City of Darkness and Light

by Rhys Bowen

  “Aggie,” I said, suddenly remembering. “Our servant girl is still up there.”

  Daniel touched my shoulder gently. “She’s dead, Molly,” he said quietly.

  “Are you sure? She might just be unconscious.” I could hear my voice, bordering on hysterical. “Somebody should rescue her.”

  Daniel’s arm came around me. “She died protecting Liam. I found her huddled over him. She was clearly trying to get him to safety when a rafter fell on her. He was lying wrapped in his blanket and quite unharmed under her body.”

  Only then did I allow myself to cry.

  Three

  One of the firemen put a hand on my shoulder. “Someone get this woman some brandy. She’s clearly in shock,” he said. “Is there somewhere she can sit down?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m all right. We have to get poor Aggie’s body out of there.”

  As I said the words there was a horrible creaking, grinding sound and part of the house collapsed, sending sparks up into the night sky. I noticed the firemen were now working feverishly to save the houses next to ours. An image of Aggie’s poor, skinny little body, now charred in that inferno, kept hovering in front of my eyes. I felt sick and powerless and very angry. Liam had stopped crying, held safe against me, and was sucking his thumb.

  A constable had now arrived on the scene. Daniel spotted him and called out, “Constable Byrne.”

  “Captain Sullivan, sir. Is that you? Don’t tell me it’s your house.”

  “I’m afraid it is, Byrne.”

  “Was the fire an accident?”

  “Quite deliberate, I’d say. Round up the other men in the area and find out if anyone was seen running away from here a few minutes ago. Get a description if you can. Is Lieutenant McCay on duty tonight?”

  “Yes, sir. I believe he is.”

  “Then have someone send for him immediately. The commissioner will want to hear about this right away. Tell them I’ll report in as soon as I’ve got my wife and child settled.”

  The constable hurried off. The fire captain came over to Daniel. “Excuse me, sir, but are we right in thinking this wasn’t a simple gas explosion then?”

  “I think you’ll find that it was a bomb, meant for me and my family,” Daniel said grimly. “Someone threw a brick to smash the window then hurled the bomb inside.”

  “Someone with a grudge against you?” The young man’s face looked shocked.

  “Someone trying to teach us all a lesson, I suspect.”

  The rain had picked up now, helping to put out the fire but drenching us as we stood there. Liam was crying again. Daniel turned his attention back to us. “We must get you out of this rain.”

  “Where can we go?” I said. “We’ve nothing, Daniel. No clothes, nothing.”

  “It will be all right, I promise,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’ll take you to the Hotel Lafayette for the night. That’s not far, is it?”

  I almost laughed at the absurdity of this. The Hotel Lafayette was where my good friend Ryan O’Hare, the flamboyant and roguish Irish playwright lived. I associated it with good conversation, wicked jokes, wild laughter. I allowed myself to be led away, looking wistfully across the street at Sid and Gus’s house. If only they’d been home I’d have been taken in to warmth and security. They’d be wrapping us in blankets, giving us hot drinks, telling us that everything was going to be fine—when of course it wasn’t. How could it be fine when Aggie was dead and we had lost everything, including our home?

  We were soon installed in a room at the Lafayette, and Daniel ordered a tray with sandwiches and hot rum toddy to be sent up to our room. Liam was still sobbing softly, his little body trembling against me. I did what any other mother would have done, undid my shirt and put him to the breast. He suckled greedily as if desperately trying to calm himself.

  “It’s a good thing I’m still breastfeeding Liam,” I said, “or I don’t know what I’d do.”

  Daniel stood looking down at us, an expression of unbelievable tenderness on his face. “When I think how close I came to losing you,” he said. “But you’ll be safe enough here for the night. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

  “You’re leaving us?”

  “I have to report to headquarters,” Daniel said. “This is what we feared might happen. I told you we had brought the Italian gang boss into custody. I’m afraid we suspected they might try to teach us a lesson, but I never dreamed they would take it out on our families.”

  “Then it really was a bomb and it was the Cosa Nostra?”

  “I’m afraid so,” he said. “I told you that they were particularly ruthless and violent and would stop at nothing.”

  “What are we going to do? Won’t they try again?” I was shivering now, my wet clothes sticking to me, my hair plastered to my forehead. The back of my head was beginning to throb too, where I had struck the wall.

  “We’ll have to decide what to do in the morning,” Daniel said, “but I’m afraid I really must go now. I’ve warned the night staff not to give out any information about us to anyone so we should be quite safe. Maybe they’ll be satisfied now that they’ve blown up our house and they won’t try again.” He bent to kiss me then rubbed Liam’s curls. “Get some food inside you then try to sleep.”

  “As if I can sleep knowing that you’re out there and there are people who want you dead.”

  “I can take care of myself,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

  Then he was gone. I perched on the edge of the bed, hugging Liam so tightly to me that he squirmed in my arms and broke away from my breast. How could I sleep not knowing if those men were waiting for my husband at this moment, or were looking for my baby and me? How could I ever sleep again? A few minutes later there was a tap at the door. I froze. I knew that someone would be delivering sandwiches and drinks but what if it was a member of the Cosa Nostra, who had found out where we were staying and wanted to deliver the fatal blow while Daniel was away? Hastily I put Liam down on the bed, buttoned my blouse then looked around the room for a possible weapon to defend us. It was Spartan and lacking in ornaments. There was a large jug on the washstand in the corner that looked sturdy enough. Hardly the ideal weapon but better than nothing. Slowly I inched the door open, the jug in my hand and ready. “Yes?” I said.

  “Molly, my darling, aren’t you going to let me in?” said a peeved voice that I recognized, and there stood Ryan O’Hare, dressed in a frilly white shirt and a black velvet jacket that was topped with a crimson opera cape. “Holy Mother of God,” he said, reverting to Irishness as he did when upset. “Just look at you.”

  “Ryan.” I felt tears welling into my eyes again. “I’m so glad to see you. Do come in. Excuse the way I look. Our house…”

  “I know. I just met your husband on his way out. What a shock. I hardly recognized him. I took him for a chimney sweep. I gather someone lobbed a bomb in your direction and the house went up in flames. Thank God you’re all alive.”

  “Not all.” I gulped back a sob. “Our little servant girl, Aggie. She was trying to save Liam and she was killed. I feel terrible.”

  “My dear darling, Molly, you need a strong drink,” he said. “You’re shaking. And some dry clothes.”

  “I don’t have any dry clothes,” I said. “I don’t have any clothes at all. It’s all gone. Everything.”

  “Then we must remedy that. Stay there. Don’t move.” He undid his cape and draped it around my shoulders. “That should hold you until I come back.” He went out and soon returned. “Here we are. These should be sufficient for tonight,” he said. He held out emerald green silk pajamas, a black silk robe, slippers. “Give me time and I’ll see what you can wear tomorrow. I’ve always thought you’d look stunning in breeches.” He glanced down at Liam who had now, miraculously, fallen asleep. “I’m afraid I don’t keep a handy supply of infant’s clothes, never having had the need, thank God, but I think I have a traveling rug somewhere that you could use as swaddling clothes, or whatever
they do to infants.”

  I laughed in spite of myself. “Ryan, you’re too kind. Thank you.”

  “Well, go ahead. Put them on. You’ll get pneumonia if you wait any longer.”

  “I can’t change my clothes with you here.”

  He laughed, that delightfully wicked laugh that was so infectious. “My darling, as if you’re in any danger from moi. Besides, I’m a theater person. I’ve seen it all. So go ahead and strip off, woman. There. If it makes you feel better, I’ll look the other way.” He turned his back and stared out of the window.

  Gratefully I peeled off the damp and blackened garments. I was horrified at the ripped and singed fabric and now was aware of burns and scrapes on my body. I’d have liked to sponge myself down with hot water, but I certainly wasn’t going to do that with Ryan watching me. Instead I slipped into the heavenly softness of those pajamas and then put on the robe. Ryan turned back so swiftly that I realized he must have been watching me in the dressing table mirror.

  “You look divine, my darling,” he said. “It’s one of those moments when I wish I was the other way inclined so that I could ravish you before your husband returned.”

  I laughed again. He smiled too. “That’s better. Now you look more like the Molly I know and love, the Molly who isn’t afraid of anything.”

  “It’s easy not to be afraid when you don’t have a husband and child to fear for,” I said. “When Daniel was lying unconscious and I knew my baby was up in that inferno I thought I’d die of fright.”

  “All’s well that ends well,” Ryan said. “You have all three come through unharmed. Houses can be mended. New clothes and furnishing can be bought.…”

  “On a policeman’s salary?” I said, already lamenting all of those precious little items I had acquired as wedding presents that would now never be replaced. “And where will we live until they can fix the house? If they can fix the house?”

  There was a tap at the door and a voice said, “Room service, madame.” Ryan went to the door and a young man came in, carrying a tray. If he thought it questionable that another man was in my room and I was now wearing green silk pajamas, he didn’t let his face show it. He merely put the tray on the bedside table, gave a little bow, and left. I realized I should have tipped him but of course I had no money. No purse, no comb … before despair could overwhelm me, Ryan had already picked up a steaming mug of hot rum. “Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.”

  I took a sip, feeling the warmth spreading through my chilled limbs.

  “There you are. Now you’re looking almost human again. Almost human but horribly dirty. Wait a second.” He bustled across the room and returned with a wet washcloth with which he proceeded to dab gently at my face. “And your hair is singed too,” he said. “What a mess. My poor darling. Who could have done such a dastardly deed? Foreign anarchists? But who would want to assassinate Daniel?”

  “It’s foreigners all right,” I said, “but Daniel thinks it’s the new Italian gang, the Cosa Nostra.”

  “My dear, I’ve heard about them. Utterly ruthless. What has Daniel done to upset them?”

  “Arrested their leader, I gather. He’s had orders to shut them down. He feared they would retaliate and now they have.” I felt tears close to the surface again and looked away, not wanting him to see me cry.

  Ryan, more sensitive than most men, picked up a ham sandwich and waved it in front of my face. “Eat,” he said. “You’ll feel better. And finish that toddy too.”

  I did as he commanded, mechanically chewing at the bread, although it was hard to swallow.

  “That’s my girl,” he said, stroking my cheek. “Now, you remember my former friend Fritz Birnbaum, the German doctor, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do,” I said.

  “Much as I find it repugnant, having not separated on the best of terms, I will swallow my pride and see if he’s in his rooms. I think a doctor should take a look at you and maybe give you a sedative or a shot of morphine or something.”

  “I don’t want a sedative,” I said. “I want to be awake when Daniel returns. How could I sleep knowing that he’s out there and in danger?”

  “And your injuries? Don’t they need treating?”

  “I don’t think there’s much wrong with me,” I said. “A nasty bump on the back of my head and a few cuts and bruises, otherwise I’m fine.”

  “I think you should let a doctor examine you, just in case. And what about your baby there? Is he definitely all right?”

  Until now it hadn’t crossed my mind that anything could be wrong with Liam. Daniel had said he’d been found quite unharmed. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough. I turned him over and opened his blanket to examine his chubby little limbs. He awoke, looked at me, and gave a sleepy smile. As I bent to kiss him his eyelids fluttered closed again. I heaved a sigh of relief.

  “He looks perfect. Thank you, Ryan. You’ve been very kind.”

  “Then you should try to sleep.”

  “I can’t see myself falling asleep tonight.”

  “I have some divine cocaine in my room. One little sniff of that and you’ll feel marvelous. I always take it when I’m tense. Or opium? I’m sure I know someone who can find you some opium. They say it gives lovely dreams.”

  I had to laugh again and put my hand on his. “Ryan, stop, please. No, thank you. I don’t think my husband would want to come home and find his wife drugged. Besides I want to stay awake to protect Liam.”

  “I’ll stay with you, if you like, and keep guard.”

  I nodded. “Would you? I’d like that.”

  I changed Liam’s wet diaper, substituting one of the hand towels from the room, then tucked us both under the covers. Ryan sat on the bed beside me and began to hum softly. The comforting warmth of the blankets and eiderdown began to work. In spite of myself I felt my limbs becoming heavy.

  Four

  “What the devil is going on here?” A deep voice cut through my slumber. I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room, wondering for a moment where I was. Daniel stood over me, cleaned up considerably since I saw him last, with a plaster over the cut on his head, and now wearing his police uniform.

  “Daniel, you’re back,” I said as memory returned. “Thank the good Lord.”

  “And come back to find a strange man in my bed?” he demanded.

  I shifted my gaze to see Ryan’s dark hair peeking from under the counterpane, on the other side of Liam’s remarkably similar dark curls.

  “Darling, that’s not a strange man. It’s Ryan.”

  At the commotion Ryan woke up and raised bleary eyes to us.

  “Captain Sullivan. You’ve returned. Thank God for that. Molly was so worried. She was afraid to be alone so I said I’d keep watch for her.”

  “A fine job you were doing at keeping watch,” Daniel said, his expression softening a little.

  “I was only snoozing. If danger had arisen, trust me I’d have been on my feet and ready to defend her in an instant,” Ryan said, getting out of bed and looking somewhat sheepish. “Well, now that you’re back safe and sound, I’ll just toddle off to my own abode and leave you to it. And get some decent shut-eye. That child of yours kicks like a mule.”

  “Ryan,” I called after him as he made for the door. “Thank you so much, for everything. I don’t think I could have made it through the evening without you.”

  He turned back and blew me a kiss. “Call upon me anytime. I’m always at your service, you know that.”

  “You might have been a little more gracious,” I said as the door closed behind Ryan. “He was so kind, Daniel. He brought me down his own pajamas and robe. He forced me to eat and drink something, then he sat on the bed beside me until I fell asleep. He also made me laugh. I was in a terrible state when you left. I’d never have slept a wink otherwise.”

  “I’m sorry,” Daniel said gruffly. “But how do you think I felt coming here after being out all night and the first thing I see is another man’s head next to my wif
e.”

  “Daniel Sullivan, sometimes you are absurd,” I snapped. “Let me give you a little hint—if I was ever going to go looking for a little excitement, it wouldn’t be the night after my family was nearly killed by a bomb. And I wouldn’t invite him to share a bed with my young son either.”

  “Oh, Molly.” Daniel sank onto the bed beside me. He wrapped his arms around me in a fierce embrace. “I’ve had a hell of a night. And I don’t think there’s one part of me that doesn’t hurt.”

  “I’m sorry, my darling,” I said, stroking back his unruly mop of curls. “Have you had your injuries seen to by a doctor?”

  “No time. Not necessary,” he said shortly.

  “And did you find the culprit?”

  “What do you think? It wasn’t late. There were plenty of people still around on Greenwich Avenue, along with all the students in Washington Square. The fellow would only have had to have hightailed it from a completely deserted Patchin Place and then he’d have blended in with the crowd.” He sighed. “No. Nobody saw anything. We’ve nothing to go on. But we did find a paving stone that had been thrown through our front parlor window, thus confirming my suspicions. Someone broke the glass then hurled some kind of primitive bomb inside.”

  “And Aggie?” I asked. “Did they find her body?”

  “Yes. Badly charred, I’m afraid. Do you know of any next of kin who should be notified?”

  “Next of kin? They turned her out when they knew she was pregnant, Daniel. They told her never to come back, that she was no longer their daughter.”

  “All the same, officially…” he began.

  I shook my head. “I know the family had a small farm somewhere in the Hudson Valley. More than that I can’t tell you.” Then I cleared my throat, hardly daring to ask the next question that was going through my mind. “And our house? Is it completely destroyed? Everything gone?”