Murder on Washington Square

11

WHEN MALLOY KNOCKED ON HER DOOR, SARAH WAS still sitting in the chair where she’d been when Richard Dennis had left almost an hour earlier. She forced herself to get up and let him in.

As soon as Malloy saw her face, he frowned. “What happened?”

“I did a very stupid thing,” she said, waiting until he’d hung his hat, then leading him back into the kitchen. She didn’t even bother to ask herself why she took him into the kitchen. It just seemed the right place to go.

“Does this have anything to do with Anna Blake’s murder?” he asked as he seated himself at the table. “Or is this stupid thing something in your regular life?”

“Both,” she said, filling the coffeepot with water. “I can’t believe I did this.” The worst part was that she hadn’t mentioned to Malloy that she was going to meet Richard Dennis and ask for his help because she’d been afraid he wouldn’t approve. If only she’d given him a chance to talk her out of it!

She put some kindling into the stove and lit it, then fed in some wood until the fire was going. Only when she felt the heat did she realize how cold she’d become, sitting alone with her guilt as night settled over the city. When she had put the coffee on to boil and had nothing left to do, she forced herself to take the seat opposite Malloy and look him straight in the eye.

But when she saw his worried frown, she had to cover her face with both hands and groan. She didn’t deserve his concern. At least it would vanish the instant she told him what she’d done. She could deal with his anger. She deserved that, after all.

“I asked Nelson’s employer not to dismiss him,” she said.

“That doesn’t sound so stupid,” Malloy said. “Unless he turned you down.”

Sarah rubbed her temples where a headache was throbbing. “He didn’t turn me down. He promised to help for as long as he could or until Nelson was arrested, which I assured him wouldn’t happen.”

He didn’t say anything, and she hazarded a glance at him. He still looked worried. About her. She wanted to groan again.

“He didn’t dismiss Nelson, but he did have some auditors come in to check the bank’s books. He was just being careful, he said. Because Anna Blake had blackmailed another man who stole money from his employer to pay her.”

“You told him that?” Malloy asked incredulously.

“I warned you this was stupid!” she cried. “I was trying to convince him that Nelson was an innocent victim of a evil woman. I wanted him to know just how evil she really was!”

“So he was afraid Nelson was stealing from the bank to pay her off, too,” Malloy said. “And was he?”

Sarah buried her face in her hands again. “Oh, Malloy, he couldn’t have been! I know Nelson would never steal from anyone!”

“But…?” Malloy said.

She swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat. “But there’s ten thousand dollars missing from the bank.”

“Good God.”

“My reaction exactly.”

“Have you told Nelson all this?”

“I haven’t had the courage to face them yet,” she admitted. “I know he didn’t do it, but…”

“He’ll deny it even if he did,” Malloy pointed out. “Is this bank fellow going to press charges against Nelson?”

“He said he wasn’t. He said the scandal would be bad for the bank. In situations like this, they handle things very quietly. They’ll simply dismiss Nelson.”

Malloy’s frown deepened. “Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money. I’d think they’d try to get at least some of it back from him. Giddings’s law partners made him repay them.”

“I got the impression that Mr. Dennis was going to cover the loss himself. He doesn’t hold out much hope of getting anything from Nelson, I guess. Mr. Dennis’s father put him in charge of the bank so he could prove himself, and he’d rather lose the money than his father’s respect.”

“How do you know so much about this Mr. Dennis and his personal life?” Malloy asked suspiciously.

This is the part she’d been dreading. “My parents arranged for us to meet last Sunday so I could plead Nelson’s case to him. I couldn’t just walk into his office, a total stranger, and ask him to do something like that!” she protested at his disapproving scowl. “He’d think I was insane.”

“But when Felix Decker’s daughter asked him, he couldn’t refuse,” Malloy guessed.

Sarah didn’t like the way that sounded “I’d like to think I also impressed him with my personal charm.”

“I’m sure you did.”

“What does that mean?” Sarah demanded.

“That means… Never mind what it means. How did you find out about the missing money?”

“Mr. Dennis came by this evening to tell me.”

“How considerate of him,” Malloy said acidly. “Did he go next door and tell Nelson, too?”

“No, I…” Sarah hesitated when she realized she hadn’t even inquired about this.

Malloy raised his eyebrows. “Was he going to leave that to you?”

“We really didn’t discuss it,” Sarah snapped. “I’m sure he’s going to officially notify Nelson that he’s dismissed or something.”

“So this visit he made to you, was that considered unofficial?”

“It was a courtesy, so I wouldn’t think he’d betrayed my trust when he dismissed Nelson.”

“He’s a real gentleman. Except, of course, that he’s covering up a crime and letting a thief get away. Wasn’t he even interested in finding out if Nelson really was the one who stole the money? Because if he wasn’t, then he’s still got a thief working for him.”

“He… I didn’t think to ask him that,” Sarah admitted. Her headache was pounding even harder now. “I’ll go see him first thing in the morning and point that out.”

“No, you won’t,” Malloy said. “I’ll go see him.”

“He doesn’t want the police involved,” she reminded him. “If he knows I sent you-”

“He won’t know anything. I’ll tell him Nelson sent me. Nelson didn’t do it, and he wants the real thief caught. He also wants his name cleared, so he asked me to investigate.”

That sounded fairly reasonable, she supposed, although Dennis wouldn’t like it. “Oh, Malloy, how could this have happened? How could money be missing from the bank at the same time Nelson was being blackmailed?”

Malloy stared at her for a long moment, his broad face expressionless, his eyes dark and unfathomable. “It might be because Nelson really did take the money.”

But Sarah had spent the past hour considering that very possibility. “No, I’m sure he didn’t take it.”

“You can’t be sure,” he reminded her.

“Yes, I can. It’s too much money.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ten thousand dollars! Anna had only asked for one thousand. Before that, Nelson had been paying her rent, but he’s a frugal man. He could easily afford an expense like that out of his own pocket, at least for a while. You know Nelson. Even if he could bring himself to steal, he’d never steal ten times more than he needed! He’s too methodical and practical.”

Malloy didn’t argue. She could almost see him considering her theory and coming to the same conclusion she had. “Maybe there isn’t any money missing at all,” he said after a moment.

“What?”

“Maybe this banker just told you that so he’d have an excuse to get rid of Nelson without losing your good opinion.”

Sarah gaped at him. “I’m sure my good opinion doesn’t mean that much to him.”

“Are you?” Malloy asked. “Is this Dennis a married man?”

“He’s… a widower,” she admitted reluctantly, not liking where this conversation was going.

“How old is he?”

“About your age,” she allowed.