Murder On Waverly Place

“Nicola did not kill her, Mr. Malloy,” Serafina said again. “Please, you must believe me.”

“Can’t you at least question the other people at the seance to see if you can figure out what really happened?” Sarah asked again. “If the boy is innocent, you can’t let him hang.”

Frank sighed in defeat. “I might be able to talk to each of them once,” he admitted grudgingly, “if I say I’m trying to collect more evidence against DiLoreto and if they’ll let me in at all. But if they refuse to talk to me, I can’t force them. And…” he continued when Sarah started to look hopeful, “I can’t treat them like criminals.”

“What does that mean?” Serafina asked Sarah.

“It means he has to be polite and not make them angry,” Sarah said.

“Which means they might not tell me the truth,” Frank said. “Especially the one who killed her, if one of them did. And unless one of them confesses to killing Mrs. Gittings, I won’t be able to arrest any of them even if I’m sure they did it.”

“But at least you’ll know Nicola is innocent,” Sarah said.

“And you will let him go free,” Serafina added, her lovely eyes full of hope.

How did Frank let Sarah get him into this? He’d had a perfectly good suspect that nobody would care anything about except this girl whom nobody would care anything about, but now he was going to have to go uptown and bother people who never got bothered by the police because they were too important. And with Roosevelt gone, he had no one to stand up for him if one of these important people got offended and wanted him fired.

He looked up to find Sarah studying him as if trying to read his thoughts. She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of her doorbell distracted them. Sarah got up to answer it.

While they waited for her, Frank said to Serafina, “The Professor said to tell you that you’ve got clients scheduled today. He wanted to know if you were coming back to see them.”

“He is worried about money,” she sniffed derisively.

“He should be,” Frank said. “You didn’t leave him any.”

She didn’t look very repentant. “Maybe I should go back,” she said after a moment. “Just in case someone comes to see me.”

“And in case DiLoreto comes looking for you,” Frank suggested.

She looked up in surprise. “I… I did not think of that.”

“Yes, you did,” Frank said. “He’ll be wondering where you are.”

Frank heard a familiar voice, and he rose as Sarah returned to the kitchen with her mother.

“Mr. Malloy, it’s so good to see you,” she said in greeting, but her gaze went immediately to Serafina. “How are you, my dear?”

Serafina burst into tears, which immediately won the sympathy of both women, who rushed to comfort her. Frank stood back, watching for any sign that Serafina’s outburst was faked to distract Frank from thoughts of DiLoreto. She’d managed real tears, he noted, lending an air of authenticity to her outburst.

“What have you been doing to her?” Mrs. Decker demanded of him.

“Nothing, Mother,” Sarah assured her. “We’ve just been discussing the reasons Nicola couldn’t have murdered Mrs. Gittings.”

“Not couldn’t,” Frank corrected her. “Wouldn’t.”

All three women gave him black looks.

“Did she at least convince you that he’s innocent?” Mrs. Decker asked.

“She convinced me it’s possible,” Frank admitted.

“The problem,” Sarah said quickly, before her mother could respond, “is that Mr. Malloy will be risking his job if he goes to question the others at the seance who might have had a reason to murder Mrs. Gittings.”

“How would he be risking his job?” Mrs. Decker asked.

“Think about it, Mother,” Sarah said. “What would Father do if a police detective came to your house to question you about a murder?”

Mrs. Decker only needed a moment to imagine the scene. Felix Decker would have used all of his power and influence to make sure such a thing never happened again. “Oh, dear.”

“Exactly.”

“But Theodore-” she tried, obviously remembering how their old family friend, Mr. Roosevelt, had always supported Malloy’s efforts.

“Theodore has resigned as police commissioner,” Sarah said. “He’s going to Washington to be assistant secretary of something or other.”

“The Navy,” Frank supplied helpfully.

“The Navy?” Mrs. Decker echoed in astonishment. “What does Theodore know about the Navy?”

“Who is Theodore?” Serafina asked tearfully.

“No one, dear, it doesn’t matter,” Mrs. Decker said, dismissing the brand-new assistant secretary of the Navy with a wave of her hand. “But if Mr. Malloy can’t question these people, how are we to determine what really happened to poor Mrs. Gittings?”

“We were just discussing that when you arrived,” Sarah explained. “And I was going to offer my own services. I could call on them and question them myself.”

“No, you can’t,” Frank protested, and he was gratified when Mrs. Decker confirmed it.

“Oh, no, my dear, you couldn’t possibly,” she said. “I’m sure they would refuse to see you, under the circumstances. But,” she added archly, “I’m sure they would all be more than glad to welcome me. We can visit them together.”

10

“WHAT?” MALLOY DEMANDED, OUTRAGED.

“Oh, Mother, do you really think that’s wise?” Sarah asked, not paying any attention at all to Malloy. She’d known he would give her an argument about getting involved, so she’d already determined to ignore it. She hadn’t expected her mother to offer her help, however.

“I’m sure it’s not wise,” Mrs. Decker said, “but I intend to do it anyway. How else can we save that poor young man?”

“Mrs. Decker,” Malloy said, trying to sound reasonable instead of furious and failing miserably, “if one of these people killed Mrs. Gittings, you might be in danger yourself.”

“Danger? Nonsense! Why would anyone want to harm me?”

“Somebody who’s killed once won’t stop at killing again to protect himself,” Malloy argued.

“But I have no intention of letting anyone know I’m investigating the murder,” Mrs. Decker pointed out reasonably. “Who would believe such a thing in any case? I’ll just be calling on them to find out how they are coping after the tragedy.”

“I think that might work,” Sarah said to Malloy, who looked like he might be in danger of having apoplexy.

“What do you think your father would say if he found out your mother was investigating a murder?” he asked.

“I’m sure he would have a lot to say if he knew,” Mrs. Decker said before Sarah could answer. “But I have no intention of telling him, and I’m sure no one else does either.”

Malloy was rubbing his head as if it hurt him. Sarah felt a flash of pity for him. He really did not stand a chance of prevailing.

“What can I do to help?” Serafina asked.

“Nothing,” Malloy told her sharply.

“You can tell us everything you know about these people,” Sarah said, giving him a glare that he returned. “Let’s all sit down,” she added. “Mother, would you like some coffee?”

When everyone was seated around Sarah’s kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee, Mrs. Decker asked, “Where are the girls?”

“I sent them to Mrs. Ellsworth so we could talk in private,” Sarah said.