This was something Lisa could understand. “I never thought of that! I’ll check right away.” She jumped up and went to the pantry. Reaching up to the top shelf, she pulled down a small wooden box that contained an assortment of patent medicine bottles and started sorting through it. “Here it is.” She pulled out a small brown bottle and held it up. Then she shook it and looked at it more closely. “That’s funny.”
Sarah felt the hairs on her arms prickling. “What?”
“It’s empty.”
FRANK HAD READ THREE NEWSPAPERS AND FELT NO BETTER informed than he had been before. He looked up automatically when the coffee shop door opened and was surprised to see Sarah. For a minute, he thought she might have brought someone for him to question, but she was alone. He rose from his chair and pulled out another at his table for her. “That didn’t take long.”
“There was a bottle of laudanum at the house, but it’s empty. Miss Biafore is certain it was nearly full the last time she noticed it. She would have bought more if she knew someone had used the last of it.”
“So that could be what killed her. Did you find out where her purse was?”
“Not for certain, but Miss Biafore said she usually just laid it on the table in the hallway. She wanted the women who lived there to think she trusted them.”
“But you don’t know for sure?”
“No. I’ll have to ask Miss Yingling and Mrs. Spratt-Williams if they remember.”
“Either of them could be the killer, you know.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Miss Yingling is the one who convinced Mr. Van Orner to let you investigate, and I can’t think of any possible reason why Mrs. Spratt-Williams would want to kill her friend.”
“Just because you can’t think of it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. What did that girl Amy have to say for herself?”
“I didn’t see her. She’s gone.”
“What do you mean, she’s gone?”
“I mean she packed up herself and her baby and left this morning.”
“Where did she go?”
“They don’t know. She didn’t even tell anyone she was leaving. Lisa—Miss Biafore—thinks she may have gone back to Mrs. Walker’s house.”
“Why would she go there? Mrs. Walker was going to give her baby away.”
“I didn’t say she did. I said that’s all Lisa could think of. I don’t think Amy had any money of her own, and if she had family, why didn’t she go there before? Nothing else makes sense.”
“What about the other women in the house?”
“I talked to both of them, but they’re too frightened to be much help. They don’t remember anything that happened yesterday or even who was in the house. They never noticed Mrs. Van Orner’s purse or who she talked to. I can’t imagine either of them would want to kill her. Without her, they don’t have any hope at all.”
“You’re probably right, and Amy running away doesn’t look good for her,” Frank said.
“But we still don’t know any reason why she’d want Mrs. Van Orner dead, and if she did have one, wouldn’t she stay around to benefit from it?”
“Maybe she’s afraid of getting caught.”
“When Miss Yingling came over last night to tell them the news, she didn’t say Mrs. Van Orner was murdered, only that she’d died suddenly. It’s possible nobody would have ever figured out she was poisoned. Why run away until there was real danger?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t think we’ll figure out the answer until we find Amy.”
“And if she killed Mrs. Van Orner, we may never find her.” Sarah sighed. “What should we do next?”
Frank flinched inwardly at the “we,” but he had to admit he still needed her help. “Would Mrs. Spratt-Williams see you?”
“I’m sure she would. She may not even know Mrs. Van Orner is dead yet. I think a condolence call would be in order in any case. I can even express concern about the future of Rahab’s Daughters. The women at the rescue house are terrified they’ll be turned out.”
“They probably will be unless this Mrs. Spratt-Williams is willing to keep it going.”
“Even if she’s willing, she may not be able. According to Miss Biafore, Mrs. Van Orner supported it with money of her own, not what she got from her husband, and also some she got from friends. Even still, they were often short of funds.”
“So that’ll give you a reason to call on Mrs. Spratt-Williams. Miss Yingling gave me her address.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll call on those two fellows who helped with the rescues.”
“Potter and what was the other man’s name?”
“Quimby.”
Sarah frowned. “Neither of them were with her at all yesterday. What could they possibly tell you?”
“I won’t know that until I talk to them.
“Where shall we plan to meet later?”
“I’ll come by your house tomorrow.”
Sarah took her leave, so she’d arrive at Mrs. Spratt-Williams’s house in time to make a socially acceptable afternoon visit. Frank watched her go with a sick feeling in his stomach. How the hell did she always mange to get mixed up in his cases?
MRS. SPRATT-WILLIAMS LIVED IN A TOWN HOUSE A FEW blocks from Sarah’s parents’ home on the Upper West Side. It was furnished modestly but in good taste. Mrs. Spratt-Williams received Sarah in the family parlor. She wasn’t dressed for company, and she looked as if she might have been crying.
“What a surprise, Mrs. Brandt. Please excuse my appearance, but I suppose you’ve heard about poor Vivian.”
“Yes, I did. What a shock. I’m so very sorry.”
“You can’t imagine how distraught I am. I’ve known Vivian for years and years. She was like a sister to me.”
“I’m sure she must have felt the same way. I know she appreciated your help with Rahab’s Daughters.”
“Oh, yes. I was the first one she came to when she got the idea for it. She said to me, ‘Tonya’—she always called me Tonya. My real name is Antonia, but she shortened it to Tonya when we were girls—she said, ‘Tonya, we must do something for all these unfortunate women in the city.’ ”
“It seems a very unusual thing for ladies like you to be concerned with,” Sarah observed.
“Vivian was an unusual woman, and . . . well, she had her reasons, I suppose,” she added with what might have been a hint of distaste.
Sarah decided not to mention the rumors about Mr. Van Orner, at least not yet. “I understand she supported the work with her own money.”
“Yes, she had a small inheritance, from an aunt, I think. She used the income from that and some of her allowance, I’m sure.”
“And her friends helped, too, I suppose.”
“Those of us who were involved, of course. I gave her what I could. I’m a widow, you see, and I have limited resources. I believe the gentlemen were more generous.”
Sarah knew what it cost to run a house like this, and she suspected Mrs. Spratt-Williams’s resources were limited only by her own choices. “I was just at the rescue house to see if there was anything I could do to help. Miss Biafore is quite concerned about what will become of Rahab’s Daughters now.”
“Oh, dear, I’m sure no one has given that a moment’s thought. I know I just heard about Mrs. Van Orner this morning.”
“How did you hear?”
“Miss Yingling sent me a note. I assume she notified the others as well. Isn’t that how you heard?”
Sarah chose to ignore the question. “I believe you were with Mrs. Van Orner just before she died.”
“Was I? I had no idea. I didn’t know when it happened. Or even where. Was it at the rescue house?”
“No, shortly after she left, I believe. In her carriage.”