early that morning because the mother was ill, and she’d died only a few hours later. The babies were literally starving, and the father had thrust them on her, begging her to take them away. He couldn’t even begin to care for the five children he already had, and he didn’t want to watch the babies die.
Sarah couldn’t help thinking of the midwife who had taken the baby who grew up to be Emilia Donato. She must have believed she had done a good deed and ensured the child would have a good life with a loving family. As Sarah had arranged for these two babies to be placed in an orphanage, she only hoped they would fare better than Emilia had.
When Sarah finally reached the mission, she was already exhausted, and she still had the costume party tonight. The city would be alive with ghosts and goblins as soon as the sun set. Sarah hoped she’d have time for a short nap before Richard called to pick her up. At least her mother had been able to supply her with a costume, so she hadn’t had to worry about that.
Sarah’s knock was answered by Maeve, who didn’t look pleased to see her. “Mrs. Wells is busy,” she informed Sarah.
“I’ll wait then,” Sarah said, undaunted. Whatever Maeve may think, Sarah knew that no matter how busy Mrs. Wells might be, she wouldn’t refuse to see someone who had provided so much financial support for the mission. “I have something very important to discuss with her. Would you please tell her I’m here?” she added, managing to insinuate herself into the house without actually knocking Maeve over in the process.
Sarah heard a giggle and looked over to see Aggie sitting on the stairs, watching with amusement.
“What are you laughing at, you little brat?” Maeve asked her.
Aggie didn’t even flinch. She knew she had nothing to fear from Maeve.
“I’ll wait in the parlor,” Sarah informed the girl, who should have already invited her to do so.
Maeve went off in a huff. Watching her go, Sarah had a horrible thought. What if Maeve was the killer? She’d admitted she was glad Emilia was dead, and she had no love for anyone at the mission except Mrs. Wells. And if she wasn’t the killer, someone else here undoubtedly was.
Suddenly, annoying Maeve didn’t seem like a wise move. Sarah would certainly have to be careful from now on.
The sound of another giggle distracted her, and she saw Aggie still sitting on the stairs, watching her. “Would you like to keep me company while I wait for Mrs. Wells?” she asked the girl.
Aggie nodded and followed Sarah into the parlor. The girl wore a shabby dress that was too big for her, but it was perfectly clean and neatly patched. Her brown hair had been carefully braided, and her face scrubbed until it fairly glowed.
Sarah set down her medical bag and took a seat on the sofa, inviting Aggie to sit beside her. Instead, the girl crawled into her lap, which suited Sarah just fine.
“You look very nice today, Aggie,” Sarah said, settling the child more comfortably. “Who fixed your hair?”
The little girl smiled, showing her tiny teeth, but didn’t answer, of course.
“Did Maeve fix your hair?”
The smile vanished and the little head shook no.
“Did Mrs. Wells?”
She nodded.
They proceeded like this for a while in a strange, one-sided conversation. Sarah learned that Aggie liked Emilia and missed her, but she didn’t like Maeve at all. She enjoyed playing in the yard with the other children from the neighborhood, and she liked living at the mission. Sarah also discovered that whoever had left Aggie at the mission wasn’t her mother or her father. When Sarah asked her what had become of her parents, her answer was a shrug and no indication of any emotion. She didn’t know where they were and apparently had no memory of them.
“You’re a very lucky girl to have come here,” Sarah told her.
“She certainly is,” Mrs. Wells said as she came into the room. “I hope you haven’t been bothering Mrs. Brandt, Aggie.”
“Oh, no,” Sarah assured her. “We’ve been having a lovely visit, haven’t we, Aggie?”
The child nodded vigorously, making Sarah smile. But when she looked up, Mrs. Wells was frowning. Before Sarah could wonder why, her expression lightened again.
“Maeve said you had something important to discuss with me,” she said. “I hope nothing is wrong.”
Sarah wanted to remind her that one of her girls had been murdered and nothing could be more wrong than that, but Aggie was there. Besides, it would be rude. Instead she said, “Perhaps we should close the doors… and send Aggie out to play.”
Intrigued and concerned, Mrs. Wells lifted Aggie from Sarah’s lap and stood her on her feet. “Run along outside now with the other children,” she told the child, shooing her out. “I mean it,” she added. “Remember what I told you about listening at doors.” She waited until Aggie’s footsteps died away, then pulled the parlor doors shut and turned back to Sarah. “You said nothing was wrong.”
“Nothing new,” Sarah said. “It’s just… Detective Sergeant Malloy and I were discussing Emilia’s murder, and he had a question I couldn’t answer. I was hoping you could.”
Mrs. Wells had grown appropriately solemn. “I thought Mr. Malloy was no longer investigating Emilia’s death.”
“He’s not, but I’m still concerned, naturally. We were just discussing the facts we knew, and I recalled you said one of the girls heard Emilia say she wished Ugo could see her in her new outfit.”
For a moment, Sarah thought she would deny it, but then she appeared to remember. “Oh, yes, I’d almost forgotten,” she said cautiously. Sarah couldn’t blame her for being cautious when they were discussing her girls.
“Do you remember which girl it was?”
She didn’t answer right away. After a moment, she asked, “Do you believe this Ugo killed Emilia?”
“It’s certainly a possibility,” Sarah said tactfully. “We just thought it might be a clue.”
“How could it be a clue?”
Sarah always got into trouble when she lied. “We think… that is, I don’t believe Emilia actually said that.”
Now Mrs. Wells was really confused. “Why not?”
“Because from what the other girls have told me, Emilia hated Ugo and wouldn’t have wanted to see him.”
Mrs. Wells gave her a pitying smile. “Mrs. Brandt, women who have been abused often profess to hate their abusers. Unfortunately, and for reasons I shall never understand, they also seem irresistibly drawn to them. Emilia herself went back to Ugo a second time, even after he mistreated her. If he had professed a renewed desire to have her, I’m afraid she might have returned to him yet again.”
Sarah herself knew this to be true. “We do know, however, that Ugo didn’t kill Emilia,” she explained. “In fact… Well, I’m not quite sure how to say this. I know it will be difficult for you to believe, but… we think Emilia was killed by a woman.”
“A woman?” she echoed, apparently stunned.
“Or a girl,” Sarah clarified. “I’m so sorry, but we think one of the girls here at the mission killed her.”
The blood had drained from Mrs. Wells’s face, and Sarah hurried to her side. “Are you all right? I’ve got some smelling salts in my bag, if you – ”
“No, please,” she said, stiffening her back and lifting her chin. She took a few deep breaths and the color slowly returned to her cheeks. “Really, I’m fine. It’s just… such a shock.”
“I know,” Sarah agreed, sitting back down on the sofa. “I didn’t want to believe it myself, but there seems to be no other explanation.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what led you to this conclusion. I can’t believe… It’s impossible!”
Sarah told her about the hat pin and how it had been used to kill Emilia.
“But how would someone know that would kill her?” Mrs. Wells asked. “How would a
“When we find the killer, we can ask her,” Sarah said.
“And how will you find her? I’m sure no one is going to simply admit it.”
“She won’t have to. I think you know who the killer is, Mrs. Wells.”
Mrs. Wells’s expression collapsed into despair. “I?”
“Yes. Remember I asked you about the girl who told you Emilia wanted Ugo to see her new dress? I think she
