“She was at her office that day, but nobody else was there except Miss Yingling. Then they went to the rescue house.”
Van Orner curled his lip in distaste. “Are you saying that’s where it happened?”
“Anyone at that house could have had access to her purse,” Frank said, choosing not to answer the question. “From what I’ve been told, she always left it on a table in the hallway.”
“And did they all know about the flask?”
“I’ve been told they did.”
“Who was there?”
“Miss Yingling, of course. Mrs. Spratt-Williams—”
“You can count her out. They’ve been lifelong friends.”
Frank had already eliminated her. “Miss Biafore.”
“Who’s that?”
“She manages the rescue house.”
“Vivian gave that responsibility to an Italian woman? What was she thinking? Those people will steal you blind!”
Knowing better than to respond to that, Frank said, “And three women whom Mrs. Van Orner and her friends had rescued.”
“It had to be one of them, then. Everyone knows a whore would kill her own mother for fifty cents.”
“One of the rescued women was Amy Cunningham.”
12
SARAH AND MAEVE GOT UP EARLY ON MONDAY MORNING to do the wash. The day was raw but fair, and they had everything on the line well before noon. They were sitting in the kitchen, warming themselves with hot tea, when Mrs. Ellsworth came to the back door with an offering of a freshly baked cake.
“Ever since Nelson insisted we start taking our clothes to the Chinese laundry, I never know what to do with myself on Monday mornings,” Mrs. Ellsworth said, referring to her son.
“Baking a cake was a good idea,” Maeve said, admiring the finished product.
“We still have half of the cake Maeve and Catherine made on Saturday,” Sarah reminded them.
Mrs. Ellsworth accepted the cup of tea Sarah had poured for her. “I’m sure you’ll find a good use for it, Mrs. Brandt. It’s good luck to give someone a cake. Has Mr. Malloy found the murderer yet?”
“He thinks he knows who it is, but he had to go meet with Mr. Van Orner first.”
“You didn’t tell me he knows who the killer is,” Maeve complained. “Who is it?”
“I said he
“Why does he need to talk to Mr. Van Orner?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“Because Mr. Van Orner might not want the killer arrested.”
“Good heavens, why not?”
“It’s that girl, isn’t it?” Maeve asked eagerly. “The one who had the baby.”
“As I said, he’s not sure.”
Maeve wasn’t fooled. “But if it is her, Mr. Van Orner might not want her punished. He might be in love with her, and she’s the mother of his baby into the bargain.”
“How can he be sure it’s his baby?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “Maybe he
Mrs. Ellsworth was outraged. “You mean they just let murders go free?”
“Murderers and thieves and anybody else who has the money,” Maeve said, not at all surprised to hear about the practice. “My grandfather always used to say it was
“Do you think this Amy is the killer?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“I’m not sure what I think. She may have thought she had a reason for wanting Mrs. Van Orner dead. She knew Mrs. Van Orner drank and carried a flask with her. She had the opportunity to put the laudanum in her flask.”
“Other people knew about the flask and the drinking,” Maeve said.
“Yes, but who had a reason for killing her? Not Mrs. Spratt-Williams, who was her oldest friend. Not Miss Yingling, who owed her everything.”
“Sometimes gratitude is a good reason to kill someone,” Mrs. Ellsworth observed.
Sarah looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen it happen where a person starts to resent the one who’s helped them the most. Sometimes people don’t want to remember how much help they needed or how little they deserved it.”
Maeve nodded enthusiastically. “The person who helped is always a reminder of how low you were, too. Nobody likes to remember that.”
“Especially if how low you were was working as a prostitute,” Mrs. Ellsworth added.
“So you think Miss Yingling might have wanted Mrs. Van Orner dead?” Sarah asked them both.
“I can’t judge, not knowing her myself,” Mrs. Ellsworth replied. “But I wouldn’t rule her out just because Mrs. Van Orner has raised her up.”
“I see what you mean. Do you have an argument for why Mrs. Spratt-Williams might have killed her?”
“Old friends know our secrets,” Mrs. Ellsworth said.
“And we know theirs,” Maeve added.
Sarah considered this. “My mother said she thought she remembered some old scandal involving Mrs. Spratt-Williams’s late husband, but if she knew about it, so would everyone else. No secrets there.”
“Maybe she has another secret,” Maeve said. “Maybe she was stealing money from the rescue house.”
“She was
“Maybe Mrs. Spratt-Williams was jealous of Mrs. Van Orner,” Maeve offered.
Sarah was happy to consider this possibility. “Why?”
Maeve thought for a moment. “Mrs. Van Orner had a rich husband, and she doesn’t.”
“Does she have a husband at all?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“She’s a widow, and there’s my mother’s memory of a scandal, but we don’t know that for certain. On the other hand, Mrs. Van Orner’s rich husband had a mistress half his age who gave birth to a child when Mrs. Van Orner couldn’t. Does that make you jealous of her?”
Maeve and Mrs. Ellsworth had to agree that it didn’t.
“Mrs. Van Orner must’ve had lots of enemies,” Maeve decided after a few minutes of thought. “What about all the madams she rescued prostitutes from?”
“None of those people were at the rescue house the day she died. They don’t even know where it is.”
“Could one of them have allowed one of their girls to be rescued so that person would have the opportunity to take revenge on Mrs. Van Orner?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked.
“Oh, Mrs. Ellsworth, that’s a wonderful plan!” Maeve exclaimed. “There were other rescued women in the house, weren’t there?”
“Yes, but both of them were scared witless. Neither of them would have the courage to poison someone like Mrs. Van Orner. The only rescued woman who would is—”
“Amy,” Maeve supplied.
“So we’re back to her.” Mrs. Ellsworth sighed.
“ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME YOU THINK AMY POISONED my wife?” Van Orner asked,
