”

  “Are you sure that’s where she is?”

  “It’s where she sent the telegram from. I’ll telegraph her back what train I’ll be on. If she wants to meet me at the station, she can. If not, I’ll go to her home.”

  “I’m guessing she won’t want you to go to her home.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking, too.”

  “Do you think she’s figured out who killed Abigail?”

  “I hope so, but maybe she just wants to convince me her brother didn’t do it. Or maybe she has another reason completely.”

  “I wish I could go with you. I could ask Mrs. Ellsworth to take Catherine today,” Maeve said with a hopeful smile.

  Sarah shook her head. “I don’t think that’s necessary. This will probably be a waste of time. I just hope whatever she has to say is worth making a trip to her.”

  “If she was considerate, she would’ve come here,” Maeve said.

  “So you could go with me easily,” Sarah said. “But I’m guessing she can’t get away without some kind of explanation to her parents.”

  “And she probably doesn’t want to tell them she’s going to meet with you.”

  “I’m sure she doesn’t. So I guess I need to change into a traveling suit and get to the station so I can find out what she wants to tell me.”

  * * *

  Sarah was beginning to wish she had waited for a reply to her telegram, just to be sure Irene Raymond would meet with her after she’d made the long train ride up here. Her concerns ended abruptly, however, when she saw Irene waiting for her in the station.

  “Thank you so much for coming, Mrs. Malloy,” she said by way of greeting. “I’ve been so worried about what’s going on, but I don’t dare go into the city. My parents are absolutely terrified for me after what happened to Abigail.”

  “That’s certainly understandable,” Sarah said. “Do they know that I’m here?”

  “No,” she said quickly, glancing around as if afraid one of her parents might have suddenly appeared in the station. “I mean, I didn’t tell them. I think they’d like to forget that Abigail is even dead. They don’t want her name mentioned. It’s just too painful.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  They stood, staring at each other for a long moment. Sarah wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do next, and plainly, Irene hadn’t thought that far ahead either.

  “We should probably find someplace where we can talk,” Sarah finally suggested.

  “Oh yes, of course.” She glanced around again, but the station offered nothing in the way of comfort except some wooden benches for waiting travelers. Besides, it was drafty and noisy from the trains and the travelers bustling through.

  “I wouldn’t mind some refreshment,” Sarah said by way of suggestion.

  Irene brightened instantly. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think. There’s a ladies’ tearoom just down the street.”

  “That would be perfect.”

  The two of them left the station and walked the block and a half to the tearoom. Unescorted ladies were often not welcome in restaurants, so places like this had become common in the city for ladies who needed a warm drink and a bite to eat while they were shopping. The place was small and tastefully furnished, offering tables for two or four. Sarah and Irene chose one near the back, away from the other customers, and ordered tea and some sandwiches.

  When the waitress had gone and Irene still said nothing, Sarah said, “Did you have something you wanted to talk to me about?”

  Poor Irene did seem awfully distressed. “I’ve just been thinking about Abigail so much, ever since the funeral. I’ve been trying and trying to figure out why anyone would want to hurt her. I was hoping you’d have some news by now, I suppose.”

  Sarah’s hopes sank. She’d entertained the notion that Irene might have some new information for her. “I do have some news, but it isn’t good, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh dear, what is it?”

  “Have you heard about Miss Wilson?”

  “No. What has she done?”

  “She was murdered on Saturday.”

  Plainly, this was the last thing Irene had expected to hear. She gasped, and the color drained from her face. “That’s impossible!”

  “I wish it were. It happened in the alley right outside of her house, apparently.”

  Tears flooded her lovely eyes. “How horrible. Who is doing this and why?”

  “I was hoping you’d have something to tell me about it.”

  Her horror became fear. “Me? I don’t know anything. I’ve been stuck here without any news for days. I didn’t even know about poor Miss Wilson. Oh, and Miss Billingsly. She must be beside herself. How will she stay in that house alone now?”

  Sarah had no idea, but that wasn’t her concern. “Have you spoken with your brother recently?”

  “Cory? Not really.”

  “I guess you haven’t seen him,” Sarah said, remembering he was in the city yesterday when Malloy and Gino questioned him.

  “Oh, he came home yesterday, but I haven’t . . . He’s been in a foul mood ever since Abigail died. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”

  He might have told Irene about Miss Wilson, Sarah said, and wondered why he hadn’t. “Did your parents know Cory had proposed to Abigail?”

  Now she was disconcerted. “Uh, no, I don’t think they did.”

  “Because Abigail’s parents didn’t know. They were surprised to hear it, too. They had no idea Cory had fallen in love with her, and they didn’t think she was in love with him.”

  “They . . . they hadn’t told anyone,” Irene tried.

  “But did Abigail really return his affection? After all, she was wearing a ring someone else had given her.”

  “Oh, Mrs. Malloy, you’re just being mean now. You know Abby didn�
��t want to marry Cory.”

  “I didn’t intend to be mean. And you’re right, I did know that, but I had to make sure you did. Why do you think he wanted to marry her?”

  “You mean besides being in love with her?” she asked with a sad little smile.

  “We both know he wasn’t. What was his real reason?”

  Irene sighed and her eyes grew moist again. “Cory is . . . Well, he isn’t like Luther. Luther just isn’t very bright, so he’ll never amount to much. But Cory is bright. He could do anything he wanted in life. The problem is, he doesn’t want to do anything for more than a day or two and then he gets bored. He’s supposed to be learning our family’s business from Father, but he hardly ever even goes to the office. He prefers to be in the city doing whatever it is he does there.”

  Sarah could have told her about the girl at the brothel, but she didn’t. “What did Abigail have to do with this?”

  “Father has been telling him he needs to settle down, and I think Cory thought if he married Abigail, that would make our parents happy. He’d be married and he could have his own home, and he wouldn’t have to pay attention to what our parents wanted anymore.”

  “Do you think Abigail knew this?”

  “I’m sure she suspected. Cory had never paid her any particular attention before, and then suddenly, he was begging for her hand.”

  “I wonder why she didn’t just turn him down and be done with it,” Sarah said.

  Irene shook her head. “I think she took some perverse pleasure in teasing him. She knew he didn’t love her and she didn’t believe anything he said, so she was probably getting a little revenge before she turned him down completely.” Irene’s face suddenly lightened. “So you see, Cory didn’t have any real reason to kill Abby. He didn’t love her, so he wouldn’t have cared if she turned him down. That means he couldn’t possibly have done it.”

  Sarah simply stared back at her. If Abby had just been teasing him and finally admitted it, his wounded pride and his hot temper could have driven him to murder her.

  14

  Frank was happy to note that his presence at the Normal School today hardly caused a stir. The young ladies were obviously becoming used to seeing him, although they still whispered behind their hands after he passed by. He wondered what Hatch and the other teachers were saying to the students about him and the murders. How did they calm the girls’ fears? How did they reassure the parents that the girls weren’t going to be murdered after class one day?