Maids of Misfortune (23 page)

"Look," Annie said hurriedly. "It will be all right. As soon as I have gone down the back stairs, you go back to Mrs. Voss. Let's hope that she hasn't been ringing for me. Tell her that you had to send a written message, and I had to get you some writing materials. That will explain the delay. Tonight is my night off. I should be home by seven. Meet me there, and I will tell you more about Cartier and everything else I have learned. And don’t worry, I have already decided not to return tomorrow, so you don’t have to worry about distressing Mrs. Voss further, although I don’t think she will thank you for the loss of her housemaid. But now I must go."

Chapter Thirty-two:
Wednesday evening, August 13, 1879

The rest of the afternoon passed by uneventfully. Annie assumed that Nate had been able to explain his absence satisfactorily to Mrs. Voss, and she found herself going over the brief conversation, trying to remember just how he had looked and what he had said. She couldn’t help but chuckle when she thought of how dumbstruck he had seemed when he first saw her as Lizzie. He may have been angry, but he had seemed to find some amusement in the situation as well. This thought then led to memories of how he had teased her during the picnic lunch near Cliff House, and, before she knew it, the rest of her cleaning chores were done. By five o’clock, Wong had dinner preparations well in hand, and Annie was washing lettuce while he went upstairs to lay out clothes for Jeremy, on the off-chance he actually made it home for dinner on time. Annie had just finished drying the leaves when she heard the front doorbell peal impatiently. She thought she ought to go up to answer it in case Wong hadn’t heard it on the third floor. As a result, she was just coming through the green baize-covered doorway at the rear of the house when the policemen began to stream in through the front door.

At first impression, Annie thought there must be at least fifty of them, but later she figured out that there were only six, in addition to the Chief Detective and his Sergeant. Wong stood pressed back against the wall where one of the policemen had shoved him in passing, while the Chief Detective instructed him to get his mistress. Without looking to see if he was being obeyed, he marched into the front parlor and closed the door behind him. Meanwhile, the rest of the police spread throughout the house, accompanied by muffled bangs and shouts. Wong threw Annie an agonized look and then proceeded upstairs, so rattled that he neglected to take the servant's stairs. Mrs. Voss, who was hurrying down, followed closely by Miss Nancy, met him halfway.

Her fear palpable, Mrs. Voss stopped next to Wong and took him by the hands, crying out, "Whatever's happened? What are the police doing here? Do they know who killed Matthew?"

Wong answered, his voice shaking ever so slightly, "Please, Mrs. Voss. It's that Detective, Mr. Jackson. He came to the door with a paper that said he had the right to search the house. I tried to stop him, but they all came in at once. I'm sorry, but he is in the front parlor. He wishes to speak to you. Please, Mrs. Voss, let me send for Master Jeremy. I will go telegraph both the factory and his club and be back before they even know I'm gone. It is only right that your son be here with you."

Mrs. Voss looked relieved and gave Wong a warm smile, telling him that this was an excellent idea. When she asked him if he would need money, he smiled slightly and said not to worry. Then she fished her husband’s door key from a pocket and slipped it into his hand, and he was gone before Annie could blink. Surprisingly, Mrs. Voss then turned to her sister-in-law, who had stood rooted to the steps above her throughout this exchange, and reached out her hand, saying, "Sister, will you please help me entertain the Chief Detective? I would appreciate your support."

Miss Nancy scowled and descended the two stairs that divided them. Ostentatiously ignoring Mrs. Voss’s outstretched arm, she pushed her way past and made her way down the stairs alone. Mrs. Voss gave a slight sigh and followed her sister-in-law the rest of the way down the steps. When she got to the foot of the stairway where Annie had been standing as a mute witness, Mrs. Voss turned to her and asked her to bring tea into the parlor and then to ask Cartier to go down to the kitchen and stay there until called.

An outraged screech from upstairs testified that Cartier had already discovered that the house had been invaded, and Annie thought to herself she would probably not have to go to Cartier but that Cartier would soon be down to the kitchen to find out what was going on.

After bobbing a curtsy in reply, Annie turned and flew back to the kitchen, where she stopped abruptly when she glimpsed the blue of a police uniform. Her alarm turned to relief when she saw the man standing in the kitchen was Beatrice's nephew, Patrick. She ran to him, swiftly surveying the rest of the kitchen to make sure they were alone before speaking.

"Patrick, what is going on? Why is the Chief Detective having the house searched?"

"Mrs. Fuller," Patrick whispered urgently, "I hoped I'd get a chance to see you alone. The Chief's hot to make an arrest. He got new evidence this morning. Of course, the top brass don't tell us nothing specific, but the rumor is that someone from this house was seen at the Cliff House near the time Nellie was drowned. And some letter came in the mail this morning that fingered the same person for the Voss killing.”

Annie gasped, "Who, Patrick? Who do they suspect? Is it the servant Cartier?"

"Dunno. Didn't tell us. We're just supposed to look through the house and look for anything suspicious."

Patrick, who continued methodically to look through the cupboards and pantry shelves while talking, sounded apologetic when he next spoke. "You know, we didn't really do a thorough search of the place first time around because everyone thought it was suicide. Everyone but you! But the Chief got a court order for a search just this afternoon, based on this new evidence, so here we are. I'll try not to make too much of a mess down here. I know how my ma or Aunt Bea would feel about some man traipsing around in their pantries."

Annie laughed feebly. "That's all right, Patrick. You're just doing your job. But I don't really know what the Chief Detective expects to find, unless it’s in Cartier’s room. I've been looking myself for these past three days, and I haven't found anything in the rest of the house."

Just then, the sound of footsteps interrupted them, and Cartier swept indignantly into the kitchen. Annie was fully occupied for the next quarter of an hour getting the tea ready to take upstairs and trying to calm Cartier's hysterical outburst. She thought it was significant that the woman seemed to think the whole search was a direct attack on her. Annie found herself hoping that it was and that it would turn out that Cartier's ever-locked room held the evidence Annie had been searching for.

In any event, Annie was so busy that she had no further opportunity to speak with Patrick. At some point, Wong came in the back door, nodded to Patrick, and then silently began to help Annie with the tea things. The two of them took the tray up together, which gave them a chance to whisper quietly on the stairs. Wong said briefly that he had sent the telegrams but that he had not waited to see if there was a reply. Annie told him what Patrick had said, and then they were at the parlor door.

When they returned to the kitchen, Patrick seemed to have finished his investigations and had been joined by another policeman. The two whispered together and then left. Cartier had lapsed into silence, stirring her tea and staring rigidly in front of her. Annie helped Wong clean up after the mess Patrick had made. When the kitchen clock struck six o’clock, Wong finally spoke, saying to the room in general that he supposed that dinner was once more going to be delayed. They could hear the sounds of thumps and voices that testified that the police were still at work.

Shattering the silence, the bell for the parlor rang, and Annie went upstairs to see what was required. When she entered the parlor, Miss Nancy and Mrs. Voss were sitting stiffly, side by side on the sofa. Apparently, Mrs. Voss’s abundant social skills had failed her. The Chief Detective and his Sergeant were huddled with two uniformed policemen looking at something that rested on the tea table. Their bodies screened whatever they were looking at from Annie's sight. However, their voices sounded excited. When the Chief Detective glanced over at their entrance, she saw tangible signs of suppressed elation in his expression. His sergeant and the two other policemen were just leaving the parlor, taking whatever they had been looking at with them, when the sounds of a commotion reached them from the hallway, and Jeremy and Malcolm Samuels burst into the room.

Jeremy ran straight to his mother and aunt, knelt down and, taking his mother’s hands in his own, exclaimed, "Mother, Aunt Nan, are you all right? What has happened?" Mrs. Voss’s soft words were quickly drowned out by Miss Nancy's harsh exclamations, and Annie could see that Jeremy was thoroughly bewildered. Meanwhile, Samuels buttonholed Chief Detective Jackson and upbraided him for invasion of privacy and a general lack of good manners. Jackson ignored him and walked over to Jeremy and began to speak in a clearly ironic tone.

The other voices died down, and Jeremy rose to stand before the Chief Detective, who said, "Excuse me, Mr. Voss. How kind of you to come. You have saved me the trouble of tracking you down. I have here a court order permitting me to search these premises in connection with the deaths of Matthew Voss and Nellie Flannigan." The Chief Detective drew a sheaf of papers out of his coat pocket and handed them to Jeremy, who looked at them vaguely and then passed them over to Samuels, who had come to stand by his side.

Jackson continued, "My men have just completed the search, and, as a result of what they've found, I would like to invite you to come with me to my office downtown to answer a few questions. I would suggest that you have Mr. Samuels here get in touch with your lawyer so he can meet you there."

This last statement was met with at first silence and then outraged protest from both Miss Nancy and Malcolm Samuels. Mrs. Voss simply rose and stood mutely next to Jeremy, her arm sliding around his waist protectively. Jeremy said nothing but stood frozen for a minute; and then, running his long fingers through his hair and taking a deep breath, he began to talk softly as he put his arm around his mother's shoulder.

"Chief Detective...Jackson, it is, I believe. I'll be glad to answer any questions you might ask. I know I haven't been as cooperative as I could have been in the past. I apologize. However, I wonder if we couldn't go over what you want to know here. We could use my father's..." At this point, Jeremy's voice broke, and then he continued, "…his study. We would be private. But then my mother wouldn't worry so much. I don't really think that my lawyers need to be present. I'm not guilty of anything. But if you insist, I'll have Wong go for them."

The Detective smiled grimly and shook his head. "I'm sorry, young man. The time for informal chats has passed. I'm afraid that it must be done at headquarters. Now I can't force you to come at this time. But I think that you would prefer to come voluntarily. Better for everyone."

Samuels again began to protest, stepping up close to Jackson and poking him in the chest with his finger, his mustache bristling in his anger. "This is an outrage. You've completely overstepped your authority. You are just trying to hide the fact you've bungled this investigation from the start. Well, I can assure you, you won't get away with it. Mayor Bryant will hear from me tonight."

Jeremy reached out and put a restraining hand on Samuels' shoulder. "No, Uncle Malcolm. That's enough. The Detective is just doing his job. But please. You stay here with Mother. She'll need you. Send for Mr. Hobbes and Mr. Dawson. They'll know what to do."

Then he turned to his mother and gave her a swift hug. Annie could now see his face and felt a sharp pang when she saw how drawn and frightened he looked. His mother only reluctantly let him go, and she whispered something in his ear that made him chuckle weakly. Next, he stepped over to his Aunt, who had also risen, and gave her a hard hug, saying, "Now, take care of Mother. I depend on you."

A moment later he was gone, taking the Chief Detective with him. Mrs. Voss, cutting off Miss Nancy and Samuels, both of whom had begun to speak, turned to Annie and said, "Please, Lizzie. Could you take the tea things and then ask Wong to come up here? I will want him to run an errand for me. Would you feel capable of carrying on with dinner alone for a while?"

Annie nodded, and Mrs. Voss said, "Good girl. And could you also ask Cartier to come upstairs to my bedroom? I will be retiring for a while before dinner, which we will have at 7:30 tonight. Oh, I am sorry, but I am afraid that we won’t be able to spare you this evening, but I promise that you will have your night out tomorrow night. I am sure all this misunderstanding will be straightened out by then. That will be all for now, thank you." As Annie left the room, she heard Mrs. Voss say that she hoped that Samuels would stay to dinner.

Annie did as she had been told, first telling Cartier that she was wanted in Mrs. Voss’s rooms. Then, when Cartier was gone, she told Wong what had been happening upstairs. "I think that they must have found something, something that they feel implicates Jeremy. The Chief Detective was practically bursting with glee, and he essentially threatened Jeremy with arrest if he didn't come willingly. Oh, Wong. His father would have been so proud of him! Jeremy handled himself magnificently."

Annie stopped then, silenced by Wong’s penetrating stare, and she realized that she had forgotten to refer to Jeremy as the master or Mr. Jeremy. Even worse, he must be wondering why she would profess any knowledge of what Matthew would think about his son. They stared at each other for a second, and then Wong shrugged, turned, and went upstairs to see his mistress.

When Wong returned to the kitchen, he gave her instructions on how to finish the meal preparations and told her that he was to go out and telegraph the family lawyers.

“Oh Wong, is there any way you could also send a message to my friends as well? They were expecting me home this evening, and I wouldn’t want them to worry. If you can wait a minute, I will run upstairs for some money.”

“Miss Lizzie, don’t worry about the money. Just write out the address and your message, and I will be off.”