“I had some bread in the oven and had to wait until it was done before I could come over,” she explained, her well-lined face alight with curiosity. Sarah could imagine how impatient she must have been to get over here and find out what had happened. She was looking around, obviously expecting to see the strange woman who had arrived with Sarah in her mother’s carriage.
“Come along, Catherine,” Maeve said, taking the child by the hand. “Mrs. Ellsworth and your mama want to talk. But we have to be very quiet upstairs, so we don’t wake our guest.”
“Why is she sleeping in the daytime?” Catherine asked as they disappeared into the next room.
When the girls were gone, Mrs. Ellsworth, who had taken a seat at the kitchen table, asked, “Who on earth was that woman you brought home?”
“That was Madame Serafina.”
“The spiritualist?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked in amazement. “What is she doing here?”
“A woman was murdered at her seance today.”
“Is that where you were today? When I stopped by earlier, Maeve just said you’d been called out, so naturally, I thought you were at a delivery.”
“That
“I thought she was finished with all of that!”
“So did I.” Sarah sighed. “She went back today, however, and one of the people at the seance was murdered. Naturally, my mother wanted to keep her name out of it if she could, so she sent for Mr. Malloy.”
“How very sensible of her. And he naturally sent for you. Please, tell me everything that happened,” she pleaded.
Sarah did so, answering Mrs. Ellsworth’s many questions as she went along.
“Oh, my,” Mrs. Ellsworth exclaimed when Sarah was finished. “I can’t believe Mr. Malloy agreed to allow Madame Serafina to come here. Isn’t he worried that the killer will show up?”
“We aren’t sure that Nicola really is the killer,” Sarah reminded her. “Serafina swears he isn’t.”
“Of course she does, but what if he is and what if he shows up on your doorstep?”
“There’s no reason why he should,” Sarah said. “And even if he does, there’s no reason for him to harm any of us.”
“I certainly hope you’re right. But how long do you intend to keep the girl here? They might well never locate this Nicola fellow. What will you do then?”
“I guess we’ll decide when the time comes. Meanwhile, we’re going to see if we can find out what Serafina really knows about the murder and if there’s anything else she hasn’t told us yet.”
“Oh, how very clever of you!”
“Yes, it is,” a voice behind Sarah said. She turned to see Serafina standing there.
“Oh,” Sarah exclaimed, wondering how much the girl had overheard and trying to recall what she had been saying. Nothing too insulting to her guest, she hoped. “How are you feeling?”
“I am hungry now,” Serafina admitted, eyeing Mrs. Ellsworth suspiciously.
“Sit down and I’ll fix you something to eat.” Sarah introduced the two women, then started making a sandwich for Serafina and boiling water for tea.
Serafina sat down across from Mrs. Ellsworth, who was studying her with an intensity that was almost rude.
“Do you believe in the spirit world, Mrs. Ellsworth?” Serafina asked in a voice Sarah recognized as that of the professional spiritualist she had met that first day and not the frightened young woman she had brought home with her this afternoon. Her nap had restored her self-confidence.
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Ellsworth assured her. “If you mean do I believe in heaven and hell, that is.”
The girl reached across the table and laid her hand over Mrs. Ellsworth’s and closed her eyes for a long moment. Mrs. Ellsworth watched her in silent fascination. “I see a father figure. You have been thinking about him.”
“That must be my late husband,” Mrs. Ellsworth said in surprise. “I was just thinking about him the other day.”
“I sense that you have a question, something you would like to have answered.”
Sarah’s instinct was to interrupt, but held her tongue, curious to see what would happen.
“I do!” Mrs. Ellsworth exclaimed. “I was telling Mrs. Brandt about it not too long ago. I was wondering where he had put his pocket watch. I never found it after he died.”
“Yes, that is what I am seeing. A gold pocket watch. It was very important to him.”
“Yes, his father gave it to him. He was very ill before he died, and he started hiding things. I found most of the things, but not the watch.”
“You are right, he did hide it.” She closed her eyes again. “I see a dark place, small and dark. And the letter B.”
“The letter B?” Mrs. Ellsworth echoed uncertainly.
Serafina opened her eyes again. “Yes, something starts with the letter B. He wanted to keep the watch safe.”
“Oh, yes, he always said it should go to our son, Nelson,” Mrs. Ellsworth said. “That’s why I was so upset when I couldn’t find it.”
“He did not want it to be lost, so he hid it very well. You will find it soon.”
“Really?” Mrs. Ellsworth said.
Sarah set the plate down in front of Serafina with a deliberate clunk. “Let’s let Serafina eat now,” she suggested.
“Thank you,” Serafina said with sincere gratitude and began to devour the sandwich Sarah had made her.
“Did you hear that, Mrs. Brandt?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked. “She told me where to look for my husband’s watch.”
“Yes, I heard,” Sarah said, watching Serafina for any change of expression, but she saw none. “Where do you think it could be?”
“The letter B,” Mrs. Ellsworth mused. “That could be the bedroom, of course. Or perhaps the bureau.”
Sarah could think of dozens of words starting with B that could provide hiding places for a watch. She’d point that out to Mrs. Ellsworth later, however.
“How do you do that?” Mrs. Ellsworth was asking her. “How do you know things about people, I mean?”
“It is a gift,” Serafina replied simply. “I cannot help it.”
“I found a penny this morning when I was on my way to the market,” Mrs. Ellsworth told Sarah. “That’s good luck, you know. I picked it up, of course. You must pick it up or it won’t be good luck. I just knew something good was going to happen today.”
Sarah didn’t mention that Mrs. Ellsworth hadn’t actually found the missing watch yet.
When Serafina had finished the sandwich, she looked up to where Sarah stood pouring tea for all of them. “I know you think I am protecting Nicola, but he did not do this thing. It was one of the others. I know it was. You have to help me find out which one.”
“But my dear,” Mrs. Ellsworth said without a trace of irony, “can’t you just ask the spirits to tell you?”
9
SARAH HAD TO SWALLOW THE BARK OF LAUGHTER THAT rose up in her throat. If she laughed, Serafina would never trust her again. But Serafina wasn’t looking at Sarah at all. She was speaking to Mrs. Ellsworth.
“I have tried to ask them,” she said solemnly, “but they will not speak to me about this.”
“Whyever not?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked, outraged on her new friend’s behalf.
“I do not know. Perhaps Mrs. Gittings is blocking the message because she is angry with me.”
“So how do you propose to find out who really killed this Mrs. Gittings?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
Serafina glanced at Sarah. “I do not know.”
