Murder in Murray Hill (Gaslight Mystery) (20 page)

“I . . . I don’t know. I just know with Joanna . . . Well, he wasn’t finished with her yet, you see. He’d keep them until . . .”

“Until they wore out?” Frank tried when he hesitated, using Rose’s expression. “Until they no longer cared if they lived or died?”

Neth blanched at that, but he said, “I didn’t approve of what he did. You must believe me. That’s why I took Joanna out of there. She begged me to, you know.”

“I’m sure she did, and yet you’d gone to Pendergast’s house more than once to visit the women he kept there, didn’t you?”

“I told you, at first I thought they were whores, that he was paying them and they were there willingly. When Joanna told me . . .” He covered his face with both hands.

“And yet you were going to kidnap a woman yourself just the other day.”

Neth looked up with fresh alarm. “No, that wasn’t it at all.”

“Were you going to bring that girl here and lock her up the way Pendergast did? Was he going to lend you one of his cages?”

“No! I wasn’t going to keep her. He just . . . He said . . .”

“What did he say, Mr. Neth? Did he ask you to keep her here until he came to get her? You can’t say you didn’t know what he planned to do with her, Mr. Neth, not after Joanna already told you the truth.”

Neth shook his head frantically.

“Or did he tell you that you were ready to start your own collection? Did you think Joanna would help you manage the women the way Andy helped Pendergast?”

“Please, please, don’t tell Joanna. He made it sound so easy, but he knew something was wrong. That’s why he sent me in his place. I wasn’t going to hurt her, I swear!”

Frank wasn’t interested in Neth’s hypocritical oaths. “The other women, Neth. What happened to them?”

“I think . . . I’m pretty sure he just let them go. He’d give them their clothes and put them out.”

“But not their shoes.”

“What?”

“He kept their shoes as souvenirs.”

“Dear God.”

“Yes. He’d use them until their minds were gone, and then he’d put them out like stray cats to find their own way home.”

“I saved Joanna, though,” he said, as if that excused him.

“Saved her? She’s your mistress, isn’t she? I hardly call that
saving
.”

“What do you want from me? I’ve already told you I don’t know who killed Pendergast. Why do you keep torturing me?”

Frank wanted to point out that he didn’t know the first thing about torture if he thought that’s what Frank was doing, but he said, “You must’ve been pretty angry when you realized Pendergast had tricked you. I guess that’s why you went straight to his house to tell him.”

He looked up at Frank, his eyes wild with terror. “I didn’t!”

“Of course you did. The women heard you arguing, and they saw you,” Frank lied, testing him.

“They didn’t see me!” he cried. “They couldn’t have!”

“Why? Because you didn’t see them? Because you thought they were locked up in their cages? Well, they weren’t. They were right there. Grace was standing right in front of Pendergast when you cut his throat.”

“Then she knows I didn’t do it! Why would I kill him?”

“Because you were angry. Because he tricked you and got you caught trying to kidnap a woman.”

“But I didn’t. That Grace woman, she’ll tell you. I wasn’t there!”

“Where were you last night?”

Neth frowned in confusion at the change of subject. “Last night?”

“Yes, after five o’clock.”

“I was at my club.”

“All evening?”

“Yes, until about ten. Then I came home.”

“Were you here the rest of the night?”

“Of course.”

“Alone?”

“Joanna was here.”

“So you can vouch for each other?”

“Why would we need to do that?”

“Because somebody killed Andy last night, and I was pretty sure it was you.”

J
oanna didn’t even look to see if Sarah was following her as she made her way back downstairs and into the kitchen. Maybe she hoped Sarah wouldn’t follow. At any rate, she didn’t seem surprised when Sarah stepped into the kitchen behind her.

She crossed her arms defiantly. “What do you want?”

“I want to be sure the women Pendergast kidnapped aren’t hurt any more, and that includes you.”

“Then get out of here and leave us alone.”

Sarah had to admit, it was tempting. “That might protect
you
, but it won’t help the others.”

“I can’t help the others.”

“I’ve spoken with the two women we rescued the other day. They’ve told me what they went through. You were very clever to have gotten away.”

Some emotion flickered across her face but was gone before Sarah could identify it. “I wasn’t clever enough to keep from getting caught in the first place.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that. Pendergast apparently had a lot of practice doing what he did. He knew what would work the best.”

“Not all the women he corresponded with got caught,” she said bitterly. “Sometimes one would get a bad feeling or something and would refuse his invitation to meet his mother. Sometimes they wouldn’t even show up at all.”

“How lucky for them. Maybe their families found out and stopped them.”

“That would make him so angry,” she said as if Sarah hadn’t spoken. “He’d come home furious, and he’d take it out on us.”

“How many women were there with you?”

Joanna’s brown eyes narrowed. “Three. Not all at once. He never kept more than two at a time. He liked having two, though, because it was worse for us that way.”

“Worse?” Sarah would have thought the women might comfort each other.

“Because someone else knew. We knew what he did to the other one. I couldn’t figure it out at first, why that was so bad, but then I realized that when he was using the other one, I was so glad it wasn’t me that I couldn’t even feel sorry for her anymore. I know the others felt the same. We couldn’t even look at each other after a while.”

“But you can help each other now. The police think Grace Livingston killed Pendergast.”

“Grace? That’s the one you were looking for?”

“Yes.”

“How can they arrest her? After what he did?”

“You know how men are. Or maybe you don’t. Not all men, of course, but too many, unfortunately. They don’t like the idea of a female killing a man, no matter what the provocation.”

“But he kidnapped her!”

“He kidnapped all of you, but some will say you deserved it because you answered his letters in the first place, and then went to meet him, and then went home with him. They’d say you were no better than you should be and got what you deserved. They might even say that you stayed willingly.”

Fury bloomed in her face. “How could anyone think that?”

“People think what they want, and they think what they’re told. The newspapers will say awful things about her, about all of you—”

“No! They can’t!”

“They can and they will. I’m sorry. I’m only telling you what I know is true. I’ve seen it before, so I want to stop it. Mr. Malloy and I are trying to figure out what really happened to Pendergast and hoping we can protect all of his victims in the process.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because when men like Pendergast are allowed to prey on innocent females, no female is safe. I have a daughter, and I don’t want her living in a world like that.”

Joanna stared at Sarah for a long moment. “That’s a good reason. I was afraid you’d pretend that you cared about me or those other women.”

“I don’t know any of you, not well enough to really care about you, but I do hate what happened to you. I hope you can believe that, too.”

“I might,” she said, still defensive. “But I can’t help Grace. I can’t help anyone.”

“Did you know Andy was trying to blackmail Pendergast’s friends? He wanted money to leave town.”

Her eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

“Because Mr. Malloy caught one of them delivering money to him at Pendergast’s house.”

She smiled slightly at that. “Who was it?”

“Malloy didn’t get his name, and Andy didn’t get away because somebody had already killed him.”

This seemed to please her. “He deserved it, that nasty little rat.”

“They think a woman killed him.”

Her eyes widened again. “Why?”

“Something about the way he was killed,” Sarah hedged, not wanting to give too much information. “We were wondering if he was trying to blackmail Pendergast’s victims, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“The women, if they’d gotten away, they might have gone home. They wouldn’t have told their families what really happened to them, or very little of it, anyway. Then if Andy sent them a message, threatening to”—Sarah gestured vaguely—“I don’t know, threatening to tell their families or the newspapers or the world in general. He probably asked for money, and maybe one of them decided to get rid of him once and for all. With Andy and Pendergast dead, maybe their secret would be safe.”

“I doubt Andy was that smart.”

“Really? You don’t think he would have thought of blackmailing the women, too?”

“I don’t think he would have even known how to find them.”

“He probably knew how to find you.”

She stiffened. “He knew better than to bother me.”

“So you didn’t receive a threat from him?”

“No, I didn’t. And you’re wasting your time. He wouldn’t even have expected women to have any money to give him. He would’ve only gone after the men.”

“Did he threaten Mr. Neth?”

She pressed her lips so tightly together, they turned white. “He tried.”

“So he did send Mr. Neth a message.”

“Yes, but he never saw it. I burned it.”

Sarah found herself admiring her courage. “Why did you do that?”

“Because Neth would’ve paid him, and I didn’t want that little rat to have anything. After what he did . . .”

She looked away, seeing something dark and ugly. When she turned back to Sarah, she said, “They’re wrong. One of the men killed him, one of Pendergast’s friends. You find him and punish him.”

“Do you know their names?”

“Neth does. I’ll make him tell you.”

With that she pushed past Sarah out the door and back down the hall. Sarah followed, nearly running to keep up. When they reached the parlor upstairs, Joanna threw open the door without bothering to knock.

Neth and Malloy looked up in surprise.

“Did he tell you?” Joanna asked Neth. “Andy is dead.”

Neth and Malloy rose and stared at Joanna.

“Yes,” Neth said carefully. “He said Andy was murdered, and he thinks I did it.”

Joanna scowled at Malloy. “Are you crazy? He couldn’t hurt a flea. Besides, he was here with me all night. No, one of the others did it. One of those men Pendergast used to bring to his house. Give him their names.”

“Joanna,” Neth said patiently, “why would one of them have killed Andy?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because Andy was blackmailing them. Isn’t that true?” she asked Sarah.

“Yes, it is.”

“You see?” she told Neth. “He even tried to blackmail you.”

“No, he didn’t,” Neth said. “He probably knew I’d never pay him,” he added a bit smugly, earning a derisive snort from Joanna.

“Yes, he did. He sent you a message just like the others, but I never gave it to you. I knew you’d pay him, so I didn’t tell you. I burned it instead.”

“Joanna! What if he’d gone to the police!”

“And told them what? That his employer was kidnapping women and holding them prisoner and he was helping? He was stupid but not that stupid. He couldn’t say a word without tarring himself with the same brush. But don’t worry, because he’s dead now, and all you have to do is tell Mr. Malloy who the other men were. One of them did it,” she told Malloy, “but not Neth, because he didn’t even know he was being blackmailed.”

Neth sank back into his chair as if afraid his legs would no longer hold him. He stared at Joanna with a curious mixture of awe and terror. Then he turned to Malloy. “She’s right; I didn’t know. I had no idea.”

Sarah believed him, and she wondered if Malloy did. Malloy hardly ever believed anyone, which was probably a consequence of having been a policeman for so long and hearing so many lies.

“You need to listen to her,” Malloy said. “You need to give me the names of the other men.”

“I can’t give their names to the police,” Neth said. “They’ll be furious. They’ll throw me out of the club!”

“That stupid club,” Joanna snapped. “How can you care what those good-for-nothings think of you?”

“They’re my friends!” He was whining now, setting Sarah’s teeth on edge.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Sarah said. “They’ll never know you gave their names. Besides, Mr. Malloy isn’t with the police, and if they’re innocent, they’ve got nothing to fear.”

Neth still hesitated, his eyes darting nervously while he actually wrung his hands.

Suddenly, Joanna gave an exasperated sigh and stormed out of the room.

“Joanna, where are you going?” Neth cried, jumping to his feet again. But he obviously didn’t care enough to go after her and find out. Instead he turned to Malloy. “Is it true? Can you keep my name out of it? I don’t want them thinking I betrayed them.”

“What about those women?” Sarah said. “Didn’t you already betray them?”

Neth spared her only a glance. “You understand, don’t you?” he asked Malloy. “I just can’t . . .” He shrugged.

Malloy looked as if he didn’t understand at all. “Why did Joanna pick you?”

Neth frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Just that. I haven’t met all the others yet, so maybe you really are the cream of the crop, but what made her think you were the one who’d save her from Pendergast?”

Neth took offense at the implied insult, stiffening and making a disgruntled face, but before he could reply, Joanna returned holding a booklet bound in red paper. She walked straight up to Malloy and gave it to him.

“That’s a list of the members of his club. Only a few of them went to Pendergast’s house, but if he won’t tell you which ones, just start at the beginning and be sure to tell all of them that Neth sent you to them. I’m sure he’ll change his mind when a few of the innocent ones let him know how angry they are.”

“Joanna, how could you?” Neth cried. He looked for all the world as if he was going to weep.

Malloy flipped the pages of the book, then tucked it into his suit jacket when Neth tried to reach for it. “Thank you, Joanna. That’s very good advice. Mrs. Brandt, I think our business here is done.”

Sarah had to bite back a smile when Neth cried out in protest.

“You can’t! I’ll be ruined!”

“Then make me a list,” Malloy said.

Neth gave Joanna a murderous glare. “Give me a few minutes,” he said, then stomped out of the room much as she had done.

Only then did Sarah wonder at the possible consequences of Joanna’s act. “Will he be angry with you?”

“Of course, but he won’t do anything about it. He’s a coward. I told you, he couldn’t hurt a flea, which is why he couldn’t have killed Andy.”

Sarah felt sure Joanna was right, which only made her more curious as to why she had picked Neth as her savior. Even more surprising was that he really had rescued her.

“What about Pendergast?” Malloy said “We know he was there right before Pendergast died.”

“So what if he was? He didn’t do that either. I’m telling you, he could never bring himself to do it.”

“Even still, he’ll be angry with you. If you feel you’re in danger, we can find you a safe place,” Sarah said, thinking about the Mission, where she did volunteer work.

Joanna gave her a pitying look. “I’m not in danger here, and I’ll never be in danger from him. Why don’t you both sit down? He’ll be a few minutes with his list. He’ll want to get it just right.”

Sarah took the chair Neth had vacated and Malloy resumed his seat. Joanna walked over to the front window and pretended to stare out of it. She probably just didn’t want to make conversation with them while they waited. Only when she sat watching Joanna at the window did Sarah realize she wasn’t dressed as a maid today. She wore a simple dress she’d probably purchased at Stewart’s or Macy’s, which made her look like a middle-class matron. Was she changing her status in Neth’s household from servant to . . . well, to whatever you called the lady of the house when she wasn’t the wife? She would love to discuss the matter with Joanna, but she decided not to risk offending her, at least as long as they still needed her help.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Neth finally returned with a handwritten list. He thrust it at Malloy, his expression mutinous.

“If you so much as mention my name, I’ll have your job.”

Sarah wondered if he had any idea how ridiculous that threat really was.

Malloy took the paper, glanced over it, then folded it carefully into thirds and stuffed it into his inside jacket pocket. “Thank you for your help, Mr. Neth,” he said.

“I don’t want to see you here again,” Neth said in what he probably thought was a threatening tone.

“I don’t want to be here again,” Malloy replied amiably. “Let’s just hope neither one of us is disappointed.”

Neth glowered and Malloy ignored him. “Mrs. Brandt?”

Sarah started for the door, and Malloy followed.

“Joanna, see them out,” Neth said, but she merely cast him a withering glance and resumed staring out the front window.

Sarah didn’t bother to bite back this smile. Joanna was going to lead him a merry chase.

• • •

O
utside in the street, Frank offered Sarah his arm and she took it as they strolled away from Neth’s house. “That was interesting,” he said.

“Joanna is interesting. I would love to hear the conversation they’re having now.”

“We thought he might be a killer, but she’s not a bit afraid of him,” Frank marveled.

“But he’s afraid of her, I’m sure. He pretends he isn’t, but it’s clear.”

Frank was a little afraid of her himself. “I think I also believe that he wouldn’t hurt a flea. I accused him of killing Pendergast, and he was more insulted than scared. He asked me why he’d even want to kill Pendergast, and the only reason I can think of is that he got really mad that Pendergast tricked him.”