Valentina made a disgusted sound and stalked off to her own bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Sarah went to see about the baby.
He lay in his cradle, staring intently at the flowers on the wallpaper, and Sarah watched him for a few long moments. Few newborns were even attractive. The birth process usually left them with temporarily misshapen heads, and immaturity made their features indistinct. This baby was among the fortunate ones, however. Perhaps because he was so chubby and had such thick curly hair, he looked like a tiny cherub.
As she watched him lying contentedly, an idea formed in her mind. She went to the pile of baby clothes that Nainsi and Maria had prepared and found a bright yellow gown with satin ribbon ties. Then she picked the baby up and started to change him. A few minutes later, she donned her cloak, picked up her medical bag with one hand while holding the baby tucked in her other arm and started down the stairs.
She could hear the raised voices and knew the argument was still going on. The words were in Italian, but she could tell from the tone of them that Ugo was trying to prevail.
When she reached the bottom of the steps, she drew a forti-fying breath and pushed the door open.
Her sudden appearance had the happy effect of silencing everyone in the dining room. The unhappy consequence was that everyone’s attention immediately turned to her. They weren’t pleased about being interrupted, and when they saw who the intruder was, they were even less pleased. Sarah had a fleeting memory of Malloy’s warning that Ugo Ruocco would kill his own mother. Then she forced her face into an apologetic smile.
“Excuse me for intruding, but I really need to be going,” she said. Then she looked at Maria. “The baby woke up, and I didn’t want to leave him alone upstairs so I brought him down.”
She lifted her arm slightly, displaying him to his best advantage. She’d fluffed his curls with her fingers and the yellow gown was darling. He was still gazing around in wide-eyed wonder at this new and fascinating world. Then, as if he were aware of her plan and had waited until everyone was staring at him, he smiled with all the sweet innocence of a newborn.
Mrs. Ruocco made a small sound, and Maria swooped in to claim him, taking him from Sarah with loving hands and cradling him to her chest protectively.
“I saw that little gown, and I couldn’t resist trying it on him,” Sarah confessed.
“I made it,” Maria said with a touch of pride and more than a touch of possessiveness. She looked up defiantly at Ugo. “For my son.”
One of the boys said something in Italian and walked over to stand with Maria, but to Sarah’s surprise, it was Lorenzo, not Joe. Only after Lorenzo glared at him did Joe join his brother beside Maria, shamefaced but presenting a united front.
Mrs. Ruocco still stood on the far side of the room, her face twisted in anger. She said something to Ugo in challenge, and Sarah didn’t need to speak the language to understand that she was daring Ugo to tear his family apart.
Sarah watched his broad face flood with rage, but he threw up his hands in surrender as a curse exploded from his lips. He pointed a finger at Mrs. Ruocco and gave her some sort of warning, then turned to leave, but he paused for a moment when Sarah came into his line of vision. His eyes narrowed with hatred, and Sarah couldn’t stop the frisson of fear that tingled up her spine before he completed his turn and stalked out of the restaurant. A phalanx of his minions closed around him as he strode down the street.
Only then did Sarah realize she’d been holding her breath, and she let it out in a whoosh.
“Grazie,” Maria said, looking up in gratitude—at Lorenzo.
He didn’t reply. He just gave his brother a look that spoke of how disappointed he was that Joe hadn’t jumped to his wife’s defense. Joe looked down at Maria, but she was fussing with the baby and didn’t spare him a glance.
“I really must be going,” Sarah repeated. “Maria, if you need anything, send for me.”
“Oh, Mrs. Brandt, thank you so much for coming,”
Maria said earnestly. “I will never forget you!”
“Remember to make sure the bottles are clean and boiled each time you use them. I’ll stop in and check on you in a few days, if I don’t hear from you before that.”
“Wait,” Mrs. Ruocco said. “You will take some cannoli with you.”
After a few more minutes spent wrapping the cannoli and thanking Sarah again and again, they finally let her go.
By then customers had started arriving for supper, and Sarah had to work her way through the crowd gathering at the door to get out into the street.
She couldn’t help glancing around to make sure Ugo Ruocco wasn’t waiting for her outside, but she saw no sign of him. She did see a few young men loitering on the corner, smoking cigarettes and eyeing everyone who walked by with suspicion. They would be more of Ugo’s men, set to guard the restaurant from another invasion of Irish hoodlums.
As she walked down Mulberry Street, she gave a moment’s thought to stopping at the mission, but she’d already been away from home all day. She missed Aggie, and the thought of having supper with her tonight was much too inviting. She had just crossed Prince Street, within a block of Police Headquarters, when she saw a familiar face in the crowd approaching her.
“Mrs. Brandt,” Frank Malloy said with just a trace of cen-sure. He glanced up at the direction from which she’d come and frowned. “I don’t suppose you were delivering a baby in Little Italy today.”
Sarah tried to look innocent. “As a matter of fact, Maria Ruocco sent for me. The baby wasn’t doing well. He’d been crying all night.”
People making their way down the sidewalk were jostling the pair and muttering impatiently since they were blocking progress. Malloy took her arm and led her to a doorway where they’d be less of an obstacle.
“Sarah,” he said, the frustration thick in his voice. “I told you not to go down there. You could’ve told them to call a doctor if the baby was sick.”
“He wasn’t sick,” Sarah said, sympathetic to his concern but knowing she was justified. “Besides, if I’d told them to call a doctor, I wouldn’t have found out anything that might help you find Nainsi’s killer.”
“And did you?” he challenged.
“I’m not sure yet. But if I didn’t this time, I can find out next time I visit. You’ll just have to tell me what you need to know.”
Few people were as ungrateful as Frank Malloy, Sarah observed. Instead of thanking her, he looked like he might cheerfully strangle her. Fortunately, he wasn’t likely to do so on a public street. “Where are you going now?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Home to have supper with Aggie.”
“Then you’d better get going before I decide to lock you up for your own safety.”
“I’m fine, Malloy,” she assured him. “No one is interested in me.”
“Unless you start meddling in other people’s business, and then they’ll be very interested in you. Ugo Ruocco doesn’t care who your father is or how many times you’ve dined with the Astors. If he thinks you’re a nuisance, he’ll have you killed.”
“I’m not a nuisance,” she protested. He looked like he was ready to argue the point, so she added, “You should know that he’s got some of his men posted down by the restaurant. If any Irish boys try to start trouble again, they’ll be ready for them this time.”
Malloy sighed. “Go home, Sarah, and stay there.”
“Don’t you want to know what I found out today?”
He rubbed a hand wearily over his face. “Not right now.
Right now, I want you to go home.”
Sarah took pity on him and went, giving him a cheerful little wave which he ignored. Perhaps it was just as well he didn’t want to meet with her tonight. She needed some time to think about everything she’d seen and heard at the Ruoccos house today. Maybe if she took some time to remember everything, she’d figure out what would be really helpful.