Murder in Chelsea (17 page)

“Your investigator sounds very resourceful,” Decker said.

Hicks shrugged. “He simply understands that most people will do whatever is in their financial best interest.”

“Yes, and Miss Hardy would have found it difficult to resist the opportunity to take Mr. Wilbanks for a fortune,” Decker said.

Frank saw a flaw in their reasoning, but now was not the time to point it out. “So what did your investigator do after he tempted Emma with this promise of riches?”

“He followed the troupe for a few days, expecting Emma to go straight to New York or wherever she had left Catherine. He was surprised when she didn’t, and for a while we both feared the child must be either dead or irretrievably lost, but he eventually learned that she didn’t have the means to return until she got paid at the end of the tour. He saw her mailing a letter, though, and managed to get a look at the address. We decided this person must have Catherine, so I instructed him to return here and locate her.”

“Anne Murphy,” Frank said.

Hicks nodded.

“And did he locate her?” Decker asked.

“Yes, but he quickly determined she didn’t have the child either.”

“And before she could get her, someone killed her,” Frank said.

Hicks tried to maintain his composure, but he couldn’t stop the flush that crawled up his neck. “You can’t believe I had anything to do with that.”

This time Frank shrugged. “It was an easy way to make sure no one found Catherine.”

“But I wanted to find her and bring her to David.”

“We know that’s what Mr. Wilbanks wanted, but was it really what
you
wanted?” Frank asked.

“Yes, it was, and I had no reason to wish the child harm, as you well know. Or Miss Murphy either, for that matter. You’re wasting your time here, Mr. Malloy. If you want to find out who killed that woman, you should be talking to Emma Hardy, and in case you don’t know, she’s staying at the La Pierre Hotel with an actor named Parnell Vaughn.”

9

H
ICKS ESCO
RTED THEM OUT TO THE LOBBY, WHERE SEVERAL
young men sat at high desks, scratching away at important papers with their pens. One young man stood at the front counter, however, idly chatting with the man seated there.

“Don’t you have something to do, Udall?” Hicks asked. Frank got the impression he asked that question a lot of this particular young man.

“Yes, sir, of course I do, but I hoped to speak to Mr. Decker.” He smiled, and Frank knew he’d gotten away with a lot of mischief with that smile.

“Are you acquainted with Mr. Decker?” Hicks asked, apparently immune to Udall’s charm.

“No, sir, but I made the acquaintance of his lovely wife just this afternoon.”

This got Decker’s attention, as Udall had meant it to. “And where did you meet my wife, young man?”

“At my cousin’s home.”

“You’re Cousin Terrance,” Frank said, remembering Ozzie’s description of the man who had tried to terrorize Emma Hardy. “A Van Horn on your mother’s side.”

Udall’s smile flickered for a moment as he tried to figure out who Frank might be and how he knew so much about him. “You have the advantage of me, sir. Have we met?”

Hicks, who seemed to enjoy Udall’s momentary discomfort, quickly introduced the men, taking great delight in informing Udall that Frank was with the police. “Mr. Udall is one of my clerks, or at least he is when he bothers to come to the office.”

Frank remembered what Decker had said about the Van Horns putting their sons to work with mixed results. Judging from his expression, Decker remembered it, too.

“I had to go to Gilda this afternoon when I heard what’s happened,” Udall said. “She’s extremely upset, you know. Is that why you’re here, Mr. Decker? About the child?”

“I’m sure that’s none of your business,” Hicks said.

Udall furrowed his noble brow. “The welfare of an innocent child should be everyone’s business, don’t you agree, Mr. Decker?”

“Yes, it should,” Frank replied for him, “especially for those who know her. You met her, didn’t you, when you and Ozzie Wilbanks went to see Emma Hardy.”

Udall’s confidence evaporated into dismay. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, yes,” Decker said. “Ozzie told us just this morning how the two of you went out to try to frighten Emma Hardy into leaving Wilbanks and taking her little heiress with her.”

Plainly, this was news to Hicks. “Is this true, Udall? Did you go with Ozzie to see this woman?”

“Ozzie wanted to go. He wanted to see his father’s . . . uh . . .” He glanced around, belatedly realizing how many other clerks could overhear their conversation.

“Paramour,” Malloy said helpfully.

“Yes, well, he wanted to go see her, and I was afraid of what he might do. He has quite a temper, you see, so I went along to make sure he didn’t get himself into any trouble. But I only had a glimpse of the child. Ozzie had no time for her, although now that I think of it, she’s his sister, isn’t she? He really should have taken more interest.”

Frank had to admire this young man. He was the best liar he’d encountered so far in this case. He supposed being the son of a socially prominent family with no money meant Udall had to get by on his charm and good looks, and lying was always a useful skill for someone like that, too. Frank wondered why he hadn’t captured himself a rich wife yet. He’d have to ask Mrs. Decker about that. If she didn’t know, she’d find out. “That’s funny. When we spoke with Ozzie Wilbanks this morning, he said you were the one who lost his temper with Miss Hardy.”

“Me? That’s ridiculous. Why should I care enough to lose my temper with her?”

“Maybe you were outraged about the innocent child,” Frank said. “Was that why you threatened her?”

Udall narrowed his pale blue eyes. “I never threatened that woman, and even if I did, let me remind you that no harm has come to Miss Hardy, nor is it likely to. And if Ozzie and I scared her off so she didn’t marry Wilbanks last year, then we performed the man a service and should be rewarded accordingly.”

“I’ll suggest it to him the next time I see him,” Frank said.

Hicks had been enjoying this exchange, but now he said, “Udall, you’d best get back to work now.”

“Yes, sir. Mr. Decker, sir, it’s been a pleasure. Mr. Malloy . . . good day.” Apparently, it hadn’t been a pleasure to meet Frank.

Frank was smiling when he and Decker stepped out into the street.

“I don’t think that man was entirely truthful with us,” Decker said.

“Which one?”

“Well, now that you mention it, we do know for a fact that Hicks lied to us.”

“He didn’t lie. He just didn’t tell us the truth,” Frank said, still smiling. “And as for this Udall fellow, he’s a piece of work.”

“He certainly is. I’m so glad Elizabeth met him. She’ll be able to tell us all about him.”

Frank was sure she would. “Let’s go find her then.”

* * *

S
ARAH AND HER MOTHER HAD JUST COME DOWN FROM
the nursery when Malloy and her father arrived and joined them in the family parlor.

“You look like you had an interesting day,” her mother observed.

“We certainly did,” her father replied. He seemed very pleased with himself, or at least pleased about something. He and Malloy actually exchanged a conspiratorial glance. Sarah found herself blinking in surprise.

“We met Terrance Udall,” Malloy said.

“So did we,” her mother said, delighted.

Malloy grinned. “We know. We were hoping you could tell us why he hasn’t married some featherbrained heiress.”

“Malloy, would you like some coffee?” her father said, pulling the cord to summon the maid.

“Yes, thank you.”

Her mother patted the seat beside her on the sofa, and Malloy took it, watching her expectantly. “Where did you encounter Mr. Udall?” she asked.

“He works for Michael Hicks,” her father said, taking a chair on his wife’s other side.

“I thought you were going to see Ozzie Wilbanks,” Sarah said.

“We did,” her father said. “Mr. Malloy, would you tell the ladies what we learned today?”

Malloy was only too happy to do so, Sarah noted, and her father allowed it. He described their visit with Ozzie Wilbanks, giving their impressions of him. Her father interrupted only occasionally and added his opinions when Malloy asked.

“He seems an odd match for Gilda,” her mother observed. “She’s quite clever and even a little ruthless, or I miss my guess.”

“According to Ozzie, Gilda is the one who figured out Wilbanks had a mistress,” Malloy said.

“How did she do that?” Sarah asked.

Malloy frowned. “He said she got suspicious when Wilbanks kept leaving town, but now that I know Udall works for Hicks, I’m wondering if he didn’t get wind of it there and tell Gilda about it.”

“That’s certainly possible,” her father said. “Attorneys hear all sorts of secrets that they can’t tell another living soul but that anyone in their office might find out by just paying attention.”

“I’m guessing Udall paid a lot of attention to Wilbanks and his business because of his connection to Gilda,” Malloy said. “At any rate, according to Ozzie, Udall was the one who supposedly found out where Emma lived.”

“Wait a minute,” her mother said while Sarah was still absorbing what Malloy had said. “Gilda told us she had no idea that Wilbanks had a mistress until a few days ago.”

“Gilda must be a good liar, too,” Malloy said to her father, who nodded sagely.

Sarah was starting to think this whole encounter was a dream. Since when did Malloy and her father share confidences? Since when did her father defer to Malloy? Since when did her father defer to anyone at all?

“We believed her,” her mother said, oblivious of Sarah’s confusion, “so she’s at least a passable liar. What else did Ozzie tell you?”

“He admitted he’d gone to see Emma—”

“Only after Malloy let him know we already knew he did,” her father said.

“But he claimed she wasn’t frightened by his threats. She had the upper hand with Wilbanks and she knew it. Udall was the man he took with him the second time he visited Emma.”

“Was he the one who frightened her so?” Sarah asked.

“That’s what Ozzie claimed, but Udall said it was Ozzie,” Malloy said. “Ozzie wouldn’t frighten a fly, though, so it must have been Udall.”

“But regardless of who made them, Ozzie claimed she laughed off these threats as well,” her father said.

“Then we went to see Hicks, to find out why he didn’t tell Wilbanks his investigator had found Emma in Chicago and had been following her ever since.”

“I’ve been wondering that, too,” her mother said.

“Hicks claims that when the investigator found out Emma didn’t have Catherine, he didn’t want to worry Wilbanks, so he decided not to tell him anything until they knew what had happened to Catherine and where she was.”

“That’s understandable,” her mother said.

“Or self-serving,” Sarah said. “I haven’t made up my mind about Mr. Hicks yet.”

“Neither have I,” Malloy said. “But we couldn’t get much more out of him, and just as we were leaving, Mr. Udall introduces himself to Mr. Decker by claiming to have recently met his lovely wife.”

Sarah sniffed indignantly. “Didn’t he mention he’d met his lovely
daughter
, too?”

“As a matter of fact, he did not,” Malloy said, “which is only one more reason to distrust him.”

“I should think so,” her mother said. “And what did Mr. Udall have to say for himself?”

“Not much worth repeating,” her father said with a small grin. “Except to claim an unselfish interest in Catherine’s well-being.”

Which, of course, thoroughly frightened Sarah. “Oh, dear, and that leads directly into our conversation with Gilda Wilbanks and Mr. Udall. Gilda insisted that we produce Catherine to prove not only that she is truly Mr. Wilbanks’s child but also that she exists at all.”

“She’s not a very trusting person,” her mother said, “but then liars typically aren’t.”

“I thought you were going to upset her by offering to give her Catherine to raise,” her father said.

“We very quickly abandoned that plan,” Sarah said with a sigh. “Gilda is not easily intimidated, and she seems to have had a plan of her own, which was to assume we were only interested in using Catherine to extort money from Mr. Wilbanks.”

“That’s ridiculous,” her father said.

“Of course it is, but you can’t really blame her for assuming that. In any case, we left with both sides feeling stymied.”

“The only thing Sarah and I are now sure of is that we must allow Mr. Wilbanks to see Catherine as soon as possible. He’s really the only unbiased person who can verify her identity as one of his heirs, and Sarah and I have agreed we need to divert as much of Mr. Wilbanks’s fortune away from Gilda Wilbanks as possible.”

Her husband gaped at her. “Isn’t that a little cold-blooded, Elizabeth?”

“You didn’t meet Gilda Wilbanks.”

“And speaking of money,” Malloy said, “something Hicks said made me realize we still don’t know something very important: why Emma ran away in the first place.”

Her mother frowned at him. “What does that have to do with money?”

“Oh, sorry. Hicks said something that got me thinking. He said people usually do what’s in their financial best interest.”

“Do you disagree?” her father asked.

“No, that’s usually true, but in this case, Emma didn’t.”

“Yes, she did,” her mother said. “She came back to the city specifically to get money from Wilbanks.”

“But why did she run away in the first place? Wilbanks had just proposed to her, or at least that’s what he said, and we have no reason to doubt it. What could have been better for her than marrying Wilbanks? She would have had his name, his protection, and his money, too, and instead she ran away.”

Sarah couldn’t believe they still hadn’t found the answer to this. “You’re right. Anne Murphy said Emma ran away because she thought she was in danger, and she scared Anne enough to hide Catherine at the Mission.”

“But according to Ozzie Wilbanks, she had just laughed off his threats,” her father said. “So it seems unlikely she was frightened of him, at least.”

“Didn’t you ask her about that when you saw her?” her mother asked.

“I never got the chance. I did ask Vaughn, but I realized later that he’d never answered me.”

“So now you need to visit Emma Hardy again,” her mother said. “I don’t suppose you’d like some assistance.”

“Mother,”
Sarah said, shaking her head.

“There are only two women involved in this situation, and since we’ve already visited Gilda, I’m afraid Mr. Malloy will leave us with nothing to do,” her mother said.

“I’m sure you’ll manage to keep busy,” her husband said with a knowing smile. “Mr. Malloy, I’d be happy to accompany you to see this woman.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Besides, I don’t want to take you to that neighborhood. You’d probably get your pocket picked.”

“Won’t you get your pocket picked as well?”

Malloy just grinned. “They’ll know I’m a cop.”

* * *

W
HEN HE RETURNED TO THE
L
A
P
IERRE
H
OTEL THE
next morning, Frank had no trouble with the desk clerk, who greeted him this time with an ingratiating smile and asked how he could help. He found Vaughn alone in his room, and amazingly, he was up and dressed. He’d even shaved, although he had a nasty bruise under his left eye. A half-full bottle of whiskey sat on the bedside table.

“What happened to your eye?” Frank asked.

Vaughn instinctively reached up and touched it. “Walked into a door.”

Drunks, Frank thought. “Where’s Emma?”

“Emma doesn’t tell me what she’s up to,” Vaughn said, smiling the same way the desk clerk had.

“I think she probably does, so if you want to avoid a trip down to Police Headquarters, you’ll answer my questions. Now where is she?”

His ingratiating smile vanished. “She went to see Wilbanks.”

“Wilbanks? What for?”

He shrugged. “She wants her kid back.”