"Please allow me to say my private farewells to my dear friend Mr. Dudley," Letitia said. "And he doesn't need a cab, in any case. He lives very close by."

"How convenient for you," Potter said coldly, then turned to Letitia and tried to muster up some charm. "I'm so glad to see you," he said, bowing over her and reaching out, expecting her to give him her hand.

She did so, but with little enthusiasm, and she let him hold it only for an instant. He was visibly disappointed.

"I'm afraid my business cannot wait much longer. I will call on you again tomorrow," he said, brooking no argument.

Letitia did not reply. Everyone knew she didn't have to receive him if she didn't want to, so he could call all he wanted. "Good afternoon, Amos."

His anger evident in every move, Potter nodded stiffly to Dudley, then turned and marched to the parlor door. Just as he reached it, it opened to admit the maid, who had finally come in response to the bell. She seemed a little breathless.

"Peggy, see Mr. Potter out," Letitia said. "Mrs. Brandt, would you take the baby back to his nurse?"

Sarah pretended not to hear the request. Instead, she handed the child to the unsuspecting maid, who was too startled to refuse him. "You may take him back to his nurse," she told the girl, then shooed both her and Potter out and closed the doors decisively behind them.

She turned to see Letitia's outraged expression. Dudley was simply looking confused.

"I'm afraid I must speak with both of you immediately," Sarah explained by way of excuse for her outrageous behavior, "and don't bother dismissing me. I'm not as easily intimidated as Mr. Potter, and besides, you need to hear what I have to say, whether you want to or not."

13.

FRANK FOUND MAURICE SYMINGTON IN HIS WELL-APPOINTED office in a building on upper Fifth Avenue. According to Frank's sources, Symington owned property all over the city and made his living by collecting rents and spending as little on maintaining his buildings as possible. Most of his property was located in the poorer sections of the city, so the tenants didn't complain much about their living conditions for fear of being evicted.

Anticipating the possibility that Symington would refuse to see him, Frank told the man's secretary that he had some news about Dr. Blackwell's death. Even so, Symington kept him cooling his heels for almost an hour, but finally the young man who handled the clerical work in the office invited him into the inner sanctum.

The office was large and meant to intimidate. The wall behind Symington's desk was a huge window providing a panoramic view of the city below and the sky above. Symington looked up impatiently from a stack of papers on his enormous mahogany desk.

"What is it?" he demanded. "And make it quick. I don't have time for any nonsense."

"Calvin Brown is dead," Frank said baldly, still standing because he hadn't been invited to sit.

Symington's gaze had returned to his papers, as if assuming Frank could have nothing interesting enough to say to distract him, but this time when he looked up, Frank had his undivided attention. "Who did you say?"

"Edmund Blackwell's son," Frank said politely. Symington knew perfectly well who he was talking about. "I know you were trying to be discreet when you pretended not to know who he was the other day with Potter, but Calvin told me he'd met with you. He said the only way he got in to see his father was because you intervened for him."

Symington was a careful man. He took a moment to weigh his options. He could, of course, have called Frank a liar and ordered him from the room. He could have feigned ignorance and demanded an explanation. But he was too wise to take any chances. He understood that a scandal like this, involving the betrayed daughter of a wealthy and powerful man, would sell a lot of newspapers. The respectable papers wouldn't publish it, of course, but there were many papers in the city that made no pretense to respectability. They would pay a large sum of money for the information Frank had, and Symington had no reason to trust Frank's discretion.

"Please sit down, Mr. Malloy," Symington said, instantly reasonable.

Frank did as he was told, noticing that the chair here was much more comfortable and expensive than the one in Blackwell's former office. This one was leather and as soft as butter. A real man's chair.

"How did the boy die?" Symington asked when Frank was settled.

"Arsenic. Somebody put it in a bottle of sarsaparilla."

"Somebody?" he asked, not missing the implication.

"It could have been a suicide."

Symington thought this over. "You don't believe it was," he guessed.

"I'm paid to be skeptical."

"Do you know the entire story?" Symington asked, folding his hands on the desktop. "About the boy, I mean."

Now it was Frank's turn to be cautious. He certainly didn't want to be the one telling Symington something he didn't know about his own daughter. "I know that Blackwell used to be Eddie Brown and that Eddie Brown had a wife he'd neglected to divorce and three children he'd deserted in Virginia. I know Calvin had traced his father here and that they'd met. Calvin said Blackwell had promised to give him some money and start supporting the Brown family again. I only have his word on that, since Blackwell wasn't around to confirm anything. Oh, and Amos Potter said Blackwell had gotten some money together and planned to meet with Calvin on the afternoon he was killed. The boy claimed nobody answered the door that day, so he never even saw his father, but nobody's seen the money since, either."

"Potter believes the boy killed Edmund. If he did, he could have killed himself out of remorse," Symington suggested.

"That would make everything neat and tidy," Frank pointed out. "But if he did kill Blackwell, why didn't he take the money and leave town? Why stay around and put himself in the way of being caught? If Calvin didn't kill his father-and that's a pretty unnatural thing to do, no matter what your old man did to you-then somebody's gotten away with murdering two men."

"Two men about whom I care little, Mr. Malloy," Symington pointed out without apology. "I do care very much about my daughter, however. Protecting her good name and that of her child must be my main concern."

"Any father would feel the same," Frank allowed. "Too bad Blackwell wasn't as concerned about his children. That Calvin, for instance; he seemed like a good boy, and he'd gotten a pretty rough deal from his old man. Had to go to work when he was just a kid to help support his mother and two little sisters. Now his mother's lost her husband and her only son. Don't hardly seem fair to mark the boy a killer if he's innocent."

"Many things in life aren't fair, Mr. Malloy, as I'm sure you are well aware. But I would be happy to compensate Mrs. Brown for her loss. It's not my responsibility, of course, but it's the right thing to do. The poor woman has suffered too much already. There's no reason she should be rendered destitute by the loss of her son, and I have the means to help her. I also feel some obligation because I allowed Edmund to marry my daughter in the first place."

He'd be responsible for blackening Calvin's name, too, which would be even worse, because he'd do it intentionally. Frank didn't think reminding him of this would help the situation any, though. He was already dangerously close to having Symington order him to declare Calvin as Blackwell's killer and close the case. A rich man had done this to him once before, and a word from Symington to Chief of Police Conlin was all it would take. Frank wasn't going to let that happen again if he could help it.

"But what if somebody else killed both of them?" he suggested to Symington. "Somebody you don't care about either. Somebody who'd be better off locked up. Somebody you'd also like to keep away from your daughter."

Symington's face hardened. "You seem to be speaking of someone in particular, Mr. Malloy. Is that the case?"

"I've learned a few things about your daughter's past that might give a man we both know a reason for wanting Blackwell out of the way," Frank said, not really answering the question.

Symington was angry, although he was trying not to show it. "My daughter's past is none of your concern, Malloy."

"What if her past has moved into the present?"

Symington was angrier still, but he was also afraid of how much Frank might know and of what he might do with that knowledge. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about old friends suddenly showing up. Friends who might prefer it if your daughter wasn't married anymore. A friend who might even want to marry her himself the way he tried to once before."

"That's impossible," Symington insisted, but it sounded more like a frantic hope than a certainty.

"Peter Dudley visited your daughter just the other day," Frank said.

"That son of a bitch." Symington's rage was interesting. He looked as if he wanted to shout and pound on his desk and even throw something out that impressive window. Instead, he merely turned a deep shade of purple and stared murderously at a spot somewhere over Frank's left shoulder. Frank was afraid he might have apoplexy, and that wouldn't serve Frank's purpose at all.

"I also know the story of how Dudley tried to elope with your daughter," Frank said, saving Symington the trouble of making up any lies about their relationship and, with any luck, distracting him from his own rage.

"That bounder has no principles at all," Symington said with surprising restraint.

"So I gathered," Frank said agreeably. "I don't know what I'd do to a man who tried to steal my daughter and then left her an invalid."

"I know what I wanted to do," Symington admitted, this time surprising Frank with his candor. "He hardly seemed worth the effort, though. Have you seen him?"

Frank nodded.

"Then you know what I mean. How could I have imagined such a man was a threat to my daughter? If I'd ever dreamed a girl like Letitia would find a worthless creature like that appealing... But of course I had no idea. The next thing I know, he's pounding on my door in the middle of the night, holding my daughter's broken body in his arms."

"It must have taken a lot of courage to face you like that," Frank pointed out.

Symington snorted rudely. "I suppose you're right. He could have left her lying in the road and run for his life. If he'd done that, I most certainly would have hunted him down and made certain he got what he deserved."

"Instead you let him go," Frank guessed.

Symington sighed. "My only concern was for Letitia. If he simply left the area, she couldn't hate me for that, and I hoped she'd come to despise him for being a coward. He was terrified when he carried Letitia into the house that night, so it took only a hint to make him see the wisdom of vanishing from her life forever. Or so I thought," he added wearily.

"Maybe he really does love your daughter," Frank said, still playing devil's advocate.

"What possible difference could that make?" Symington asked disdainfully. "And if he did love her, he'd have the decency to leave her alone. Anyone can see he's completely unsuitable for her. You're obviously a romantic, Mr. Malloy, but don't be fooled. He's a fortune hunter and always has been. As soon as he found out Letitia was a widow, he came sniffing around to try his hand with her again. I won't have it, not this time. And this time I'll make sure he doesn't come back into her life." He had made his resolution, and Frank sensed he would dismiss him in another moment. He had to act fast if he wanted a chance to find Blackwell and Calvin's real killer.

"Mr. Symington, there may be more to this than you believe."

"More to what?" Symington asked absently, already mentally making his plans for disposing of Peter Dudley.

"Dudley didn't just come back into your daughter's life. They've been seeing each other secretly for over a year."

For once Symington was unable to control his emotions. This time he did strike his desk, with a force that sent a pen clattering from its holder.

"I know this is an unpleasant subject for you"-Frank hurried on before Symington could be distracted by his own fury again-"but I'm sure you'll agree that his involvement with her gives Dudley a very good reason for wanting to see your daughter a widow."

Symington took a moment to absorb what the detective had said. He needed only that moment. "You think he killed Edmund," he said baldly.

"It's possible. He had a motive, and he has no alibi."

"Then arrest him!" Symington exclaimed.

Frank had him where he wanted him now. "I'd like to, except that I'm afraid if I do, he might implicate your daughter."

"What? He wouldn't dare!"

"He very well might, if he thought it would keep him from being executed. Or if he thought the threat of a scandal would frighten you into protecting him."

Symington started to deny that he could possibly be influenced, but then he thought better of it. The threat was very real, and Symington did want to protect his daughter at all costs. Frank still wasn't convinced he hadn't killed Edmund Blackwell himself for that very purpose, either. "You're not going to let him go free, are you?" he asked.

"Not if he killed Blackwell," Frank said. "But I've got to be certain that he can be convicted of planning and carrying out the murder all on his own. I'll need a little more time for the investigation before I can be sure."

Symington nodded. He was sure that he and Frank understood each other, and that they both wanted the same thing. "Take all the time you need. I'll make sure no one interferes with you."

Frank was hard-pressed not to show his relief. "Thank you, Mr. Symington. I'll do my best to get this matter settled as quickly as possible."

Frank rose, ready to leave now that he'd gotten exactly what he wanted from Symington and before the man could have second thoughts. He was almost to the door when Symington called out.

"Mr. Malloy."

Frank turned back warily. "Yes?"

"When Peter Dudley is convicted of murder, you will receive a one-thousand-dollar reward from me."

Frank almost winced. How easy it would be to make sure Dudley was convicted of the crime. Most detectives would gladly oblige for even a small portion of a reward like that. Unfortunately, Frank was no longer one of them. If Dudley turned out to be innocent, Sarah Brandt was going to have quite a bit to make up to him.

LETITIA BLACKWELL STARED at Sarah in astonishment, but only for a few heartbeats. Then she laid one small white hand on her bosom and said, "I believe I am going to faint. I must return to my rooms immediately."

Instantly, Dudley was supporting her, making sympathetic noises and offering to assist her.

"If you faint, I'll have to throw water in your face," Sarah said brutally.

Letitia's eyes grew wide. Apparently, no one had ever taken such a tone with her. Or failed to place her comfort above all other considerations. If she didn't want to discuss anything unpleasant-and plainly she didn'st-she believed she should be excused from doing so. Sarah had no intention of letting her off that easily, however.

"Mrs. Brandt," Dudley chided. "How can you say such a thing? Can't you see how upset she is?"

"If you have so little concern for my health," Letitia said haughtily, without the slightest trace of faintness, "then I'm afraid I'm going to have to dismiss you."

"If you dismiss me, I won't be able to care for your child, either," Sarah reminded her. "But I'm sure you'll be able to find another nurse who will be willing to keep your child's illness a secret and treat it properly."

"Illness?" Dudley echoed. "What's wrong with him? He looked perfectly healthy to me. Letitia, what is it? If the child is ill, why didn't you tell me?"

Letitia had gone scarlet with fury. So much for her fainting spell. "There's nothing wrong with him at all. We'll discuss that later," she snapped at Dudley, then turned back to Sarah. "Say whatever you are so determined to say, and then leave us alone."

"Calvin Brown has been murdered," she said bluntly.

Their reactions were difficult to judge. Both looked surprised, and then they glanced at each other almost hesitantly, before turning back to her.

"Who-" Dudley began, but Letitia interrupted him.

"Who is Calvin Brown?" she demanded.

"Edmund Blackwell's son," Sarah said.

Neither of them looked particularly surprised, but perhaps they were simply confused.

"That's ridiculous," Letitia said after a moment. "Edmund didn't have a son. He didn't have any children at all."

"Are you aware that Dr. Blackwell was married before?"

Sarah thought she'd catch her there, but Letitia said, "Of course, but that was a long time ago. His first wife died very young."

A good story, and maybe even the one Blackwell had told her. "Did you know he had children by his first wife?" Sarah asked, playing along.

"I told you, he didn't have any children. Of that I am quite certain."