Murder on Lexington Avenue (24 page)

“So I gathered when they sent the footman around looking for him. He wasn’t here. I told the boy so already. He never said a thing to me about going out last night either. Would’ve talked him out of it if he had. Bad form. Very bad form. One may flaunt convention in certain things, but not this. This is too important. One’s mother must be considered, after all. Women are sensitive. They feel things more than men do.”

Frank doubted Mrs. Wooten felt much at all, but he didn’t say so. “If he was going to stay out all night, where would he go?”

“No place! He wouldn’t stay out all night.”

“Well, he did stay out all night last night, and now we’ve got to find him. For his mother’s sake,” Frank added, managing to keep a straight face. “She’s taken to her bed over this.”

Sterling looked suitably horrified. “Has she? That’s terrible! Leander should be ashamed. He’s a bit of a stick-in-the-mud sometimes, but he’s a good egg all around. To tell you the truth, I don’t see him doing something like this. He’s not the kind to go off and not say anything to anybody.”

“When he does go out, where does he usually go?”

“Oh, lots of different places. Wherever we can find some good music and liquor.”

“And women?”

“Women, too,” Sterling admitted with a shrug, patting his slicked-back hair.

“Does Leander have a special woman, one he sees regularly?”

“Good God, no. Not Leander. First of all, his old man keeps him on a short leash. He couldn’t afford to have a mistress, if that’s what you mean.”

“That’s exactly what I mean. What about whores, then? Is there a regular place you go?”

Sterling’s pale face bloomed with scarlet. “Really!” he tried, feigning outrage.

“If Leander is holed up in some brothel, I can take him home and put his family out of their misery,” Frank reminded him gruffly. “So if he is, which one would it be?”

“I won’t say we never visit those . . . such places,” Sterling said, although admitting that cost him some of his out-sized pride. “But again, Leander didn’t have a lot of money to spend in places like that, and you don’t get back in again unless you spend a lot of money.”

Frank knew there were many “such places” that didn’t require a lot of money to visit, but apparently, Leander and his friends didn’t frequent them. He decided to test out another of his theories. “Is Leander the kind who would run away from trouble?”

“Run away? What do you mean?”

“I mean if he felt guilty about something, would he face up to it or try to get out of it?”

“Leander would never run away,” Sterling said without the slightest hesitation. “He’s more likely to get himself in
more
trouble by trying to explain. He did that more than once with his old man.”

That had been Frank’s impression, too, but he had been hoping to be wrong. If Leander had run away, he was likely safe at least. “If you had to guess where Leander might be, what would you say?”

Sterling looked genuinely puzzled. “I wouldn’t say anything,” he insisted. “What I mean is, I
couldn’t
. I couldn’t guess at all!”

Sterling looked at the list Mrs. Parmer had given Frank and suggested his next visit should be to Percy Wilcox, who knew Leander better than anyone. Percy was a plump young man with a shiny face and protruding eyes that gave him a permanently startled look. He had no idea what could have become of Leander either.

“Not like him to disappear, is it? He’s been away at school, though, so maybe he’s developed some new habits, but why would he do it now? With his family all in an uproar over his father dying like that? Just not proper.”

“Could he have a lady friend?” Frank tried. “Maybe he just decided it was nicer to stay with her than to go back to a house where everybody is in mourning.”

“Leander’s not much for the ladies. Oh, he likes to look at them and take a tumble once in a while, but he’s never been one to fall in love. Not for more than a few hours at a time, if you know what I mean.”

Frank did. “What might have kept him away from home this long?”

Percy considered. “His sister might. I mean, if she was in danger or in trouble, he’d do whatever he had to. Always has been protective of the girl. She’s deaf, you know.”

“Yes, I know,” Frank said, “but she’s not in danger. She’s safe at home.”

Percy shrugged. “Then I don’t know where he’d be.”

Frank tried the three other names on the list, but those young men were not at home, which meant Leander wasn’t at their houses either. By then, the sun had set, and the city was settling into darkness. He wasn’t going to be able to question anyone else until tomorrow, and that was a long time for Leander’s family to wait. There was one more place he could look for Leander tonight. He’d tried not to think about it, but he had no other options this evening. He raised his hand to flag down a cab.

 

 

S
ARAH WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO A RESTFUL NIGHT, since she didn’t have to worry about the baby waking up. The wet nurse would take care of him, and Mrs. Wooten and Sarah would be able to sleep through the night without disturbance. In the morning, she would finally be able to go home and see Catherine and Maeve and sleep in her own bed, at least until the next delivery. She was relaxing in Mrs. Wooten’s sitting room when Minnie came looking for her.

“That policeman is here again,” she said. She didn’t look happy about it.

“Did he find Leander?” Sarah asked hopefully, setting her book aside and rising from her chair.

“He didn’t say nothing about Mr. Leander. He asked for Mrs. Parmer, but he said to make sure you were with her before they brought him upstairs.”

Fear clenched in Sarah’s stomach. He wouldn’t need her there to tell Mrs. Parmer good news. “Thank you, Minnie,” she said, hurrying out.

She found Mrs. Parmer sitting in the back parlor, the comfortable room the family used for gathering. She looked up in surprise from her needlework when Sarah entered. “Mrs. Brandt, is something wrong?” she asked when she saw Sarah’s face.

“Mr. Malloy is here,” Sarah said, trying not to sound apprehensive. Maybe the news wasn’t so very bad.

“Has he found Leander?” she asked, setting her work aside and rising from her seat. “Has he brought him home?”

“I don’t know,” Sarah said, moving toward her.

“Mr. Malloy,” the maid said in the doorway, and Malloy stepped into the room.

Mrs. Parmer’s face lighted with hope until she saw his expression. “No!” she cried and her hand flew to cover her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Parmer,” he said, coming closer. “Maybe you should sit down.”

All the color had drained from the woman’s face, and she didn’t resist when Sarah gently guided her back down into her seat. “Leander?” she asked in a whisper.

“I’m afraid he met with an accident last night.”

“An accident?” she repeated, grasping the tiny shred of hope that offered. “Then he’s . . .”

“He’s dead,” Malloy said. Although the words were harsh, his tone was amazingly kind.

“No, it can’t be! There’s been some mistake,” she insisted, turning to Sarah as if looking for confirmation that a terrible error had been made.

“I saw his body,” Malloy said. “He was found in the Bowery last night. He’d been robbed, so he didn’t have any identification. That’s why they hadn’t notified you.”

“No!” Mrs. Parmer cried again, her eyes filling with tears. “Not Leander, too!” Her voice caught on a sob, and then she was weeping piteously into her handkerchief. Sarah sat down beside her and slipped her arm around her, offering what comfort she could.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Parmer,” Malloy said after a few minutes. “Even though I’m sure it’s Leander, someone will have to come down and make a formal identification, but that can wait until tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be a family member either. One of the servants can do it for you.”

Mrs. Parmer looked up, her eyes so dark with pain that Sarah could hardly stand to look at her. “I’ll go,” she said. “I can’t leave that poor boy alone. Someone from his family should claim him.”

“Mrs. Parmer, please,” Sarah tried. “You don’t need to put yourself through that.”

“He’s my brother’s child,” she said simply. “And there’s no one else to do it.” She looked at Malloy. “Will you take me to him?”

“Now?” he asked in surprise.

“Yes, now. I won’t be able to sleep until I’ve seen him for myself. I must be sure, you see.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sarah offered, but Mrs. Parmer shook her head.

“Valora will want to know where you’ve gone, and I don’t want her and Electra told until I’ve seen . . . until I’m sure it’s him. I’ll take my maid with me.” She rose. “Please wait here, Mr. Malloy, while I get my things and order the carriage brought around.”

When they were alone, Malloy ran a hand over his face. “She shouldn’t do this.”

“She’s stronger than you think,” Sarah told him. “And she won’t believe it’s him unless she sees for herself. What on earth was he doing in the Bowery?”

“Probably what everybody else does in the Bowery. He had a lot on his mind. I don’t blame him for wanting to forget his troubles for a while.”

“Wasn’t he with his friends?”

“Not any of the friends Mrs. Parmer knew about, so we’ll have to do some more investigating.”

“How did he . . . ? You said it was an accident.”

“If you call having somebody bash your head in an accident.”

“That’s how his father was killed,” Sarah said, hugging herself against a sudden chill.

“Yes, it was.”

She waited, and when he didn’t say anything else, she asked, “Do you think they could be connected?”

“It’s hard not to be suspicious, but he
was
in the Bowery. He’s a rich man’s son, wearing good clothes, drinking too much, and maybe flashing around a lot of money. He could’ve just been killed by somebody who wanted his watch.”

“Poor Mrs. Parmer. Poor Electra,” Sarah said, thinking how horrible this would be for the girl.

“What about poor Mrs. Wooten?” Malloy asked.

“I’m having a difficult time feeling much sympathy for her, but that’s probably cruel of me. She’ll certainly be devastated. Although . . .”

“Although what?”

“Leander told his mother that Mr. Wooten had changed his will so that Leander got control of all the money. He was supposed to take care of his mother and sister.”

“So who gets it now?” he asked with a spark of hope. “Somebody who might’ve wanted him dead?”

“I’m sure it would be Mrs. Wooten or Electra, by law, unless Leander had a will, which seems doubtful since he’s so young.”

“You’re probably right, and I don’t see Mrs. Wooten or Electra following Leander down to the Bowery in the dead of night and hitting him over the head.”

“Neither do I. Do you see anybody else doing it?”

“Mrs. Parmer?” he asked with a wry smile.

“What about Mr. Young?” Sarah asked, half-seriously. “He might have been worried Leander would find out he was . . . What was it Leander said? Oh, yes, running the business into the ground.”

“That’s insulting but not exactly illegal, and probably not serious enough to kill somebody over.”

“Maybe it was. What did Mr. Colyer say when you showed him those papers?”

“He told me to come back tomorrow.”

“So you really don’t know yet. I told you before, people get killed over numbers all the time.”

Malloy shook his head in dismay at her reasoning.

“Mrs. Brandt?” Minnie said from the doorway. “Mrs. Wooten needs you.”

“I have to go,” she told Malloy.

“Are you going home tomorrow?”

“I don’t know now. I may have to stay if Mrs. Wooten is too upset. But I want to hear what Colyer has to say.”

“I’ll find you then.”

Yes, she thought. Malloy always found her.

She hurried out to see what Mrs. Wooten needed.

 

 

S
ARAH WAITED UP UNTIL MRS. PARMER RETURNED. HER face was ashen as she climbed up the stairs. Her maid followed closely behind, her hands fluttering with the frustration of wanting to help and knowing that nothing could.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Parmer,” Sarah said.

“Don’t say anything to Mrs. Wooten or Electra until morning. They’ll need their rest, and bad news always seems a little easier to bear in the light of day.”

“Do you want to tell them yourself?” Sarah asked.

She seemed to wince at that, but she said, “I suppose I must. We should probably call the doctor, too. Valora may need a sedative.”

“I’ll see to it tomorrow,” Sarah promised. “Do you need anything?”

“Thank you for asking, my dear. You’ve been very kind under the circumstances. But I’ll be all right. Someone must be strong for Electra. It’s the least I can do for my brother’s only living child.”

Sarah thought of the infant lying in the nursery. He wouldn’t enjoy the same devotion from Mrs. Parmer, and he might need it even more than Electra.

 

 

F
RANK SLEPT FITFULLY THAT NIGHT. HE COULDN’T SEEM to banish the vision of Mrs. Parmer’s face when she realized the body in the morgue was her nephew’s. He’d grown to admire her after seeing the way she bore up under what must be unbearable. He’d very much wanted her to tell him he’d been mistaken and the young man he’d identified really wasn’t Leander, but of course that hadn’t happened.

Now all he could do for her was to find whatever justice was possible for the boy. The next morning, he didn’t have any trouble at all convincing Captain O’Brien that he should investigate Leander Wooten’s death as well as his father’s. No detective had been assigned to the case yet, since nobody knew the body found in the Bowery was anyone important enough to investigate.

Mrs. Parmer had given him a photograph of Leander so he could show it around the bars to see if anyone remembered seeing him the night he died. He didn’t hold out much hope, but it was worth a chance. He started in the alley where the body had been found, with the officer who had been called.