Authors: Rhys Bowen
“Thank heavens,” I muttered. “Where is Bo Kei?”
Sid looked surprised.
“What’s the matter? You look as white as a sheet. She’s sleeping, I believe. Gus felt an urge to paint today, so I moved the Chinese girl into your room, as she said she was sleepy.”
The horrible vision in my head transformed into a picture of Gus sitting engrossed in her painting while Bo Kei came up behind her, a heavy object in her hand. I left Sid staring at me and positively ran up the stairs. My bedroom door was closed. I flung it open and a sleepy Bo Kei opened her eyes and looked up at me.
“Missie Molly. You come back. What news?” she asked, sitting up anxiously.
“How could you?” I burst out, my intention to tread carefully with a dangerous killer having been forgotten in the heat of the moment. “You lied to me. You let me help you and spirit you to safety. Do you realize I can find myself in terrible trouble for harboring a criminal? This could put my upcoming marriage in jeopardy.”
“What do you mean?” She stared at me worriedly. “What criminal do you speak of?”
“Don’t you play innocent with me, miss. You begged me to save poor Frederick because you knew he was innocent. Of course you knew it. All the time it was you!”
She looked as if she was about to cry. “What was me? What have I done?”
“Killed the person who stood between you and happiness. You were seen, Bo Kei. Someone saw you leaping from one rooftop to the next.”
“Yes, I did this. On the night that I escaped, more than one week ago.”
“No, on the night that Lee Sing Tai was hurled down to his death.”
“That is not possible.” She looked shocked. “How could I be there? You yourself took me to the house of safety.”
“I am told it would be comparatively easy to come and go unnoticed from that house. Maybe you climbed down the drainpipe again. Maybe you got out of your window and crossed the roof to make your escape. You seem rather good at doing that kind of thing.”
She was still staring at me in horror. “But I did not kill Lee Sing Tai. I swear this. I also swear that I did not go to his rooftop that night. That man frightens me. I would do anything in my power to stay away from him. Why would I risk going back to a man who would make me his slave?”
“So that you could be free forever, of course. So that you could be with Frederick. While Lee Sing Tai was alive you would never be free, would you?”
“I admit it. I am glad that he is dead,” she said in a small voice. “But I swear to you, on all the holy saints of your church, that I was not the one who pushed him from the roof. I was not the one who killed him.”
I stared at her, wishing I could read her mind. There was something about the way she phrased that last sentence that made me wonder if she knew who did the actual killing if she didn’t do it herself. “You know what I think?” I said. “That you and Frederick planned this between you. You might not have been strong enough to throw Lee off the roof, but Frederick was.”
“No, this is not true. Frederick is innocent. He is a good, upright man. He would never do a terrible thing like this, never.” She was sobbing now. “Please, Missie Molly. Please believe me.”
“I want to believe you, Bo Kei. I wanted to help both of you, but if someone tells me they saw a small, slight figure jumping from roof to roof, the very night that Lee Sing Tai was killed, what am I to believe?”
She went to say something, hesitated, then said, “Maybe what they saw was laundry, flapping in the wind. Plenty laundry on rooftops. Maybe it was someone moving across another roof on their way to bed. Plenty people sleep on roof when weather is hot.”
“It doesn’t matter. If you and Frederick did this between you, then the truth will soon come out,” I said. “He is being held in the Tombs. That is a terrible place. I’ve been there. If he has something to confess, trust me, he will confess it.”
“But what if they make him confess to something that he didn’t do?” She wailed. “This happens all the time in China. Men will say anything when police do terrible things like drive bamboo under fingernails or burn with red hot pokers.”
I shuddered. “The police here don’t do anything like that,” I said. “I only meant that those cells are damp and it is frightening to be locked away in darkness. If Frederick really is innocent, then you have nothing to fear.”
As I said the words a sliver of doubt crept into my mind. I knew there were policemen like Daniel who were firm but honest. But then there was also Captain Kear, who had made it quite clear that Frederick was the ideal suspect. Might he not resort to underhanded means to make Frederick confess to something he didn’t do?
“I do not think they will ever be able to discover who did this crime,” she said, looking at me defiantly now. “A man falls from a rooftop. How can they know if he was pushed? How can they say who pushed him if nobody saw?”
“They have ways of finding out,” I said. “For one thing, someone had hit him on the head to knock him out. They will find the weapon and there will be fingerprints on it.”
“Fingerprints? What is this?”
“Did you know that every person’s finger leaves a print of a different pattern? The police now have a way of examining the prints people leave on objects that they touch. Later they take fingerprints from people they suspect, and if one of them matches up, then they know who is guilty. Clever, no?”
She nodded.
“The New York police are among the first to put fingerprinting into action.”
“But people must leave fingerprints all over their own houses.”
“Of course they do. But if a strange print shows up where it shouldn’t—on a heavy object that struck Lee Sing Tai, for example—then they will not stop until they have found the person who matches that print.”
I had hoped this might scare her, and indeed she did look worried, but then she said, “If Frederick or I had done this terrible thing, you would not be able to prove it by finding our fingerprints at Lee’s house. I lived in that place and Frederick was summoned there by his employer. The police would expect to find that we had touched many things.”
That was true, of course. I didn’t know what else to say. In fact I found myself deeply confused. She wasn’t acting as if she was guilty, but then I obviously wasn’t as good at extracting a confession as professionals like Daniel. What was I going to do with her? If she had killed Lee Sing Tai, then I certainly didn’t want to compromise myself or Sid and Gus for a moment longer. But if she was telling the truth and she was innocent, then I didn’t want to hand her over to Captain Kear either. I deeply regretted my rash behavior in bringing her here. When would I learn to think first and not act on impulse? I came to a decision: I would tell Sid and Gus the whole story, as much as I knew it. They were worldly wise, intelligent women. I would let them suggest our next course of action.
“You can go back to your nap,” I said, “but whatever you do, don’t try to leave the house. Every policeman in New York is looking for you. I want to speak to our hostesses. We must decide what to do with you.”
“They will believe I am innocent,” she said defiantly. “They are good, kind women.”
I was on my way to the door when I heard deep pounding coming from below. Someone was hammering on the front door. Bo Kei leaped to her feet and ran over to me.
“The police have found me,” she whimpered.
“Let’s hope not. Stay put until I come back.”
As I came out onto the upper landing Sid was coming up the stairs. She held a piece of paper in her hand.
“That was a messenger boy,” she said. “It’s a message from Sarah Lindley for Bo Kei. Not good news, I’m afraid.”
She handed me the sheet of paper. It read:
I AM SORRY TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR FRIEND ANNIE HAS JUST PASSED AWAY.
Twenty-eight
Bo Kei was distraught when I told her the sad news. Her face crumpled and she broke into noisy sobs.
“No, this can’t be true,” she said. “How did she die?”
I went to sit on the bed beside her and put my hand gently on hers. “She was very sick, Bo. She had consumption. People who catch that disease don’t get better.”
“No!” She was shaking her head violently now. “She tell me she not so sick. She says she will soon be well and we will go away from New York together.”
I looked at her with pity. “I’m sure she said that to make you feel better. She didn’t want to upset you with the knowledge that she was going to die.”
“But yesterday she was well. She was jumping around and laughing. Having good time. She has plenty strength to—” She broke off. “She was plenty strong,” she corrected herself. She stood up suddenly. “I must go to see her.”
“You know that’s not possible. It’s too dangerous for you to leave the house at the moment. You must stay here.”
“But I must. I must make sure her bones are taken back to China or she will never rest.”
“You were raised by Christian nuns, Bo Kei,” I said. “Surely you believe that her soul has gone up to heaven. It doesn’t matter what happens to her bones.”
“But Chinese believe bones must be buried with ancestors or ghosts will walk without home.” She shook her head, sending out a spray of tears. “All my fault. I should never leave her behind when I come here. I beg you to bring her along, but you say no.”
“Bo Kei, I couldn’t risk bringing a dreadful disease like consumption into my friends’ home. You have to understand that. I was trying to do my best to save you. I should have left well enough alone.”
“Yes,” she said. “If I had been with Annie, maybe she would still be alive.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean maybe she doesn’t die from this wasting disease. New York is dangerous place. Perhaps bad men find her.”
“What bad men are you talking about?”
I stared at her. She shrugged. “Plenty bad men in New York,” she said.
I wasn’t quite sure where this was going. “But she didn’t run away from the brothel, did she? She was thrown out because of her disease.”
“Yes, but…” She hesitated, chewing on her lip. I sensed that she wanted to tell me more, but was afraid to.
It’s not your business. Don’t get involved.
The words boomed through my head. As usual I ignored them.
“I’ll go to the settlement house, if you like,” I said. “I can find out for you what will happen to her body and where she’ll be buried.”
“Okay.” She nodded, defeated. “You tell them I must know where they bury her, because one day it is my duty, as family member, to take her home to our village in China.”
“I’ll tell them that,” I said, thinking that it was most likely that poor Annie would be buried in the potter’s field with all the others who couldn’t afford a proper funeral. I went across to Gus’s studio and poked my head around the door. Gus was sitting with her back to me, facing a canvas covered in a bewildering array of dots.
“What do you think?” she asked. “I’m trying the new pointillist style. It really captures the essence of the scene, don’t you think?”
I actually thought it looked like a child with bad chicken pox, but I nodded politely. “Definitely,” I said. “Could I possibly interrupt and ask you to come downstairs for a minute. I want to talk to you and Gus.”
She followed me, intrigued. I sat with them in the kitchen and told them everything. “So you see,” I finished, “we might be harboring a murderer. I’m deeply sorry I have involved you in this. It’s your house. You tell me what you want to do with her. I’m going back to the settlement house now. I can take her with me if you want me to.”
“People in this country are innocent until proven guilty,” Sid said. “What does she have to say for herself?”
“Of course she pleads innocence, most emphatically—but she would, wouldn’t she?”
Sid glanced at Gus. “I think she should stay put for now. At least until we have thought this through.”
Gus turned to me. “And I think you should come clean with Daniel. Tell him the whole thing. He may have qualities of which I don’t approve, but I think he’s fair and straight.”
“Tell Daniel?” I felt my stomach twist itself into a knot. I could just imagine what he’d say when he found out that I had hidden the woman the police were searching for.
“He’s the only one who can decide what to do with her. We’re just not equipped to do so, Molly.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know you mean well. I know you wanted to help, but if you really think she may have killed this Chinaman, then we really shouldn’t keep on hiding her.”
I sighed. “I know. And you’re right. I should come clean with Daniel. But I have to tell you I’m dreading the thought.”
“Nonsense,” Sid said. “You’re a responsible adult, Molly. You did what you thought was best. If he doesn’t like it, then tough luck.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “If you don’t stand up to him now, he’ll walk all over you. I’ve seen it so many times—a strong, bright girl gets married and soon she’s reduced to a quivering, helpless little jelly, trying to please her bully of a husband.”
I had to laugh at this. “I can’t see myself ever being reduced to a quivering jelly,” I said.
“But if you’re frightened of facing him and telling him the truth, that’s the first step on that road.”
“I suppose I feel guilty because I went behind his back and kept on with the investigation,” I said. “But you’re right—if we can’t face each other as equals, what sort of life do I have ahead of me?”
“Just tell him that. And if he tries to bully you, tell him you’ll call off the wedding,” Sid said.
I stared at her. “I couldn’t do that.”
“Molly, he has to know that he is not the king of your little castle—or at least, only if you’re the queen.”
“I wish I could send you in my place,” I said. “But I’ll get going right away. Wish me luck.”
“Don’t stand any nonsense from him,” Sid called after me.
It was all right for her. She didn’t have to face an angry Daniel. I felt positively sick as I rode the Broadway trolley southward to police headquarters. As the journey progressed, I decided that I really should go to the house on Elizabeth Street first, before I confronted Daniel. I had promised Bo Kei that I would report back to her, and after I had told Daniel the truth, there might not be a chance to fulfill that promise. At least that was my reasoning for putting off the moment when I had to face him. So I set off for Elizabeth Street.