Murder on Lexington Avenue (30 page)

Frank figured the world was full of foolish young swells who’d forget Leander’s death in a few weeks, but he didn’t comfort the bartender. He showed the photograph around to some of the patrons, but nobody remembered seeing Leander. If he’d met someone here, that man probably wasn’t here now and wouldn’t admit it if he was.

By midnight, Frank gave up his fruitless quest and went home. His mother would fuss at him for coming in so late, but she’d fix him something to eat. Then he could sleep for a few hours before starting all over again.

 

 

S
ARAH WAS BEGINNING TO WONDER HOW LONG THEY would allow her to stay on at the Wooten house before someone noticed that her services were no longer needed. She was starting to feel too comfortable being a confidante to so many wounded people here. Mrs. Wooten was finally coming out of her grief-induced stupor. That morning, she had informed Mrs. Parmer that she would make the plans for Leander’s funeral herself, even though Dr. Smith had told her she must not exert herself in the slightest for at least two full weeks after the birth.

Mrs. Parmer was bearing up under the burden of having lost her brother and her nephew in just a few days’ time, although she was beginning to show the strain. Electra kept to her room most of the time, probably grieving in her own way.

“Mrs. Wooten,” Sarah said when she had finished helping her change into a clean nightdress and get settled again, “I should probably leave today. Unless you need me to stay on,” she added for courtesy. She didn’t really want to stay. She wanted to go home and see Catherine. She missed her daughter dreadfully.

“Are you sure it’s safe? I mean, I’m still in such pain from my breasts being bound, and Dr. Smith doesn’t want me to lift a finger. You warned me yourself that I need to be careful, and there’s so much to do with the funeral . . .” Her voice broke on the word, and Sarah began to feel guilty.

Still . . .

“You’re doing very well, and Minnie knows how to take care of you now. The baby is thriving with his nurse, and I’m afraid I’m beginning to feel like an intruder here. There’s really nothing left for me to do. You can always send for me if you need me,” she added, hoping that would convince her.

It did. “I will miss you, Mrs. Brandt,” Mrs. Wooten said. It was the closest she would come to acknowledging the important role Sarah had played during one of the most stressful times of Mrs. Wooten’s life. “I’ve been very impressed with your work.”

Sarah thanked her, packed up her things, and went to say good-bye to Mrs. Parmer.

“I’m sorry to see you go,” Mrs. Parmer said with a sad smile. “It seems I’ve come to depend on you. You’re always so levelheaded and sensible about everything.”

Sarah smiled. “It’s easy to be levelheaded when you’re dealing with other people’s problems. I just hope I was some help to you during this time. I know it’s been very difficult for you.”

Mrs. Parmer sighed. “Yes. Our lives will never be the same again. And poor Electra. I don’t know what will become of her. Not many families would allow their sons to marry into a family where two people had been murdered.” She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

“Electra is beautiful and charming. I’m sure someone will find her irresistible,” Sarah said, although she didn’t add that he might be the deaf man Electra’s father had wanted to avoid.

“I hope you’re right,” Mrs. Parmer said, sighing again. “She deserves some happiness in her life.”

“A woman can be happy, even if she isn’t married,” Sarah reminded her gently.

Mrs. Parmer smiled. “Yes, but it’s a lonely life. Electra should have children, too.”

Mrs. Parmer arranged for Sarah’s fee to be paid to her and summoned the carriage to take her back home. Sarah could have taken the El, but she enjoyed the trip in the luxurious vehicle, and she knew her neighbor, Mrs. Ellsworth, would be in a tizzy of excitement to see such a fine conveyance coming down Bank Street.

Mrs. Ellsworth had long been the neighborhood’s main source of information. A widow whose son worked long hours, she’d had too much free time and had spent it keeping track of her neighbors’ business. Now that Sarah had a family, however, Mrs. Ellsworth no longer had time to notice what other people were doing. She was too busy teaching Catherine and Maeve the domestic arts. So Sarah brought a little excitement to her neighbor’s life by arriving in the Wooten’s carriage.

By the time the footman had opened the door and helped her out, Catherine, Maeve, and Mrs. Ellsworth were on the front stoop to greet her. Catherine went flying down the front steps and into Sarah’s arms.

“Mama, I missed you!” she said, her eyes shining with happiness as Sarah covered her small face with kisses.

“I missed you, too, my darling girl. Have you been good for Maeve and Mrs. Ellsworth?”

“I was good as gold,” she bragged. “Wasn’t I, Maeve?”

Maeve gave her a mock frown. “Maybe good as brass,” she allowed, “but I’m not so sure about gold.” Catherine giggled delightedly.

“Oh, she was pure gold,” Mrs. Ellsworth insisted. “Now let your mama come inside. She must be exhausted!”

The footman brought Sarah’s bag inside, and the girls watched the carriage rolling down the street from the front window until it was out of sight.

“Your patient must have been very wealthy,” Mrs. Ellsworth remarked, watching over their shoulders.

“Yes, for a change,” Sarah said. The wealthy seldom used midwives anymore.

“You must tell me all about it,” Mrs. Ellsworth whispered. “After Catherine goes to bed.”

But it was hours until then, so Sarah allowed the girls to make a fuss over her and tell her everything they had been doing in the days she had been away. In general, she just enjoyed being home again. Mrs. Ellsworth took her leave shortly after Sarah arrived, explaining that she did occasionally have to return to her own house next door and do some things there, but she promised to come back later.

Sarah saw her out.

“H
AS CATHERINE HAD ANY MORE OF THOSE SPELLS?” Sarah asked when they were out of earshot of the girls.

“No, nothing out of the ordinary at all. She’s been perfectly normal.”

Sarah sighed with relief. “I’ve been worried about her.”

“I’m sure you have, but there’s no need. And now that you’re home again, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Sarah walked her to the front door.

“Was it the Wooten family you were called for?” Mrs. Ellsworth asked her when they reached the foyer. “I saw the newspaper stories about Mr. Wooten being murdered, and I thought that must be the case Mr. Malloy was working on.”

“Yes, Mrs. Wooten went into labor, probably from the shock.”

“How terrible,” Mrs. Ellsworth said. “That poor man will never see his child.”

“Perhaps it isn’t terrible at all,” Sarah said in a tone that made Mrs. Ellsworth’s eyes gleam.

“Well, then, I will definitely be back to hear all the details.”

“I suppose you also saw that their son, Leander, was killed on Tuesday night as well.”

Mrs. Ellsworth looked surprised. “How terrible! No, I hadn’t heard. Tuesday night, you say? I get a newspaper every morning, but I didn’t see a story about it.”

“Oh, they didn’t identify his body until Wednesday night, but I thought it was in the newspapers yesterday morning.”

“Maybe it was the afternoon papers, but I never buy them. I always think one dose of bad news a day is enough. And how awful for the family. First the father and then the son. Has Mr. Malloy figured out what happened yet?”

“Not yet. He was going to New Jersey yesterday.”

“New Jersey? Whatever for?”

“The son attended college there, and Malloy had to find out something about him. I think they said he goes to Princeton University.”

“Oh, yes, they changed the name of the College of New Jersey to Princeton, didn’t they? It sounds much more elegant, doesn’t it?”

Sarah agreed and Mrs. Ellsworth took her leave, promising to return later to hear Sarah’s story.

 

 

F
RANK FIGURED HE SHOULD CHECK IN AT POLICE HEADquarters and give them an update on his progress. The desk sergeant was glad to see him.

“You got a message about the boy that was killed in the Bowery on Tuesday night.” He handed Frank a note.

It was from Officer Kelly, the one who had found Leander’s body. Someone had tried to pawn Leander Wooten’s watch.

T
HE FELLOW WHO HAD TRIED TO PAWN LEANDER WOOten’s watch was a sorry specimen. Kelly was holding him at the station house, and he looked a little the worse for wear. Fresh bruises marked his face, and he seemed to be suffering the effects of alcohol withdrawal. They’d brought him to one of the interrogation rooms, and he looked up with bleary eyes when Frank walked in with Kelly.

“Stand up, then,” Kelly commanded. “Show some respect for your betters.”

The man tried to rise, but plainly he couldn’t quite manage it.

“That’s all right,” Frank said in a friendly tone. He glanced at Kelly, giving him the silent message that he’d decided this was the role he would play in their little drama. “Sit down. Have they been treating you well?”

The man glanced up warily at Kelly, who was maintaining his angry expressions. “Yeah, sure,” the man said guardedly.

Frank took a seat across the scarred table from him. “What’s your name?”

“Battersby,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Albert Battersby.”

He was a wizened little creature, shrunken inside his filthy clothes. His grimy face was wrinkled and drawn, making him look ancient, although the arrest report said he was only thirty-six. His trembling hands were knobby from hard work, but he would no longer be capable of that. He wouldn’t be able to earn enough for liquor and food both, so he’d choose liquor most of the time. He’d sleep on the streets, beg when he could, and steal what he could. Frank tried to imagine Leander Wooten going into an alley with this man.

He couldn’t.

“You were caught trying to pawn a watch,” Frank reminded him. “Where did you get it?”

“I told them a dozen times, I found it!” Battersby insisted, giving Kelly a glance to see if he was going to get mad about it. Kelly’s expression remained grim, but he stood back, giving Frank the opportunity to work.

“
Where
did you find it?” Frank asked conversationally.

“I . . . I don’t remember. On the street somewhere.”

“You were lucky, I guess,” Frank said. “Being the first to spot it. Something like that wouldn’t be there very long, would it?”

“No,” Battersby agreed with pitiful enthusiasm. “I was lucky.”

“Except I guess they told you the watch belonged to a dead man.”

Battersby glanced at Kelly again. “They said. They think I killed him, but I never! I was in a bad way that night. I couldn’t’ve hurt nobody.”

“You were in a bad way?” Frank asked. “You needed a drink, you mean?”

“I hadn’t had anything in almost two days!” Battersby said. “I had the shakes so bad, I could hardly walk. Kind of like now,” he added with another glance at Kelly.

Frank nodded his understanding. “You were hanging around the saloon, waiting for somebody to come out and toss you a coin.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right!”

“But nobody did, because your luck has been bad,” Frank guessed.

Battersby’s rheumy eyes widened in surprise. “That’s right,” he again confirmed.

“So you were excited when you saw that swell come out of the saloon and go down the alley, and you followed him, and—”

“No, no, it wasn’t like that!” he insisted.

“What was it like?” Frank asked, leaning forward as if he was really interested. “Did you bring the broom handle with you, or did you find it?”

“I didn’t have no broom handle! I didn’t have nothing!”

“You did, Albert,” Frank said with a disapproving frown. “We found it by the body, right where you left it.”

“I didn’t leave it! I didn’t leave nothing!”

“So you saw him come out and go down the alley and you followed him because he was a little drunk and all alone—”

“He wasn’t alone!”

The hair on the back of Frank’s neck stood up, but he just said, “He wasn’t?”

Battersby glanced at Kelly again. Seeing no threat of violence, he said, “He wasn’t alone. There was two of them.”

“Two men?” Frank asked.

“Two swells. I called out to them, but they just went right on by. Never gave me nothing!”

“Is that why you followed them?” Frank asked.

“I didn’t! I told you, I never followed nobody! I just sat there, trying to get somebody to stand me to a drink, but nobody paid me any mind. And then I saw one of the swells come out of the alley. He looked around, up and down the street, like he was looking for somebody, and then he walks away, kind of fast and still looking around.”