“Yes, she was very ill indeed. I wanted to call a doctor immediately, but she begged me not to. She said she felt much better just having me there and knowing I cared about her. Mrs. Walcott had sent up a bottle of wine, thinking that might make Anna feel better. She didn’t want to drink it. Her mother had been a temperance worker, you see, so I took some myself, just to encourage her. I don’t know how much I drank before I finally convinced her to try some, but it must have been too much. By the time I realized I wasn’t myself, it was too late.”
“Are you telling me you turned into a raging beast?” Frank asked skeptically.
“Certainly not!” Nelson cried, but his outrage evaporated instantly. “At least I didn’t realize I did. Later, Anna told me… Well, I started to feel a little unsteady, and Anna tried to help me to my feet so I could go back downstairs. The last thing I remember, my arms were around her and…”
“You don’t remember what happened?” Frank asked in amazement.
“If I’d been in my right mind, it never would have happened!” he insisted. “When I came to myself again, Anna was curled up on the bed beside me, weeping piteously. I knew what I’d done, even before she told me I’d ruined her.”
“What did you do then?”
“What do you think I did? I asked her to become my wife. I’m not a cad!”
“And what did she say?” Frank asked, not bothering to express his opinion on Nelson’s honor.
“She… Well, she was naturally upset. I don’t think she realized the implications. She just told me to go away and never see her again. She was terribly ashamed and wanted to forget this had ever happened. She made me swear I would never tell, and of course I never would have.”
“So you just left?”
“I didn’t have much choice. I couldn’t stay there with her, even if she’d wanted me to. Mrs. Walcott would have thought that strange indeed.”
“Indeed,” Frank murmured.
“I resolved to come back the next day and make my offer again, when Anna was more composed and had had time to realize her situation. But when I did return, she wouldn’t see me. She wouldn’t see me for several weeks, and then…”
“Then you got an urgent message,” Frank guessed.
“How did you know?”
“Just a lucky guess,” Frank said wearily. “Nelson, there was no baby.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Anna Blake wasn’t with child.”
He frowned in confusion. “But she was so sure.”
“The coroner assures me she wasn’t, and what’s more, she knew it. She was actually taking precautions not to be.”
Now Nelson was really confused. “What kind of precautions?”
Frank didn’t feel as embarrassed as he had with Sarah Brandt, but he still didn’t have the proper words for this. “If a woman doesn’t want to have a child, she can put a sponge inside of her to protect her from it. She was wearing one when she died. And Nelson…?”
Nelson didn’t want to hear the rest of this. “Yes?” he asked with great reluctance.
“She’d been with another man not long before she died.”
Nelson closed his eyes as the full knowledge of his betrayal washed over him. “It wasn’t me,” he whispered.
“Then we’ve got to find out who it was.”
8
SARAH GOT HOME EARLY THAT MORNING AFTER DELIVERING a baby girl, so she had time for a brief nap before meeting Malloy at the Walcott house. Her nap was cut even shorter when someone knocked on her door. Fearing another delivery would keep her from visiting Mrs. Walcott, she was relieved to find one of her parents’ servants with a message from her mother, inviting her to supper that night to meet Mr. Richard Dennis. Her father had kept his promise!
She was still a little groggy when she left her house, but the combination of her appointment this evening, the prospect of learning more about Anna Blake, and the brisk fall air quickly revived her. She took an umbrella with her because it looked as if a storm was brewing.
By habit she glanced over at the Ellsworth house, expecting to see Mrs. Ellsworth coming out onto her porch, broom in hand, to inquire into her business and warn her about some omen or offer her a good luck charm. But the shades were all pulled tight and the front door remained tightly closed against intruders. She wondered if Malloy had told Nelson about the story in The World that branded him a perfectly justified killer instead of a wanton one. Nelson probably wouldn’t appreciate the difference. She would have to be very convincing with Mr. Dennis if she hoped to save Nelson’s job at the bank. With any luck at all, she’d be able to influence him before he’d had a chance to act on the story.
Washington Square was busy on this cloudy Sabbath afternoon. Families dressed in their Sunday best hurried to their destinations, trying to beat the gathering storm. No one had time to remember a woman had died right here less than a week ago. Sarah hurried past the hanging tree, trying not to look at the place where Anna Blake had lain and trying not to think of the irony that she died beneath a tree of death.
Thompson Street was quieter than the Square, although people were rushing about here, too, on their way to or from Sunday visits. She saw no sign of Malloy when she arrived at the Walcott house, but then she hadn’t heard the city clocks striking the hour yet either. Slowing her step, she looked around, wondering what she should do. Standing on the pavement in front of the house would be a little too obvious and would certainly attract attention, and besides, it might start raining at any moment. Her presence also might warn Mrs. Walcott that trouble was on the way and allow her to make her escape out the back door. She didn’t have time to form a plan, however, because the front door of the Walcott house opened, and Catherine Porter looked out.
“Mrs. Brandt?” she called.
Sarah looked up in surprise. “Yes?”
“That police detective is here. He told me to watch for you.”
So much for needing a plan. Sarah made her way up the front steps with as much dignity as she could manage, considering she was furious with Malloy for not waiting for her. He’d probably been there for an hour and was finished with his questioning. He’d let Sarah examine the dead woman’s room and then they’d leave. She wanted to wring his neck.
Catherine closed the door, not quite meeting Sarah’s eye, as if she knew Sarah wanted to ask her about things she didn’t want to discuss. “They’re in the parlor,” she said, gesturing to the closed doors. “He said to go on in when you got here.”
Sarah would have preferred to be announced, but with a sigh of resignation, she slid open the pocket doors and found Malloy and Mrs. Walcott sociably drinking tea and chatting about the weather.
Malloy’s expression changed at the sight of her. Although it couldn’t exactly be called a smile, he did look somewhat pleased to see her. Mrs. Walcott, however, seemed less so. They both set down their cups and rose to their feet.
“Mrs. Brandt, isn’t it?” Mrs. Walcott said with a practiced smile. “How nice of you to come.” Once again, she was dressed in fashionable good taste, her artificial hair perfectly styled.
“I see Mr. Malloy told you to expect me,” Sarah said, nodding to her hostess and giving Malloy a glare.
“As I explained, Mrs. Brandt has agreed to give me the benefit of her medical knowledge to assist me in this investigation,” Malloy said with a straight face. “I’m told there are some delicate matters about this case that a female could address more easily.”
Mrs. Walcott frowned. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Malloy. Please sit down, Mrs. Brandt. Would you like some tea?”
Sarah allowed that she would, and she took a seat beside Malloy on the sofa. While Mrs. Walcott served her, she tried to catch Malloy’s eye so she could let him know just how unhappy she was with him, but he refused to cooperate.