by Rhys Bowen
He nodded. “Pretty much. It’s still smoldering in there so I didn’t get a chance to look too closely, but I’d be surprised if there was anything—” He’d started the sentence sounding so matter-of-fact but then his voice cracked and I realized how deeply he too felt about what had happened to us.
“What will we do?” I asked, the bleak despair coming to the surface. “Where will we go?”
“We’ll be all right.” Daniel stroked back my singed hair from my cheek. “I promise we’ll be all right. The commissioner has said that there would be money coming and the department would take care of us. Whether that means they’ll rebuild our house for us, or just give us enough to get by for the present, I can’t say. I didn’t like to press too much. But for now my main concern is to make sure that you are safe. I want you out of the city, far away from here.” He paused, then frowned. “You can go up to my mother to start with. I don’t want to put her in danger in the long run but…”
“Daniel,” I interrupted. “She’s gone, remember. On her trip out West.”
“She’s already left?”
I nodded. “Her letter said, ‘By the time you read this I shall be gone.” She said she didn’t tell us before because she was sure you’d try to dissuade her and she was determined to take her chance to have one big adventure in her life.”
“She can’t have got too far. We’ll locate her and bring her back.”
“No, Daniel. Let’s not spoil her one big adventure.”
Daniel gave a testy sigh. “No matter. You can go to the house. Martha will take care of you.”
“No, that won’t work either. Martha has closed up the house and gone to her ailing mother. There’s nobody there.”
“Then you can stay in the house alone, surely. The hired man will have a key…”
“I suppose so,” I said, thinking of being in that remote house alone with Liam, wondering and worrying about Daniel every moment. “But you won’t be with me, will you? I’ll be all alone.”
“You’ll be safe enough there, at least for the present. The hired man lives on the property, doesn’t he? He’ll keep an eye on you.”
“That’s not the point,” I retorted. “I want to be with you, Daniel. I’ll worry myself sick about you if we’re apart.”
“I have to stay on the job. I can’t leave right now, you must see that. I’m sure Sergeant O’Halloran will let me stay at his place. But if you really will be too worried up in Westchester all alone, I’ll find somewhere for you to go for the time being—somewhere far enough away where those bully boys of the Italian gang can’t track us down immediately.”
I put my hand over his. “Then I’ll stay at Sergeant O’Halloran’s with you. I don’t want to leave you, Daniel, especially not at a time like this.”
He took my face in his hands. “Don’t you understand? I want you well away from the city, just in case these people try again. I can’t take the risk that something will happen to you. I’d much rather track down my mother and ask her to come home, but you may be right. It is remote and I’m not even sure that Westchester is sufficiently removed…” he broke off, frowning. Then he said, “Of course. Why didn’t we think of it before?”
“Think of what?” I asked.
He wagged a finger at me in an animated fashion. “Your friends in Paris. They’ve invited you enough times. You can go to them.”
“To Paris, Daniel? Don’t be absurd. I only mentioned it to you as a joke.”
“But it’s perfect, don’t you see. You’ll be safely out of harm’s way.”
“But the fare to Paris…”
“… will be paid from police coffers, I’ve no doubt.”
The desire to go to Paris and see Gus and Sid wrestled with my worry over Daniel. “I couldn’t leave you,” I said. “You need your wife and son with you at a horrible time like this.”
His hand was still resting on my cheek. “I don’t want to be without you either, but you must see this is the best course of action. The only course of action, Molly. If you remain in New York City you’ll be on my mind all the time. I’ll be constantly worrying that something terrible will happen to you and Liam. If you’re safely with friends halfway across the world then I can do my job properly.”
“I suppose so,” I said reluctantly.
He got to his feet. “Then it’s settled. We’ll send a cable to your friends. First thing tomorrow morning we’ll try and book passage on the next boat that’s sailing for France. In the meantime I’ll find a place for you to stay.”
“And I’ll need to find some clothes and toiletries for Liam and me. We have nothing, but exactly how I’m supposed to pay for it…” I broke off, tears welling up again at the hopelessness of our situation.
“We can certainly dip into our small savings,” Daniel said. “But I’m pretty sure I can make the commissioner take care of us, given that this whole fiasco with the Cosa Nostra was his idea when everyone in the police force warned him against proceeding with it. Now, let me get a few minutes of sleep and I’m sure we’ll sort everything out in the morning.”
He took off his uniform and I gasped. His undershirt was scorched and torn beneath his jacket and his body liberally decorated with cuts, bruises, and burns. A lump came into my throat.
“Daniel, you poor thing. No wonder you’re hurting so much. And I’ve no salve to put on your wounds.”
“I’ll survive, I expect,” he said, flopping down on the bed next to Liam. “A little sleep will be a great restorative.”
“At least let me clean you up a little.” I took the washcloth from the washingstand, dipped it in water, and began to sponge grime from his various wounds. He winced and grunted as I inadvertently touched a burn or a bad cut. “You must go to a doctor with these. They could turn septic.”
“I’ve had worse.” Daniel grinned.
“Would you like Ryan’s pajamas to sleep in? They’re wonderfully soft.”
Daniel snorted. “It would take more of an accident than this before I slept in emerald green silk pajamas, especially belonging to a creature like Ryan O’Hare,” he said.
“He can’t help what he is, Daniel,” I replied gently. “And he is wonderfully kind. I’d never have made it through the night without him.”
“All right, enough said. I’ll give him his due,” Daniel muttered. “Now for God’s sake, woman, just let me sleep.” He pulled up the covers, snuggling down next to a still-sleeping Liam.
“Would you like anything to eat or drink first?” I asked, but he was already asleep.
“Well, Miss Vanessa, it seems that you were wrong,” I said as I slid back into my side of the bed without waking my sleeping men. “It looks as if Molly Murphy is going to Paris after all.”
Five
Daniel departed again at first light. By the time he returned I had had some breakfast and fed Liam who was playing quite happily crawling around a strange room, hauling himself upright to peer out through the window at carriages passing below.
Daniel looked quite pleased with himself when he announced that a place had been found for me. One of his lieutenants had a sister who had married well and now lived comfortably in a brownstone in the East Fifties. She had a small child of her own and would be happy to take me in until passage could be arranged for me.
“I’ve inquired at a shipping agency,” Daniel said “and there is a Cunard ship sailing in a couple of days, bound for Cherbourg by way of Southampton. I’ve asked them to see if there are any cabins available.”
“No, not an English line,” I said so vehemently that he recoiled in surprise.
“What do you have against them? Was it a Cunard ship on which you sailed to America in uncomfortable circumstances? You’ll not be traveling steerage I promise you.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s an English ship, Daniel. You must realize that my brothers were both known terrorists in the eyes of the English, although we Irish would call them fighters for freedom.”
I realized as I spoke tha
t I had probably never told him the full details of my time in Dublin. Our relationship wasn’t on the firmest of ground at that point and Daniel had just been released from prison. I didn’t want to tell him too much, even now, knowing that he might well agree with the English authorities.
“Come, Molly. Nobody is going to blame you for the reckless acts of your brothers,” he said gently, but I shook my head. “You don’t know it all, Daniel. I was involved in that failed prison break attempt that cost my brother Joseph his life. I had to flee from Ireland. I’m probably still a wanted person in the eyes of the English. I can’t risk being on an English ship and one that would call at Southampton. You’re worried for my life here. I’d be equally worried on that boat.”
“You’d be traveling as Mrs. Daniel Sullivan,” he said. “I don’t see why they would ever put two and two together, but I take your point. I’m sure there will be a ship of the French Line departing soon enough and until then you can lie low in an area where we hope the gang will never think of looking for you.”
“How can I even leave this room?” I demanded, looking down at my current attire. “I can hardly go through the city dressed in silk pajamas.”
“All being taken care of even as we speak.” Daniel lifted Liam into his arms, swinging him into the air and making him squeal with delight. “I met your friend Mrs. Goodwin just as she was going off duty after a night shift. She heard about what happened and offered to help. She’ll be coming around later with clothes for you and she’s going to escort you to the house where you’ll be staying.”
“How kind of her,” I said. “Especially since she’s been working all night and must be exhausted.” Mrs. Goodwin was one of two female detectives on the New York police force. She had started out as a matron, supervising inmates, but had been so successful in undercover assignments that she was now a full-fledged detective. I had met her when Daniel was wrongly imprisoned and she had been helpful to me on several occasions since. “But did you mention Liam to her? He doesn’t even have a clean nappy.”
“She’s a woman, Molly. I expect she’s thought of that too,” Daniel said, putting his son down hastily as he detected the wet towel now on Liam’s nether regions. He went over to the tray that was still on the dresser. “I could do with some fresh coffee,” he said, picking up the last remaining piece of cold toast and eating it greedily. “I haven’t eaten a thing all night.”
“Let me send down for some for you.” I went over to the bellpull. He shook his head. “Too much to do. I’ll have one of the constables bring me in a sandwich. I have to go back immediately. I’ve a vehicle waiting. I only came to see if you were all right and to let you know what’s happening. You will be careful, won’t you? I think you’ll be quite safe here. You’re registered under a false name and the desk clerk knows, but just in case don’t open your door to anyone you don’t know.”
At that moment there was a noise outside and the door handle began to move. Daniel leaped across the room and wrenched it open. “Holy Mother of God,” said a shocked voice outside. “You gave me quite a fright, Captain Sullivan.”
“Oh, it’s you again, O’Hare,” Daniel said in a clipped voice. “What do you want now?”
“Such a warm greeting, it brings tears to my Irish eyes,” Ryan said, coming into the room past Daniel. “As to what I want—first I wanted to see how Molly was this morning and if there was anything I could do to keep her happy. And second I’ve rummaged through my things and brought over some clothes she might wear until she has some of her own. I told her she’d look stunning in britches.”
“My wife will not be wearing britches,” Daniel said curtly. “And thank you for your offer. It was most kind, but I have a woman police officer coming over shortly with some suitable new clothing.”
“Then ‘all’s well that ends well,’ as we say in theater,” Ryan said, giving me a breezy smile. “If you need company, Molly, you only have to summon me. I’m dying to read you a scene from my new play. So funny I have to chuckle every time I read it. Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Of course we’ll have problems with the fig leaves and the censors…”
“I must be leaving,” Daniel interrupted. “And Mrs. Sullivan will be leaving soon as well.”
“Where are you going, Molly, my love?” Ryan asked.
“I’m afraid that has to stay a secret,” Daniel said before I could answer. “One attempt has been made on my wife’s life. I can’t risk a second. The object is to get her away from the city as quickly as possible. And the fewer people who know of her whereabouts the better.” He tried to usher Ryan from the room with him, but Ryan refused to be ushered and dodged nimbly to my side.
“I think I’ll stay and watch over you until you are transported away,” Ryan said.
Daniel sighed. “I’ll come to check on you later today, when you are settled in,” he said. “Take care of yourself.”
“More to the point you take care of yourself, Daniel Sullivan,” I went over to give him a kiss. “You’re the one in danger, not me.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise,” he said, managed a grim smile, and left.
Ryan stayed with me, keeping Liam so entertained with his antics and silliness that I managed to forget my own fears and laugh with him. Then the stunt would be over and the fear would creep back. If a gang wanted to finish off Daniel it would be so easy. They could be waiting for him around any corner in the city; they could be leaning from an upstairs window as he walked past and throw another bomb at him.… How could I possibly bear to be parted from him? Then I told myself that I would bear it because it had to be borne. If Liam and I were safe then that was one less thing for Daniel to worry about and therefore he could pay full attention to taking care of himself.
After a while Ryan’s exaggerated cheerfulness began to wear thin on both of us and we were both relieved when Mrs. Goodwin arrived. There was no sign of tiredness on her unlined, plain face made even plainer by the severe bun she wore. Ryan took one look at the high-collared navy blue uniform she wore and beat a hasty retreat. He only liked to surround himself with objects of beauty and couldn’t abide plain women.
“Call upon me anytime, Molly dearest,” he said as he blew me a kiss.
Mrs. Goodwin looked after him with interest. “What an extraordinary man,” she said and I realized that normal people were startled by Ryan’s flamboyant attire—today he was wearing his Lord Byron lace shirt and velvet trousers.
“Ryan O’Hare, the Irish playwright,” I said. “An old friend who has been so kind to me and taken good care of us.”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “The one who writes those controversial plays. Thrown out of England, wasn’t he?”
I laughed. “Yes, he was. But it’s so good of you to come here, especially after working all night.”
She smiled, the smile softening the severe face. “Actually I didn’t have too bad a time of it. I was in a hotel, waiting for a meeting of crooks that never happened. So I spent the night in a soft armchair with a drink at my side.” She came over to me. “But you, my poor dear girl. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news. Shocking. Unforgivable. You’d have thought that these Italians at least thought the family sacred. Well, you all survived. That’s the main thing.”
“My poor little servant girl wasn’t so lucky,” I said. “She died trying to save my boy.” And I heard my voice crack as I said it. “I feel so awful.”
“Nothing you could have done,” she said. “Our job is now to make sure you and your child are safely far away. Here you are.” She put a parcel on the bed. “I popped into Stewart’s department store on my way here and bought you necessities. I wasn’t quite sure of your size but I think they’ll do well enough for the moment.”
I opened the string around the package and found a plain white shirtwaist and dark blue cotton skirt as well as undergarments, petticoat, hose. They were almost as unattractive as the uniform Mrs. Goodwin was wearing, but I knew she meant well and they were certainly an improvemen
t on the blackened, tattered remnants of my own clothing. And, mercy of mercies, she had added some strips of toweling, saying as I saw them, “I wasn’t quite sure how big your baby was, or even what babies wear, but I do know they get through a lot of diapers, so I thought these might keep you going.”
I thanked her profusely, went to the bathroom down the hall to wash and change and gave Liam a bath at the same time. His clothes were soiled but they would have to do until … I broke off that sentence. Until what? It was frightening to realize, for the first time since I fled from Ireland and arrived, penniless and a fugitive in this country, that I couldn’t envision a future. But when I emerged—washed, dressed in clean clothes, and with a relatively clean baby in my arms—I was determined not to let Mrs. Goodwin see my worry. My family had been though hell and survived. It would work out one way or another.
Six
“You stay here,” Mrs. Goodwin said as we prepared to leave. “I’ll go and hail a hansom cab for us. I don’t want you to be seen loitering on the street. We might be followed.”
I did as she said, waiting in the shadows of the foyer beside a large potted palm until she returned and swept us rapidly into a waiting cab. As we crossed Washington Square I called out suddenly, “Wait. I must see my house first.”
“My dear, do you think that’s wise?” Mrs. Goodwin put a warning hand on my arm.
I nodded. “I have to see for myself. I have to know.”
“Very well. Driver,” she leaned up to him, “take us first to Patchin Place.”
“I can’t get a cab up there. Too narrow for the horse and he don’t like backin’ up,” the driver said testily.
“Then go as far as you can,” she said. He looked at her police uniform and didn’t argue. There was a police constable standing guard at the entrance to Patchin Place. He was about to stop us but recognized either me or Mrs. Goodwin. The rest of the backwater was deserted except for another constable standing guard over what must have once been my home.
