Bloody Lessons (29 page)

While she probably shouldn’t have revealed Emory’s name without asking his permission, she knew she’d have to do so to keep Blaine from dismissing her out of hand.

Blaine leaned forward and said, “Just exactly how did you come by this information, Mrs. Fuller?”

Annie ignored the implicit challenge in Blaine’s tone and replied quietly, “Mr. Emory has engaged Miss Dawson’s brother, Mr. Nathaniel Dawson, of Hobbes, Cranston and Dawson, to get to the bottom of these letters. Mr. Emory asked me to help out when he learned that I have some experience in discreet investigations of crimes. I have just completed a temporary position at Girls’ High because several of the personnel at that school have been singled out by these letters. I would suggest that you contact Mr. Emory if you need verification that what I am telling you is the truth.”

Blaine nodded. “Yes, you may be sure I will do so. But I still fail to see why
you
came to see me today. Are you suggesting that I engage you in a similar fashion?”

Annie felt a spurt of anger that her motivation was being questioned, but she reminded herself that a self-made man like Blaine would be used to being approached by people primarily interested in taking some of his wealth.

In a steady voice, she said, “Mr. Blaine, I am here because I thought you would be relieved to learn there is an explanation for why your daughter, who I am sure you know is blameless of any wrong-doing, was the subject of such a letter. Mr. Emory feels that there might be a political motivation behind the letters…”

“Buckley, by
God!” Blaine said, his face reddening alarmingly. “I’ll kill the bastard!”

“Father!” Kitty got up and went over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Please, calm yourself.”

Annie ignored the outburst and said, “That is certainly one possible explanation, although we don’t have any proof. In fact, there is the also possibility the letters could be from a disgruntled teacher and that there is no political motive whatsoever.”

“But then why would my daughter be involved? No, it’s that underhanded Buckley, I’m sure of it. He can’t stand it that men like myself and Emory aren’t willing to go along with his schemes.”

“Your daughter may have been picked by the writer because the writer wanted to harm Mr. Hoffmann, not you,” Annie replied. “When the earlier letters didn’t result in Mr. Hoffmann’s dismissal, the letter writer may have hoped this accusation would result in you using your political influence to get him fired.”

Kitty, having returned to her seat next to Laura, said, “See, Father, this is what I told you. Mr. Hoffmann has behaved with perfect propriety towards me. But you were going to march over to the school tomorrow, weren’t you, and demand Hoffmann be dismissed.”

Annie added, “This is why we need to be very careful. Turning this into a public scandal is the last thing we want for your daughter and the other innocent victims.”

“But what can I do? How do I ensure that my daughter’s reputation is protected?”

Blaine’s fear rang in his words, and Annie reflected on how difficult it must be for a parent not to be in a constant state of anxiety, worried that something or someone was going to hurt their beloved child. She suspected it was doubly upsetting for a powerful man like Blaine to feel powerless to protect his own child from harm.

Keeping this in mind
, she said, “Mr. Blaine, you can help us find out who is behind these letters and stop them. I would like to give you a couple of names to see if you recognize them. If you don’t, I would ask that you do some discreet investigation into whether they have any political connections. Then I would like you to meet with Mr. Emory and his lawyer, Mr. Dawson, to share information and perhaps formulate a plan on how to unmask this person or persons.”

Blaine nodded. “Mrs. Fuller, I will be glad to help. I’ll contact Emory tonight; I know what club I will find him in.” Turning to the two girls on the sofa, he continued, “Kitty, my dear, get a bit of that fancy letter paper you keep in the desk over there and jot down the names Mrs. Fuller wants me to check out.”

As Kitty went across the room, Blaine leaned closer to Annie and said in a whisper, “I know my girl, and she is going to pester me something awful to let her return to her classes tomorrow. But what if I’m not the only one who got such a letter and rumors are spreading about her as we speak? I would do anything to spare her the humiliation that would follow.”

Annie, remembering Della Thorndike’s hints about Kitty and Hoffmann, thought that Blaine’s fears were
well-placed. She said, “Let me suggest to Kitty that she not go to her morning classes at Girls’ High for the next few days but come directly to Clement Grammar. Working with the students and getting the fun of distributing the valentines will take her mind off of everything. I will write to Mr. Hoffmann and explain why she isn’t attending her morning classes. I am confident that he will ensure that her grades won’t be affected. But all the more reason to work swiftly to find out who is behind this and end it,
peacefully,
and without any scandal.”

Annie looked squarely at Blaine, whose polite smile said he understood her point but whose hard blue eyes said he would use any means necessary to protect his daughter, including violence.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Wednesday evening, February 11, 1880

"During the afternoon a person who had been actively at work in the interests of the Republican ticket...was assaulted by Jake Lido and one 'Shorty' Simpson, two Democratic ward politicians..." ––
San Francisco Chronicle
, 1880

Nate sat in a chair in the small parlor awaiting Annie, the formal parlor again occupied by a number of the boarders. He rubbed his temples, trying to relieve the headache that had plagued him all day. Tomorrow, Cranston would start his examination of the defense witnesses, and for the past few weeks, Nate had gotten little more than three or four hours of sleep doing the additional research Cranston kept demanding. He’d never known a lawyer who came to court as well-prepared as the firm’s new partner, even though Nate seemed to be doing most of the work. It was all worth it to see how Cranston turned the dry legal precedents Nate had found into an effective legal defense. He really should be home working right now, but he wasn’t sure when he would be able to visit again once this stage in the trial started, and he didn’t want Annie to feel neglected. Besides, a visit with her, especially the few stolen kisses at the doorstep when he left, infused him with a sense of well-being that beat a shot of whiskey and a full night’s sleep.

“Annie sent me to tell you she’ll be here in a few minutes.” Laura entered the room and pulled a chair around to face him. “We got home after six, which sent Mrs. O’Rourke into a bit of a conniption, so Annie is down in the kitchen placating her.”

Nate sat up, his fuzzy mind sharpening. “And why did it take the two of you so long to get home? You know neither of you should be out after dark!”

Laura waved her hand dismissively, like he was some old hen, and said, “Oh Nate, we were properly carried home in a carriage
, if you must know. But wait until you hear what happened!”

Laura proceeded to tell him about Kitty’s appearance at Clement, the story of the anonymous letter her father got, and their visit to Kitty’s home. From Nate’s perspective, she dwelt over-long in her description of the house, but when he pressed her to tell her how the conversation with Blaine went, she said that Annie would tell him the details when she came down. Instead, she pulled her chair closer to his and said, in a much more serious tone, that she had something she wanted to ask him. This sent up alarm bells.

“I had a rather disturbing experience this weekend. One of the essayists I studied last year, De Quincey, would call it an epiphany. I came to the realization that I don’t think I have ever truly loved anyone. I thought I had. But could it have been love if I wasn’t willing to sacrifice for that other person? I mean really sacrifice, put their happiness before my own and do it gladly?”

Nate, not sure what Laura wanted from him, said, “Of course you have loved someone. Mother and Father, for instance.”

“But if Mother and Father asked me to stop teaching and come home, would I be willing to do it? Even if that would make them happy? I’m not sure I would. I’m not even sure that I believe sacrificing your own needs and desires for someone else is a good thing. When I think of the couples I lived with last fall, I can’t help but wonder how many of the women gave up their dreams in order to marry and if that was why most of them were unhappy.”

“Perhaps they were unhappy because they didn’t really love their husbands or didn’t feel loved by them,” Nate said, feeling his way through this alarming subject. “You must admit that Mother is happy, don’t you?”

“Yes, but maybe being a wife and mother wasn’t a sacrifice for her, and I have trouble picturing Billy’s wife, Violet, doing anything else. But I can’t imagine settling down, settling for that as
my
future. Which brings me back to the question, maybe I simply haven’t ever truly loved anyone else.” Laura turned her head away and said quietly, “Maybe I don’t have that capacity.”

Nate’s heart ached for his sister; she se
emed so forlorn. He was searching for something to say to lighten her spirits when she startled him with another question.

“Would you give up your career for Annie? Do you love her enough to do that if she asked it of you?” Laura leaned closer and stared into his eyes.

“Yes,” he said, surprised at his lack of hesitation. “But I think one of the reasons I love her is that I don’t believe she would ever ask me to do so. She might ask me to move and practice the law somewhere else or cut down on my hours or even to take different clients, but I just can’t see her asking me to give up my profession.”

“Would you ask her to give up something she loved, like her work as Madam Sibyl or an investigation she had embarked upon?”

The scenes of last fall flashing before his eyes, Nate said, “There was a time when I would have, when I did. Then I decided that wasn’t the kind of man I wanted to be. I realized if I truly loved her, I wouldn’t want her to give up anything to marry me. Thank goodness she’s given me a second chance to prove to her she can trust me.”

“Then why haven’t you asked her to marry you again?”

“Because I’m afraid she will say no and there will be no third chance.” The words came out without thinking. Before he could examine their import, he saw Laura turn towards the doorway, where Annie was just entering the room. He went over to her and gave her a warm hug, whispering in her ear, “Thank goodness you’ve come. I was getting in very deep waters.”

Annie pulled away and wrinkled her brow in a puzzled fashion.

Laura passed them as she headed to the doorway, saying, “I will leave you two alone; I have some class preparation to finish. Annie, I told him you would fill in the details of our meeting with Mr. Blaine.” And then she was gone, leaving the door ajar only a few inches.

Nate
, about to open the door wider, thought,
Hang it all. Everyone knows we are in here, and we can’t be getting up to any trouble.
Instead, he arranged the two chairs in the room side-by-side, and as they sat down together, he slid his arm around Annie’s shoulder and pulled her in close for a swift kiss.

Annie laughed softly when the embrace ended. Putting her hand up against his cheek, she said, “Was that for rescuing you? Whatever were you two talking about?”

“She said she wasn’t sure she’d ever really loved anyone. I didn’t know what to say. Do you know what happened to cause this, I think she called it an ‘epiphany?’”

“Oh, you poor dear. What happened was a distressing conversation with Seth Timmons on Sunday night, and I believe she’s still feeling guilty that she didn’t support Hattie enough before she died.”

“Timmons came by on Sunday? Did he have any news about Buck?” Nate was surprised that Laura hadn’t mentioned this.

“Yes. He found out that Buck was in San Francisco at the time Laura was attacked, working for an uncle. He told Laura he would find out if Buck has been following Laura home from work or hanging out behind the house at night and upsetting Dandy.”

Annie paused. “Dandy was very friendly to Seth on Sunday. It made me wonder if someone could take Dandy to where Buck works to see how Dandy responds. It wouldn’t prove anything definitively, but it would give us an indication if our suspicions are correct.”

Nate nearly laughed out loud at the image of the diminutive dog leaping and snapping at some lumbering youth. But, not sure
he wanted to encourage this plan, he changed the subject. “Tell me how Peter Blaine responded when you told him he wasn’t the only one to receive an anonymous letter.”

“He initially thought I was there to squeeze some money out of him. I hope I didn’t cause any trouble by letting him know that Emory was one of the other people who had been targeted. I was afraid that, otherwise, Blaine wouldn’t have been willing to talk to me. He said he was going to track down Emory tonight, check on my story. Do you think Emory will be upset?”

“I don’t think so; but Blaine must have been furious to think someone would be trying to ruin his daughter.”

“Yes, he immediately named Buckley, that corrupt political boss you mentioned, when I brought up the possibility of a political motive behind the letters. I asked for his help to see if there were any connections he could find between Buckley and any disaffected teachers. I gave him Frazier’s name, the one who lost the job to Mrs. Anderson. I also gave him Mrs. Washburn’s name, the
janitoress at Girl’s High who dislikes Hoffmann so much, and the name of her brother.

“Her brother, why? Who is he
?
”

“His name is Ferguson, and he’s the janitor at Laura’s school. Both he and his sister are Scottish immigrants, and there is always the possibility Ferguson is part of Buckley’s political organization. I know this is far-fetched, but it occurred to me that it was an odd coincidence that Hattie
Wilks ended up in that run-down boarding house owned by another Scotsman. And Laura confessed to me last night that she had been getting a ‘bad feeling’ about Ferguson. She wouldn’t tell me why.”

Nate didn’t see the connection, but he trusted Annie’s instincts. He just said, “Did Blaine say he’d help you
?”

“Yes. I’m just hoping Emory will be able to restrain him. He was so sure Buckley was behind everything that I feared he was going to go right out and strangle the man.”

“Surely he understands that he shouldn’t do anything that would lead to public scandal. That really would threaten his daughter’s reputation.”

“Yes, but Nate, what if it is too late? It was last week that Della Thorndike hinted that there was some sort of relationship between Kitty and Hoffmann, which suggests rumors have already started.”

“Is there any possibility that the rumors about Miss Blaine and Hoffmann are true?” Nate couldn’t help but think about the thread of truth behind the notes to Hattie. What if Kitty was another young woman who had been seduced?

Annie shook her head. “I saw no evidence that Hoffmann had any interest in Kitty. From everything I’ve heard, the teacher Kitty is closest to is Andrew Russell. She is evidently a brilliant linguist and his prized student, and it is possible she has developed a
school girl’s infatuation with him. In fact, if I hadn’t met her in person, I would have said that she might have the strongest motive for sending the notes to Hattie: jealousy at losing Russell’s attention. But now I would swear she is innocent of any wrong-doing, and, of course, there is no reason she would have sent the anonymous letter to her own father.”

“But where did Miss Thorndike get the idea about a relationship between Hoffmann and Kitty Blaine?”

“She is such a gossip, she could have heard something from anyone. For example, one of the other Normal class students might be jealous of Kitty. To my mind, Mrs. Washburn, the janitoress, is the most likely candidate since she seems to have an ongoing feud with Hoffman. But what if Della Thorndike made the story up herself? What if she were the letter writer?”

“You have mentioned this idea before. But why would she do that? What political motivation would she have?” Nate had trouble picturing the elegant woman he saw last week at the theater sneaking around putting poisonous notes in people’s mailboxes.

“Remember, Laura’s theory is that Miss Thorndike might be trying to get Hoffmann fired so Russell would get his position. But that doesn’t make sense if the notes to Hattie were by the same person who is targeting Hoffmann. Russell’s reputation would have suffered as well if the accusations had become public. Well in any event, I also gave Blaine both Thomas Hoffmann’s and Andrew Russell’s names. I thought, why not? What could it hurt to see if there was any connection between them and either political party?”

Nate sighed and said, “None of this quite fits. Do you think we are being led astray by our assumption that the anonymous letters are all from the same person? We need another meeting. Get Blaine, Emory, maybe Hoffmann all in the same room, share information. Why are you smiling?” asked Nate.

“Because I told Blaine the same thing,” Annie replied. “Right now I could believe almost anything. Buckley might be behind these most recent letters, or it could be a disaffected teacher like Frazier or an unhappy school employee like Mrs. Washburn who wrote them.”

Annie then made a small strangled sound in her throat
, and she looked at him with fear, saying “Oh, Nate, if it were
Russell
, writing the letters as part of a twisted attempt to bring Hoffmann down and move into his job. What if he saw Hattie as an obstacle to that plan, giving him a reason to push her down a flight of stairs and leave her there to die? What if Laura has been right about him all along?”