Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (25 page)

“I didn't, although perhaps I should have.”

He stared at it for a long moment, as if trying to remember something. Then he tried to unscrew the top. For a moment, Frank was fascinated. He'd never seen a flask with a screw-on top. It must have been very expensive. Then he realized Zeller was having trouble.

“Is something wrong?”

“The top is screwed on crooked. There,” he said, finally working it free. “The threads are very fine, so it's tricky, but I would never have done that either.” He lifted the flask to his nose and sniffed. Then he held it out for Frank to sniff.

“Soap?”

Zeller nodded. “Someone washed it out.”

S
arah had never been so torn about what her real duty must be. She needed to stay with Letty and make sure she was going to be all right. She needed to check on Isabel and see how she was doing. And she needed to find Malloy and tell him what she'd learned so no one else got poisoned.

Of course, Letty's poisoning was an accident, as was Isabel's, and Isabel's mother's as well. Surely, no one else would become an accidental victim, but if Charles's killer felt it necessary to kill Daisy, who knew what other horrors he might consider necessary. Or she. Sarah didn't want to think a woman had caused all this, but the evidence was mounting. Could Jenny Oakes really have destroyed so many people just to protect her secret? It wasn't as if she was in any way responsible for having a Negro half sister. Yes, it would be delicious gossip for a while, but Jenny didn't strike Sarah as
the kind of person who would care so very much about what people said.

“Are you going to tell my mama?” Letty asked Sarah after she'd succeeded in getting the girl to drink some broth. Mary had gone to report to the Reverend Nicely that Letty was feeling much better.

“I'm not going to tell anyone,” Sarah said. “The only person you harmed was yourself.”

“I thought the box was empty or I never would've taken it,” she said, tears welling again. “I took it and ran all the way home and hid it. I didn't look at it again until this morning, and when I saw the candy, I . . . It looked so delicious. And it
was
delicious. I never tasted chocolate before.”

“I hope you taste it again someday without the bad effects. Tell me, what was inside the chocolate?”

“Some kind of white cream. It was so sweet, it melted on my tongue.”

“Did it look like the candy had been tampered with?”

Letty's puzzled frown told her the girl had no idea what she was talking about. Letty had probably never seen a chocolate candy, at least not up close, so how would she know what they were supposed to look like and how it would look if someone had tampered with it? “Never mind. The important thing is I don't think you got enough of the poison to truly harm you.” Sarah prayed she was right about that, at least.

“And I'll never steal anything again so long as I live,” Letty promised fervently.

When Mary came back, the Reverend Nicely was with her.

“Several ladies came to help when they heard Letty had gotten sick, too, so I felt I could leave Isabel for a few minutes to pray over you, young lady,” he told the girl.

Letty started to cry again, probably thinking she didn't deserve that, being a thief, but her mother hugged her for a while, until she stopped. Then the Reverend Nicely sat with Letty for a few minutes and prayed over her. When he was finished, he and Mary took Sarah out into the hall where Letty couldn't overhear them.

“Reverend Nicely told me you think Sister Rose and Sister Daisy were poisoned,” Mary said, horrified at the thought. “Do you think Letty was, too?”

“It's possible,” Sarah said, having already decided what she would say to them. “We think Daisy may have brought something with her from the house where she worked that had the poison in it. I asked Letty if she'd eaten anything at your house, Reverend Nicely, but if she did, she doesn't remember. She may have picked up something without thinking, but I suspect she probably just got sick the way children do, and it doesn't have anything to do with your family.”

“Then you don't think she's going to die?” Mary asked.

“She's already getting better,” Sarah said. “It was probably just a case of summer complaint.”

“Thank heaven,” Mary said, making it a prayer.

“Praise God,” the Reverend Nicely said.

“If Letty's going to be fine, you should go back to Isabel, Mrs. Brandt,” Mary said. “I thank you for looking after my Letty.”

“I was glad to do it.” Sarah gave her instructions for caring for Letty. “Send for me if she gets bad again, though,” she added, giving Mary her card. This time she took it eagerly.

The Reverend Nicely walked Sarah back to his church. “Isabel woke up again,” he told her. “She was asking for her Mama. I don't know what to tell her.” He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes.

“You're right not to tell her until she's stronger.”

“Who could have done this?” he asked. “And why? What is more important than a human life?”

“Nothing, to a normal person. Whoever did this isn't normal, though. I promise you we'll find out who did it.”

She wished she could promise the killer would be punished, too, but that would depend on who it was and who wanted to protect that person. But no matter what happened, they would never be able to bring back the people who had died.

•   •   •

S
arah was just thinking that she'd done all she could for Isabel Nicely, who did seem to be doing better now. She was taking nourishment and seemed aware when she was awake. All they could do now was wait to see if the arsenic had caused her any permanent damage. She really hated to leave the Reverend Nicely alone, but the ladies from his church seemed more than capable of looking after them, and they'd brought more food than he could hope to eat in a week.

When Gino Donatelli appeared at the door, she knew she must go.

“What is it?” she asked, alarmed to think he had come all this way to find her.

“The butler this time, but it was an accident,” he said softly so no one else would overhear. “He's going to be all right, but Mr. Malloy wanted me to find you. He wants you there when he questions Mrs. Oakes.”

Sarah gathered her things and took her leave of the Reverend Nicely and the ladies who were helping. She accepted his thanks and urged him to send for her again if he needed her.

Gino carried her bag as they made their way through the crowded streets to the elevated train station. As they walked, he told her how Zeller had gotten himself poisoned.

“I went and got Dr. Wesley to come take a look at Zeller.
He told us he'd checked Daisy's and Mrs. Nicely's bodies, and they both had arsenic in their stomachs.”

“I know how they got it, too,” Sarah said and told him about the candy box and how Letty had taken it that first day.

“Is the little girl going to be all right?”

“I hope so. She only had one piece of the candy. That's all that was left in the box. If she was telling the truth about that, then she didn't get much of the poison, and she may recover completely.”

“Who do you think did this, Mrs. Brandt?”

“Someone in the Oakes household, and it must be a female,” Sarah said. “We know it wasn't Mr. Oakes, because he's the one who asked us to find out who killed his son. The only other man left in that house is Zeller, and I can't imagine he'd poison himself just to throw off suspicion.”

“Besides, he was pretty fond of Daisy.”

“That might not matter much if he was trying to protect himself from discovery.”

“He didn't have a reason to kill Charles Oakes, though, or none that we know of,” Gino reminded her.

“But
nobody
had a reason to kill Charles Oakes,” Sarah reminded him right back. “Did you find out anything from Percy Littleton?”

Gino related their conversation with the young man.

“If Charles was sad enough for his friends to notice, it must have been something serious,” Sarah said. “And Percy thought it had something to do with his wife?”

“That's what he thought, but I don't think he was sure. We do know they were having trouble, though.”

“But we don't know why. Maybe that would give us a clue. We need to talk to Hannah.”

“We'll have to hurry then, because she's moving out.”

“What do you mean, moving out?”

“When she heard Daisy had died, she told Mr. Oakes she was too scared to stay there anymore, so she's going back to live with her parents.”

“I guess I can't blame her, but you're right, we need to talk with her before she leaves. I'm guessing she'll never agree to see us once she's with her parents.”

When they reached the El station, they climbed the long stairway up to the platform along the tracks that ran two stories above the street. While they waited for the train, Gino said, “Mrs. Brandt, do you think a woman could really kill her own son?”

“People do terrible things, Gino, and their reasons hardly ever make sense to other people.”

•   •   •

A
fter spending so much time in the Oakes house, Frank was starting to understand why Gerald and Charles drank so much. He needed all his willpower not to take Sarah in his arms when she finally came through the parlor door with Gino. He couldn't remember ever being quite this glad to see her.

“How is Zeller doing?” she asked.

“Wesley said he'll probably be fine, although Gerald Oakes called his own doctor, and he's still clucking around upstairs. I think he just wants the family to think he's being thorough. How is the Nicely girl doing?”

Sarah told him and explained what had happened with Letty. She pulled the candy box out of her medical bag.

“No wonder she took it,” Gino said. “I never saw anything so fancy.”

“I doubt anybody in that neighborhood ever did either,” Sarah said, “which makes the trick that much more cruel. Is Hannah still here?”

“Yes. I asked Gerald to keep her here as long as he could, so he told her she can't have the carriage until tomorrow.”

The parlor door opened, and Jenny Oakes came in. The two men jumped to their feet and so did Sarah. “They told me you'd arrived, Sarah. I've been worried about the minister's daughter. I hope she's better.” Her face was pinched and pale, and dark circles shadowed her eyes.

“She seems to be, but we can't be sure for several more days, at least.”

“That poor girl. That poor family. I hope you told them they could call on us if they need anything. They were very kind to Daisy, I understand.”

“I believe Mr. Malloy told them you'd pay for Mrs. Nicely's funeral,” Sarah said.

“Of course,” she agreed without batting an eye. “It's the least we can do for them. What's that?” she asked, noticing the heart-shaped box Sarah still held.

Malloy gave Sarah a questioning look, and she nodded. They needed to know the truth. Jenny Oakes might never admit anything at all, but she certainly wouldn't say anything incriminating in front of Malloy and Gino.

“Gino,” he said. “Let's leave these ladies alone so they can talk.”

When the men were gone, Jenny gave her an arch look. “Should I be worried that they've left us alone?”

“Not at all. I just need to ask you about something. Please, sit down.”

Jenny came over and joined her on the sofa, her expression wary. “I guess this has something to do with that candy box.”

“Have you ever seen it before?”

“That particular box? I couldn't say. I've seen boxes like it.”

“Where?”

“Gerald gave me one for Valentine's Day, I think. They're very fashionable now.”

“Was it like this one?”

“Yes, very like this one. They're all like that, done up with ribbons and lace. Are you asking me if this is exactly like the one he gave me?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then I have no idea. I'd have to see the two together.”

“Do you still have yours?”

“I'm sure I do. One doesn't just discard something so beautiful.”

“May I see it?”

“Why? What's this all about?”

“Let me see the candy box, and I'll tell you.”

She wasn't acting like a woman who had poisoned her son and her sister, Sarah thought as Jenny rose and pulled the bell cord for the maid. When the girl came, Jenny instructed her where to find the box.

When Jenny sat down again, she looked at the box and then at Sarah. “Can't you at least tell me if this has something to do with Charles's death?”

“Not Charles's, but it might have something to do with Daisy's.”

Jenny's eyes widened. “Someone gave her poisoned candy?”

“And she shared it with Mrs. Nicely and her daughter.”

Sarah waited, watching her closely, but her face was like a mask, betraying nothing. Was she surprised because she hadn't known about the candy or because Sarah had figured it out? But would Jenny have chosen to poison Daisy in a way that was bound to lead right back to her own door? Daisy would never have been able to buy a box of candy like that, nor would she have been likely to receive it as a gift from anyone except the people in this house.

The minutes ticked by and Jenny sat perfectly still, as if bracing herself for a blow. Finally, the maid tapped on the door and when she entered, she carried a heart-shaped box all done up with red and white lace and ribbons.

“Is this what you were looking for, Mrs. Gerald?” the girl asked.

“Yes, thank you, Patsy.” She waited until the maid had gone, then put the box next to the one Sarah still held. They weren't identical, but close enough. Then she said, “Did Charles get poisoned candy, too?”

“We think it was in his flask.”

She stiffened slightly. “Of course. That makes perfect sense.” She drew a deep breath. For a second she looked as if she might weep, but she blinked it away. She certainly wasn't acting like a killer.

“Mrs. Oakes, Charles's friends mentioned that he seemed sad about something, or troubled, maybe. Do you know what was bothering him?”

“No,” she said, and Sarah was sure she was lying. She rose. “I hope you'll excuse me, Sarah. I'm not feeling well.”

For a moment, Sarah wondered if she'd been poisoned as well, but then she realized Jenny was simply making a polite excuse to leave an uncomfortable conversation.

“I'd like to speak with Hannah, if I may.”