Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue (29 page)

“She just wanted to know where her mother got the money for her bail and what she'd done with the rest of it.”

“So she did know there was more,” Mrs. Decker said.

“Yes. Thank heaven we didn't tell Mrs. O'Neill how much we really found. What I can't figure out, though, is why Una is just now realizing it's gone.”

“Yes, Felix told her about the robbery practically the first minute she walked in her front door, and she wasn't the least bit upset then. I still think that was odd, even if she hadn't known there was anything of value in the safe.”

“And plainly, she did.”

“Well, I don't suppose we can solve this standing in the hall,” Mrs. Decker said. “You must be frozen. We can make you some hot chocolate.”

They'd just settled in the warmth of the kitchen when someone rang the front doorbell. Mrs. Malloy went to answer it. Mr. Decker and Gino were back, and Maeve found herself straining for the first glimpse of Gino as the men filed into the kitchen. He smiled when he saw her, and she smiled back just for an instant, before she caught herself.

“I hope you had better luck than I did,” she said.

The men sat down at the table with her, rubbing their hands, their cheeks still rosy from the cold. “I'm not sure we did,” Mr. Decker said.

“Didn't you find Jane?” Mrs. Decker asked.

“Yes, and we talked to her.” He told her about their conversation with Zimmerman and going to Reed's house while Mrs. Malloy and Mrs. Decker bustled about, serving them all hot chocolate.

“Did she know anything useful?” Maeve asked.

Mr. Decker deferred to Gino. “She told us a few things we didn't know. First of all, the errand Eddie went on the morning Pollock was killed was taking a package to Truett. She even saw it, and from what she described, it was the package of contracts that we found in Truett's apartment.”

“Why is that important?” Maeve asked.

“It's probably not,” Gino said.

“Why did she run away then?”

“That took a while to get out of her, but she finally admitted that she'd seen Eddie come in and she knew he was there when Pollock was killed. She was also pretty sure nobody else had come into the house, which meant that either Una or Eddie killed Pollock. She was terrified that Eddie would find out she'd seen him, so she finally decided to run away.”

“I think her reaction is the one thing that makes sense about all this,” Mrs. Decker said with a sigh.

“All right,” Maeve said. “Let's go through what happened
step by step to see if there's something we've missed. First of all, on the morning Pollock died, Eddie left the house to take a package to Truett.”

“Then Yorke arrives to confront Pollock. They argue, and Yorke leaves. Eddie is just getting back, and they see each other,” Gino said.

“Or at least Yorke sees Eddie. We don't know if Eddie saw Yorke,” Mr. Decker said.

“That's true,” Gino said. “Then we know from the other servants that Pollock started arguing with Una and probably hitting her. The three female servants went down to the kitchen to wait it out, but Eddie was somewhere in the house.”

“Maybe he was hiding, too,” Maeve said. “Or maybe he went to help her.”

“So probably one or the other of them killed Pollock,” Gino said. “Either Una was defending herself or Eddie was trying to save her.”

“But what happened then?” Mrs. Decker said. “We know Hattie found Una and Pollock's body later. Una was in shock or pretending to be and couldn't remember what happened.”

“Or so she said,” Maeve said. “She still claims that, too.”

“And Eddie must have left again, because he comes back to the house after Pollock is killed, as if he'd just gotten back from his errand, so nobody knows he was there earlier,” Gino said.

“Which was a very clever thing for him to do,” Mrs. Decker said.

They all considered this for a few moments in silence. Suddenly, Mrs. Malloy cleared her throat and everyone looked up at her expectantly. “Is Eddie smart enough to figure out how to give himself an
alibi?”

“N
o, he isn't,” Gino said, remembering the sobbing boy he'd seen in the kitchen. “Yesterday, Eddie was crying like a baby in the kitchen because Una had yelled at him that morning about something.”

“Do we know what?” Maeve asked with interest.

“No, but why would Una be mad at him all of a sudden?” Gino asked.

“Especially if they were partners, so to speak, in Mr. Pollock's death,” Mrs. Decker said.

“Let's keep going, step by step, over everything that happened next, to see if we can figure it out,” Maeve said. “Remember, Truett was killed, too, and that has to be part of it.”

“So next, after Pollock is killed, the police arrest Una and take her to jail,” Mrs. Decker said. She was really getting into the spirit of it. “Mrs. O'Neill finds out and comes here and asks for help.”

“The next day, Mrs. Decker and I go with her to the house to pack some clothes and look for some money to pay her attorney. That's when I find the money in the safe,” Maeve said.

“And take it,” Gino said. “That's important, because the same night somebody breaks into the house and tries to steal it.”

“But who would do that? Who even knew the money was in the safe?” Maeve asked.

“Truett probably knew,” Mr. Decker said.

“But he didn't even know Mr. Pollock was dead until Friday morning when he went to the house and the servants told him,” Mrs. Decker said.

“Unless he was lying about that,” Maeve said. “So we need to consider him, at least.”

“Right,” Gino said. “Who else?”

“The investors who had discovered Pollock's scheme was a fraud could have known about the money,” Mr. Decker said.

“That's Zimmerman and Reed. Norwalk was already dead by then,” Gino said. “But can you picture either of them breaking into Pollock's house to rob it?”

“And would they even suspect that Mr. Pollock would keep the money in his house?” Mrs. Decker asked. “Even if they knew he hadn't invested it, who keeps that much money in cash?”

“I must admit, I never would have suspected he would do that,” Mr. Decker said. “I also wouldn't have the first idea of how to rob a house, and I doubt Zimmerman or Reed would either.”

“Una knew the money was there, though,” Maeve said. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

“But she couldn't have known. She wasn't at all upset over the robbery,” Mr. Decker said.

“That's understandable,” Mrs. Malloy said. “Maeve had already taken the money out of the safe.”

“But Una didn't know that,” Maeve said. “Nobody knew that except us. And tonight she wanted to see her mother because she apparently just realized today that the money is missing, and she remembered her mother had money to pay her bail, and she thought her mother must have taken it.”

“Why would she think that? The money has been missing for days and she knew the house had been robbed,” Mrs. Decker said, “although I still don't understand why she wasn't upset over the burglary.”

“Maybe she knew who the burglar was,” Maeve said. “And maybe the burglar finally told her he didn't have it.”

Gino had never seen her look so smug, and he'd seen her look pretty smug before now. “How could she know who did it?”

“She and Eddie were partners, remember? If they killed Pollock together somehow—and it looks like they did—and we know Una isn't the kind of person to sacrifice herself when she's got somebody else she can sacrifice, why would she let herself be arrested when she could have just said Eddie killed Pollock?”

“Maybe she really doesn't remember what happened,” Mrs. Decker said.

“Or maybe they worked out a plan,” Maeve said. “With Pollock dead, the truth about the Panama scheme would probably have come out, and the investors would want their money back. But if Una knew about the scheme, which she must have because she knew about the money, she could claim the money was stolen in the robbery and she wouldn't have to give it back at all.”

“But who broke in to steal it?” Mrs. Malloy asked.

“Remember, we thought it might have been Truett,” Mr. Decker said.

“Yes, it's possible Truett is the one who broke in to steal the
money,” Gino said. “That would also explain why somebody broke into his apartment, because they were looking for it. But remember Una wasn't upset about the break-in at her house. She must've thought she knew who'd taken the money and she trusted him. From the way she acted with Truett, I don't think she would've trusted him. And if she thought Truett had the money, I think she would've been a lot more upset that night he came to ask her where it was because she would've realized it was missing.”

“Then who else could have done it?” Mrs. Decker asked.

“Eddie,” Maeve said with a knowing grin.

“How could he break in if he was already in the house?” Mrs. Decker asked.

“He just made it look like he broke in.” Maeve turned to Gino, her dark eyes shining. “Am I right?”

“I think so!” he said, seeing it all now. “The basement window was broken, but that could've been for show. Somebody who just broke in wouldn't know the combination to the safe, although a clever thief might know to look for it written down somewhere.”

“The way Maeve did,” Mrs. Decker said with a smirk.

“But how would even a clever thief know the money was there in the first place?” Mr. Decker asked, getting into the spirit of it himself.

“He wouldn't,” Gino said. “But Una obviously knew the money was there—or she expected it to be there because she didn't know Maeve had rescued it—and she probably knew the combination or where to tell Eddie to find it.”

“Then she pretended to be in shock so she couldn't tell the police who killed her husband,” Mrs. Decker said. “But did she expect to be arrested?”

“I can't imagine she did,” Maeve said. “But once everything was happening, she couldn't accuse Eddie until the money was
safely stolen, so she had to keep pretending she didn't remember and go to jail.”

“But thanks to Maeve, for advising her mother to hire a good attorney, she got out again,” Gino said with a grin.

Maeve groaned. “Why was I so helpful?”

“Because you're a good person, dear,” Mrs. Decker said.

“But who killed that other man? What was his name?” asked Mrs. Malloy.

“You mean Truett. Oh yeah. I guess we aren't finished,” Gino said. “That was the night Una wouldn't let me stay over till morning. And Eddie was awfully glad to see me leave, too.”

“So he'd be free to come and go as he liked,” Maeve said.

“You think he went to Truett's apartment and killed him?” Mr. Decker asked. “But why?”

“Oh, I know!” Mrs. Decker exclaimed, making everyone smile. “He must have thought Mr. Truett had the money.”

“But how would this Truett have gotten it?” Mrs. Malloy asked.

“The package?” Mr. Decker asked Gino. “The one Eddie delivered to Truett the morning Pollock was killed.”

Gino nodded. “That's what I think.”

“But there wasn't any money in it,” Maeve said. “You said it was just contracts.”

“Eddie probably didn't know that, though,” Gino said. “All he knew was that there was no money in the safe, even though Una told him it was there, and that he'd taken a package to Truett. Where else could it be?”

“It could be here in Francis's safe,” Mrs. Malloy said dryly.

“Yes, but Una and Eddie couldn't possibly know that,” Maeve said. “Eddie must've been frantic when the safe was empty. I wouldn't want to have to explain that to Una.”

“Do you think she's the one who sent him to Truett's?” Mr. Decker asked.

“She couldn't have been,” Gino said. “Truett had been at her place that evening. I think he came to demand she give him the money. When I got there, she was claiming she didn't know anything about any money. If she thought he had it, she would've been frantic when she found out he didn't.”

“Where did she think it was, then?” Mrs. Decker asked.

“She thought Eddie had taken it out of the safe and probably hidden it someplace,” Maeve said.

“But he hadn't, because it wasn't there. She must have known by then that he hadn't found it,” Mrs. Decker said.

Maeve frowned. “I don't think she did. I think she would've been furious when she found out, and I think Eddie would've been afraid to tell her. He was probably hoping to find it at Truett's, so he didn't tell her it wasn't in the safe. She wasn't upset until today, and remember, the servants told Gino she was yelling at Eddie this morning.”

“And he was sobbing in the kitchen hours later,” Gino said. “He must have just admitted to her that the money wasn't in the safe when he opened it and he didn't find it at Truett's place either.”

“But Truett had come to Una looking for the money that night, so she knew he didn't have it. Why didn't she tell Eddie?” Mr. Decker asked.

“Because she didn't know it was missing at that point,” Gino said. “If she thought Eddie had it, why bother telling him Truett didn't know where it was? She had no idea he was planning to go to Truett's place to look for it.”

“So when Una found out the money was missing, she probably decided her mother must have it,” Maeve said. “It was the only logical explanation for how Mrs. O'Neill had been able to post her bond, too. That's the reason she wanted to see her mother,” she added for Gino and Mr. Decker. “She wanted to accuse her of stealing the money.”

“So of course Mrs. O'Neill told her you're the one who stole it,” Gino teased.

“Well, she told her I'm the one who found five hundred dollars in Pollock's office, and that's all I admitted to. She did suggest that I took the money out of the safe, but I pointed out that I can't open a safe unless I have the combination. That seemed to satisfy her of my innocence.”

“Poor Una,” said Mrs. Decker with a grin. “She greatly underestimates you.”

Maeve returned her grin.

“So,” Gino said with some satisfaction, “it appears that Eddie killed Truett and probably killed Pollock, too.”

“And if Una finds the money, she will miraculously remember that, and Eddie will be arrested and Una will be free,” Maeve said with a sigh.

“So Una must have planned the whole thing, or at least the part about killing Mr. Pollock and robbing the safe,” Mrs. Decker said. “Eddie isn't clever enough to figure all that out.”

“But if Una says this Eddie killed her husband, surely he'll tell the police about her part in it,” Mrs. Malloy said.

Gino glanced at Mr. Decker and saw his own doubts reflected on his face.

“Nobody is going to take the word of a Negro boot boy over a woman as lovely as Una Pollock,” Mr. Decker said. “And no jury of twelve men will ever convict her on his testimony. Unless she confesses or there's some other proof, she'll go free and he'll go to the electric chair.”

“What other proof could there be?” Mrs. Decker asked. “Maybe we can find it.”

Everyone considered the question for a few minutes, but no one came up with any ideas.

“It's too bad I rescued the money,” Maeve said at last. “If
Una had it hidden away somewhere, that would at least look bad for her.”

“On the other hand, the investors might never get it back,” Mr. Decker said. “We don't want to punish the wrong people here.”

Maeve sighed. “So what do we do now? Tell the police that Eddie killed Pollock and Truett? If we just wait another day or two, Una will probably tell them that herself.”

“Maybe if I go question her and tell her we know exactly what she did, she'll say something to incriminate herself,” Gino said.

“Even if she does, nobody will take your word for it,” Mr. Decker said. “You're not a police officer anymore.”

“They'd take your word, Felix,” his wife said. “You could go with him to be a witness.”

“And, Gino, you don't have to tell Una you're not with the police anymore. She'll just assume you still are,” Maeve added.

“They're right,” Gino told Mr. Decker. “It's the only chance we have to prove she's involved. Are you willing to go with me?”

“Of course,” he said in surprise.

“Then let's go.”

“Now?”

“We'll catch her when her guard is down and she's tired. That's when people tell the most truth. Besides, if we wait until tomorrow, the place will be surrounded by newspaper reporters. Nobody is going to confess to murder with two dozen news hawks outside their door.”

“Una was going up to bed when she threw her mother and me out of the house,” Maeve said.

“Good,” Gino said. “Waking somebody up out of a sound sleep is the best way to get the truth out of them.”

“All right then,” Mr. Decker said, rising to his feet. “Elizabeth, should we drop you at home on the way?”

She frowned in dismay. She was going to miss all the fun. “I suppose.”

Maeve and Mrs. Malloy wished them well and sent them off. Gino only hoped they were doing the right thing.

*   *   *

F
elix was glad to see the reporters were gone from the Pollock house. In fact, everyone seemed to be gone from Harlem, or at least gone to their beds. Downtown, the streets got quieter late at night, but they were more dangerous because of the people lurking in the darkness. Here the streets just seemed peaceful. The carriage stopped in front of the Pollock house.

“The lights are on in the parlor,” he observed.

“Maybe Una didn't really go to bed after her mother left. That's too bad, but she'll still be tired.”

Felix hoped Gino knew what he was doing. He seemed very confident, but sometimes the young were confident because they didn't know how badly they could fail. John climbed down from his seat and opened the door for them. Felix thought he saw the parlor curtain twitch a bit, as if someone was looking out to see who had come.