Murder on Lexington Avenue (23 page)

“Adam thought his best option was to marry Electra Wooten,” Rossiter said somewhat bitterly.

“Did he tell Mr. Wooten that?” Frank asked with interest.

“Mr. Wooten already knew that Electra considered herself engaged to Adam. He made it clear to Adam that such a marriage would never happen.”

“As long as he was alive,” Frank remarked.

“What?” Rossiter asked in surprise.

“You heard me. Wooten would never allow his daughter to marry a deaf man, as long as he was alive to stop it.”

“Believe me, Mr. Wooten’s death was never discussed at that meeting,” Rossiter hastily explained. “And it was certainly never considered, at least by me.”

Frank thought that was likely. “Did you tell Wooten about his son’s role in hiring Oldham to teach Electra?”

“We had to,” Rossiter said, defensive again. “The alternative was to let Mr. Wooten think we had approached the girl and somehow coerced her into defying her father. Obviously, we couldn’t allow him to think that.”

“Obviously,” Frank agreed. “So much easier to put the blame on Leander.”

“The
blame
, if you can call it that, falls on Electra herself. She is the one who asked Leander to find a teacher for her in the first place,” Rossiter reminded him.

“So all the men who could have refused that request must be completely innocent,” Frank replied.

Rossiter had no answer for that, so he just stood there, fuming.

“I suppose Mr. Wooten was even more angry at his son than he was at you,” Frank said.

“I don’t believe it is possible to be more angry at anyone than Mr. Wooten was at us that day, although he never so much as raised his voice,” Rossiter marveled. “I’ve never felt that cold before, not even on a February day.”

“Did Mr. Wooten say how he intended to punish Leander?”

“Mr. Wooten is not the kind of man to reveal his plans to people like me,” Rossiter said with more bitterness.

“I’m guessing he did make you both promise never to contact Electra again.”

“Oh, yes. Adam was furious, of course. He kept professing his love for Electra and insisting he couldn’t desert her. Luckily, Mr. Wooten doesn’t understand signing, and I thought it wiser not to tell him what Adam was really saying.”

“That must’ve made Adam pretty mad.”

“He got over it after I explained to him how foolish he would be to defy a man like Wooten. Even if he and Electra were married, Wooten would make sure she was cut off without a penny.”

“Did he really?”

“Did he really what?”

“Did he really get over it and decide he’d give her up forever? Because he showed up at the Wooten house after the funeral yesterday.”

“He did?” Rossiter asked in surprise. Then after a moment, he said, “Well, I suppose he thought with Wooten dead, there was no longer any reason why he should stay away from her.”

“It does seem logical, but from what I saw, Leander agrees with his father’s decision that Electra shouldn’t see Oldham anymore. He practically threw him out of the house.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Rossiter said. “For Oldham, I mean. He genuinely cares for the girl, you know.”

Frank didn’t know, and he didn’t care either. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me, Mr. Rossiter, because if I have to come back again, I’ll bring a Black Maria and cart you down to Police Headquarters in shackles.”

“How dare you threaten me!” he blustered, but Frank saw the flash of fear again and knew he had Rossiter where he wanted him.

“Is there anything else?” he pressed.

“I . . . I don’t think so. That was my only meeting with Mr. Wooten, I swear. When it ended, I promised him that Adam would have nothing further to do with Electra.”

“Had Adam agreed to that?”

“Not yet, but he did later, when I explained everything to him, as I told you.”

“Did you talk about it again when you saw him at your dinner party on Saturday night?”

“I tried, but he didn’t want to discuss it anymore. He said everything was settled and more talking wouldn’t change anything.”

“If you remember anything else, be sure and send for me,” Frank said. “I don’t want any more surprises.”

“Oh, no, you won’t get any from me, I swear.”

Frank was fairly certain that was true.

 

 

T
HE WET NURSE ARRIVED JUST BEFORE SUPPERTIME. She was younger than Sarah had expected. Most wet nurses were women whose own children were older. Perhaps her baby had died, as so many in the city did. Despite her youth, she had the same air of confidence they all acquired eventually. Because her role was so important to the household, she was a notch above the regular servants, who resented her exemption from anything unpleasant that might be remotely classified as work. She could demand whatever delicacy she wanted to eat and refuse to do anything she didn’t like, saying it was bad for the milk. She didn’t have time to so much as dust the nursery because she was caring for the mistress’s child.

At least she was clean and knew not to gawk at the evidence of wealth all around her. Sarah took her right up to meet Mrs. Wooten.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said. All wet nurses called themselves missus, even though none of them ever seemed to have living husbands. “And is this the little gentleman?”

She scooped the baby up from his cradle and nestled him in her arms. “He’s such a big fellow and so handsome! We’ll get along just fine, won’t we?” she asked him.

He merely stared back with wonder at this new person in his life.

“I shall be so grateful to you,” Mrs. Wooten said. “He’s been feeding every hour. I’m surprised I still have the strength to open my eyes.”

Mrs. Fitzgerald looked questioningly at Sarah, who replied with an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

“You’ve been feeding him yourself?” Mrs. Fitzgerald exclaimed. “Mercy me, you should’ve sent for me sooner. You’ll want to bind your breasts right away. That will stop your milk, you know.”

“I’ll take care of Mrs. Wooten,” Sarah reminded her sternly, letting her know she might terrorize the servants but Sarah was in charge here.

“Oh, of course. I’m just glad you didn’t start him on a bottle. It’s so hard to get them to take the breast after that,” she offered by way of amends. “I’ll take this little one and get to know him, if you’ll show me the way to the nursery.”

In a few minutes, the servants had moved the cradle and rocking chair back where they belonged, and Mrs. Fitzgerald was busy setting up her little kingdom.

Sarah hated binding a woman’s breasts. The process of stopping a woman’s milk after childbirth was painful and unnatural, but no one knew of a better way to do it. Usually, she had to do it because a baby had died, so at least this was a happier occasion.

Mrs. Wooten failed to appreciate that fact, however. She complained about the discomfort and the inconvenience, and berated Sarah and the agency for the delay in finding the wet nurse. Sarah decided not to remind her it was her own fault for having kept her pregnancy a secret. People like Mrs. Wooten didn’t appreciate being reminded of their own faults.

“If you like, I can stay again tonight,” Sarah said. “I’ll show Minnie how to take care of you, and then plan to leave tomorrow.”

Mrs. Wooten frowned. “I suppose you must leave sooner or later,” she allowed. “Well, let’s see how I feel in the morning.”

“I’m sure you’ll feel much better after a good night’s sleep. I’ll let you rest now. Just ring if you need anything.”

“Oh, and find out where Leander has been. I want to see him later, when I wake up. I can’t let him think he can run wild now just because his father isn’t here to guide him.”

Sarah pulled the drapes and left her.

She stopped in the nursery and found Mrs. Fitzgerald nursing the baby.

“Oh, good,” she said when she saw Sarah. “Pull up a chair and have a chat. What on earth is going on here? They didn’t know what to tell me at the agency, just that a lady needed someone quickly and the baby was already born.”

“I don’t know very much myself,” Sarah said. She told herself she was being discreet, not lying. If Mrs. Fitzgerald heard any gossip, it wouldn’t be from her. “You see, Mrs. Wooten’s husband was murdered on Saturday.”

“Murdered! You don’t mean it. Not here, in this house?” She glanced around fearfully, as if expecting a killer to jump out of a corner and attack her.

“No, he was at his office, alone, on Saturday afternoon.”

“But a murder! Is it safe for me to be here, do you think?” She did look genuinely frightened.

“I’m sure no one has anything to be worried about. Whoever killed Mr. Wooten obviously had some sort of grudge against him, or maybe it was just a robbery gone wrong. But no one here has anything to fear, least of all you. No one here even knows you,” Sarah reminded her.

“That’s true enough, I guess. I’ve never known anybody who got murdered before, though. It’s odd.”

Sarah knew many people who’d gotten murdered, and she had to agree with her.

“Yes, well, getting back to Mrs. Wooten, the shock of her husband’s death probably brought on her labor more quickly than she expected. She hadn’t told her family about her pregnancy either. I’m not sure why she’d kept it a secret, something about being afraid she couldn’t carry the baby to term because of her age, I think. In any case, she hadn’t made any plans at all.”

“She is a little old for this, but my mother had her last one at forty-two. One every two or three years since she was seventeen.” Mrs. Fitzgerald shook her head.

“Mrs. Wooten’s youngest is sixteen, so that’s a bit different.”

“A bit of a surprise, too, then! Poor thing, she probably thought the baby wouldn’t live so why make plans.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s it,” Sarah said, a little surprised to hear how reasonable her own fiction sounded coming from someone else.

“Well, she’s lucky. Looks like he wasn’t too early. He should do just fine. What’s his name?”

A knock startled them both, and Sarah went to open the door. Minnie was there, a worried look on her face. “That policeman is back, and he asked for you this time.”

“Has Mr. Leander come home yet?” Sarah asked, excusing herself from Mrs. Fitzgerald and following Minnie downstairs.

“No, ma’am, he hasn’t, and Mrs. Parmer is that worried.”

“I’m sure she is,” Sarah said. Where could he be? And how thoughtless to be gone so long without a word.

Malloy was in the small waiting room again.

“Leander hasn’t come back yet,” she told him.

“I know, the girl who answered the door told me. Did you say Mrs. Parmer sent someone to find him?”

“Yes, but I don’t know what they found out. Let’s ask if Mrs. Parmer will see us.”

Mrs. Parmer was only too happy to see them. The poor woman looked as if she were at her wit’s end.

“I haven’t dared say anything to Valora, but we haven’t been able to find any trace of Leander,” she told Sarah the moment they walked into the parlor where she received them. “None of his friends have seen him since the funeral yesterday, and they swear he said nothing to them about having any plans last night.”

“What time did he leave the house?” Malloy asked, pulling out his notebook.

“We aren’t really sure, but it must have been after nine. That’s when I retired, and he was still here then. What could have happened to him?”

Sarah didn’t dare look at Malloy. They both knew that any number of unpleasant things could happen to someone in New York City in the dark of night.

“Could he have just gone back to Princeton?” Malloy asked.

“I can’t imagine he’d go without telling us,” Mrs. Parmer said. “He didn’t even take his bag. But we did telephone, just in case. They checked with his teachers and classmates, and no one has seen him.”

“And you’re sure none of his friends is covering up for him?” Malloy asked. “Maybe he has a lady friend or something, and he doesn’t want you to know about it.”

“Oh, I hope that’s it. Is there any way you can find out?” she asked.

“If you give me the names and addresses of his friends, I’ll question them again. They may tell me something they didn’t want to tell your servant.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Malloy. Yes, I’ll make you a list. Please have a seat. I’ll be back in a moment.”

She hurried out, leaving Frank and Sarah staring after her.

“Do you really think he’s seeking solace in the arms of a mistress?” she asked him.

“I hope so.”

“But you don’t think so.”

“If he was going to be away this long, he’d have made up some excuse to leave. He would have known they’d go looking for him after a while. He probably expected to be back in an hour or two, before anybody even missed him.”

“What do you think could have happened to him?”

“There are two possibilities.”

“That he’s either been hurt or killed,” Sarah guessed.

“Or that our theory was right and he murdered his father. In which case, he’s either run away or committed suicide.”

I
T WAS STILL EARLY ENOUGH THAT FRANK WAS ABLE TO catch two of Leander’s friends before they left for their evening’s entertainments. The first was an obnoxious fellow with corn yellow hair that he’d slicked back with too much pomade and who reeked of too much scent. His clothing was remarkably ugly, considering that the house he lived in was big enough to accommodate the entire New York City police force. Money apparently couldn’t buy good taste.

Frank had a little trouble convincing the servants to call young Master Armstrong Sterling to speak with him. He had to mention Leander Wooten by name, and only then did Armstrong reluctantly appear.

“What do the police care if Leander decided not to come home last night?” Sterling wanted to know.

“His father was murdered a few days ago,” Frank reminded him. “His family is very worried about him.”