Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue (14 page)

“Oh yes, thank you for that.” She didn't sound particularly grateful, but Maeve didn't challenge her. “It's been a pleasure meeting you, Miss Smith. Perhaps we'll encounter one another again sometime.”

“Perhaps we will,” Maeve said, mocking her, although Una didn't seem to notice.

Maeve stood on the front porch and watched the cab drive away. Now that she thought about it, someone should really be there to see Una's reaction when she discovered the break-in and the missing money, assuming she knew about the money in the first place. Maeve realized she should have offered to deliver the trunk instead of letting Una get it herself, but it was too late now. So who could break the news about the robbery instead?

Gino would go to the house this evening unless he stopped
at the Malloy house first and found out Una had been released. But that would be too late to get her reaction. No, someone should be at the house to greet her when she arrived, and Maeve knew just who that should be.

*   *   *

“I
f I hadn't been at home when Maeve telephoned, would you have come here alone?” Felix asked as they made their way up the front steps at the Pollock house.

Elizabeth smiled innocently. “Of course not, dear. I would have telephoned you to come home, just as I did when Mr. Truett came to call.”

He didn't look like he believed that, but he was too gentlemanly to call her a liar. Instead he gave the brass knocker a resounding thump. The door opened almost instantly, and the maid greeted them with a cautious smile.

“Good afternoon to you both. Please, come in.”

“Good afternoon,” Elizabeth said. “Hattie, is it?”

“Yes, ma'am. It's nice to see you folks. I recognized your carriage right off. Did you want to speak to all of us?” Her hopeful smile reminded Elizabeth that she had promised to provide them with letters of reference and pay their wages so they could leave.

“Yes, but not for the reason you might think. I do have some good news for you, though.” At least she hoped it was good news.

After some discussion about where they should meet, since the servants didn't like going into the parlor anymore and Mr. Pollock's office was still a mess, Hattie showed them to the dining room and went to fetch the rest of the servants.

“Do you really think they'll be happy to hear their mistress is coming home?” Felix asked, strolling around the room to examine the furnishings.

“I think it will be informative to see their reactions, at least. This is a pleasant room.”

The table was large enough to seat a dozen people, although the thin layer of dust on its bare surface gave evidence that it hadn't been used in a while. A matching sideboard and glass-fronted cabinet sat against the walls. Dishes and crystal in the cabinet glittered in the light from the electric chandelier. Pale winter sunlight filtered through the lace curtains that lined the dark blue velvet drapes on the tall windows. When she looked out, Elizabeth recognized that the lace was as much to block the view of the small, weedy yard and the alley behind the house as it was to keep curious eyes from looking in.

After a few minutes, the servants filed in. Elizabeth had almost forgotten about the boot boy, Eddie. He looked around as if he expected to see someone else in the room, and frowned when he realized it was only her and Felix.

“Is this everyone?” Elizabeth asked, thinking there should be more.

“All but Jane,” Hattie said. “She left. Snuck away this morning. Took all her things with her.”

Elizabeth supposed she couldn't blame the poor girl, although she must have been desperate indeed if she left without her pay and a reference.

The remaining servants huddled together uncertainly just inside the door. She and Felix moved closer, but that just seemed to make them more nervous.

Felix cleared his throat. “Mrs. Decker and I just wanted you to know that Mrs. Pollock has been released from jail after paying her bond. She'll be arriving here shortly.”

The two women weren't sure if this was good news or not, but the boy obviously thought so. He broke into a huge grin.

“She's coming to stay, then?” Hattie asked.

“That's my understanding,” Elizabeth said.

“At least for the time being,” Felix added.

“But her clothes is all gone,” the cook said. “That girl took them.”

“I believe Mrs. Pollock has retrieved her trunk and is bringing it with her,” Elizabeth said.

“So she's coming home for good?” the boy asked.

Elizabeth exchanged a glance with Felix. What should they tell them? What was the truth? “She may have to go on trial, but for now, she'll be here.”

Only the boy seemed happy. He was probably too young to understand how serious the situation was. Or perhaps he simply admired his mistress so much, he was happy to have her back no matter what the circumstances.

Elizabeth sent the servants back to their duties, and she and Felix waited in the dining room until someone knocked on the front door less than an hour later. They stepped out into the hallway just as Hattie opened the door to a lovely young woman.

“Welcome home, missus,” Hattie said.

“Thank you. It's good to be here,” she said.

The other servants had followed Hattie to the door, and Una Pollock stopped to greet them.

“Oh, Velvet, could you fix me something to eat? I haven't had a bite all day. Jane . . . Where's Jane?” she asked with a frown.

“She gone, missus,” Hattie said. “She left this morning.”

“What a bother. Oh well. Hattie, my trunk is in the cab. Would you have the driver carry it upstairs? Eddie, it's so nice to see you.” To Elizabeth's surprise, she touched him lightly on the cheek. Elizabeth couldn't see his expression, but she imagined he was thrilled by the attention.

Then Una swept past them, probably intending to head toward the stairs, but she stopped dead when she saw the
Deckers waiting for her. Her lovely face creased into a frown. “Who are you?”

“Felix Decker, at your service, Mrs. Pollock. And this is my wife, Elizabeth.”

She looked them up and down, silently evaluating them. Elizabeth knew this because she would have done the same thing had she found two strangers unexpectedly in her home. Elizabeth knew exactly what she saw: two perfectly respectable, expensively dressed, well-mannered people. Una's expression softened from suspicion to caution. “Why are you here?”

“We've been looking after the house while you were gone. Your mother asked for help, you see, and—”

“Are you private detectives?” Her disbelief was obvious.

Elizabeth looked at Felix. Where had she gotten that idea?

“We're friends of your mother's,” Felix said, although he hadn't actually met Mrs. O'Neill yet.

“When we heard you'd been released, we wanted to be here to greet you in case you had any concerns,” Elizabeth said.

“Because of what happened,” Felix added.

“What did happen?” She fluttered her eyes at him in a way Elizabeth recognized. She had used it herself in her younger days when she wanted to charm a man.

“Perhaps we should show her,” Elizabeth said to break the spell, in case Una really was casting a spell on him.

“Show me what?”

“This way, my dear,” Felix said, confirming Elizabeth's theory about a spell. He gently led her to the office door, which was closed.

She hung back a bit, obviously reluctant to see whatever he was equally reluctant to show her. Then he stepped forward and opened the door and even Elizabeth gasped at the chaos inside.

“Good heavens,” Una said, moving past Felix and stepping into the office. “Look at those chairs! They're ruined.”

Which struck Elizabeth as an odd thing to say, but Felix was still entranced. “Yes, they are,” he said. “We think whoever broke in was looking for something.”

“Inside the chairs?” she asked, still oddly obsessed with the ruined chairs and missing the larger implications.

“Yes, but more importantly, in the safe.” He gestured toward the safe, which stood empty, with its door wide open.

“Oh.” She batted her eyes again. “They robbed his safe, too.”

“I'm afraid so, and whatever was inside is gone.”

Elizabeth had to admire the way he'd managed to tell the complete truth. Perhaps he wasn't as entranced as he seemed.

“Oh, that's . . . terrible,” Una said faintly.

“Do you know what was inside?” Felix asked.

“I . . . Valuables, I'm sure.”

“Money?”

“Perhaps. Mr. Pollock never discussed such things with me, you understand. But wouldn't he have kept his money in the bank?”

“That seems likely,” Felix said. “We didn't contact the police about the robbery because we didn't know what might have been stolen, if anything, and we didn't know your wishes. We left the room just as we found it, though, so if you'd like to send for them now . . .”

“Oh no,” she said. “I've seen quite enough of the police, thank you. And I can't imagine there was much of value here.”

Not much of value? Could she really have not known about the money in the safe? Even if she didn't, however, shouldn't she be upset about the robbery itself? Elizabeth tried to imagine coming home to discover someone had broken into her house. She would have been hysterical merely at the violation of it, even if nothing at all had been stolen.

Eddie and the cab driver were bringing the trunk in, so Elizabeth had to step into the office to get out of their way.
As she did, she saw Una look sharply at Eddie but he seemed intent on his task and didn't even glance in her direction.

The other servants had dispersed, except for Hattie, who waited in the hall. When the men had started up the stairs with the trunk, Una stepped out of the office.

“Hattie, you can put that room to rights now.” She turned to Elizabeth and Felix. “Thank you so much for taking the time to see me, but I'm sure you'll understand when I tell you that I am exhausted after my ordeal and really unfit for company.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth said. “Please let us know if you need anything at all. Hattie has my card.”

“I'm sure the cabbie will be happy to take you home as soon as he's finished,” Una said.

“That won't be necessary,” Felix said. “We have our carriage.”

“Oh,” Una said as something seemed to register with her. “I saw it outside, but I had no idea it belonged to my own visitors. I must thank you again for your concern. You have been very kind.”

So, Una had finally decided the Deckers were worth cultivating. “Don't thank us,” Elizabeth said. “You should thank your mother for bringing your case to our attention. Come along, Felix. We'll leave Mrs. Pollock to recover from her ordeal.”

Hattie followed them to the door to help them into their coats. By the time they reached the sidewalk outside, their coachman had drawn up to receive them. When they were tucked inside, Elizabeth decided to test the waters. “She's a lovely young woman, isn't she?”

Felix smiled. “I liked her much better after she realized we were wealthy.”

This made her laugh, as he had intended. “Oh, Felix, I was afraid you were completely besotted.”

“I'm sure I wouldn't be the first.”

“No, she must have had a lot of admirers when she worked in the cigar store. I think it's interesting that the one she chose mistreated her, though.”

“Yes, that was unfortunate, although he seems to have gotten his just deserts.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I wonder if that will have any influence on a jury if she does go to trial.”

“I'd like to think so. If she was acting in self-defense, they would have to let her go.”

“So you would think. But here we are, assuming she's guilty.” Elizabeth shook off her dark thoughts. “We need to go see Maeve. She was going to send a message to Gino to stop there after he's finished work today.”

“Why don't we invite them to our place for supper instead?”

“What a good idea, although that means I don't get to see the children.”

“Tomorrow is another day,” he reminded her with a smile.

*   *   *

G
ino wasn't surprised to see the Deckers' carriage outside the Malloy house when he arrived. The coachman tipped his hat and Gino waved. Maeve opened the door before he knocked. The children, she told him over their squeals of delight, had been watching for him.

“Sorry I'm late. I got stuck on a case.”

“That's all right.” She explained the Deckers' invitation to dinner.

“I thought I was supposed to go see Yorke this evening.”

“I guess that can wait. The Deckers have some important things to tell us. They eat dinner late, so you've got time to play with the children for a bit before we leave.”

When Gino had paid adequate attention to the children, he
and Maeve finally were able to make their escape in the carriage, heading uptown.

“This is so much nicer than a cab,” Maeve said, stroking the fine wool lap robe.

“Much more private, too,” he said, remembering his claim that Maeve was his girl and wishing it were true.

He thought she gave him a look, but it was too dark to be sure. “Yes, we don't have to worry about little ears hearing what we say. I think that's why Mrs. Decker suggested we go to their house.”

Gino managed not to sigh his disappointment that she didn't get his hint. Or had chosen to ignore it. “Your note said Mrs. Pollock got released today. How did that happen?”

“Nicholson got them to hold a bond hearing, and Mrs. O'Neill posted it.”

“How much?”

“Just four hundred, which was good, because that's all she had left of what I gave her. The funny thing was, Una didn't even ask her where she got the money to pay it.”