Murder on Pleasant Avenue

by Victoria Thompson

  “I didn’t, I swear!” he cried, but he wasn’t very convincing.

  “Did you see her somehow?” Gino asked. “Did you see her leaving the settlement house?”

  “Of course he did,” Frank said. “His desk overlooks the street. He would’ve been sitting there late that night, trying to work because he couldn’t sleep. He was still too upset after his conversation with Miss Harding and what she’d told him.”

  “No,” he protested weakly, but all the color had drained from his face.

  “What did you think when you saw her leaving?” Frank asked brutally. “Did you know where she was going?”

  “I thought she was running away,” he cried in despair. “She had a bag with her, a Gladstone bag. I thought she’d packed her things and was going home.”

  “And you just let her leave?” Gino scoffed.

  “No, of course not! I went after her. It wasn’t safe for her to be out alone that late. I tried to catch up to her, but then I realized she wasn’t going to the train station. She was going the wrong way, so I just followed her.”

  “To protect her,” Frank suggested.

  He nodded. “Yes, to protect her.”

  “What did you think when she went into that tenement?” Gino asked.

  “I thought she must know someone there, a friend she could stay with.”

  “And did you follow her in?” Frank asked.

  “Of course. I had to be sure she was safe. What if her friend wasn’t home? What if they turned her away?”

  “And did you hear anything? Or see anything?”

  His face twisted in anguish.

  “You did, didn’t you?” Gino said. “What was it? An argument?”

  “Just Jane’s voice. Not the words, but she was . . . angry.”

  Gino cast Frank a look of disgust. “None of the neighbors would admit to me that they heard anything that night.”

  “Didn’t you go up to see what was happening?” Frank asked McWilliam.

  “I started to, but then Jane came running out of the flat. I was still downstairs and she ran right past me. She didn’t even see me in the dark.”

  He covered his face with both hands, and they waited while he composed himself.

  “Did you go upstairs to see what had happened?” Frank asked as gently as he could.

  “No, why should I? All I knew was Jane had argued with someone and left. I went after her. I told you, it wasn’t safe for her, alone in the streets. I saw that she made it back to the settlement house. I had no idea what had happened at that flat until the next day.”

  “But you suspected Jane was the one who had stabbed Esposito,” Gino guessed.

  “I . . . I knew it was possible, but no one else knew Jane had been there. If the police found out, they’d believe she killed him, and I didn’t think she should be blamed for it, not after what he’d done to her. He deserved that and more, so I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “And then Maeve let you know that we suspected her,” Gino said.

  Now McWilliam was desperate in a different way, desperate to make them understand what he had to do. “I couldn’t let her be accused. It would ruin her life if it became known what had happened to her, even if she wasn’t prosecuted for murder. The shame of it, she would never be able to hold her head up again. I couldn’t allow it.”

  “So you decided to sacrifice yourself,” Gino said. His tone said how foolish he thought that decision had been.

  “And I haven’t changed my mind. If you tell anyone what I said today, I’ll call you a liar.”

  The three men sat in silence while McWilliam thought he had settled everything, Gino waited to see how Frank would convince him otherwise, and Frank chose his next words very carefully.

  “Mr. McWilliam, did you know that Esposito had given Jane a diamond necklace?” Frank asked.

  From the look on his face, he hadn’t. “Who told you that?” he demanded.

  “It doesn’t matter. He did, and we know she still has it. Men don’t give diamonds to women they kidnap.”

  “What are you saying? I won’t sit here and listen to you insult Miss Harding.”

  “You’re right, it’s not easy to hear, is it?”

  “And I won’t hear it. It’s a vicious lie.”

  “Her cousin Lisa told my wife about the necklace.”

  McWilliam shook his head but there was no force behind it.

  “We think Miss Harding went to Esposito in the first place of her own free will,” Gino said, “and that she was never kidnapped.”

  “But she ran away from him,” McWilliam said. “She was . . . devastated. And she said . . . she told me . . .” He gestured helplessly.

  “She told you what she wanted people to believe,” Frank said. “We don’t know what happened between them or why she left him. Lovers’ quarrel, maybe.”

  “Don’t say that!”

  Frank shrugged in apology. “We also don’t know why she went back the next night, but she wouldn’t have gone back to a man she feared, would she?”

  McWilliam shook his head again, this time in despair.

  “Mr. McWilliam,” Frank said as firmly as he could, “you need to reconsider this noble gesture you are making on Miss Harding’s behalf, because it is entirely possible that she doesn’t deserve it.”

  Sarah, who had probably been listening and must have realized McWilliam was at the end of his tether, chose this moment to appear in the doorway and invite them in to lunch.

  McWilliam followed them meekly and ate hardly a bite. Conversation was limited to the weather and the upcoming Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. McWilliam apparently had no opinion on who should be nominated and no one pressed him. President McKinley would certainly be the party’s choice for a second term, but the current vice president had died recently and rather unexpectedly, so speculation was running high about who would be chosen for that position. Frank and Gino and even Sarah managed to make the discussion last through the end of the meal.

  “Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Malloy,” McWilliam said as they rose from the table. “I shouldn’t impose on you any longer, however.”

  “But where will you go, Mr. McWilliam?” Sarah said with obvious concern. She probably really did care, too.

  “I . . . I’m sure I can find a hotel.”

  “You aren’t in any condition to be on your own. Why don’t you stay with us for a day or two, until you’ve had time to make some plans?”

  “I couldn’t possibly . . .”

  “Of course you can. Gino has been staying with us for a week, and he’s decided to move back home today. You can have the room he’s been using. In fact, Gino, why don’t you take him up there now. He looks like he could use some rest. He’s been through quite a lot the past few days. Just make yourself comfortable, Mr. McWilliam. We’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”

  Before he could protest, Gino had collected McWilliam’s suitcase from the front hall and started up the stairs. It only took a little more encouragement for him to follow.

  “That poor man,” Sarah said when they were out of sight.

  “He has a lot to consider, but I think we convinced him he’s been wrong about Jane Harding.”

  “Do you think so? I’m just worried he’ll be so devastated by her betrayal that he won’t even want to clear his name. Maybe the thought of going to prison is appealing to him right now.”

  “I suppose I should mention that he might end up in the electric chair instead,” Frank said, only half joking. “That would probably convince him.”

  “What do we do about the charges against him, though? Even if we convince Mr. McWilliam to tell the truth, that he saw Jane leave the settlement house and followed her to Pleasant Avenue, he didn’t actually see her kill Esposito. He doesn’t know for sure that Esposito was dead wh
en she left, and we don’t have any proof she was even there except for his word. All she has to do is deny the whole thing and say he’s lying to protect himself.”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t seem likely that the district attorney will drop the charges against him just because he changed his story. And what about Mrs. Esposito? Did Jane kill her, too? And why?”

  “At least Jane is someone Mrs. Esposito might have admitted to her home,” Sarah said with a frown.

  “And served tea to,” Frank added.

  “And poison is a woman’s weapon, as they say.”

  “I don’t know. If we could only get Jane to confess . . .”

  “She did agree to speak with Mr. McWilliam, or at least I think she did. Maybe if he tells her he followed her that night, she’ll be frightened and admit what she did.”

  “Or at least tell us what really happened,” Frank said. “It’s worth a try, I suppose.”

  “She said she wouldn’t see him if he went to the Princes’ home, though, and she won’t go back to the settlement house, but maybe she’ll come here.”

  “If we tell McWilliam that she’s coming here to see him, he’ll probably stay.”

  “I’ll send Lisa Prince a telegram. This isn’t something I want to arrange on the telephone.”

  Frank nodded. “Good. Maybe when McWilliam sees Jane again, knowing what he now knows, he’ll come to his senses.”

  XIV

  Gino had brought down his own bag after showing McWilliam to his room, and he decided to use the motorcar to return to his parents’ house that afternoon and inform them he was moving back in.

  “I hope they haven’t rented out my bed while I was gone,” he joked.

  “I’m sure your mother will be thrilled to have you back,” Sarah said, “although it will be strange not having you here with us all the time.”

  “I know,” he agreed. “I’ll miss Maeve and her, uh, nightly lectures.”

  “She’ll miss giving them to you, I’m sure,” Sarah said knowingly.

  Malloy decided to go along with Gino since there was nothing more to be done on the case until they heard back from Mrs. Prince. They sent Sarah’s telegram to Lisa Prince on the way.

  Sarah stayed home in case Mr. McWilliam needed anything or decided again that he should leave and needed to be talked out of it once more. But she heard nothing from him. She hoped he was sleeping or at least resting. He looked as if he hadn’t done much of either recently.

  After a quiet afternoon, Maeve returned with Catherine, and Mrs. Malloy returned with Brian.

  “I’m afraid Gino is going home,” Sarah told them, signing the words for Brian’s benefit. Everyone groaned in disappointment except Maeve, who just frowned. “He and Papa took Gino’s things over in the motorcar, but they’ll be back for supper. And we have a new guest.”

  “Who is it?” Maeve demanded in amazement.

  “Mr. McWilliam,” Sarah replied, enjoying her and Mother Malloy’s surprise. “He, uh, had to leave the settlement house and didn’t really have anywhere else to go.”

  “Won’t his parents take him in?” Mother Malloy asked with obvious disapproval.

  Sarah smiled, so the children wouldn’t be alarmed. “They don’t yet know about his current situation, so Malloy invited him to stay with us for a few days, until he can make other arrangements.”

  “Or until we can clear up his current situation,” Maeve said with a grin. “Come along and let’s get a snack,” she added to the children, making the sign for “cookie.”

  They were only too happy to race her to the kitchen.

  “I suppose you’ll want me to watch the children while you talk to Maeve,” Mother Malloy said.

  “If you don’t mind,” Sarah said. “There are some new developments she should know about with Mr. McWilliam in the house.”

  “Did that hussy kill the gangster after all?”

  “It’s looking more and more likely, although we may never prove it.”

  “That would be a shame.”

  It certainly would, if Mr. McWilliam ended up taking the blame.

  Mother Malloy removed her hat and gloves and followed the children into the kitchen. A few minutes later Maeve returned.

  “What on earth happened?”

  “Malloy found out Mr. McWilliam had gotten out on bail and returned to the settlement, so they . . . Well, it’s a long story. Come into the parlor where the children can’t hear us.”

  They settled in and Sarah told her everything she could remember about their conversation with McWilliam.

  “Why didn’t he go up to the flat?” Maeve lamented. “If he’d seen Esposito dead, then he would’ve known she did it.”

  “And he probably would have confessed sooner and we never would have known Jane did it at all.”

  “And Mrs. Esposito would still be alive, although I still can’t see any reason for her to be killed by anyone.”

  “I know. The more we learn about this, the more confusing it becomes.”

  They both looked up when they heard the front door open.

  “We’re in the parlor,” Sarah called, and Malloy and Gino came in.

  “I thought you went home,” Maeve said to Gino as the two men took seats.

  “That’s a fine greeting. I did go home, but I had to bring the motor back.”

  She frowned at Malloy. “I thought you were going to learn how to drive that thing, too.”

  “I can drive it,” he claimed.

  “If he has to,” Sarah said.

  “And as long as Gino is around, I don’t have to. Has Sarah told you everything we found out today?”

  “I think I did,” Sarah said.

  “What I still don’t understand is why Jane went back to the flat that night,” Maeve said.

  “I don’t understand that either,” Sarah said. “If Esposito had somehow convinced her to join him at the flat in the first place—”

  “Seduced her, you mean,” Maeve said.

  “Yes, seduced her to come and stay with him there—”

  “To become his mistress, in other words,” Malloy said.

  “Yes, then that explains why she was there originally, but obviously something happened that upset her and caused her to leave him. She was definitely in a state when she returned to the settlement house.”

  “So upset that we believed she had been kidnapped and escaped,” Maeve reminded them.

  “That’s right,” Sarah said. “So maybe she had some sort of argument with Esposito and changed her mind about him.”

  “Whatever happened, she returned to the settlement, probably because she didn’t know where else to go,” Maeve said.

  “Then I went to her room and got her to open the door,” Sarah said.

  “And she told you she’d been kidnapped and—”

  “Wait a minute.”

  Everyone turned to Sarah in surprise.

  “What is it?” Malloy asked.

  “I’m trying to remember exactly what she did say.”

  They waited while she thought. Finally, she said, “I think I was the one who said she’d been kidnapped.”

  “What?” they all cried in unison.

  “It’s true. I just realized. She was very upset and didn’t want to speak to anyone and wouldn’t open her door. I thought . . . Well, we all thought she was just upset from her ordeal and too embarrassed to show her face, so I wanted to reassure her. I told her no one knew she’d been kidnapped, that Mr. McWilliam had kept it a secret to protect her reputation. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but something like that, so she’d open the door and talk to me.”

  “So she never claimed she was kidnapped?” Gino marveled.

  “Not that I remember, but she didn’t contradict me either.”

  “Of course she didn’t,” Maeve
said. “She’d run off with a man and she had no idea how she was going to explain her absence and then you gave her the perfect excuse.”

  “I certainly didn’t mean to,” Sarah said, “but Maeve is probably right.”

  “I love being right,” Maeve informed them. Gino made a rude noise.

  “So then what happened after you told her you knew about the kidnapping?” Malloy asked.

  “She said she couldn’t stay at the settlement any longer. I wasn’t surprised, I have to admit, and she said she was going to ask her cousin Lisa to take her in for a few days. She asked me to mail the letter to Lisa.”

  “But you delivered it in person instead,” Malloy said.

  “That’s right, so Lisa Prince went to get Jane the very next day.”

  “And in the meantime, she told McWilliam that she had been kidnapped and assaulted and could never marry him and she was leaving the settlement to stay with Lisa,” Malloy said.

  “Why would she tell him all that, though?” Gino asked. “Wasn’t just being kidnapped enough?”

  “I think she wanted to make sure he wouldn’t want her anymore,” Sarah said. “She never wanted to marry him, and this was a chance to cool his desire for her once and for all.”

  “Except it didn’t, because he’s such a good man,” Maeve said. “But that still doesn’t explain why she left the settlement house that night and went back to the flat.”

  “McWilliam thought at first that she was just going home,” Gino said.

  “Why did he think that?” Maeve asked.

  “Because she was carrying a bag. Obviously, she’d packed up her clothes and was going someplace. He thought it was back to Saratoga Springs.”

  “But she was actually going back to the flat, so why did she pack a bag for that?” Maeve asked. “Did she plan to make up with Esposito and stay, so she was taking all her clothes with her this time?”

  “She certainly hadn’t taken anything with her the first time,” Sarah said. “That’s what made everyone think she’d been kidnapped.”

  “Even if she was going back to him, she didn’t need to take her clothes with her,” Malloy said.