“Her killer knows why she was there,” she argued.
“Maybe. Maybe not. But you’ve got to accept the fact that sometimes there just isn’t an answer and some murders don’t get solved.”
“It’s not fair, Malloy.”
“No, it’s not. But you’ve got to accept it, and you’ve got to forget about Emilia Donato, Sarah.”
He waited for her to agree, but she never did.
9
SARAH PURPOSELY DIDN’T GLANCE OVER WHEN SHE walked past Police Headquarters on Mulberry Street. She was half afraid she’d see Malloy if she did. Of course, he didn’t have any right to stop her from what she was doing. Nobody did, come to that. Still, she didn’t feel like having an argument with him about it in the middle of the street, and she knew him well enough to know he’d want to argue if he saw her heading toward the Prodigal Son Mission.
She’d wanted to come yesterday, but she knew Sunday wasn’t a typical day at the mission. Besides, she’d had a baby to deliver, and by the time she was finished, it was too late. Yes, Monday morning was better anyway. The beginning of a new week would be the perfect time to offer her services as an instructor. Volunteering her help was just what she needed to make her feel her life was serving an important purpose.
And if she found out more about Emilia Donato’s murder, too, well, that would be extremely fortunate.
A very small girl opened the door to her knock. She looked up at Sarah with big brown eyes, her expression solemn, and didn’t utter a single word. Sarah couldn’t help smiling.
“Is Mrs. Wells at home?” she asked.
The little girl nodded her head and didn’t move.
“Could I come in to see her?” Sarah asked.
The girl had to think it over. Apparently, she decided Sarah was acceptable, because she stepped back after a few moments and opened the door wide enough for her visitor to enter. The red-haired girl who had answered the door the last time was hurrying down the hallway from the kitchen. “Aggie, I told you not to open the door!” she scolded the child.
The little one looked up at Sarah, gave her a mischievous grin, and scurried away, dodging the older girl to scramble up the staircase and out of sight.
“I’m sorry, miss,” the red-haired girl said, a little breathless from her rush. “Aggie don’t pay much mind to anybody but Mrs. Wells. Can I help you?”
“I came to see Mrs. Wells, if she’s available. Would you tell her Mrs. Brandt is here?”
“Mrs. Brandt, how good to see you,” Mrs. Wells said.
Sarah and the girl looked up in surprise to see her descending the stairs.
“Aggie told me I had a visitor.” She gave the red-haired girl a look that appeared only mildly disapproving, but the girl paled noticeably, and her eyes widened with apprehension.
“I’m that sorry, Mrs. Wells, truly I am!” she said anxiously. “She don’t pay me no mind when I tell her not to do something.”
“Doesn’t,” Mrs. Wells said, correcting her. “She doesn’t pay you any mind, Maeve. In that case, you need to watch her more closely, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she agreed eagerly and bobbed a curtsey. “I’ll do that, I will.” She hurried off up the stairs, presumably to find Aggie and watch her closely.
“One does try to teach them manners,” Mrs. Wells explained apologetically. “One isn’t always successful. Would you come in and sit down, Mrs. Brandt? I presume you’re here to discuss the party.” Sarah’s mother had scheduled the party to benefit the mission for Thursday evening.
Sarah followed her hostess into the parlor and took a seat on the worn sofa once more. “I’ll be glad to discuss the party, if you wish,” she began, “but I really came here to volunteer my services to you.”
Mrs. Wells was so self-contained that Sarah had a difficult time reading her reaction. She’d had one, of course, but it was so slight it might have been anything from pleasure to distaste. Sarah had no way of judging. “You said you are a midwife,” Mrs. Wells said, and Sarah heard the unspoken question.
“I’m sure you don’t have a need for a midwife at the mission, but I’m also a trained nurse. I was very impressed with the work you’re doing here, Mrs. Wells, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the mission. I want to help you in whatever way I can.”
“You’re already helping quite a bit by raising funds for our ministry here,” she reminded her.
Sarah folded her hands and leaned forward to show her sincerity. “I want to do more than that. I’d like to work directly with the girls.”
The expression on Mrs. Wells’s face looked almost like suspicion. “Doing what?”
“I could teach them a class in hygiene,” Sarah offered, glad she’d taken the time to think this through. “So many illnesses can be prevented by the simple application of soap and water, and you mentioned yourself how ignorant the people in the tenements are about the importance of cleanliness.”
“You’re right, of course,” she said, her voice carefully expressionless.
Sarah hadn’t really thought about what reaction she might get from her offer, but she’d certainly never imagined disapproval. “On the other hand,” Sarah said quickly, “if you have something else in mind, something you think would be more valuable, I would be happy to do whatever would help you the most.”
“My dear Mrs. Brandt, please don’t think I’m ungrateful for your offer,” she assured Sarah with one of her sweet smiles. “I didn’t mean to give that impression. I’m afraid… Well, quite frankly, people are often inspired when they see the work we do here and enthusiastically offer to help. Their enthusiasm seldom survives a few additional visits to the mission, however. You see, the idea of helping the poor is far more appealing than actually doing the work. The poor aren’t especially anxious to be helped, and they are seldom grateful.”
Now Sarah understood. She wasn’t the first upper-class woman to impulsively offer her assistance. “I’m not as innocent as you imagine, Mrs. Wells,” Sarah assured her. “My husband was a physician who worked with the poor, and I’ve delivered many babies right here in this neighborhood myself.”
“In that case, you understand the situation. I’m also reluctant to introduce someone new to the girls who might not ever return. If that happens frequently, the girls begin to believe they are repulsive in some way. God’s creatures should be humble, Mrs. Brandt, but not humiliated.”
Sarah nodded her understanding. “I promise you, I won’t disappear after one visit.”
This time Mrs. Wells folded her hands and leaned forward, her eyes dark with the soul-searching intensity Sarah had noticed before. “Mrs. Brandt, why are you doing this?”
Sarah thought she’d already explained herself. “I want to do something important with my life.”
“Why?”
Sarah hadn’t expected to be challenged, and she was surprised to realize she didn’t really have an answer to that question. “I… I guess it’s because of Emilia.”
“Because of her death?” Mrs. Wells asked.
Sarah knew this was a large part of her motivation. “Yes, that’s it. It’s difficult to accept that such a young girl with so much promise will never get the chance to fulfill her destiny.”
Mrs. Wells smiled kindly. “On the other hand, she’ll never fall back into a life of debauchery again either. If you are going to mourn for what might have been, you should know how few girls succeed in fulfilling the goals you had for Emilia.”
“But she was determined to have a decent life,” Sarah argued.
“They all are, when they arrive here. For every girl who stays pure, a dozen more backslide, and a thousand never come to us at all. Emilia had already failed once, and she might well have failed again. This time at least she was fortunate that she died in a state of grace and will spend eternity in heaven.”