Murder on Sisters' Row

cheated had shot himself.”

“Mrs. Spratt-Williams wasn’t welcome anywhere either,” Miss Yingling continued. “Vivian was her only friend, and her charity work was her only activity. Vivian was going to take that away from her and make sure she was never allowed back into the fold.”

Plainly, Van Orner wasn’t impressed. “Are you trying to tell me she’d kill someone over something so silly?”

“It wasn’t silly to Mrs. Spratt-Williams!” she cried, jumping to her feet. “I saw her before she left the rescue house the day Vivian died. She and Vivian had quarreled, and she was devastated. I’ve never seen her so upset. I went to Vivian, to make sure she was all right, and she was so angry, she was trembling. She said she was going to ruin Mrs. Spratt-Williams’s reputation.”

Van Orner snorted. “This is ridiculous, Malloy. She’s just trying to save herself. Take her away.”

Frank didn’t think it was all that ridiculous. “Would Mrs. Van Orner really have ruined her friend over changing the names?”

“She didn’t approve, but I think she was using that as an excuse. She was really mad because Mrs. Spratt- Williams was defending Amy. She was begging Vivian to let her stay at the rescue house, and that made Vivian furious.” She looked at Van Orner. “Because Amy made sure Vivian knew you were the father of her baby.”

Van Orner just shook his head. “Even if we could believe that a respectable woman like Tonya would murder her friend over some silly argument, why on earth would she kill Amy?”

“Because Amy knew all about it! She’d eavesdropped on their argument that day at the rescue house, and she let Mrs. Spratt-Williams know she knew all about it when she was visiting here on Saturday.”

“Are you saying she killed two people to keep this stupid secret?” Van Orner scoffed.

Frank’s mind was spinning. “So Amy told Mrs. Spratt-Williams she knew her secret. That might give her a reason to kill Amy, too, but how did she do it? Amy didn’t die until two days later.”

“I don’t know, but she was here again yesterday,” Miss Yingling said uncertainly.

“Who?”

“Mrs. Spratt-Williams. She visited Amy.”

“What did they talk about?”

“I wasn’t with them. Amy saw her alone, but . . . Oh, wait, I know something that . . . Oh, my, I know how she killed her!”

“How?” Frank demanded.

“Gregory had hired a nurse to take care of the baby, and Amy wouldn’t have to feed him herself anymore. She’d even asked Mrs. Brandt on Saturday about how to stop her . . . her milk,” she said, flushing slightly at the delicate nature of the conversation.

“For God’s sake, do we have to hear this?” Van Orner asked.

“Go on,” Frank said.

“Mrs. Brandt told her what to do and warned her she’d be very uncomfortable for a few days. Amy never liked to be uncomfortable. This morning, Amy told me that Mrs. Spratt-Williams had brought her a potion to take that would dry up her milk instantly, and she wouldn’t have a moment of discomfort.”

“What kind of potion?”

“I have no idea, but she was bragging about it to me in the carriage this morning. She said Mrs. Spratt- Williams told her not to take it until the nurse arrived, in case she was delayed or something and Amy had to keep feeding the baby for another day or two. She said it worked very quickly, so Amy had waited until the nurse came this morning.” She looked up at Frank, her eyes wide. “She must have taken it just before we left the house.”

Frank felt the hair on the back of his neck rising. “Where would she have put the empty bottle?”

“Probably in her room.”

“Show me,” Frank said.

“This is outrageous,” Van Orner protested, but Miss Yingling was already across the room with Frank at her heels.

She led him upstairs and down a hallway to one of the closed doors. She threw it open and stopped, taking stock. The bed was unmade, and Amy’s few belongings were strewn around. Some toiletries sat on the dressing table. Miss Yingling went straight to it, looking over the bottles. Frank was right behind her. He saw it first.

“This is it.” He picked up the small brown bottle. The cork that had stoppered it lay nearby. It was empty except for a drop or two in the bottom. He sniffed. “Laudanum.”

“Dear God. But why kill Amy? She actually seemed partial to her. She’d even tried to convince Vivian not to turn her out of the rescue house.”

“She must have been worried that Amy would tell what she knew about her argument with Mrs. Van Orner. Did Mrs. Spratt-Williams know Mrs. Walker?”

“She’d never met her, but she knew all about her from helping to plan Amy’s rescue. I know this sounds like I’m just trying to throw suspicion from myself onto Mrs. Spratt-Williams, and you don’t have any reason to believe me, but Mrs. Brandt can tell you all this is true. You said she’s helping you, so I know you’ll believe what she says. She was there when they planned the rescue, and she was here when Amy told Mrs. Spratt-Williams that she knew all about her argument with Vivian. Mrs. Brandt knows everything I just told you except about the potion.”

Frank felt the truth like a blow to the stomach. Mrs. Spratt-Williams was the killer, Sarah knew all the damming evidence, and she was having tea with her this afternoon!

SARAH STARED AT MRS. SPRATT-WILLIAMS, WHO WAS looking back at her with the oddest expression on her face, almost as if she were expecting something from her. Sarah thought she knew what it was. She’d said she was impressed by Sarah’s perception, and now she expected Sarah to understand something. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what it might be.

Mrs. Spratt-Williams had seemed upset after Vivian Van Orner’s death. She’d lost her closest—and only— friend. But Mrs. Van Orner’s death meant she need no longer fear exposure and expulsion by the Charity Organization Society. It also meant she could take over Rahab’s Daughters herself, giving her a higher position in the charitable community.

Sarah felt almost guilty thinking it, but Mrs. Spratt-Williams had good reason for being glad her friend was dead. Not only would she avoid exposure, but she would also benefit.

Yes, she would actually benefit from Mrs. Van Orner’s death.

The realization must have shown on her face. Mrs. Spratt-Williams smiled. “You know the truth now, don’t you?”

Sarah couldn’t believe it. Mrs. Spratt-Williams was so much like her mother and all the other women she’d known growing up as the daughter of one of the oldest families in the city. How could a woman like that become a killer? “I’m afraid you’ve given me the impression that you had something to do with Mrs. Van Orner’s death,” she said carefully, trying not to show her growing alarm.

“I knew you would figure it out eventually. I just wanted to make sure I was with you when you did.”

None of this was making any sense. “Why did you want me to figure it out at all?”

“I didn’t, of course, but after what Amy said the other day, I knew it was just a matter of time until you did. I knew Amy wouldn’t actually betray me. She was going to blackmail me instead. But you were a different matter. I couldn’t have overcome your sense of duty.”

“My duty to do what?”

“To report me to the COS.”

“But I don’t think what you did was wrong,” Sarah said. “I have no intention of reporting you to anyone.”

She sighed. “I wish I could believe that, but we’ll never know now, will we?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re going to die, just as Vivian did.”

For some reason, Malloy’s warning flashed through her mind. He’d told her not to eat or drink anything at the rescue house, for fear she might be poisoned. She looked down at the cup she held in horror.

“Don’t worry, it will be painless,” Mrs. Spratt-Williams said. “I’m afraid I’ll have to keep you here for an hour