by Rhys Bowen
“But I still think about her,” Irene said. “I still think about her every day, you know. She is still a raw wound that will never heal.”
“Uh, quite.” Chief Prescott looked embarrassed. “So you believe your father would not walk near the cliff edge because he had already experienced one tragedy?”
“Of course,” Irene said. “Especially not in the dark.”
“We do know it was dark when he arrived, do we?” Daniel asked. “If he had fallen and been killed earlier yesterday evening, for example, would anyone have seen him?”
“I might have,” I spoke up, making them all stare at me. “I was down on the seashore in the late afternoon. And Mr. Terrence Hannan had to assist me because the tide had come in and I was caught unawares. We could tell you there was no sign of anyone else near the beach then.”
“But that was some time before sunset,” Terrence said. “The servants and the luggage arrived just after I got back to the house, so I suspect we were all inside sorting out who was sleeping where and then dressing for dinner when it actually became dark.”
“Has anyone spoken to the servants yet?” Daniel asked. “Has Mr. Hannan’s valet not come to attend to him?”
“Brian still had the egalitarian outlook of our forebears,” Joseph Hannan said. “He saw no reason to have someone else hanging around to dress him. He employed servants only for things he couldn’t do himself. He kept a butler and housemaids and a cook at home. But no gentleman’s gentleman.”
“That wouldn’t have gone down well with his Tammany pals would it?” Terrence said dryly and was rewarded with a sharp look from his father.
“And Mr. Hannan would have come by train and not by automobile?” Daniel went on.
“It is a long uncomfortable trip by automobile,” Joseph said. “Most of it on unpaved road, you know. Certainly not worth the effort for a few days. I’m sure he was intending to come by train.”
“Who would have met him at the station? Would not one of the servants have been sent?”
“It depended if he had notified anyone of the train he was planning to catch,” Joseph said. “He could have telephoned from the station if he wanted someone to come and fetch him. He was just as likely to have taken a cab. Brian didn’t like fuss.”
“So we have no way of knowing whether he took the train and at what time he arrived here?” Daniel said.
“Not at this moment,” Joseph said.
“I met someone who had seen him in the station in New York yesterday and was surprised that he hadn’t arrived here yet,” I said.
They all looked at me with interest again, as if they had forgotten about my presence.
“And who was that?” Chief Prescott asked.
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t give his name. He was standing outside the main gate yesterday evening after dark and of course the gate had been locked for the night. He called out to me and asked if Alderman Hannan was in residence. I said that I didn’t know if he’d arrived yet. I asked him if he wanted to come in, or to let the family know that he was here, but he said he wanted it to be a surprise and he went away again.”
“Aha. Now we’re getting somewhere,” Chief Prescott said. “Can you describe this man?”
“Not really. It was dark. He was young, I’d say. Slight of build, and a voice that didn’t sound educated. Oh, and I believe he had a mustache.”
“That describes half the population of this country,” Joseph Hannan said.
“I’m sorry. In the dark one doesn’t see colors or facial features,” I replied haughtily.
“Were any of you expecting another guest? Any family members who are not here?” Prescott asked.
“Only Aunt Minny and Aunt Agnes,” Terrence said. “And we certainly weren’t expecting them.”
“My two sisters who are in the convent,” Mary Flannery explained. “They haven’t been outside the walls for years. And the only other family members are my daughter and son-in-law and their other children. My brother Brian didn’t approve of her marrying him against his wishes, so they are not invited here.”
“Could the husband be the man that my wife encountered last night?” Daniel asked. “Uncouth, thin, with a mustache?”
“Possible,” Joseph Hannan said, “but why on earth would he show up here? He knows he’s not welcome.”
“To touch Uncle Brian for money?” Terrence suggested with a grin.
“Then why come here? It would be more convenient to see him at his office in the city, any day of the week,” Joseph said. “They only live a stone’s throw away.”
As I watched him, an idea struck me. The whispered conversation at our cottage. The shadowy figure on the stairs and the feminine giggle. Joseph Hannan had conveniently forgotten to mention that he had brought somebody with him—someone who was not here now.
Eleven
“Your wife is not here, I believe, Mr. Hannan?” I said innocently and was glad to see a flash of annoyance cross his face.
“My wife never comes to family gatherings,” he said. “She is of a nervous disposition, easily upset by noise and too many people.”
I thought that someone who did good works among the poor, as described by Eliza, would quite often encounter noise and bustle in the slums of the Lower East Side. It was one of the noisiest places on Earth with the pushcart vendors shouting their wares and all the facets of life taking place in such close quarters.
I thought Eliza was going to say something but she glanced at Terrence and then looked out of the window.
“Is there anything else we can do to help at this moment?” Joseph Hannan went on. “I believe we’ve established that nobody saw Brian or knew that he had arrived. Now I don’t want to sound callous but I could do with some hot coffee and breakfast. So could we all. We’re all in a state of shock. You’re welcome to join us, Chief Prescott.”
Joseph rose to his feet. Other family members also got up. So did Daniel. He held up his hand. “One more question, if you don’t mind. Exactly why did Brian Hannan invite his family here in the middle of October? Not exactly the season, is it? And a long, awkward journey for all of you.”
“We asked ourselves the same thing,” Terrence said. “Didn’t we, sissy?”
“It was most inconvenient,” Eliza said. “I had volunteered to take part in a suffragist rally and I had to let them down.”
“Maybe that was why Uncle Brian did it.” Terrence grinned. “You know his feelings on giving women the vote.”
“Not amusing, Terrence. Your uncle is dead,” Joseph said. “Show a little respect, please.” He turned to Daniel and me. “And I take it you’ll have the decency to vacate the guest cottage and leave us to our private grief, given the circumstances.”
“Unless Chief Prescott would like us to stay.” Daniel looked across at the other policeman.
“Why would he want to do that?” Joseph asked.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Prescott said hastily. “The family will surely want to arrange for the burial, but that would not concern you. I see no reason that you’d not be free to go.”
“So you’ve completely ruled out the possibility of foul play, have you?” Daniel asked.
“Foul play?” Joseph asked. The other occupants of the room jerked their heads up as if they were puppets on strings.
Daniel nodded. “Mr. Hannan was a very rich and ambitious man, after all.”
“You’re hinting at murder?” The color drained from the police chief’s florid face. “Surely we’re talking about a tragic accident. Mr. Hannan took a wrong turn in the darkness and fell off the cliff. It’s easy enough to do here, as you all know too well.”
There was an uncomfortable silence among family members.
“And if he was pushed off the cliff, I don’t know how you’d ever prove it without a witness,” Prescott continued. “It’s not as if there would be a handprint in the middle of his back.”
“What an awful thing to say,” Mary Flannery gasped. “Who w
ould want to kill dear Brian? The kindest man that ever lived, God rest his soul.”
“He’s a political figure and I’m sure that such a man has enemies,” Daniel said.
“If he did, would he be likely to meet with them near the edge of the cliff?” Terrence asked, again with a hint of amusement in his tone. “Uncle Brian certainly wasn’t stupid. What I want to know is why he didn’t come into the house and greet us when he arrived. He usually loves to have the family around him. That does seem odd, doesn’t it?”
“Where is his bag, if he didn’t come to the house?” Daniel asked. “Surely he would have traveled with luggage?”
“As to that, I expect the servants would have brought it,” Joseph said. “And they traveled separately from us.”
“Ah, yes, the servants. Maybe one of them can enlighten us as to why Mr. Hannan arrived at his house but didn’t come in,” Daniel suggested.
“What about that strange man Mrs. Sullivan encountered at the gate?” Joseph said. “If we are to suspect that my brother met his end unnaturally, then this fellow is someone we need to talk to. A stranger, hanging around the property after dark, wanting to know if Brian had arrived. You need to find him, Prescott. Find out if he stayed in a boardinghouse in town overnight and if he was seen at the station.”
“I believe I know my job, sir,” Prescott said primly.
“Let’s hope it does turn out to be him,” Terrence said, “because if not, everyone else on the property was a family member.”
“What a ridiculous thing to say.” Archie Van Horn rose to his feet. “Are you suggesting it was one of us?”
“Some day you’ll go too far, boy,” Joseph said. “It’s about time you learned that your idea of amusing talk might be taken seriously. It was an accident, I tell you.”
“And if it wasn’t?” Terrence challenged his father. “What then?”
“Anybody could get into the property if they were serious about it,” Joseph said. “It would be simplest matter in the world to come in during the day when the gates are not locked and hide out in the shrubbery. I told Brian we should have the grounds patrolled by watchdogs, but he didn’t like the idea.”
“Wouldn’t the gardeners have noticed someone trying to enter?” Eliza said. “They always seem to be around when I’m outside.”
“Not necessarily,” Archie gave her a withering look. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a big property and when we’re not here who knows how much work they do.”
“They were much in evidence yesterday,” Daniel said. “It would be worth questioning them with the rest of the servants.”
“I’ll decide whether anybody needs to be questioned,” Prescott said. “So far we have a body lying on rocks below a cliff. Nothing to suggest that anyone else was involved or even witnessed what happened.”
I had been sitting quietly, like a dutiful wife, but a thought had been growing in my head and I thought it was about time I spoke up. “If someone did try to kill him,” I began, making all faces turn toward me again, as if they’d only just remembered that I was in the room, “they were taking an awful risk. I’ve been at the bottom of that cliff. It’s not that high, as cliffs go. And the tide was coming in when I was on the beach so it would have almost covered the rocks last night. Surely there was a chance that Brian Hannan would not have died at all. He might have been injured, but live to point the finger at his accuser?”
They all stared at me as if I was a creature from another world. Irene put her hand to her breast as if she might swoon.
“You must forgive my wife,” Daniel said hastily. “Having associated herself with me and my police work, she doesn’t have the normal feminine sensibilities. But what she says is correct. It is not at all a given fact that a man would die from such a fall. Especially if the tide was up on the rocks. A well-timed wave would have broken his fall and he would have lived. If someone wanted to dispatch him and he was wandering alone in his grounds in the darkness why not shoot him or stab him?”
The Hannan family members shifted uncomfortably.
“I think we’re getting into the realm of fantasy here,” Chief Prescott said. “Until I hear differently, I’m treating this as an accidental death. Let’s hear what the coroner has to say, shall we, before we start making any wild speculations? And even then, we may never know.”
“I agree,” Joseph said. “I find it highly unlikely that an enemy followed him all the way out here with the intention of killing him. It was a tragic accident, that’s all. Brian arrived and decided to do the rounds of his property. He was very proud of this place, you know. Perhaps he was enjoying the solitude and the sound of the ocean after a busy week in the city. He lost his way in the dark and made a fatal mistake.”
At that moment the door opened and Mrs. McCreedy stepped in cautiously. “Begging your pardon, sirs, but will you be wanting your breakfast as normal?”
She had clearly been crying and was fighting to maintain her composure.
“We’re just coming, thank you, Mrs. McCreedy,” Patrick Hannan said gently. “It will do the servants good to have something to keep them busy.”
“Then I’ll tell the chef, sir.”
“So Mr. Hannan’s chef did arrive last night?” I asked.
She shot me a suspicious glance. “Yes, he came with the rest of the servants, just like I told you he would.”
“Mrs. McCreedy, isn’t it?” Chief Prescott said. “I believe you’re the housekeeper here?”
“Have been since Mr. Hannan first had the place built thirteen years ago, God rest his poor soul.”
“So maybe you can shed some light on the events of last night,” Prescott said. “Did you see Mr. Hannan when he arrived?”
“No, sir. I did not,” she said firmly. “I was concerned if you want to know because he had told me that the family would all be here in time for dinner, and he was very particular about punctuality for meals. They all waited for him last night but by eight o’clock the food was spoiling, so finally they sat down to eat without him. And then when I locked up for the night and he still hadn’t come, I started to get worried. I felt sure he would have let us know, you see.”
“There’s a telephone in the house, isn’t there?” Prescott asked. “Did you expect him to telephone you?”
“Oh, no, sir.” Mrs. McCreedy shook her head vehemently. “There would be no sense in telephoning me. I don’t hold with contraptions like that. I’d never get up the nerve to answer it. It don’t seem natural, does it? I wasn’t even happy when they had electricity installed a few years back. I don’t trust this tampering with nature and when they’re not in the house the lamps and candles are good enough for me.”
“So Mr. Hannan would not have telephoned even if he was running late, you think?” Prescott continued.
“My brother had the line installed primarily so that he could stay in touch with our business in New York when we are here. I am rarely in the main house and as Mrs. McCreedy has just said, the servants are unlikely to answer it, Joseph Hannan said.”
“So you’d have had no way of knowing if Mr. Hannan was expecting to arrive that evening or not.”
“He’d have let us know one way or another. He’d have sent a telegram, sir, if he wasn’t planning to come,” Mrs. McCreedy said. “He was considerate in matters like that. This whole thing was odd, very odd indeed. Bringing the family here for a weekend in October—it’s never happened before. And then these people arriving out of the blue.” She pointed at us. “I’d like to know what it was all about.”
“So would we all,” Joseph said. “Unfortunately Brian kept us all in the dark, Mrs. McCreedy.”
“And it may have cost him his life,” Daniel said.
Mrs. McCreedy frowned at us. “What does he mean?” she asked.
“Nothing. We’ll go through to breakfast now,” Joseph said. “Come along, everyone.” He ushered them out of the room, like a large sheepdog rounding up sheep.
As we left the room I heard Mrs.
McCreedy saying in a low voice to Chief Prescott, “If I were you, I’d find out more about those Sullivans and what they are really doing here.”
I grabbed Daniel’s arm and drew him into an alcove near the door. It was dark and half hidden by a velvet drape. Daniel looked at me as if I had gone crazy but I put my finger to my lips. The police chief and housekeeper were still standing just on the other side of that door. Daniel stifled a cough, pressing his handkerchief to his mouth.
“They’ve been acting peculiar and snooping around,” Mrs. McCreedy went on in a voice that was little more than a whisper.
“But you were expecting them? Your master did notify you that they were coming?”
“Well, yes. I got one letter from the master to say that the family was coming for a few days and to have everything ready for them, just like in the summer. And then a separate letter arrived to say that Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan would be occupying the guest cottage at the same time, so please make sure that it was well stocked and comfortable for them.”
“And it was written by Mr, Hannan?”
“Oh, no, sir. He very rarely wrote his own letters. It was written by a secretary. It said Alderman Hannan wishes me to inform you that … And I can’t say I recognized the signature.”
“So anybody could have written it,” Chief Prescott said.
“My thoughts exactly,” she muttered in a low voice. “I was waiting for the alderman to arrive to see what he’d have to say about the couple in the guest cottage. Clearly Mr. Joseph knew nothing about them and was quite upset, since he likes to stay there himself.”
“Interesting,” Chief Prescott said. “Thank you for letting me know about this, Mrs. McCreedy. I’ll certainly have my men look into it.”
And they came out into the hallway, walking right past us without seeing us standing half hidden in the shadows of the alcove.
“Bates,” Chief Prescott called out as he approached a constable standing at the far end of the hallway.
“Bates, I want you to send a telegram to the police headquarters in New York City,” he said. “The message should say, ‘Verify whereabouts of Captain Sullivan.’”
